A New Order of Force-Wielders
Obi-Wan met Master Yoda's ancient eyes as they looked at him and Buffy before they gazed off. Was that sadness he'd seen in them? Had he seen something in their future? Next to him, Buffy stiffened. He felt a ripple of panic flowing from her. She'd a bad feeling about this. Not that he hadn't either, but Buffy's bad feeling eclipsed his own. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, Obi-Wan used the move to cover the way he'd moved close to her. Allowing his long sleeve to cover his hand, he entwined his fingers through hers and drew her hand to his side in a gesture of solidarity. Whatever happened they had one another, he'd promised her that he'd not leave her and he'd no intention of breaking that promise.
Across from them, Master Windu's face was grave. "This is one of the reasons why Master Yoda and I chose to hold this meeting here rather than in the Council chambers. We thought it better not to reveal Master Sifo-Dyas may have joined the ranks of the Sith vampires-."
"What?!" snapped Count Dooku, his head whipping around in Mace Windu's direction. This was the first he'd heard that his childhood friend Sifo-Dyas could be a vampire. "No! I don't believe it!"
"The Jedi-vampires said that they were part of something called The New Order and that Sifo was in charge of their recruitment," Buffy replied softly. She suddenly remembered that Sifo had been in charge of bringing new Force users to the Temple. That meant he'd had access to everyone's files at the Temple and would know who was a likely candidate for turning into a Force wielding vampire. No wonder Nick and Yoda were worried.
Count Dooku raised a trembling hand to his forehead and visibly paled.
"I'm sorry, Count" Buffy added. Dooku's hand lifted, stopping further displays of sympathy from her.
"That's the thing," said Mace. "We've no evidence what they told you is true. It's why we don't wish to involve the other Council masters at this stage," He didn't add that during Master Sifo-Dyas's time on the Council, his predictions of war and the suggestion the Jedi create an army hadn't gone down well with his fellow masters. Mace went on, "It's possible, maybe even likely, that those vampires lied to Obi-Wan and Buffy." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his fingers steepled under his chin. "We know that a significant number of Jedi have disappeared over the past few months. Not in great numbers yet enough to raise our suspicions that-."
"Sifo-Dyas is raising an army!" squeaked Andrew. He shared a long look with Buffy, who didn't have a clue what he was on about until he mouthed 'clones' at her. She remembered then Sifo had put in the clone order on Kamino.
Mace Windu gave Andrew a disapproving look for being overly-dramatic. "The numbers don't add up to an army..."
"Unless each Jedi-vampire decides to go around the galaxy siring lots more vamps," piped up Buffy. If they did, it was all going to get out of hand fast.
"I don't think they will," replied Obi-Wan, his voice calm and even. "We're dealing with Dark Jedi or the Sith here and the Sith weren't known for sharing their powers." A sneer of disgust appeared on his face as he remembered how the Casanova vamp from the previous night had latched onto Buffy. "When that upstart boy bragged of turning you into a vampire Master Jai stated Sifo-Dyas needed to assess everyone before they were turned. No exceptions. That should stop them from growing into plague proportions."
"True," Buffy admitted.
"The power of the Dark Side, stronger it becomes," croaked Yoda sagely. "Clouds, all it does. Greatly troubled by all this, I am." He gazed at the freshly baked cookies lying so temptingly within reach and mused, "Joked about dark cookies, you should have not."
Sensing the direction of the diminutive master's thoughts Mace inclined his head in agreement. He'd been enjoying those cookies until Buffy suggested Andrew had contaminated them with the Dark Side.
Pulling his thoughts from cookies, Mace focussed back on the less palatable vampires. "The majority of those who've disappeared are from the Jedi Service Corps. It didn't raise too much suspicion at first. The number of Jedi in the Corps fluctuates. Either they become disappointed at not being trained as a knight or they decide the Jedi code isn't for them and take off."
"I'm not surprised," said Buffy under her breath. No one caught her words but Obi-Wan.
"Most serious minded, a Jedi needs to be," injected Yoda. His eyes drifted to Obi-Wan's. He'd noted an irreverence and sarcastic wit had developed since he'd been given the task of watching Buffy. He wasn't sure if it was a natural part of the young man's personality or if it was Buffy's influence. The green master went on. "Testing us, the Sith are."
Mace continued, "We checked on the names of the Jedi outlying stations that you mentioned seeing on the star map you found at Jar Jar's. Those stations had all reported Jedi missing. We've now alerted the other outlying posts to be wary of any strangers-"
"Stranger Danger!" squeaked Andrew. He'd been in a deep fantasy where he'd been kidnapped by Jango Fett and only the last part of the sentence had penetrated his daydream. "Don't talk to strangers, just walk away!"
Mace frowned, completely thrown by the bizarre comment. He regarded the Watcher uneasily, before looking to Count Dooku for an explanation. The older master gave a small shrug of his shoulders, to show he hadn't a clue what the young man was talking of either. "Um, yes. Thanks, Andrew. Er, what... what was I saying?" asked Mace.
"What about warning your other Jedi? They're in danger too." Buffy said, ignoring Andrew. The ex-Jedi vamps they'd fought the previous night weren't the First Evil, but they were a powerful adversary. What would happen if more and more Jedi became vampires? Obi-Wan's hand squeezed hers. She'd tensed again and broadcast panic down their bond. Buffy pulled in a deep breath. letting it out slowly, consciously trying to relax the tension from her shoulders and the knots of anxiety in her stomach. She was no longer one girl battling against the demons and darkness threatening to engulf the world. When Sineya had seen Obi-Wan she'd called them all 'Slayers'. Did Sineya foresee the Jedi Order as the vampire slayers of this dimension?
A Temple full of Jedi would be every bit as good as her Slayers, but what if the Jedi masters found out she and Obi-Wan were a couple? She couldn't see Yodel being happy about the Code break-age. The memory of Dawn and the rest of the Scoobies throwing her out the house was as strong as ever. Would that happen again? The Jedi Temple was her home. She didn't want to lose Obi-Wan, yet she didn't want him to lose everything he was and should be either.
Warm masculine fingers once again gently squeezed her hand. ~Hush, it won't be a problem.~ Obi-Wan's mind touched hers. His steadying influence a soothing balm on her panic.
"For the moment, we don't wish to alarm the rest of the Jedi," replied Mace Windu. "The masters and knights are more wary of being attacked than those in the Service Corps. We've also stepped up security around the Temple."
"Step carefully, we should. Fully appraised, we need to be. Act fast and decisively, only then we shall," added Yoda. He tapped his gimmer stick onto the floor and looked about him. "Yet more bad news, we have."
...
A/N:
this meeting is a terror to write. It's took on a life of its own.
I cut a thousand words from this section alone. Not helped by me being ill this week.
Anyway, next chapter is the last part of it.