Hey, everyone! How are you all doing on this cool night of Saturday, December 5, 2020? I'm all right, if a little stressed and exhausted because I started a new part-time job two days ago, volunteered at my local help center today, and have three classes to conclude within the next sixteen days. So, basically, I'm going to be very busy for a while. And I've been working a bit on my Jedi Odyssey Rewrite, writing future chapters and mapping my progress, and it's going well so far. So, I figured I'd get a couple or a few chapters in this story before I return to Jedi Odyssey and advance the story. I hope you are ready for intrigue, battles, and intense negotiations as we approach the Chiss-NR Summit, because it is almost upon us. But first, we have to get through the Ossus arc, Connor's introduction to Tython and Bahl'al's Dark Side Elite program, and the Battle of the Honoghr System. Well, I'd better get started, as I have only a few days before I work again. And I hope the political situation behind the 2020 Election works out for the best possible solution for the people, and that the truth is uncovered. Though, if you know who I support, you know how I want this to turn out, but legitimately, I assure you. May the Lord be with us all in these dark times.
Thirty Minutes Later
On Ossus
Within the Great Jedi Library
"Ahsoka and her allies will be arriving in the system in less than an hour." Tera informed Dass and Jula, opening his heavy eyes. "We need to finish moving the most essential artifacts and people into your ships, because I can sense the dark forces of the Emperor moving in the shadows."
"Don't worry about us or the Emperor." Jula smirked. "We're already ahead of schedule, and we'll only move faster once their fleet arrives. It's just too bad we have to let this world fall to the Empire right now. It'd make a good hideaway or raiding post for our side."
"Yes." Tera wistfully agreed, hoping that he could return to this scarred but beautiful world one day and further his understanding of the Force.
Meanwhile, Aboard the Second Chance
50 Minutes From the Adega System
"We're receiving a transmission from… wait. This can't be right." Akku confusingly shook his head. "According to this, Commodore Thrawn and an Admiral Ar'lani are requesting an audience with us."
No one expected such a call, but Tau composed himself as he ordered, "Put it through. If they're calling us ahead of their summit, then something bad's going on. And try to contact Minister Mothma and have her connect with us. She'll need to get a feel of them, at least so she has an idea of what to expect from the rest of the Chiss."
"Right away." Akku acknowledged before seeing the Imperial double agent, Chiss Jedi Knight, and Chiss Ascendancy admiral appear, and Tau respectfully deduced, "I take it there have been a change of plans regarding our summit."
"Indeed. The Moechor and Grysks are advancing on the Ascendancy's borders, and one of our forward bases will soon come under attack from both of our enemies." Ar'lani informed the Jedi Knight.
Seeing blank looks from everyone, Tau shook his head and shamefully admitted, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with either of those… species? It might be best if you start from the beginning."
"I would have thought your knowledge from your timeline would give you a better idea of both these enemies." Thrawn disapprovingly noted.
"Yes, but unfortunately, neither of these threats were known to the galaxy in my time, which implies that they were either not a danger then, or they had not yet revealed themselves to the rest of the galaxy. I'd would be more than willing to explain, but it is a rather complicated paradox to best describe. but perhaps we should save it for the summit, when we have more time to clarify matters."
"Yes, explanations on time-spatial matters can wait. That would be the wiser course of action." Ar'lani agreed.
Ten Minutes Later
On Lothal
Outside the Jedi Temple
Within the Outrider
"I'm afraid it will take us at least five days to send Master Vos and another team to your position. Days that I fear your impetuous teammates and the Lothal Sector do not have." Bail reluctantly admitted to the diminished team.
"Respectably, Sir, if I may? It might be wiser to send a fleet to secure the system altogether." Jaing spoke up, surprising everyone with the NRI captain's bold idea.
"That is not usually your MO, Captain. What has brought this about?" Wullf noted.
"Permission to be blunt, Sir?" Jaing asked, receiving a nod from the NRI Director before going on, "We have two Jedi agents MIA, a Jedi temple holding untold secrets we're only just beginning to learn, three prisoners being held in a Force-generating stasis field, and a vital mineral world suffering under the Imperial yoke. We cannot have the chance of allowing the Sith from discovering this place and its riches, especially once we figure out a way to free the Hawkes family, because if they're half as strong as everyone says they are, then the Emperor and his followers will sense them the moment they're freed."
"I agree with all your points, Captain, but we can't afford to rush in blindly. That mistake already cost us dearly with another of our operations. We'll need more information on the Lothal Sector's defenses if we're to liberate it. That is why we are asking the Teutonic Sector to redivert a team of their best agents to assist you in discerning the temple's secrets and call in any favors they have in sabotaging the Pryce's illegal operations." Bail nodded.
"We'll assemble a fleet per your recommendation, but we won't be launching it until we have a better idea of what we're up against. In the meantime, learn all you can about the temple's workings and defenses, and try to remain under the radar." Ralon informed the team.
Fifteen Minutes Later
Aboard the Second Chance
30 Minutes From the Adega System
"Okay. Now I think I better understand why the Grysk are such a threat to your people." Tau acknowledged. "But what exactly makes these Moechor so dangerous?"
"They are a long-lived race that can live close to a millennium and have the ability to use their pheromones to seduce anyone and make them their thralls, of any species and sex, in order to mate with them and produce their offspring. If left unchecked, they would overrun the Unknown Regions in a handful of generations, and a few centuries for the known galaxy." Ar'lani grimly explained.
"Wait a minute, surely not all the males of a population would want to mate with this species, after all the bottle neck of a population is determined by the number of females not males." Mon interjected, having joined the meeting ten minutes ago.
"Did you not hear what I just said? They can mate with both sexes." The admiral repeated.
"I thought you said there were no males of this species." Tau clarified.
"There aren't." Thrawn bluntly finished.
"... How the hell does that work?" Tau disgustingly wondered.
"The few corpses we've managed to salvage, along with what we were able to decipher from their captured texts, indicate that they take the most valuable genetic traits of both parents, and mix them into a newborn of the mother, allowing their population to grow at an exponential rate and unimpeded by species barriers."
"That's an incredibly dangerous trait... there is no way this is natural." Nuru deduced.
"You're right. Our scientists believe it was a result of genetic manipulation." Ar'lani admitted.
"Do you have any ideas on the culprits?" Mon asked.
"How many civilizations throughout all of time have the capability to pull this off?" Thrawn sighed. "The suspects to us from both our combined databases are the Celestials, the ancient Gree, the Far Outsiders, or perhaps the Rakata. Though it is also possible the species did this to themselves for whatever reason."
"True, but for all we know, it could also have been a Chaos cult. They do have a talent for corrupting civilizations and people to bend to their will." Ventis grimly interjected.
Despite the immense peril that his son was in under Bahl'al's Sith version of hospitality, he had calmed down after speaking with his family and devising a plan for them to rescue him as soon as this summit ended.
"Perhaps." Tau admitted. "Still, any one of those possibilities is disturbing and troubling. Well, it doesn't help us too much, considering how the Rakata are extinct, the Celestials have all but disappeared from this plane of existence, the Gree are a shadow of their former selves, and only a handful of Yuuzhan Vong appeared in this galaxy in the distant millennia. What I don't get is why they're a threat now. What changed?"
"What changed was that, up until the last few months, we have been able to effectively contain them within a handful of systems. Then, without warning they began breaking through our blockades through scavenged technology. Technology that originated from the known galaxy." Ar'lani informed the New Republic delegation.
"Wait a minute. Your people contained them within a handful of systems? How did they survive then if they can't breed with each other and need other species to breed with to produce offspring? Surely they would've gone extinct by now?" Celeste abruptly asked.
"The species is very socially and politically savvy for obvious reasons. They developed a social hierarchy with other alien species that put them into a dominant position. As in, they can breed with whoever they wish with the carrot being those 'lucky' few receiving lofty positions. Mind you, they don't directly rule anybody. They just subtly influence things into their favor." Thrawn explained to the Jedi Master.
"Just to clarify, I wouldn't so much say they are malevolent. They are simply doing what they were made to do in order to survive, and that means taking the dominant position in the mating chain. After all, they can only make more of themselves, so other races are less likely to want to mate with them unless there is some sort of benefit."
"As for their benefactors, I believe you know them from your time on Arda."
"The Orcs." Celebion deduced. "It would make sense. They probably want them as a distraction from their own schemes and can easily scavenge the technology from junkyards and their raids. The only question is, though, is what their endgame is."
"Probably to distract us from their own missions for Sauron, or to try and weaken the galaxy for their raids." Ahsoka suspected.
"Perhaps, but what I want to know is how did the Orcs reach out to them and forge this alliance? Orcs are not known for their diplomatic skills." The Ranger wondered.
"True, but the Morgolag-Hai are much more versed in the arts. Don't forget, they did navigate their way into Jabba the Hutt's palace before wiping his brain." Akku reminded him from his position in the cockpit.
"I think we all know where you're both going with this. You want us to help you in repelling these enemies from your borders, yes?" Mon knowingly deduced.
"Indeed, Minister." Thrawn nodded. "Not only for our people, but for the New Republic as well, because if either one, or both, if they are working together, defeat us, or are driven off, they will likely target your people and tie up resources and people that can be better spent preparing for the Yuuzhan Vong and other evils out there."
"And it would allow you to gain more favor with many of the Ruling Families and Defense Fleet, which would make forging an alliance with our peoples that much easier." Ar'lani added.
"You certainly gave this a great deal of thought." Mon false-calmly said.
Seeing the conflicted tightness in Mon's eyes, Ahsoka quickly spoke up, "We'll take your warning to the rest of High Command. We were already planning to send a fleet to escort our delegation to the Ascendancy, and this will only provide us with further incentive to come in force."
"Very good. We will transmit to your High Command all the intelligence we have uncovered on on this threat. The Moechor and Grysk are expected to attack the Tenupe System in less than one standard month."
At the mention of the star system, Tau's mind instinctively flashed back to the memory implants of the Swarm War's historical records, and how it ended on and above Tenupe before the Killks and their hidden Dark Nest could overrun the galaxy.
He also remembered Edaan's lessons from Jacen Solo on how the war was a major turning point in his slow fall to the Dark Side, and how it taught him how to avoid Jacen's mistakes in trying to handle everything himself when it was time for his personal quest to begin.
Pushing his reflections out of his mind for now, Tau saw Thrawn and Ar'lani end the communication, and he turned to Mon to thank her, "Thank you, Minister, for waiting until the meeting was over to maintain our united front. I can understand how this was difficult for you."
"It was, but you were right in more ways than you think, Tau." Mon acknowledged. "While I cannot agree with their methods, Thawn and Ar'lani are correct in their assessment. If these two enemies of theirs are going to invade the Ascendancy and increase their own power, then it will only weaken the New Republic's position when we're facing a war on multiple fronts. Besides, we cannot allow the innocent civilians in the Chiss's territory to be enslaved or exterminated."
"I will contact Chief Organa and inform him of the situation, you just focus on completing the Ossus operation with all due haste."
"Very well. Then perhaps, it might be more prudent for us to contact Master Sinube and the others in order to accelerate our evacuation efforts. We are less than half an hour away from the planet, after all." Ahsoka suggested, with Mon nodding her consent.
"I understand, and I won't keep you any longer. Good luck to you both." Mon disconnected the holocall, allowing the team to strategize their next move.
"All right. We need to split up if we're going to get everything done by the day's end. Ahsoka, you contact Master Sinube and his Padawans and brief them on our shortened stay. Ventis, Benjen and I'll work on the Ysanna Chief and try to convince him to let us try to awaken Master Bnar." Tau ordered everyone.
"I'll call my brother immediately." Ventis promised.
Fifteen Minutes Later
On Ossus
Within the Great Jedi Library
"Well, I am glad that you and the Jedi Order patched things up after the unfair treatment you endured, Ahsoka," Tara commented, "And I see that you have grown into a fine young woman and leader from that restless Padawan who lost her lightsaber to a pickpocket, Ahsoka. And even better I see that you have found someone to share your life with, and you will even soon breathe new life into the galaxy. I can already sense that the twins are strong in the Force."
"Yeah. I'm really lucky to have him in my life, and I just know that Tau's going to make a great father for Edaan and Ashla." Ahsoka smiled as Tau, Ventis, and Benjen discussed the current situation with Chief Royf, with Katooni acting as a mediator between both groups.
"Although I must admit that I hold some reservations towards some of the changes to the Jedi Code, I can see that you two are good for each other and will give you and the other Jedi families the benefit of the doubt." Tera admitted before he ruefully chuckled, "Thought it might just be the ancient Jedi Master in me talking."
"I have good news, Ahsoka." Katooni reported. "Chief Royf's given your husband and his ship's crew permission to journey to his resting place to try and awaken him. But be warned, many have tried throughout countless generations, even the Jedi under Master Gnost-Dural during his colony's stay there. None have succeeded."
"All we can do is try, Katooni. We can't leave him there to sleep for the remainder of his life, and the knowledge and lightsabers he's guarding can't fall into the Sith's hands. There'll be enough there to outfit Bahl'al's entire Dark Side Elite army three times over." Ahsoka stated.
"Then we'll all have to make all due haste." Tera declared, earning an amused eyeroll from Ahsoka after she recalled her first adventures with him. "Chief Royf and I will finish the preparations for the clans' evacuations. But you won't have much time before your duties call you away."
"Then we'll just have to work fast."
Ten Minutes Later
On Tenupe
Within the Chiss Garrison's Command Center
"Troubled, Master Infil'a?" Kres'ten'Tann simply asked his friend.
"That obvious, General?" Kirak sighed. "Our Cybertronian ally reported that the Grysk and Moechar are advancing on our borders, and at your garrison's current strength, we won't be able to hold them off for more than a few days. We'll need reinforcements if we're going to have a fighting chance at survival."
"And we'll get the reinforcements. I've just received word that Admiral Ar'lani and her task force are preparing to depart, and she and Mitth'raw'nuruodo managed to get the New Republic to, shall we say, change their schedule around a bit. They'll be proving their worth to us in the battle ahead."
"General, we're getting five unique energy signatures emerging from hyperspace approximately 500 kilometers from the planet's orbit. It looks like Starscream and his allies have arrived."
"Very good. Provide him a fighter escort and have our mechanics ready to offer any repairs to them. We'll need all of their help in the fight ahead."
Ten Minutes Later
On Varon Orbital Command
Within Chief Organa's Office
"So, Ar'lani and Thrawn are using us to bolster one of their frontier outposts, just to gain favor with their aristocracy." Bail ruefully summed up Mon's report.
"Yes. They're quite worried about these enemies of theirs, and they are ones that Tau's records hold no information on. But regardless, we made a vow to convene with them, and risking the entire Chiss people is unacceptable. Tau and I agree on those points, and as distasteful as it is, we need to play their game for now."
Suspiciously looking at his colleague, Bail noted, "This is certainly a change of pace for you, Minister. Why are you so willing to risk a battle fleet for the Chiss, when you are so reluctant to engage the Empire and its proxies?"
"I suppose you could sum it up to me listening to the advice and sound judgment of good leaders. One of those leaders being General Palpatine, who I think we were too hard on when young Connor was captured."
Eyebrows raised at Mon's comment, "While I still have significant doubts about the two Jedi's reckless plan, it is clear that Tau understood how Connor was driven to go after his wife and her captor after he trained under Bahl'al, and he took steps to prepare him for the trials ahead. Besides, Tau did tell us of his plan, and we were taking steps to help them. It was only through sheer luck that the Empire captured Connor before we were ready."
"That may be true." Bail acknowledged. "But we cannot let Tau and Ahsoka get off without some form of punishment, or discipline will unravel our forces."
"Nevertheless, I will speak with High Command on mitigating their sentence, provided they perform well in their respective duties going forward."
"Now, if there's nothing else, I have to reach out to Mr. Reo and the Teutonic Sector to see if they can spare any of their best archeologists to investigate the Lothal Jedi Temple."
Ten Minutes Later
Within the Adega System
On Ossus
Outside the Great Jedi Library
Just Outside the Second Chance
"I never thought I'd ever get to step foot on a world so sacred to the Jedi as Ossus." Ahsoka wondrously breathed before she coughed from the disturbed dust and dry air from the ship's landing. "I can sense this world's immense connection with the Force, even after all these years."
"Huh. I'd have thought that you'd be upset over the damage this world suffered thanks to Exar Kun and his Sith Brotherhood." Tau noted, not noticing the tearful expression on Celeste's face as she took in the remains of the once majestic Jedi library and the scarred landscape, with Ventis wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.
.
"Hey, I can still see the beauty in this world, even though such tragic devastation." Ahsoka crossed her arms in defiance with her husband.
"This world… it's so, devastated and wounded. I can still picture the gardens and buildings that stood here so long ago, and the Jedi that honed their skills with the Force here." Celeste brokenly observed.
"I get it. But it can be rebuilt into something new, once we return." Ventis consoled her.
Reluctantly clearing his throat, Akku brought everyone back on track, "I'm sorry to interrupt the four of you during such a mixed emotional observance, but we have many people and artifacts to rescue, and time is of the essence. We'd best get started right away."
"Right." Tau shook his head to clear his mind. "Ahsoka, you, Ventis and Celebion will help Benjen and his fleet with the evacuation. The rest of us will journey to Master Bnar and try to wake him up."
"Try not to take too long. Last thing we need is to break our promises to Thrawn and the rest of High Command and get into even more trouble." Ahsoka reminded him.
"I'll be a good boy." Tau jested.
Twenty Minutes Later
Within the Alternate Dimension
On Lothal
Within the Lothalian Brotherhood's Jedi Temple's Mess Hall
"Well, Knight Ryal, judging from what you've explained to us of your reality, I must say that you have remarkable fortitude in order to have survive the terrible ordeals you and your friends have endured." Talus remarked after hearing his and Adegan's condensed version of his timeline's major events.
"Well," Vega shrugged, "I was just more stubborn than anything else."
"A fine quality. I've known men older than you who would've crumbled under what you've endured."
"Well, thanks. And I have to say your verse is quite something, Master Talus. I mean, your order's in the millions and functions like an actual army… even if the Sith Fraternity is still on the loose."
"A fair trade to destroying Sidious and making peace with the Separatists."
"So, have you been to other realities, Master Talus?" Adegan inquired. "Tau Palpatine came from one, and his galaxy is vastly different from both of ours."
Talus grew grim at the question, "We have tried, but there's… something out there. An ancient presence that has killed a few of our explorers walking the roads of that inner dimension. You were quite fortunate you didn't encounter it."
"Do you know what it is?" Adegan asked.
"No. All we know is that it is old, evil and hungry."
"Huh, the Lothal Temple was blown up by the Imperials in Tau's world," Vega noted, "I wonder if they ran into this thing."
"If they did, they are fortunate it didn't cross over the threshold into their world. Vega," Talus' face somehow grew grimmer, "I would recommend you remain here and speak with my masters. They may be able to find a safer way back to your world."
"I'm sorry but I can't wait that long, Talus. My friends are still trapped at that Temple and I've been gone for-"
"Three hours and twenty-three minutes," Adegan answered.
"Right," Vega nodded, "look, I got in here without running into that thing. I can find my way out the same way."
"Fair enough, which is why you won't be going alone. I'm sending an escort to come with you and aid you in both getting you two back to your home and aid you in your quest. We may be able to undo the wards holding the Hawkes in stasis."
Vega was speechless at the great gesture, and vigorously thanked the Jedi Master, "I… If you do this, then the New Republic would be in your debt for this."
"We're not doing it for your government, but to help prepare your reality for the difficult trials ahead. Now, rest for now. I'll be getting your escort ready in the meantime."
Meanwhile, On Lothal
Just Outside the Jedi Temple
Aboard the Outrider
"Where do you think Vega and Adegan went to, Dad?" Chelli worriedly asked Micah as he and Eeth analyzed the runes and symbols found in the temple's lower levels.
"I don't know. No one does, but we're going to get help soon. We'll find them, don't worry." Micah reassured her as Samara and Jaing worked on restoring T7-01 by transferring the ancient droid's memory core and personality matrix into a defunct R2 astromech droid. While they waited on the process to finish, the two worked on replacing his damaged or corroded parts with more modern ones from spare droids, already a tenth of the way done with replacing his internal circuitry.
"Hopefully, the T7 droid can give us some lead on how the Hawkes got trapped in that stasis field, and how to undo it." The archeologist continued. "That is, if its memory core and personality matrix stayed intact inside that dusty old shell, and it can handle the data on all the historical data we're uploading into its databanks."
"We examined it thoroughly, and it appears to be fully intact, Doctor Aphra." Samara called back. "It just needs a little more time to fully power it back up. Keep in mind that it was deactivated for over thirty-six centuries."
"Let's just hope he doesn't try to attack us the moment he wakes back up. That droid might malfunction or utterly reject the data we're uploading into his databanks and think we're a group of scavengers or Sith agents." Jaing reminded the Gotal.
"Isn't that why you deactivated its weapons and motor systems until we can prove our sincerity?" Eeth called back.
"Well, we'll find out soon enough, because the data transfer is estimated to take at most, another forty minutes." Samara answered.
"I think we ought to take a break for the time being. It'll take us at least another day or two to finish repairing the droid's systems, and we need to stay alert in case Vega and Adegan reemerge from the portal." Jaing advised the team.
Meanwhile, On Ossus
Within the Eocho Mountains
Aboard the Second Chance
"I see him. 60 Degrees to the East." Celeste observed from the ship's cockpit as Tau flew YT-1300 to prepare and land next to the single tree in the barren fields.
"All right. Time to reawaken the oldest Jedi Master in all of recorded history." Tau noted as he opened the boarding ramp to help Celeste with her mission.
Well, I think this is a good place to end the chapter! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I was writing a few Jedi Odyssey Rewrite chapters, and I had to figure out what to write for this chapter. I know it's not my best work, but I hope it paves the way for future arcs that'll leave you begging for more. So, how are you all doing on this warm day of Monday, December 7, 2020? I'm doing well, as I started a new part-time job a few days ago and have a bit of schoolwork to handle this week and next week before my Fall 2020 Semester ends. And I'm excited for the next SWTOR update to be released this Wednesday. Oh, and I'm reading Star Wars: Republic Commando: True Colors, and it's a very tragic piece. Well, I guess that's it for now. I'd better get this to Squasher and JSailer for their review, as I think it might need a bit of work. May the Lord be with us all in these troubling times, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!
