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Oh, by the way...RISE OF SKYWALKER WAS EPIC!
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Galactic Vigilante.
The air of Jedha was calm, and yet Jedi Master Mace Windu and the rest of the Jedi who were on this planet shielding themselves could feel the Force on this planet. And as the shuttle carrying their contacts in the Rebel Alliance made their landing, Mace had the time to meditate for a few minutes, delighting in the strength of the Force here. Like many Jedi, Mace had always felt at home on this planet, comforted because of the presence in the Force, and its connection to the Jedi Order.
The Force was strong on Jedha primarily because of the kyber which crystals the planet was rich in and which the Jedi used to power and focus the blades of their lightsabers, but the planet's presence in the living Force made it easier for the Jedi to hide from the Empire although there was no doubt the Empire was interested in the planet.
Palpatine wanted to purge the galaxy of the Jedi, every trace of the Order from the ancient and long-since abandoned Temples dotted about the galaxy. Jedha was a prime candidate since the planet was had a very strong presence in Jedi history. The loss of Jedha and the Holy City would be a massive blow to the Order.
Indeed, the Empire were strengthening their stranglehold here every day with stormtroopers and fighters patrolling the airspace. Palpatine would say they were making sure such an ancient, legendary place was being protected, and he kept saying it although Mace was certain the planet was being fortified because Palpatine wanted something from it, and it was likely to be the kyber crystals since it was the only major resource present on the planet and already the Empire were sending mining surveyors to investigate the deposits on the planet.
The shuttle landed softly on the ground - Mace wondered how long it would be before the Imperial destroyers in orbit began enforcing permits on the various ships coming and going, but hopefully, it wouldn't come to that since the Emperor liked to convey the appearance the Empire was just a more militant version of the Old Republic but aside from one or two changes, nothing had changed as far as the average citizen was concerned aside from a few slight changes here and there. But for Mace and the rest of the Jedi, and indeed the members of the growing Rebel Alliance, everything had changed.
The Old Republic had been swept aside and although to the rest of the galaxy the only that had changed was the increasingly oppressive presence of the Imperial Military, although hatred for anything related to the Jedi had increased steadily over the years, now it was suffocating thanks to Palpatine, and his apprentice.
Mace closed his eyes momentarily while he tried to use the Force to fight down his disgust for whatever Palpatine had done to his old apprentice, Marcus Ryder, who had been a Padawan before he had been turned to the Dark Side and under Palpatine's direction had gone on to carve a path of murder throughout the galaxy, carving the Empire of the blood of innocents.
Mace had tried to fight his former apprentice, but Marcus had become so steeped in the Dark Side, using the vaapad fighting style now so thoroughly steeped in the darker side of the Force to overwhelm the Jedi Master until he'd been forced to flee.
Darth Vader, which was Marcus's new name, had certainly become a force of destruction and since the Empire's inception five years ago, Vader was responsible personally for the deaths of dozens of Jedi survivors who'd been initially lucky enough to survive the first days of Order 66. But he was also responsible for other atrocities over the years.
The stranglehold of the Sith was becoming tighter and tighter as their Empire spread through the galaxy. The hissing from the boarding ramp of the shuttle brought the Jedi Master out of his thoughts, and he lifted his gaze as Obi-Wan came into view.
Mace smiled slightly as he spotted the other Jedi Master, but his expression became more neutral when he spotted Mon Mothma, Padme Amidala, and Bail Organa. All three of them were senators in the Imperial Senate, although Mace wondered for how much longer.
Palpatine knew the three of them were among his most vocal opponents in the Senate during the Clone Wars, and he was unlikely to forgive or forget that just yet, but the good thing was they knew they needed to be cautious for the time being and keep their heads down; Palpatine had amassed virtually unlimited powers during the Wars, as the Emperor his word was law.
There was no doubt in their minds Palpatine eventually planned on dealing with the Senate soon enough, although what he planned to do in the long term…well, only the Sith Lord knew what those were. But Mace wondered what was going to happen to the senators. While they were allies and the Jedi needed all the help they could get if they were to get back on their feet, their old opinions of politicians remained the same.
Nonetheless, Mace bowed courteously towards the senators. "Senators, welcome to Jedha. Hello, Obi-Wan," Mace added with a genuine smile at his fellow Jedi.
Padme secretly noticed the almost cool greeting she and her fellow senators received from the Jedi Master, and the more genuine greeting Windu shared with Obi-Wan. Ever since the dawn of the Clone Wars with that disturbing mess with Anakin when the young Jedi had been expelled from the Jedi Order, Padme had slowly opened her eyes and realised the Jedi were always courteous with her and with the Senators they dealt with, but while some of the Jedi hid it better than others, there was a distrust in their manner whenever they dealt with senate members.
Even now, even with the Republic gone and the Jedi on the run, the old distrust was there.
Padme hadn't shared these observations with her fellow senators who were part of the growing alliance. They needed the Jedi in order to face Palpatine and Vader head-on, and any other Sith they encountered in the future. If she told Mon or Bail about the distrust, it would shake and undermine their alliance. So many people distrusted and hated the Jedi now, a hatred now stoked day and night by Palpatine, they didn't need it right now.
Kenobi bowed his head. "Master Windu," he replied, blinking his eyes tiredly, and he even fought down the need to yawn.
"Are you alright?" Mace asked with concern.
Kenobi sighed. "I'm just tired, Master," he whispered.
"Of course," Windu nodded in understanding and he did. Obi-Wan had been scouting the Outer Rim territories for months searching for other Jedi survivors of Order 66, and for other Force-sensitives who'd be willing to face the Sith. A part of Windu was tempted to ask Obi-Wan what he had found out now so he'd have the time to think of what they could do next. But he didn't because there was going to be a meeting of the Jedi Council (not the original council during the Wars, of course; so many Jedi had been lost during the Wars and during Order-66, new members had needed to be elected) so they could form their plans there. "I am surprised you rendezvoused with the Senators on your way here, Obi-Wan," Wind added, gazing at the other Master questioningly.
"What can I say, they saved me a long trip stowing away on other ships. I made a report to Senator Organa about the other matters I was asked to look into, and he suggested it," Obi-Wan said.
Organa shrugged. "It seemed the best option if you were to keep your schedule. Palpatine has had the Imperial fleet making waves in the commercial shipping circles. It could have taken Master Kenobi longer to get here. In any case," Organa's face was grim. "I have a report from one of our agents the Empire has something planned on Corellia. I haven't told the others yet," he nodded towards his fellow Senators, "since I wanted to inform all of you at the same time."
Mace sighed as he remembered the reports he'd received of Palpatine's latest stranglehold although what the plan was for the commercial shipping lines, Windu had no idea although it sounded like the Empire was just tightening its hold in other areas of the galaxy.
But he was intrigued by Organa's comment and it made him wonder what the news was. "Shall we go inside the caves?" he suggested. "The longer we remain out here, the easier it would be for the Imperials to detect us."
Everyone agreed and they headed into the caves. Master Windu led them through passage after passage towards the command centre. It was essentially a large cave with a central holo-table, with stools for seating. Padme looked around, seeing from the hastily set up command stations with the few Jedi present the whole base had been put in very quickly but could be dismantled at any moment. The Jedi had no intention of staying on Jedha for long.
Once they were sitting down, Organa began speaking.
"According to our agents, Palpatine wants a new discovery developed by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. The story I heard states that two years ago, a number of top scientists had developed a new means of using dark energy to create a rip in something known as sub-hyperspace."
Obi-Wan frowned. "What's that?"
Organa turned to the Jedi Master. "It's a rip in ordinary space. It differs from regular hyperspace since hyperspace travels across the galaxy. Sub-hyperspace travels through it," the senator said in a manner that stated he didn't understand what he was describing anymore than the listeners. "But the point is, with this 'sub-hyperspace' a ship, in theory, can travel through ordinary space…at faster than light speeds."
"Faster than light?" Mace whispered while Obi-Wan and the other listeners gasped in surprise. "In ordinary space. But we have spent years believing this was impossible."
Organa shrugged. "I thought so as well," he replied. "But our agent on Corellia, who is one of the best, wouldn't have sent it otherwise. Although in the file the agent doesn't know if the scientific team had been looking for it on purpose, or if it was a simple discovery which led to a great discovery. Either way, it doesn't matter; the fact is the Empire has, unsurprisingly, taken a special interest in the development of this new FTL technology. I don't think I need to tell you why. If the Empire gets this technology," he said grimly, "the Empire will be able to travel wherever they want, without needing to worry about the traditional issues with hyperspatial travel. That means they could spread everywhere."
The Jedi Masters shared a look, both knowing with this new technology the Empire could spread into parts of the galaxy none of the current generations of hyperspace explorers had currently explored except for a handful of systems.
"Do any of the agents on Coruscant have any idea what the military is making of this?" Mace asked.
"The Imperial military is demanding the CEC send them all of their scientific and engineering specifications on these experiments. At the moment, the CEC is currently experimenting with a test-bed ship," Bail said while he slipped the memory chip into the holo player.
A ship appeared in 3D above the table. Kenobi looked at it with a critical eye; it didn't look any different from the other conventional ships of its size, but the massive 3D image of a star appeared on the table nearby before a trail of the sun's energy was drawn into the ship. It was like a magnet drawing metal filings away from one place, or water pouring down a waterfall.
"What's that?" Mon asked Bail.
"According to the agent, the energy for the sub-hyperspace drive needs some of the energy of a natural star," Organa replied after quickly checking the file. "The team are currently looking for substitutes without draining suns dry."
"I'm not surprised, given how many inhabited star-systems there are in the galaxy," Obi-Wan commented grimly as he wondered what kind of repercussions this extensive 'mining' would have if there weren't any solutions to be found. If they couldn't find any other type of energy, the dependency on sub-hyperspace might drain the stars and render solar systems as lifeless deserts without any way of supplying them with the life-giving properties of an ordinary system.
"Do we know when the CEC is testing this ship?" Mon asked her fellow senator.
"We don't, but we know it will be some time; the CEC is currently trying to keep the Imperial military from getting hold of the technology," Bail replied, "the CEC board are stating they need to run the tests before they deliver the test ship and the other materials. They have all their best lawyers on the case, each one told to delay the Military. But from what we can tell, Palpatine has secretly told the Imperial Navy to be ready to capture the ship regardless while at the same time reassuring the CEC and the government of Corellia they will let the CEC conduct their trial runs."
"Surely the CEC doesn't trust them?" Padme scoffed.
"They don't," Bail said while he looked down at the file and said no more on the topic. "Nonetheless the CEC are conducting the tests regardless. We even have a report on who is going to be conducting the tests…er, an Anakin Skywalker and a Shanna Woh."
Obi-Wan gasped. "Anakin?" he whispered, noticing his fellow Jedi's reaction to the news as well as Padme's.
"You know him, Master Kenobi?" Mon asked curiously.
Obi-Wan sighed. "You could say that," he said, sending a mental message to Mace to let him do the talking. "Anakin….well, he was a Jedi."
"Was? You mean he was expelled?" Organa leaned in.
"Yes," Obi-Wan sighed again, his mind haunted by the memory of Anakin's screams of pain as the Council severed his Force connection, and a snide part of his mind wondered and even desired for Padme, who was looking both excited and yet ashamed, to speak up so she would admit her own part in the horrible mess. "He was expelled before the Clone Wars. It's a long story," he added when he realised Padme was not going to say a word, "but the fact is….well, Anakin was an extremely powerful person in the Force, and members of the Council were worried about what he would do if he found himself out of our jurisdiction. So we severed his Force connection."
Mon and Organa gasped while Padme looked down at her hands, her long glossy hair falling into her face so they couldn't see her expression. "Is that possible?"
"It is," Mace whispered sternly. "It isn't a conventional procedure, I grant you, but at the time it was the best thing we could do."
"The best thing you could do?" Padme lifted her head, looking shattered by what she was hearing and probably her own part in the whole affair. "When I told you what had happened, I didn't think you would do that to him."
"Hold on, you knew about this Padme?" Organa gaped at his colleague and friend questioningly.
Padme sighed and nodded. "I did. You see…Anakin wasn't like the rest of the Order. He had grown up in the Outer-Rim territories, and he had been raised by a loving mother, so family meant a lot to him. I met him when I was fourteen so this took place during my tenure as the Queen of Naboo, and he was nine at the time, but he was madly in love with me then. He had been haunted by the death of his mother in dreams, but by the time he and I reached Tatooine to find her and make sure she was alright, she was dead. Anakin went mad and slaughtered the murderers, and when he tried to ask for my hand in marriage, I turned him away. He protested and things became…ugly, so I reported him to the Jedi Council." She glared at the Jedi while keeping quiet on what she meant by the word ugly. "But I never imagined the Jedi would do what they did."
Obi-Wan was tired of the argument. "Believe me, Padme," he said quietly although they could hear the pain in his voice over what had happened to his old apprentice, "this isn't the time or the place for a fight."
"Don't tell me what to do, Master Kenobi!" Padme glared at him.
"Enough!" Mace snapped, standing up while he used the Force to prevent the argument from getting out of hand. "We need to discuss what we are going to do about this situation."