Oops So the last chapter I confused with my other story so it is fixed as of 12 Oct 21 So you get this one early.
Dooku was working at his desk dealing with the more mundane tasks of his duties as a Jedi Master. His mind was slowly becoming as tired as his body felt and he got up to stretch slightly before moving to his kitchen for some tea. Then he was going to take a very needed nap. Just as the kettle began to whistle a quiet chime signaled there was someone at his door. He really did not want to be bothered by anyone, but changed his mind as he felt the presence on the other side of the door was none other than Jocasta Nu. With a flick of his hand the door opened as he pulled down his tea service. She came in with a smile that was more of a smirk, but very much Jocasta.
"I seem to have perfect timing, Yan."
"Jo, always able to invite oneself to a cup of tea or perhaps you come here to prevent me from taking a very needed nap." She chuckled as he moved over to the couch and set the service down on the table before sitting himself.
"Deny you a nap is something for the youth we once had and enjoyed." Yan smiled at the bitter sweet memory some fifty years past. Though from time to time they found comfort in each others arms, but for some reason Jocasta felt more alive than she had shown in decades.
"You feel different." He finally said as he finished pouring out the tea. She took her cup trusting their long friendship that it was sweetened just the way she liked it. Then she sipped and it was just the thing she needed and perfect.
"Well, since your former padawan returned from Naboo there is a new technique going around." Dooku leaned back as he had not heard a word of it, but then again he rarely paid attention to the ramblings of what the Temple called gossip.
"My padawan is a lost cause, a maverick, and buried in one of his prophecies. What has he done now?" Jocasta drew it out as she took a sip of her tea taking extra time to set it down just so.
"It is not so much of what he has done, but what he taught to the healers. Would you like to learn it?" This got Yan to set his cup down looking expectantly at Jo.
"And?" She closed her eyes in the matter of seconds began to glow in the Force as if her entire body was smoking. He stared at her in fascination as he felt her through the Force. After a minute the glow intensified and turned golden as he could of sworn he was looking at her younger self. After another minute she opens her eyes as the glow fades from her.
"I have to say Introspection, as it is called, sure beats even the best nap in energizing you for the day."
"Then teach away. This old Akk dog is ready to learn." Dooku was impressed as it took her only a few minutes to help him reach the proper point in the Force to start glowing himself. In seconds he felt his tiredness fade and then the minor aches that the healing trances could not remove after a full night vanished the longer he focused. It was like nothing he had ever encountered before as it felt like a feed back loop that only felt better and better. The Force was singing around him in ways that only the deepest of meditations could not match and for the first time in decades the dark side seemed to be pushed back away from his being.
"This feeling is almost addictive."
"I will still have to search the archives to find out why we lost these techniques. I suspect it was during the Great Galactic Wars that the ship that Jenica pilots dates from contains several holocrons."
"Contains? Are they not on their way to the Temple?"
"The briefing I have is the girl is very protective of her ship and the security system that the ship uses is so old that we do not have the data spikes needed to slice into it to get inside as she will not even let the master on board."
"I think I need to read these briefings."
"I thought you kept up on the antics of your former padawans. Especially if one nearly died and faced a confirmed Sith." Yan blinked rapidly as he did read a bit but the initial summary said nothing about a Sith. He moved to his desk and within a minute found the report a devoured its contents. This young Force Adept intrigued him even before he found she carried a very interesting blade design. One that showed two distinctly curved hilts. With the energy he felt currently flowing through him thoughts of offering to further train . The short holo of her fighting Master Windu showed that as much as she varied her styles it focused heavily on Makashi. More so when she was using both blades separately. It was the plasma holo footage of their fight with Darth Maul that showed how effectively she fought next to Qui Gon and that she was able to us a dark art as if it was simple Force push ending the fight as the Sith could not counter.
Jocasta and Yan studied the reports and the abilities that the girl had taught the others as they helped the wounded. In a matter of hours he had used introspection several times and felt twenty years younger and stronger. He knew it was just the effect of not feeling the aches of old age, but the more he did it the longer it took for those pains to be noticed again. When Jocasta finally left his apartments in the middle of the night he was more than satisfied as he settled down to attempt to use Introspection for the rest of the night. Only his comlink pulled him out of this form of meditation near the midpoint of the day he noticed.
"Chancellor what a pleasant surprise."
Jenica moved to the ramp of the Ebon Hawk as she heard the distinct sound of a cane. The tap tap tap was measured in one that never had to rush. Reaching out in the Force she could feel the large Force well that moved in such a small being. She had decided that it was time to go as the Force was calling her to leave. She had not decide on where she was to go just yet, but she was determined to go to one of the other systems on her list. Tatooine had been very interesting and it led to Naboo. She felt she had experienced part of the war that the Jedi and Sith of old had fought time and again. Perhaps Manaan next? After several desert worlds and swamp worlds a water world would definitely be different.
"Leaving you are." Master Yoda calmly stated as he stopped at the bottom of the ramp. His calm face not revealing the worry he could not completely mask from leaking though I felt that he could be doing it on purpose.
"Come to stop me Master Jedi?"
"Yoda my name is, use it you can, Jenica Lour."
Yes Yoda I am leaving. Anakin doesn't like it, but his mother thinks it is best that we move on."
"Change sometimes good it is. Talk to you I request." I sat right down on the ramp not really wanting the Jedi inside my ship and I could feel the disappointment if only for a few seconds with my decision not to invite him in.
"I am not so sure I want to listen. I have heard enough from Obi Wan that he should be trained and other of your Order. Then there are the several slicing attempts to get into my ship. You would not know anything about that, would you." Master Yoda narrowed his eyes as he thought and I had my answer as he was curious and puzzled by my accusation.
"Know this I do not. Find out together we could."
"To know you do not know is fine, but I will say it was a Jedi for one of the attempts. Really tall head and full of himself." Yoda's eyes widened quickly at the mention of Master Mundi. He would be one as he had made it quiet clear that a mere girl should not have unlimited access to dangerous holocrons. Yoda felt the same but about the girl he felt differently. He knew she would need a guide, better if she had a master, but force her he could not. The Force would not allow it. To force her would be to drive her away even faster, but to ask he was willing.
"Worried I am a target you have become. Protect you the Jedi Order can. Request to train you I do." There it was said and she rocked with the shock of such a request. After his vision of her reaction to a visit from him he had searched the Force for something that would not upset her and drive her away. The only thing he felt was that he could train her in some way. He felt the Force agree with him after he offered and the shock slowly settled as she seriously thought about it. He did not mind giving her the time she needed. He was not going to force her or Anakin. Even his mother had somehow become fearful of the Jedi as she saw the awe that Anakin showed to complete strangers. Yoda felt that he was missing something.
"Yoda how old are you?" He did not hesitate to answer.
"Old am I near nine hundred years lived I have." Jenica gave him a strange look before staring out into the hanger bay before she sighed. He could then feel a bit of amusement growing in her as she turned to face him again.
"Don't you think it is time to retire, little Gizka?" Yoda chuckled at her attempt at humor or unintended insult. However, it got him to thinking that just maybe it was time. For a long time he felt tired, but his fear was that he had to continue. The dark side was surrounding everything and growing stronger. He could not even contemplate leaving the High Council. Though the Force felt strangely expectant. As much as he wanted both of them to come to the Jedi Temple to be trained was a decision that would effect everything, he also felt that deciding to retire would be an even larger change. One decision that he had not thought of ever making. No more meetings, no more Senate, no more sorrow at another Jedi lost. No the sorrow would still be there as nearly every Jedi he had trained at one point in his long life. A sad part of letting a part of you bond with each youngling.
"Jedi I am, retire we do not when still hale we are."
"Fear is not something I would expect from a Jedi, Gizka." Again she called him a pest and his gimer stick swung in open air as she was suddenly on the ceiling of the access ramp of her ship. She dropped down lightly as he put his stick down impressed with her reaction and he surprised at her level of awareness as he did not feel her use the Force to increase her senses. Though he had a lot of fear that he struggled with for a long time. He accepted his fear in two categories of whether it could be changed or not. Yoda needed to stop this distraction. He needed to know that she would be as safe as any of his Jedi and he was not sure she had all the skills needed. She maybe as strong as a knight, but that did not mean she was not naïve.
"Answer my request you have not." Jenica looked down at the Jedi and walked up to the hatch.
"I plan to lift off in an hour." The hatch opened and she entered the ship leaving it open behind her.
Palpatine did not like being spurred and this girl should have known that it was not good to ignore the invitation of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. He genuinely smiled at that thought before his displeasure took over again. He and his guards moved fluidly through the halls to the very hanger that this girl had her ship berthed. He mentally prepared to be his political self as the door opened only to instantly frown before glaring at the ship that was just finishing its rotation. The guards reacted faster than he did as he was bodily picked up and forced back through the door just before the sudden blast of exhaust filled the hanger and the roar of heated air was shoved into the hallway before the doors slammed shut.
The guards let him go faster then he could think to shove them off as his anger threatened to get the best of him. He had even told the queen that he was on his way to speak with her. He had thought his statement was clear as to the nature of her duty to hold Jenica Lour here. As the doors opened again an aide rushed right by the chancellor into the empty hanger bay. Several droids were already busy with cleaning and straightening the equipment that was moved around. Several other doors opened and the mechanics and pilot of the fighter wing stopped as they looked over the chaos enacted on the hanger bay. The panicked aide slumped and did not know how close he had come to losing his life had the pilots not entered. Fuming the chancellor turned and left. He would find out where she went and drag her to his lair in the Works. First he had to find out where she had gone.
Mace walked calmly to the landing ship with the few that had remained on Naboo for the remainder of the investigation. The Sith ship and his body well secured inside of the Jedi Temple. He had already five different requests to have the body turned over to Coruscant's Judicial mortuary services and the information that Master Che and the healing corps was getting from the body was profound. The ship had several request to be turned over to several military research groups, the judicial services, and the BoSS investigation division. He denied them all as this was purely Jedi jurisdiction and once the ship was fully investigated he could then either use it for a high priority mission for the Jedi Shadow squad.
In any regard the ship would have better use inside the Jedi Order as it would be required to remove the stealth generators. It was also one thing that would lead to the actual buyer of the ship. The body was revealing plenty of information as well. Certain trace elements and his genetic code lead the healers to the conclusion that he had been born on Dathomir. From there his body was filled with deposits that suggested he had grown up later in life on a heavily volcanic planet. Sullust had been ruled out as all the bodily deposits were considered natural and not industrial which could be anywhere. Though one suggested planet was Mustafar. A planet naturally steeped in the dark side from a long ago tragedy. Also the Force pointed to it as well. The most odd part of the autopsy was the presence of a high quality meal that certain ingredients linked it to Coruscant itself. It was a very nice piece of evidence that Mace Windu was eager to tell Master Yoda.
Searching the landing ship lightly with the Force he was puzzled by the lack of his presence. Not entirely unusual for the ancient master, but something he did not do as he returned to the Temple after a mission. He would normally let his presence be known to all in the Temple that he returned and this was lacking. The idea of something happening on Naboo crossed his mind and was quickly discarded as he was sure he would have felt it. He watched as Master Piell, and Master Mundi solemnly walked down the landing ramp to stop in front of Master Windu. Piell felt calm in the Force, but Mundi felt a bit guilty about something.
"Report." Mundi remained quiet as Master Piell reported on only a few things they had discovered. It was near the end as Master Piell felt loss that he could hold his question no longer.
"Where is Master Yoda?"
"That is a bit harder to explain then I can even accept at the moment." Master Piell said no more as he looked to Master Mundi.
"Master Yoda came to me and gave me a lecture on proper protocol before attempting to break into a starship. I was attempting to retrieve the three holocrons the girl reported on having but the system was too old for the equipment I had available. I must have been discovered and Captain Lour informed Master Yoda of the fact. Once his lecture was over he moved to his quarters and came out a moment later with his travel bag."
"Did he say where he was going?" Windu asked not wanting to hear the answer.
"He only said, 'Leaving we are, go back to the Temple you will.' before walking out. I assumed he was going to the ship so I gathered my things after I comlinked Piell. Neither of us noticed he was not on the judicial ship until we felt his presence leaving the planet." Master Mundi handed Mace a data stick.
"You did not feel it was important enough to inform me of this before you left Naboo?" Mace felt all sorts of shatter points breaking inside his head as he scowled at the two masters.
"Master Yoda told us not to and he left a message for the council. Best that we all hear it together." Mace was furious by the time he sat down in his council seat. Several days had gone by that he could have used differently had he know that Yoda was off on a self imposed mission. One that he had not taken in the last twenty years. Several decisions could have been made without him had been delayed to get his opinion and now he had none. As the other Masters took their seats he could feel their confusion in the Force. He did not even wait until Master Poof found his comfortable spot before hitting play.
"Served the Jedi Order and the High Council for a very long time I have. Diligently I served from the point I became an initiate, to a padawan, knight, and finally a master the upmost duty I felt. Once on the council I worked for the entire order. Named one of several grand masters of the Jedi Order until only I remained. Grandmaster, no longer I am as this title pass to Grandmaster Mace Windu I have."
"He?!" Was said almost in unison by every master. From there the Council chambers burst into near panic for several minutes before Master Plo Koon stands up.
"Silence!" His words carried the full power of the Force and the room was plunged into silence. Guilt was the top emotion along with fear and anger. Even a sense of betrayal was present before every master look down at their hands.
"Meditate together we should." Master Gallia suggested and everyone agreed. It was not long before the ones who had not learned the rediscovered techniques were pulled out of their contemplation to stare in wonder as seven of the Masters were either glowing gold yellow or having white steam like smoke rising from their forms. Their master bonds flew open in question and the seven guided the four to enable their own discovery of the effects of these two forms of meditation. For the first time in weeks Master Windu's head stopped hurting and slowly the many shatter points were merging into a steady cascade of change that the very Force giggled with glee.
In the weeks that followed several changes took place in the Temple. The main one being that Qui Gon Jinn was not given a choice on whether or not he wanted to sit on the Council. A bust of Master Yoda was added to the Lost twenty as all contact ended after he pulled all the savings from his personal stipend account one that had been only used to fund other projects from time to time as only an eight hundred year old account could handle.
In the months that followed nearly one hundred and fifty senators were indicted on charges of extortion, bribery, and corruption. Another twenty were indicted on charges of attempting to foment sedition. This was all before the Jedi Order's search for the Sith Master grew cold. Many of the council members of the Council of Reassignment and Reconciliation were replaced due to not properly investigating Senate claims of subjugation and discrimination between conflicting systems or the improper assignment of Jedi teams that should have had more members assigned.
Many of the Jedi were sent out to the various Agricorps worlds and to the vault which had grown to the size of a small moon as it stored the seeds of a million systems. Their they were taught the introspective meditations. They were also urged to renew their lightsaber training and were taught other rediscovered techniques. Master Sifo Dyas's visions had been dismissed by Master Yoda, but with his exodus there had been a renewed discussion and the longer their investigation did not find the Sith Master the more they felt those visions would come true.
They were sent out to Explorer Corps outposts to teach the same and give them training programs in fighter combat. Though they were disguised as some very intense flying games. Something they could do while crawling through uncharted space. The healer Corps grew a bit as exceptional members from the Agricorps were reassigned. Even the Education Corps and Judicial Corps saw change in their Jedi and former Jedi members.
Hundreds of Jedi were sent out to far flung systems to search for old temples, outposts, and to possibly find Master Yoda. Masters that did not have a padawan were to go out to the Service Corps and choose from one of the dozen candidates they were assigned to choose a padawan from. It was also due to the changes that went into place as all the initiates tens years of age or older were sent to the serve in each of the four main Service Corps until chosen by a master.
This was how they hid the sudden vanishing of many of their knights as they were moved around the Galaxy. It also allowed the Temple to take on that many more abandoned younglings with Force potential. Sure many were still sought out and as the Jedi spread back out in the galaxy many more were found by these seekers. All to hide a growing renewal of the old ways of the Jedi Order. A Jedi Order that went out and protected the people, mediated for diplomacy, and freed slaves.
However, these changes and effects did not happen over night. They would take nearly a decade to enact and that would only be the start. Though fate and prophecies could only be postponed for so long.
Continued with Ebon Hawk Flipside