Back to the Jedi Temple! After careful consideration, the Jedi Council assigns Jedi Knight Osiyaim Krota to work in the Jedi Temple for the foreseeable future…
Becoming a temple guard was an honor. The sacred duty of protecting the Jedi Temple was reserved only for the most selfless Jedi. Nothing less than total commitment to the Jedi Order and an unwavering belief in the Force would suffice. The requirements to be assigned guard duty, however, were much looser. This is how Oz ended up wearing the white helmet and robes of a temple guard while not actually having the honor bestowed upon him. Oz thought it was ironic how the only way to become a temple guard, other than being the perfect Jedi, was to be such a terrible one that the Order couldn't afford to stick you anywhere else.
Guarding the Jedi Temple was peaceful. Peaceful and mind-numbingly boring. Oz would wake up early in the morning to train with the real guards, and then do nothing but either stand in front of the Temple for hours, or patrol the halls of the Temple for hours. Then when he was done with doing nothing, he'd have to go and assist Master Drallig with whatever it was the Battlemaster needed. Usually this was more training or some busywork. Oz almost wished he would be dragged in front of another committee just to break up the monotony. Or at least the Jedi Council.
No, what was he thinking?! That was how he got into this in the first place. One thing was for certain, Oz did not miss being on the frontlines.
A Few Weeks Earlier
Similar to becoming a temple guard, the only guaranteed ways of gaining an audience with the Jedi High Council was through either exemplary behavior or extraordinary incompetence. Oz already assumed incompetence was the reason behind his summoning as soon as Alma told him that the Council wished to speak with him. He was already on edge about the Council ordering him to meet them at the Republic Center for Military Operations instead of the Jedi Temple. His belief that the Council summoned him due to incompetence was solidified by the presence of unfamiliar Republic officials. He probably should have known who they were, or at least had a faint idea, but the only face he recognized among them was that of Admiral Tarkin. This definitely wasn't going to end well.
Oz put on a brave face to look at all the Jedi and Republic officials staring down at him.
Master Windu stood up to address him. "Knight Krota, the Jedi Council and the Strategic Advisory Cell have summoned you today in order to discuss your actions in the Tapani Sector, both prior to and during the failed Separatist invasion of Fondor." he explained. "Officially, this meeting is to determine your punishment for engaging in combat with a Commanding Officer of the Republic Navy and broadcasting it. Unofficially, we are going to discuss the results of your investigation into Separatist espionage in the Tapani Sector, namely the discovery of a Separatist base on Procopia and superweapons on Fondor."
Oz fought back the confused look that threatened to appear on his face. Not only was he wondering why there needed to be official and unofficial reasons for this meeting, he felt that Admiral Marvinelle and Prime Minister Toover were at least partially responsible for the broadcasted duel.
The rest of the meeting was as dull as it was stressful. It was nothing but hours of questioning and testimony. Oz was almost surprised to see Prime Minister Toover, Admiral Marvinelle, and Senator Bertar again until he realized that they would definitely be aware of what he had learned. Thanks to Senator Bertar's more thorough investigation, they learned that the battle droids had been shipped to Procopia piece by piece and assembled on the Mecetti's abandoned island, along with evidence linking Lilith Brandern and shipping companies owned by House Pelagia to this treachery. Same with how Lilith came to learn about the 'climate control satellites'.
Things started looking up for Oz once Captain Kitt and Lieutenant Risk testified that they had become aware of the superweapons on Fondor at the same time as the general. Additional testimony from those present at the Battle of Fondor also helped Oz's argument that the use of the prototype superweapon was necessary, which also helped prevent Commander Royce from being demoted. To Oz's surprise, Admiral Tarkin was defending his use of the weapon more than anyone else, despite not being present during the battle.
The main problem Oz faced was his relationship with Lilith, if it could even be called that. He'd only known her for a short while and spent barely any time with her in private. Thankfully, by the end of the meeting, Oz was cleared of any suspicion that he was a Separatist spy. And the only consequence he faced was being assigned Temple duty! He'd miss Kitt and the rest of the clones, but at least he wouldn't be sent back to the battlefront. For now.
Once the meeting had ended and after Oz came out of the refresher, he ran into an unfriendly face.
"General Krota." Admiral Tarkin greeted.
"Admiral." Oz greeted in response. What was Admiral Tarkin doing here? Nevermind, that was obvious.
"While I cannot say that you demonstrated any real competence during your mission to Fondor, I must commend you on your willingness to use all the weapons at your disposal." Tarkin said.
"I did what was necessary." Oz replied.
"Precisely. Too few Jedi are willing to do what is necessary to defend the Republic. They give more weight to their ideals than to reality. While your attempt to use the Fondor project as a weapon ended in failure, you provided tangible evidence that massive displays of force are effective against our enemies. A theory I myself have been promoting among our colleagues." Tarkin said.
"I am not quite sure what you mean to tell me, Admiral. I didn't hit anything. What's so useful about missing?" Oz asked.
"Fear, young man. The Separatists put organic officers in command of the ships attacking Fondor. Once you activated the weapon and caused a massive explosion, the Separatist offensive was thrown into disarray. They were unaware of the weapon being the only one of its kind and feared that they would be targeted next. The Republic and Tapani forces were then able to exploit this fear and defeat them." Tarkin explained.
Admiral Tarkin always seemed to be involved in the more unsavory affairs of the Republic. Praise from him felt wrong. From what Oz knew of the man, he expected Tarkin to be more critical of his actions in the Tapani Sector. Oz no longer had to wonder why Tarkin spoke in support of him during the hearing. It made sense now. Tarkin just wanted to prove he was right.
Reminiscing about his meeting with the Jedi Council and the Strategic Advisory Cell wasn't going to change anything. Boredom wasn't bad enough to make Oz want to be shot at again.
At least if he were on the frontlines, Oz wouldn't be forced to make sure all the training sabers were in working condition. Master Drallig wasn't satisfied unless Oz disassembled each individual lightsaber to personally inspect their internal components for any problems. And if that wasn't enough, he wanted the sabers to be polished too! It wouldn't be so bad except there were dozens of lightsabers, all made of varying materials, none of which shared the same polishes, all of which stained clothing easily. Why couldn't Oz have been assigned to help Madame Jocasta? Or Master Sinube? They wouldn't force him to carry around all those lightsabers and put them back on display in the dojo all by himself. They definitely wouldn't have him do anything that required him to wear an ill-fitting jumpsuit either. He just wanted to take a shower and go to sleep, if only to be less exhausted when one of the guards beat him up during the morning training session.
Oz considered skipping the shower entirely as he opened the case containing all the lightsabers. Laundry day was tomorrow anyway. The next thing Oz knew, he was slammed into the ground, his arms pulled behind him. Whoever was pinning him down had a great technique.
"If you don't struggle, I won't hurt you." A woman's voice said. She sounded young.
"What?" Oz asked. Did she really think she could take on a Jedi? A voice in the back of Oz's head pointed out that this woman probably could take on a Jedi if she somehow snuck this far into the Temple without setting off any alarms or alerting the guards.
"Don't 'what?' me! You were stealing these lightsabers!" She accused. Oh. Well at least he could rule out the possibility of this woman being a thief herself. Hopefully.
"I was putting them back after finishing maintenance. Why would I steal them? I just polished them!" Oz said.
Oz felt the woman press her weight down on him. "I know everyone who comes in here to maintain the lightsabers, and you're not one of them. And don't try claiming you're one of the Temple workers, this is strictly for Jedi!"
"I am a Jedi! If you let me up, I can prove it!" Oz said. He was starting to lose feeling in his arms.
"What's your name?" The Woman asked.
"Osiyaim Krota. Jedi Knight and General of the 818th Battalion." Oz stated. "I'm here because I have Temple duty."
Instead of helping him up and apologizing, the Woman seemed to get even angrier and pressed down harder. "What would a Jedi General be doing on Temple duty?! Only complete fools get Temple duty!" she said, almost shouting into Oz's ear.
Oz began to struggle since this woman refused to see reason. And because she hurt his feelings. "Listen to me! I'm Oz Krota!"
"Serra, what are you doing?" Master Drallig asked. He seemed to be studying Oz and 'Serra', likely trying to see if she was performing her pin correctly.
"I found this boy in the middle of stealing the training sabers." The woman, Serra, said.
Serra? Of course Oz was so easily taken by surprise! Serra Keto was Cin Drallig's finest student. There was even talk of her becoming the new Battlemaster once he stepped down.
"That is Jedi Knight Osiyaim Krota. I put him in charge of lightsaber maintenance tonight." Master Drallig explained. He noticed Oz's jumpsuit. "Although it appears that he still hasn't quite gotten the hang of polishing them without making a mess of himself."
"See?!" Oz said.
Serra quickly flipped Oz over, pinning his arms above his head this time, and looked at his face. She lost her irritated expression as recognition dawned on her. "I know you. You're the reason everyone had to go through more diplomatic training!" she said.
"Not what I would like to be known for, but at least you believe me now." Oz said.
"Why are you wearing a jumpsuit? If you had just worn your robes this never would have happened." Serra said.
"I was tired of all the polishes staining my robes." Oz admitted.
"You are aware that there are towels specifically for polishing the lightsabers, correct? How do you stain your robes badly enough that you have to wear a jumpsuit?" Serra asked.
Oz was starting to get a little annoyed. "Does that really matter?" he asked.
Serra looked back to Master Drallig. "Why is he even here in the first place? He's a knight like me. He should be out fighting the war." she said.
"Knight Krota has temporarily been assigned Temple duty." Master Drallig said.
"Which you would know if you were listening to me." Oz added. "Can you get off of me now, please?"
Master Drallig appreciated that Serra had put the techniques he taught her to good use. She was pinning Oz's arms and had herself positioned solidly enough that he would likely be unable to buck her off. Of course, Cin doubted that the boy would even attempt to toss Serra off. Oz always seemed to wait for things to change instead of taking charge. It was going to get him killed one day.
It finally dawned on Serra that she'd been holding Oz down in a compromising position for quite some time and she quickly scrambled off of him. She extended a hand to help him up. Oz was relieved he could finally move around freely. He began stretching to get the feeling back in his limbs. Serra and Master Drallig stared at him.
Feeling self-conscious, Oz smoothed out his jumpsuit. "Now, if you'd both excuse me, I have to put the lightsabers back." he said, trying to salvage his dignity. He went over to the case and began taking lightsabers out to place them back onto their holding racks.
"I know you've just come back from the battlefront Serra, but how would you feel about taking part in my self-defense classes tomorrow? The technique you used on Knight Krota was flawless, as always." Master Drallig said. Serra smiled and bowed.
"Of course master! You know I love volunteering for your demonstrations." Serra replied.
Master Drallig smiled back. He called out to Oz. "Knight Krota, tomorrow morning you will report back here in order to assist myself and Knight Keto in teaching self-defense to the younglings." he ordered.
Oz wanted to scream. "Yes Master Drallig," he replied. Serra and Master Drallig left him alone so he could finish his work in peace. As they walked away he could hear Serra begin to excitedly tell the Battlemaster all about her successful mission.
It must be nice to be perfect, Oz thought bitterly.
A/N: This is a lighter chapter compared to the previous ones, so I hope you still like it. Let me know what you think! For those unaware, Serra Keto is a character from Legends who was Cin Drallig's former Padawan and was killed by Anakin during Operation Knightfall. But before that, she was also rescued by him from a space station that was overrun by some shape-shifting pink things. They blew up the space station.