Master Yoda was guiding his Padawan, Caleb Dume, through a meditation exercise. He normally didn't need any assistance in meditation, but this particular exercise forced you to examine yourself. To find any faults that may lie within you. A Jedi must always be aware of himself. He was here to keep his Padawan centered. To remind him that no matter what he finds within himself, he should not view it as an irredeemable flaw, but as a chance to improve as a Jedi and an individual. Master Yoda was also performing this same exercise alongside his Padawan. He needed to show his Padawan that not even the Grand Master of the Jedi Order was immune to finding faults in his character. The exercise was going quite well at the moment. He could feel that Caleb had found several things he was not happy about, but the young man wasn't dwelling on them. Rather, he had found them, acknowledged them, and moved on with a resolve to discuss what he had found with his Master later.
Yoda had been mildly surprised that the Master-Padawan Bond had formed so quickly between them. He hadn't trained a Padawan since Mace over thirty years before. Thinking of his lost Padawan, he felt a momentary twinge of guilt. "He, it should have been who remained behind to defend the Temple. A long life he had lived. Near the end, he was. Many decades left, had Mace. Regret that to his last day, he would."
As Master Yoda completed the exercise and released his hold over himself and drifted along with the currents of the Force, he felt again the growing sense of darkness that was settling over the Core. He had felt this growing darkness over the last several weeks. In fact, the other Members of the Council on Tython had felt it as well. As had many other Jedi Masters and even some Knights. At first, he had simply attributed it to Darth Sidious and his Apprentice establishing their presence openly there. However, he had felt Sidious leave the Core over a week before. While it was certainly not normal for a Jedi, or any Force User for that matter, to be able to pick out a single being in the vast fabric of the Force from systems away, he had spent long hours and days with the Chancellor and had grown familiar enough with his Force Signature that he could sometimes feel him. This had been one of those times. The Sith Lord had been agitated, his shields not as complete as they should have been. That in itself worried Yoda. Sidious was not some new Knight who was prone to make mistakes. He had lost track of Sidious long since, but he was certain he was not in the Core.
Focusing more on the darkness he felt surrounding the Core, he could feel it was not a vague, growing, overarching darkness. Rather, it was a focused, malevolent darkness. It was evil. And it was aimed at something very large. As he sank deeper into the Force, he found it's source. He also found that several of his Jedi were already responding to it. Upholding the ideals of the Jedi Order. He could feel their bright, luminous presences converging upon the darkness, shinning like stars against the dark.
Pulling himself out of his meditation, he reached through his bond with Caleb and lightly tapped on the young man's mental shields. His Padawan immediately pulled himself out of his meditation and looked at his Master expectantly.
"Come, Padawan. A discovery in the Force I have made. Inform the Council of it, we must. Then, back to the Core will we go. Find Master Skywalker for me, you will. Report to the Council Chamber, you will ask him from me."
"Yes, Master. I'll find Master Skywalker immediately."
"My thanks, you have Padawan."
As his Padawan sped through the halls of the Temple searching for the young Battlemaster of the Order, Master Yoda made his way to the Council Chamber as quickly as he was able, comming the other members of the Council to meet him there immediately. Act quickly, the Order must, thought Yoda.
As the other Council Members entered they all took their seats. Before the meeting could start, Young Skywalker entered as well, his brown cloak billowing behind him as proof of how quickly he had moved on his way to the Council Chamber. Master Yoda motioned to Master Sinube's vacant place and asked the young Jedi Master to take a seat, as his input would be needed. Not wasting anymore time, Master Yoda opened the meeting.
"Through the Force, a growing darkness we have felt. Thought we did that this darkness, from Sidious it was. Wrong we were. Left the Core, Sidious has. Master Skywalker, felt this as well, have you?"
"Yes, I have Master," replied Anakin somewhat shamefully. "Because of what Sidious intended for me, and my own arrogance, a sort of bond was formed between us. I felt him leave Coruscant over a week ago. I don't know where he went, but he's definitely not in the Core."
"With Sidious gone, faded the darkness should have. Instead, grown it has. Evil intent, this darkness has. Ask you, I do, to search out this darkness and feel what I have felt."
As Yoda finished speaking, the ten other Jedi Masters in the room focused their minds and sank into the Force. Feeling the darkness in the Core, feeling that the darkness was focused and aimed, not simply a large shadow as they had first thought. As Yoda watched from his seat, he saw the look of alarm cross the other Jedi's faces as they realized what was about to happen in the Core.
As the other Masters turned to look at Yoda, he said to them, "Search deeper, I ask you. The darkness, not complete it is. Light there is present as well."
The first to realize what Yoda said was true was Anakin. After all, his own Master was there. They had been partnered together for so long, and their bond was so strong, that they could practically read each other's thoughts. As Anakin felt Obi-wan's determination and resolve, a sly grin crossed his face. And his old master called him reckless! This stunt would make any of Anakin's pale by comparison.
As the other Masters felt what Yoda had felt, they all left the currents of the Force and looked at each other. Master Yoda was once again the first to speak.
"Allow this disaster to happen, the Jedi cannot. To respond, at great risk will we be placed. But believe we must accept that risk, I do. To be seen as Jedi again, serving the people, we must."
Master Koon was the first to speak up in favor. "I agree. We must delay our attack on Korriban. Our primary goal must be to protect innocents from the evil of the Sith. We must accept any risk that this entails."
The other Masters quickly agreed. Looking at Anakin, Yoda asked, "Young Skywalker. The status of our ships, please? With what can we respond?"
Anakin still hated being called "Young Skywalker" but he was pretty sure Yoda did it deliberately just to keep his ego in check. Or maybe it was just because Yoda got a kick out of his reaction in the Force. Either way, he didn't really let it get to him anymore. Well, not much anyway. Responding to Master Yoda's question Anakin said, "Our frigates are ready. They are starting to show some wear and tear as we've had to defer some maintenance on them due to a lack of parts and suitable docking facilities, but no critical systems are compromised and they are fully combat ready. Our fighters are good to go. As of this morning, they are ninety percent up. If we push it, we can probably get them to ninety-five percent. Our shuttles, however, are not so good. They've seen hard service since the Temple fell. Only sixty percent are operational. And we've had to cannibalize several of them for parts. We might be able to increase this to seventy percent if we cannibalize the worst of the ones left."
"Hmmmmm, go with what we have, we must. Time to perform repairs we do not have. Many Jedi we will need. Your men as well, Young Skywalker, needed will be."
Nodding his head in agreement, Anakin told him, "I'll notify Captain Rex immediately. We'll have the battalion ready to go this afternoon."
"My thanks you have."
"Who else should go?" asked Master Mundi. "I would like to volunteer to go. I'm sure many Jedi will feel the same."
"We cannot leave the Temple defenseless," said Master Koon. "Not all of us should go. Perhaps we should draw lots to determine who goes and who stays. I can feel in the Force that every Jedi in this room is ready and willing to go."
Motioning to each of the Jedi Masters as he said theur names, Yoda replied, "Draw lots, we will not. Masters Koon, Mundi, Ti, Skywalker, Dralig and myself shall go. Take with us one hundred Knights, we will."
A wave of shock and alarm went around the room at that pronouncement from the Grand Master. The first to speak up was Va Zhurro. "Master Yoda, that's more Jedi than we sent to Geonosis. Sending that many, it could cripple us."
"Know that, I do. But defend the innocent, the Order must. Many Jedi will be needed to do this."
"Understood, Master. I just felt that it had to be pointed out. I agree with what we're doing. But I would not be performing my duty to the Council and the Order as a whole if I failed to mention it."
"Appreciate your candor I do."
After but five more minutes of discussion, the Meeting broke up, with each Master rushing to perform their duty. Less than seven standard hours later, the small Jedi fleet, made up of every ship that could make the jump to hyperspace headed towards the Core. It was the largest Jedi mission since before the start of the Clone Wars. All the Jedi in the task force, from the newest Padawans to the most experienced Masters reflected that the odds were great that many of them may not return. The mission they were being called upon to perform was reckless to the extreme. But not a Jedi there wanted to be anywhere else.
The Malevolence had finally dropped out of hyperspace an hour ago. Obi-wan's Perseverance dropped out right behind her, just out of sensor range. He cautiously crept his ship forward until the ISD appeared on his systems. His guess as to where she was going had been right on the money. While he had a pretty good idea of what they were about to do, he couldn't understand why. As the Malevolence moved to join the fleet that was gathering before him, a Theta-class shuttle dropped out of hyperspace just at the edge of sensor range. Obi-wan felt a spike of alarm come from the shuttle at seeing his ship so close. He also felt a familiar presence on board. Reaching out with the Force, he reassured those onboard that it was safe. As the two ships approached each other, they made contact using very low powered comms that were unlikely to be picked up.
Master K'Kruhk was very relieved to find that the assault ship off his shuttle's bow was friendly. The touch he felt through the Force had massively reassured him. Hearing Master Kenobi's voice over the comm was the final confirmation he had needed. His shuttle was currently docking in the Acclamator's hanger bay. And Master Kenobi was standing there waiting for them. For a brief moment, it almost felt like things were back to normal again. Almost like the Galaxy hadn't been flipped on its head and every Jedi declared a traitor and an outlaw. Sadly, the moment passed almost as soon as it had arrived.
As Master K'Kruhk's shuttle landed, Obi-wan Kenobi wondered what he was doing in this part of the Galaxy. The last he knew, he had been assigned to a mission on Lothal in the Outer Rim. Regardless, he was glad he was here. Every Jedi would help. And Master K'Kruhk was one of the strongest and wisest Masters in the Order.
As the Whippid Jedi Master walked down the ramp from the shuttle, Obi-wan greeted him at the bottom of the ramp with a smile on his face, "K'Kruhk! Welcome aboard the Perseverance. How are you, my friend?"
"I'm fine, Obi-wan," replied K'Kruhk. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. What are you doing in the Core? Last I heard you were on Lothal."
"I was. But we finished our mission there and we were on our way back to Tython when I felt this, this tremendous darkness in the Force. It worried me, my friend. It felt so evil. So I resolved to come investigate and see what I could do to help."
"I as well. Anakin, Kit and I captured this ship several weeks ago and we were finishing up a refit of it above Corellia when a Star Destroyer entered orbit with us. It reeked of evil intent. So we followed it. And here we are. And there is the largest fleet I've seen since the Battle of Coruscant."
"Yes," replied Master K'Kruhk. "But what are they doing?" As he finished speaking, he noticed a movement beside him. "Oh, where are my manners? Master Kenobi, allow me to introduce my Padawan, Chase Piru. Chase, meet Obi-wan Kenobi."
Bowing to the High Council Member, Chase Piru said, "It's an honor, Master Kenobi." Turning to her own Master she asked, "Master, what should we do with Ezra? I doubt there's a nursery onboard."
"Ezra?" asked Master Kenobi.
"Yes, sorry," answered K'Kruhk. "We found a young child on Lothal. His parents' home was directly above the Kyber vein. He's exceedingly strong in the Force. His parents elected to stay behind, organize a resistance to the Empire. But they gave their son to the Order to train as a Jedi. I left Jedi Knight Danaan Kerr and his Padawan behind to assist them and provide protection."
"So our little insurrection grows." Laughing lightly to himself, slightly ashamed that he was even able to laugh after so many awful things had happened in the Galaxy, Obi-wan, K'Kruhk, Chase and the four Jedi with them made their way to the bridge of the assault ship.
Just as they arrived, Obi-wan's Padawan, Zett Jukassa walked up to his Master with a report from the deck officer. There hadn't been time to appoint a Captain for the Perseverance, so until there was, Obi-wan was fulfilling that role.
"Thank you, Zett," he said. "Have you met Master K'Kruhk or his Padawan, Chase Piru?"
"No, Master." Turning to Master K'Kruhk, he offered the Jedi Master a bow and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Master. You, as well Padawan Piru." At hearing Zett's clipped, formal tones, Obi-wan grinned slightly behind his beard. The young man was doing his best to mimic Obi-wan's formal way of speaking.
"Zett, could you see to getting accommodations setup for our guests, please? Perhaps the other Padawans could accompany you as well?"
"Of course, Master." Looking at the three Padawans, he swept his arm down the passageway toward the logistics office, "This way."
As the four Padawans headed off, watched by their Masters, Obi-wan looked at K'Kruhk, "Oh K'Kruhk. Do you remember when you were a Padawan?"
Laughing lightly, K'Kruhk replied, "Barely. It seems like a lifetime ago." Growing serious he asked Obi-wan, "So, what can you tell me about what's going on out there?" Punctuating his question with a nod in the general direction of Imperial Fleet.
Stroking his beard Obi-wan replied, "Not much. Just guesses and impressions in the Force. But the way the darkness is beginning to focus, combined with the size of the fleet, it won't be anything good I can tell you that."
"With respect, Master Kenobi, a child could have guessed that," interjected Jedi Knight Bre'ano Umakk, a Mon Calamari Jedi. "The Force did not draw us all here simply to leave us blind," he finished with a grin.
Shaking his head at the Jedi's sense of humor Obi-wan told him, "No, I agree. I think I know what they're doing, but an old friend once told me to stop thinking like a General, and to start thinking like a Jedi. And a Jedi doesn't rely on guesses. I'm waiting on the Force to reveal it."
Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Bre'ano let it drop. Before anyone else could say another word, another ship dropped out of hyperspace almost on top of them.
The Chu'unthor dropped out of hyperspace almost on top of an Imperial Assault ship. They immediately began to turn away and readied to jump back to hyperspace. Unfortunately, the ship was old, and it's computers were a bit slow. It would take some minutes before they could make the jump to hyperspace. But a strange thing happened. The Acclamator made no move to fire upon them. In fact, as Jedi Master Djinn Altis concentrated on the ship through the Force, it almost felt familiar.
Relaxing slightly and with his curiosity aroused, Master Altis began to study the vessel more closely. He couldn't quite place why the ship would feel familiar to him however. Whoever was on that ship was shielding their Force Signature very heavily.
"Master Altis, we have an incoming very low power transmission from the Acclamator," his Comms Officer told him.
"Thank You," he replied. "Please put it up on the holodisplay."
"Yes, Sir."
A scant minute later, and the holo of Master Kenobi stood before him. "Master Kenobi, you don't know how glad I am to see you," Djinn said. "We'd heard that the Order had been destroyed, we couldn't reach anyone."
Obi-wan's reply was somewhat scratchy due to the extremely low power setting being used to reduced the chance of anyone overhearing it, but it was still understandable. "I understand Master Altis. I don't wish to discuss it over the holo though for fear of interception. I can either join you on your ship, or you may join me on mine. Whichever you prefer."
"I have a shuttle on board, I'll be there shortly."
Thirty standard minutes later, and Master Altis' shuttle was landing in the hanger bay of the Perseverance. To his relief, he was met personally by Master Kenobi and what appeared to be a Padawan.
"Master Altis," Obi-wan said. "Welcome aboard the Perseverance. I am very glad to see you alive and well."
"And I you, Master Kenobi. But, please, tell me. The rest of the Order? How many are left?"
Smiling, Obi-wan told him, "More than you might think. There are around three thousand of us still alive."
Upon hearing that, Master Altis sagged in relief. To know that the Order wasn't destroyed lifted a weight off of his shoulders. A weight he hadn't even know he was carrying. While he and his followers had technically resigned from the Order, they still considered themselves to be Jedi.
Reaching his hand out to steady the aged Master, Obi-wan guided him out of the hanger bay and to the briefing room where the other Jedi with him were gathered. As Djinn sat down, Obi-wan began to fill him on where the Order had gone, how many had survived and why they were here. He also began to fill him on all the changes that the Order had made. In particular, the changes to the Jedi Code.
"Djinn," Obi-wan said as he finished. "As a member of the High Council of the Jedi Order, I'm formally asking you and your followers to join with us. We would like you to formally rejoin the Jedi Order. None of you ever stopped being Jedi. We've realized that now. We want you to take your place among us once more."
"Master Kenobi, thank you," replied Djinn. "You don't how long I've waited to hear words like that be spoken by the Council. I can't give you a firm answer immediately. I must speak to my followers and we must hear what the Force has to say on it. But, I doubt the Force brought us all to this place at this time just to tear us apart again. We'll assist you in whatever way we can. It's our pleasure and our duty. Then we'll accompany you back to Tython."
"You have my thanks, Master Altis. I am in your debt. May I and my Padawan accompany you back to your ship to explain to your people the situation we're facing here?"
"Of course."
As the two Jedi Masters made their way back to the hanger, Djinn Altis was full of questions for Obi-wan. Details that he wanted to know. Especially he wanted to know of the survival of many of those he called friends. All too many were answered with a sad shake of Obi-wan's head and a comment that they had passed into the Force.
Master Altis had one last question to ask though, "The Temple on Tython. Is it really still there? After having been abandoned a thousand years ago?"
"Yes. And in surprisingly good condition. The Order left behind hundreds of maintenance droids when they left and they maintained the Temple. Up to about sometime in the last hundred years anyway. Wait till you set foot on Tython. The planet is unlike any I haveever felt. Extremely strong in the Force and more attuned to the light than anywhere I've ever felt. The Force seems to sing there."
"I'm looking forward to it."
The meeting on the Chu'unthor went better than anyone could have expected. All the Jedi on board were very enthusiastic about helping in whatever way they could. Particularly when they heard what Obi-wan believed was about to happen. He also sat with them alongside Master Altis and discussed the possibility of them rejoining the rest of the Order permanently. At first, the idea was rejected out of hand. But as Obi-wan explained some of the changes that the Order had adopted, they became cautiously optimistic that common ground could be reached between them all. Shortly afterwards, Obi-wan boarded the shuttle and headed back to his ship.
Seryana was going to go mad. The Sith she had captured, he still refused to tell her his name, had, at last count, tried to escape a dozen times already. Included in those dozen escape attempts had been at least six serious and six casual attempts to kill her. That she knew about. She hadn't been able to sleep or even meditate for more than a few minutes at a time for days now. And on top of all that, she was pretty sure she'd acquired a tail.
She couldn't be positive of that of course, whoever was tailing her was good. But her every instinct and the little training she had in the Force were screaming at her that she was being followed. And she was pretty sure whoever it was that was following her was doing it through the Force. That blasted Sith in the bunk room was likely broadcasting his presence through the Force as strongly as he could. Actually, she was certain he was. Even she had felt it earlier. Unfortunately for her, what little training she had left her with exactly zero options to put a stop to his broadcasting. Well, options short of blasting him out of the airlock anyway. And as tempting as that was, she was pretty sure the Council wouldn't exactly approve. Not to mention the fact that killing the kriffing Sith like that would probably help her go a long ways towards joining him in the Dark Side.
Seryana had spent the last several days making random jumps and redirects trying to lose her tail. Sometimes in towards the Core, other times out towards the Rim. Once she even came perilously close to the Maw. Not that she was ever in danger mind you. But she thought that maybe if she scraped a black hole, the gravity well would rip her pursuer out of hyperspace and she could identify who it was. Sadly, her luck wasn't that good. The being tailing her was apparently a highly skilled navigator and pilot. They never even approached the Maw.
All she knew was that she was fast running out of ideas. She had considered, and rejected, flying straight back to Tython using her special route that skirted the black holes. But doing that would be worse than foolish. If the being trailing her was a Sith, or any Dark Side aligned being for that matter, they would know exactly where the Order had gone and would then gleefully tell Sidious. And that would spell the end of the Order.
Her second option, what she had been doing, making random jumps trying to shake whoever it was following her, wasn't working either. In addition to not losing her tail, twice now she had nearly stumbled into Imperial Patrols. Only her natural skill as a pilot and her Force enhanced reflexes had allowed her to avoid them at the last instant. The longer she kept this up though, the worse the odds got that she wouldn't be so lucky the next time.
The third option she could choose from was finding some dust ball of a planet with a breathable atmosphere and dumping the Sith-spawned Dark Sider there and making her getaway while her tail homed in on him. That presented a whole host of problems though. Not the least of which was that it wasn't guaranteed to work. The Sith had spent enough time in her presence that he might be able to pick up her Force signature and track her anyway. Which would put her right back where she started at. She supposed her tracker could also be homing in on her Force signature as well. Which would make ditching her prisoner worse than useless if that was the case.
Her last option was almost as bad as her first. The Temple, and their small fleet, had a covert communications network installed. It had been designed and built by Master Skywalker and Master Paratus. In theory it was untraceable. And as close to unbreakable as it could be. She could place a holocall to the Temple, specifically the Council, and request instructions and help. She was loathe to do this for several reasons though. First, if the call was traced, it would lead straight back to Tython. Letting the Emperor send the might of the Imperial Navy and Stormtrooper Corps to crush the Order once and for all. That was clearly unacceptable. Second, even if the call wasn't traced, but merely intercepted, it could give Imperial code breakers something to work with. The more calls that were made, the more code they could see, the higher the risk of the code being broken. Again, unacceptable. Lastly, was her pride. Jedi Explorer she may be, but to her, the key word there was Jedi. And Jedi were expected to be able to operate on their own when they had to. To solve whatever problems came up. And if she wanted to prove to the Council, to prove to herself, that she was worthy of that title, than she would have to do this on her own.
As she sat in the cockpit of her shuttle, Seryana mulled over her options again. And again. And again. She was still no closer to arriving at a decision when she felt her prisoner begin escape attempt number thirteen. Sighing to herself, she stood up from the pilot's chair, told her R2 unit to take over and made her way to the bunk room, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt as she went.
Standing in the door to the bunk room, Seryana had to admit that she was impressed with the Sith's perseverance. This time he wasn't even trying to be subtle. Slowly raising his arms, still locked together in the stun cuffs, he shot Force Lightning at Seryana. Blocking it almost casually with her lightsaber, this was the fourth or fifth time he had used lightning on her after all, she used what little skill she had with telekinesis to punch the Sith in the chest with a wave of energy. It wasn't much, but it was just enough to make him stumble. The stun cuffs took care of the rest. Sensing the more rapid movement in his limbs as he tried to keep his balance, the cuffs pumped volt after volt of energy into him until he collapsed and lay twitching on the deck.
Putting her lightsaber away, Seryana looked at the poor wretch and asked him, "Aren't you getting tired of this? This is the thirteenth time you've tried to escape. And each and every one of those times has ended with you, on the deck, drooling and twitching from the electricity being pumped into you from the cuffs. Why not just give up?"
Her only reply was a sneer.
"Fine, have it your way." Saying that, she pulled a small blaster from her belt, set it to stun, and pulled the trigger. Speaking to the now unconscious Sith, she said, "I really hope blasting you repeatedly like this doesn't cause permanent damage to your nervous system. But if it does, you can't say I didn't warn you."
As she got the Sith back into the bunk, she finally resigned herself to what she needed to do. She needed help. It made her almost physically ill to admit that she couldn't do it on her own. But she didn't have a choice. She needed to risk a call. Activating her covert comm system, she sent a message to theTemple. Five minutes later Master Va Zhurro contacted her. Bowing to the experienced Jedi Master, she quickly explained the situation. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment when she admitted that she needed help to complete her mission.
Smiling gently at the young Jedi Explorer who had done more on this one mission than many Jedi Knights ever had to do, Master Zhurro told her, "Young Seryana, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Not only have you retrieved the message, you defeated a Sith in combat. That is a claim that many Knights and Masters cannot make. Admitting when you need help isn't a weakness, it is a sign of strength and self awareness. Where are you now?"
Smiling weakly at the praise from Master Zhurro (she still felt ashamed that she had to call and ask for help) she replied, "I'm near Korfo II on the Commeenor Run Trade Route, Master."
Quickly glancing at a star chart, Va began to chuckle. The Force certainly had a sense of humor. "More help than you could ever need is closer than you think. Head to these coordinates I'm sending through now.There will coincidentally be several hundred Jedi waiting for you. May the Force be with you, Seryana."