Here is my monthly Star Wars crossover update. For those not aware, I run a Pat R on only poll every month to see which SW crossover story I will update every month. This month, A Horse for the Force won out with 1,377 to 1,153 despite my own 200 votes going to Magic LOL. Mind you, with all the other projects I've been working on and four days spent working on FILFy when I thought it would win, it isn't quite as long as normal. Still covers a number of scenes and starts the ball really rolling towards the Clone Wars, or as much of the background about that as I'll be showing right up until it starts.
Thanks go to all of my patrons who took part in a discussion over on my Pat R on poll about who to add to the crew. I truly enjoyed reading the responses to all my questions over there. In that same discussion I asked people about the new ship's name and the negative opinions against the first name I used in the last chapter convinced me to change it.
This has now been edited by Michael! And ooh boy did he find a lot of mistakes. I'd apologize for having uploaded it as it had been, but given the crunch time I was under, I can't. Hiryo has also looked this over, and found numerous examples of places where I made mistakes with SW names. In particular, K'Kruhk is spelled with two uppercase K's. My bad, read it but it did not register.
Chapter 18: New Teammates, Old Enemies
Dawn broke over Kashyyyk and found Anakin and Master Giiett preparing to leave the Jedi Temple for a walk around Rwookrrorro. Of course, the use of the word 'walk' was sort of understating things quite a bit, since the temple wasn't part of the main interconnected series of trees and giant wroshyr branches that was the planetary capital. Indeed, the temple was only vaguely connected to the city at all via a series of large branches and a few spaced out vines, which the Wookiees used in place of metal chains.
The trip was a test for young padawans and younglings whenever they had to get from the temple to the city. Many found it difficult, even experienced padawans.
Anakin, on the other hand, barely felt it was more than a walk. No, he was scowling about something else entirely.
Today had been the first day Anakin had been allowed to spar with other students who were already his own age, many of whom were padawans already or who had yet to be assigned specific Masters. Anakin had spent most of his time in the temple with one of the two youngling clans here on Kashyyyk, but his advanced abilities had finally been recognized nearly a year ago, whereupon he had constructed his lightsaber and begun to train with it exclusively rather than with the practice sabers.
Despite barely having a year's worth of training, Anakin had beaten everyone else in his age group—his age, not the clan that he had initially joined when first arriving on this planet. This included all the padawans on Kashyyyk at present and his chief rival, Ferrus Olin. The other sixteen year old had been irritating and judgmental of Anakin for years now despite not having any classes with him, always trying to make Anakin conform to the Order's tenets of non-attachment and lack of ego. The first time they had matched up, Anakin had beaten him. It had been close, but Anakin had still won.
This should have been cause for celebration, but the teachers had felt yet again that Anakin had been a little too arrogant about it, and, in private, Anakin had to admit they had a point. He didn't have to rub it in his rival's face that he had won, but Ferrus, with his easy going confidence and the way he was everyone's most favored student, just rubbed Anakin the wrong way.
Such was the egotism of youth that Anakin never realized the same could be said about him. Or indeed, that it was somewhat worse in his case, since his Force abilities and age had forced the teachers to allow him to speed through the normal lessons most younglings were expected to learn before starting their advanced education.
I suppose I should be thankful that they didn't assign more punishment detail. It wouldn't have been the first time: besides Master Qui-Gon, a lot of the teachers seemed to think it their bounden duty to try to work the arrogance out of Anakin, but none of them could quite seem to pull it off. But instead of more punishment chores, Anakin had been 'invited' on a walk with one of the Council members who came and went occasionally, Master Micah Giiett.
Anakin had not talked to Master Giiett before this beyond attending several of the short, rotund man's lectures—most of which had dealt with not forgetting their other senses as they used the Force—and some hand to hand instruction. To Anakin the hand-to-hand instruction was fun, but the other lessons seemed counterintuitive. But then again, not everyone has as profound a connection to the Force as I do.
As they hopped through the treetops to the city, the silence between them began to become somewhat oppressive, somehow, and Anakin finally broke it, muttering the first thing that came to mind. "'A walk through the woods,' they said. There needs to be a different word for moving through this kind of environment."
"Oh?" Master Giiett said, turning to look at Anakin even as he continued hopping through the trees. "And what word would that be? Would you be able to discover a new word for every strange and unusual setting which is a routinely covered by that single word, 'woods?' Did you know that there are woods on several planets that are actually made up of rock spires or crystal growth? And yet the sentients there use the word woods to describe them, at least when translated into Galactic Standard. Is that not strange?"
"…That does sound rather strange, master, but that doesn't mean it's right," Anakin said after a second, wondering where this had come from. "After all, when you say the word woods, you picture, well, different kinds of trees growing out of the ground and walking in among them. Here I've never talked to any of the locals who have even seen the ground. All of the forests and trees are mostly the same type, and there's no real actual solid ground until you get to some of the larger branches."
"Are you arguing for the sake of arguing, or because you wish to fill in the silence?" Master Giiett asked.
Anakin frowned, then sighed. "Just trying to fill the silence, master."
Master Giiett paused, alighting on one of the large wroshyr branches after having leaped across from another, watching as Anakin did the same without help from the local vines that had been strung around here and there for the younglings. Mind you, Anakin is hardly a youngling at this point. He should've been chosen as a padawan when he finished his lightsaber six months ago. But that does not mean he cannot learn any more.
"That is understandable. You are young, and silence is often oppressive for the young. However, even the silence has something to teach us. Look around. What do you see, or rather, what do you not see?"
Anakin frowned at that but began to look around both with his eyes and his Force senses. It instantly became apparent to him what Master Giiett was hinting at. "There aren't any animals, not even any birds. There normally are. Most of the local fauna aren't exactly afraid of humans; after all, a lot of them seem to think we're tasty."
"Exactly. This means that there might be a predator about, one which is either highly unusual at this level of Kashyyyk's ecosystem, or…" Master Giiett said, as large droplets of rain began to batter down from above through the majesty around them. There were so many leaves and branches between them and the sky above that most of the rain did not reach the two humans, but enough still did to slowly soak into Anakin's clothing. There was also the sound of thunder and a flash of lightning directly above them.
"Or there is a massive storm incoming," Micah finished drolly. "Do not look to complicate for the sake of complication, but do not also try to verify simply everything. See truly and do not be afraid of being proven wrong. The Force made us all imperfect. None of us can be right all the time, young Anakin, just as none of us can be strong all the time."
Anakin stiffened at that, but Master Giiett turned away, leading them towards the capital. The two of them remain silent from then on until they nearly reached the edge of the city, their progress slowed by the rain and the wroshyr bark, made slippery by the rain. Still, Micah was impressed that Anakin made it the entire way without needing his help even once. Another sign that the boy's use of the Force is incredibly advanced for one so young. Even padawans with a few years under their belt would have trouble with this route in this weather.
"Master, I still do not understand," Anakin said at last as they landed on a platform, which would eventually lead to them downwards into the larger platform of the city proper. "Was what you just said earlier a separate lesson, or was it supposed to tie into why I was being punished?"
"That was somewhat tied into it, but there was another lesson, young padawan-to-be," Micah said smoothly, pulling back his hood and letting the rain hit his face for a moment. Some gray added to his hair, but he was still hale and hearty. "But I suppose it was a tad obscure for one so young and so…straightforward," he admonished gently.
Anakin had the good grace to realize he was being teased and flushed slightly, but he smiled good-naturedly back. With the way the younglings on Kashyyyk used various pranks to practice the Force, it stood to reason that Anakin would be able to take a joke made at his expense.
Before the youth could say anything, Micah went on. "To more accurately get my point across, I would like to show you something."
From there, Micah led the way through the city to right outside the crèche area. This was the central-most portion of the city, where the youngest Wookiee children were kept. These were children who could not climb or fight on their own, those who were prey instead of predator on this, one of the most dangerous planets in the galaxy. There were also pregnant women and the extremely elderly, passing on their knowledge to the young via stories or classes. Every clan that made the city their home had their own small clan conclaves here, and, even with the rain pouring down, the children's education did not stop.
It was to one of those lessons that Master Giiett led Anakin. There, an ancient looking Wookiee knelt on the ground in front of ten Wookiee children, their ages anyone's guess, just like their genders, though Anakin supposed these were very young children given their size, barely tall enough to meet his waist. The old Wookiee was plaiting together thin vines of the same variety that were used, in their larger, thicker form, as cables and chains across the planet.
Micah talked to the old Wookiee for a time, then bowed deeply and took some of the small vines from the oldster. Moving over, he sat down, gesturing for Anakin to sit in front of him. Then he began to weave the fibers into a chain, one vine looped through another. "What is strength?" Micah asked as he worked, not looking up from his hands, his fingers dancing through the task.
"The ability to overcome any challenge and persevere through adversity," Anakin replied promptly.
"That is one interpretation, a straightforward interpretation. But does that definition apply to the mind?"
"Yes, of course, master. A strong will equals a strong mind and a strong body. You can't have one without the other. At least, that's what I think."
"Again, that is one interpretation. But let me twist the question little. What is the strength of the group?"
"I suppose the ability to work together…" Anakin said slowly, knowing now that they were finally getting to the point of this meandering walk, his eyes widening.
"That is part of it. The strength of the group is made up of the individuals within it. You padawans are strong individually, but together you are stronger."
Anakin nodded. That was obvious, anyway.
"But what happens if the group breaks? If they no longer wish to help one another? Are they still strong then?"
Anakin didn't reply to that one, since the answer was obvious. Micah held up the small vine chain. Each chain was slightly different: shorter, longer, more round than their fellows. "Tell me, Anakin, which of these is the weakest link?"
Frowning Anakin took the vine chain from Master Giiett, examining each link closely. Eventually he found what looked like a weakness in one of the links, a dark, black spot. "This one, master," he said, confident that the Force would have directed him to the right answer.
Micah smiled, then reached forward and took one side of the chain, gesturing at Anakin to take the other. "Pull."
The two humans pulled and pulled on the vines, which, even though they were thin, were still very strong. Eventually, though, one of the links did give way, and it wasn't the one Anakin had noticed. Instead, it was one of the strongest looking vines, one which was a bit larger than the others.
Anakin had been pulling so hard that he fell on his back, much to the amusement of the watching Wookiee children. But before he could take umbrage or ask what he had been supposed to learn from that, Micha spoke, leaving him in no doubt.
"No one can be strong all the time, Anakin, just as I said earlier no one can be right all the time. Your arrogance, your belief in yourself and your interpretation of the Force, is a weakness. A flaw, not only because it can blind you, but because it has alienated those that should be your friends, those who could aid you during the times when you were not strong. A weak chain link, which still is in the right shape, can work better with its fellow than a link which has stretched itself out further than it can really reach.
"But master, is it wrong to stretch myself?"
"It is not wrong to test your limits, Anakin," Micah said, resting a hand on the young boy's shoulder and pulling him to his feet. Despite his age, Anakin was almost equal to his own height and would probably surpass it quickly in the next few years. But Micah was not one to care much about such things. Knowledge, experience, and the Force would offset any size advantage in the galaxy.
Master Yoda is, perhaps, the most perfect example of this, Micah thought sardonically before finishing his reply to Anakin's question. "But it is wrong to do so on your own and in such a way as to weaken the chain as a whole. Now," Micah said, tossing his visual aid back to the elderly Wookiee, who chuckled at him happily, amused by what had been going on. "I think we've stretched that metaphor far enough. Shall we move on?"
Anakin followed dutifully for a few moments before he said dryly, "Master, that was possibly the worst pun I've ever heard."
"I've never claimed to use puns as part of my comedic repertoire, young Anakin, but I work with what I'm given."
Later, after dropping a now thoroughly drenched and exhausted Anakin back at the younglings' quarters, Master Giiett hopped up the steps, looking almost as bright as he had left. Stopping off at the cafeteria, he grabbed some bread and a small bowl of soup before heading up to the council chamber here on Kashyyyk.
There he peeled off his damp cloak and sat down, showing that his underclothings were actually quite dry. This was in direct contrast to Anakin down below in the dormitories. The teen was actually wondering if he would ever be dry again after spending the last four hours out in the rain, moving through the city while listening to a few anecdotes and other instructional fare from Micah, including tips on lightsaber dueling.
Waiting for Micah there were three of the teachers: Master Tiin, Master Rancisis, and Master Yoda himself. As Micah sat down, the door opened once more to reveal Master Jinn.
At the sight of the other human Jedi, Micah reflected, with a mental wince, that time had not been kind to Master Qui-Gon. His hair was totally gray now, his face looking as if it had aged fifteen years in the last three, and he walked with a hobble due to his injuries against the Sith assassin on Tatooine.
He was not the only one to think this as Master Qui-Gon entered the room and took a seat, moving very gingerly as he did. Yoda, too, was thinking about Qui-Gon, in particular that it was a very good thing that Dooku was not around. Age hit the men and women of Master Qui-Gon's homeworld harder than most due to some genetic issue that had never been corrected. But Dooku was, despite being far older than Master Qui-Gon, still hale and hearty, heartier than he had been in years due to Ranma's training in the Living Force.
"What do you think of our young boy wonder?" asked one of the teachers sardonically, looking up from his datapad as Master Qui-Gon joined them.
"His arrogance is a systemic thing," Micah said softly. "It has no single basis that you can attack or do away with; it is centered on his abilities with the Force in its entirety. Even after I beat him soundly several times in lightsaber dueling today, it was still there. Humbled some, but still there. He is also very opinionated. He has a very…" Micah paused, thinking. "…Romanticized view, perhaps, of the way the Order operates? He thinks the impact we can have on the universe is far greater than it truly is. And yet, that arrogance is not entirely unfounded. His grasp of the Force is truly profound."
"Hrhrhrm, agreed," Yoda huffed. "Rarely seen the like, have I. Never the youth's equal."
"It's almost enough to make me wonder if we could convince Ranma to take the boy on as a padawan," Micah said with a chuckle.
"We want his arrogance diminished, master, not enhanced," Qui-Gon said dryly. "And besides, I don't think Ranma would do well with a young, teenage boy. Moreover, Anakin will always face challenges fitting in within the Order as is. If we sent him to Ranma, that would simply exacerbate the problem.
"Agreed. But, despite his ego problems, I do think he is ready to become a padawan. The issue now is, who should be his master?"
Choosing a master for a specific student was oftentimes difficult, and there were two ways to do it. Occasionally, a Jed Knight or Master would form a padawan bond. Such had been the case with Aayla and Quinlan Vos, for example. Their bond had begun to form even before Aayla had reached the temple. Another, even better, example would be the young Ahsoka and Shaak Ti.
But that was not the case with most. Padawans were assigned to Knights or Masters who the Council of First Knowledge in conjunction with the Council of Reassignment felt would fit them. Occasionally this method didn't work, but those times were rare. These days, however, with both those councils stretched thin between administering three temples, the High Council at times stepped in. So they did for this case, since there were many factors contributing to the difficulty of choosing a master for Anakin.
"Is the boy still in contact with his mother?" asked Master Rancisis, performing his species' equivalent of a head shake at the very idea.
"He is, though they don't talk as often since she left Kashyyyk with Booster Terrik. Anakin seems to think there's something going on there, but either doesn't want to pry or is horrified about finding out the truth," Master Qui-Gon said with a faint smile on his thin, aged features.
Over the years, Qui-Gon had become something of a confidant to young Anakin and to several of the other younglings of all ages. They confided their issues to him when they would not to other teachers. The only one who was able to make younglings open up even better than Qui-Gon was Yoda who, unfortunately, rarely had the time to work with them one-on-one.
"There is also the boy's odd relationship with the Chancellor to consider," said the Shistavanenheadmaster, looking a little uncomfortable.
Chancellor Palpatine obviously saw the youngster as something of a protégé, having become interested in him after Anakin had played such a pivotal role in freeing Naboo from the Trade Federation. The chancellor also had used Anakin a few times to get insight about the Jedi order that the Council members he usually dealt with would not have given him. This had not gone unnoticed, but, then again, the boy also served the Council as a back door to the Chancellor at times, so they had left that friendship alone up to this point. How to deal with it in the future would be up to whoever became the boy's master.
"I would also recommend that whoever we choose to as his master be a pilot. That would give them a good way to connect right away. And it would be a shame not to use Anakin's skill at piloting as often as possible," Master Tiin interjected. He was one of the three best pilots in the order and had recognized in Anakin someone who could be as good as he was in time.
"I think the most important thing is that the master will need to have a very good idea of how the universe outside the Order works. Anakin is no normal youngling," Qui-Gon said softly, pain in his voice. He had longed to eventually take Anakin as his own padawan, believing the two of them had formed the padawan bond. But there was no chance of that happening now. For one thing, Yoda had refused to contemplate it, citing Qui-Gon's favoritism towards the boy. For another, Qui-Gon was just no longer spry enough to keep up with someone like Anakin.
"Above and beyond his abilities with the Force, Anakin has had twelve years of experience of the universe outside the Order, and most of it was negative. The master who looks after him will have to be understanding of that fact and the fact that it still muddies his perception of the universe as a whole as well as his opinion of the Order's place in it."
"And their knowledge of the Force would have to be, at least, somewhat strong, as would their lightsaber skill," another teacher said. "I would recommend either a Guardian or a Sentinel. A Consular might be better to curb his more impulsive, combative tendencies, but would also breed resentment in the youth."
"That leaves only four masters to choose from, I think," Master Rancisis said. "Knight Vos, Master C'boath, and you two, Master Tiin, Master Giiett."
"Hrhrhrm. Jorus C'boath, too arrogant on his own, he is," Yoda said firmly, shaking his head at Rancisis, who headed the Council of Reassignment here on Kashyyyk for the moment. "Tone down Anakin's arrogance we wish to; cement it in place, we do not, hrhrhrm. Knight Vos ready to take on another student, he is not. Also, far more useful he is in the field. Down to the two of you, this decision is."
Master Tiin shook his head slowly, but with a great deal of impact. There was a reason why he hadn't ever taken an padawan: he was a pilot and a fighter, not a teacher. The Force had called upon Saesee Tiin to do those two things, and he did them very well, in his opinion. "While Anakin and I would possibly bond over our piloting skills, that is nowhere near enough of a basis for me to take him on a student. I would not deal very well with his over emotional attitude and would further not be willing to put up with his arrogance without a serious attempt to beat it out of him in some fashion."
Micah sighed, but eventually nodded. "In that case, my friend, you might well be called upon to take my place as one of our couriers. I do not think bringing Anakin along those kinds of missions would be a good move now."
"Agreed, hrhrhrm," Yoda said. "Take the boy as padawan, you will. To the Outer Rim you will go," he went on. "To Ryloth you will go. Learn much from young Aayla, he can. Sense some unusual trouble building there, I have. Unconnected to the Dark Side it is, but a test for young Anakin it will still prove…"
OOOOOOO
Ranma was piloting their new ship as it came out of hyperspace, the hyperspace engines barely cutting out before he moved the ship's controls to the left and then the right, still getting a feel for how the ship handled. Behind them, another ship, the Corsica of the Sekotan Defense Force, followed them out of hyperspace, sliding into position behind the Wild Blade.
Next to Ranma, Shaak sat in the copilot seat, and, as they came out of hyperspace, she turned slightly in her chair to look at Tune. "How is our time through hyperspace, Tune?"
"The speed of this ship through hyperspace is not ideal, mistress, as we were warned on Zonama," Tune replied. "We are only as fast as a large capital ship, yet I believe that that is a minor consideration considering how maneuverable in real space we are. Moreover, the speed with which we can enter hyperspace is extreme. With mechanical ships there is always some buildup time with the engine. With this ship there does not need to be."
"Indeed," Shaak mused, stroking one of her lekku. "I wonder how deep into a gravity well it could go with a Jedi at the helm..."
"Be that as it may," Master Fay said, smiling slightly at the two lovers and their exuberance for their new toy. "While we did not come in anywhere near one of the normal entry points into the system, I believe we have already been noticed."
As if on cue, the communications console warbled at them. While Dac had a lot of traffic, all of it was organized as well as the locals could contrive. Any ship coming in at an unknown angle or at an unknown time was spotted quickly.
Shaak quickly activated it, and an instant later a male Mon Calamari voice spoke up, the traditional slight gargle to their words noticeable to those who had met any of his race before. "Unknown ships, this is Dac Space Control. Please identify yourself. You are unknown arrivals and, further, are coming in at an unusual angle away from our normal trade routes. Be aware that these two points will allow us to legally board either of your vessels if we see any evidence of your being a security concern."
Ahead of them Ranma could already see dots on their radar indicating that two ships previously in orbit around Dac had already begun to respond, powering away from the blue marble of the planet towards them. These ships were the equivalent of the Consular class in size, though there their relation to that ship ended. These were Mon Calamari freighters converted into system patrol ships. But anyone who had tangled with them would have warned anyone that just because they were converted, didn't mean they weren't extremely good at their new job.
"This is Jedi Master Shaak Ti," Shaak said into the pickup, wondering idly when calling herself a Master would ever become normal. Perhaps after Ahsoka has had to call me that for a few years? "I understand our arrival is unexpected, but if you would please check our identifying code, you will see that it originated from a ship that was built here for myself and Jedi Ranma, the Wild Light. I am afraid the original ship was destroyed in action over a year ago, and we had to replace it."
The other end of the communication fell silent at that, the operator obviously looking up their transponder code in his system until he discovered that she had been telling the truth. "We have you on our records, Master Jedi, and…"
He fell silent once more before coming back quickly. "Apparently the Jedi here on planet have also learned of your presence, somehow. One of them is on his way to the control spire even as I speak. They vouch for you and for the ship following you. I would say, welcome home, Masters Jedi," he said, his tone changing to a more jocular one, "but given the power readings we're getting off of that ship of yours, it's evidently not one of local design. Nor is the ship following you."
"No, it isn't," Shaak replied. "The Wild Light served us very, very well, but we took it against one enemy fleet too many, I'm afraid."
By this time, the two Mon Calamari vessels sent out to the unexpected, newcomers were close enough that they were able to actually see the ship the Jedi were on visually. As they did, the helmsman and weapons officers all stood up, staring at it in utter awe. "That is magnificent…" one of them muttered to the dull nodding of his fellows.
The Mon Calamari saw ship design as an art, and no one could look at the Wild Blade and not see it for the magnificent art design it was. It looked like a sleek, smooth cutter on the waves, a ship designed to move through space as naturally as breathing, master of all it surveyed. "And if that is not a warship, I will eat my own fin," said a Quarren weapons officer. "By the darkest depths of the ocean, the power output of that thing…"
"I'm seeing multiple shield blisters," said the communications officer who doubled as the tactical officer from space control. Given their role in shutting down a Quarren terrorist group, both of them were rather well known. Further, Jedi Ti had earned both herself and the Order in general some renown for her stance in the Senatorial chambers when she simply told them to vote for what best served their own people in terms of either seeking closer ties with the Republic as a whole or retaining their closed border policy. "I'm also seeing what have to be weapons blisters, lots of them. This shark might be hiding its teeth, but it is still very much a shark."
"Signal the Jedi. Tell them we will escort them in," said the captain, an idea echoed by his fellow on the other ship.
Shaak heard this request through the communicator and had to hold back laughter. It would not do for a Jedi to laugh aloud like that over a communicator, after all. "And this has nothing to do with you wanting to continue to get as many readings as you can off of our ship?"
"Of course it does, Master Jedi," the captain of the other ship said cheerily. "I have three cousins and an uncle in the ship design business, and I would be serving both my planet and my family poorly if I did not learn as much as I could about that amazing ship of yours."
For just a second as he heard that Ranma was kind of worried. The Sith had proven very scary when it came to ferreting out information, especially from communication and computer systems. Yet, how much damage could that do, really? They'll be able us tell that, yes, we have a new ship, and yes, we have shields and weapons, but not the type or power of either, and they certainly won't be able to detect how alive the ship is with their sensors. The coral outer shell of the ship was made of read as metal to even the best sensors.
Some of his worries must have communicated themselves to the slowly growing intelligence of the ship's seed-mind, causing targeting reticules flick up in HK's screen behind Ranma and Shaak. "Amused drawl: It seems, master, that our ship does not like to be crowded. Hopeful tone: Perhaps we should indulge its fledgling violent tendencies?"
"Negative," Ranma said firmly, twisting his seat around to glare at HK as Shaak patted the controls in front of her, sending out soothing thoughts into the Force. "Those are friendlies, HK. Turn off your targeting systems entirely."
For a moment, Shaak felt the equivalent of a child's sulking through her tenuous touch on the controls. Even when they were not wearing the large and rather uncomfortable synaptic hoods, the Jedi could feel some of the sentience the ship. That sentience was still quite groggy and not at all fully formed, but it was there.
As that very minor crisis was diverted, a new voice cut into the communication. "Master Ti, this is Master Grohto. Greetings. What brings you to the Dac Temple? I can also sense that you are not alone."
"Greetings, Master Grohto," said Master Fay, stepping forward from where she had been standing by the door with Kit. Ranma quickly vacated his seat for her, moving over to stand between Kit and HK. Master Fay began to talk to the local Jedi Master, who obviously had felt her arrival. No Jedi beyond the level of a padawan could miss her presence when she wasn't shielding herself.
While Master Fay dealt with communications, Shaak took over as pilot, leaving Ranma to talk shop with HK and Kit. "The developers back on Zonama were right: we don't really need a crew for the ship, not with how well it and the weapons blisters responded to our control during our trial run. We might want one additional person to man the aft weapon systems and that dovin basal thing, but that's about it. On the other hand, we need more pilots for our starfighters. We need a crew for them, as badass as this ship is."
Ranma's initial thoughts on their new ship being an escort carrier mixed with a battlecruiser had been spot on, though, of course, those designations didn't match anything used in the Republic. Specifically, the ship was something like the jeep carriers designed and put into service by America in World War II. Small, cheap, and not very seaworthy, the jeep carriers had nonetheless proven their worth in numerous engagements, being able to launch enough fighters to kill subs, escort convoys, and, in numbers, do some serious damage to surface vessels, as had been proven numerous times, particularly by the USS White Plains in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Thanks to the 'space expansion matrix,' the Wild Blade had enough space aboard for two complete squadrons of starfighters—nothing like what a Lucrehulk or similarly sized vessels could put out, but far more than something its size should have been able to. Yet it also had the firepower and speed of a battlecruiser, something like the Atago class back in WW2.
So it had weapons, armor, and speed to tangle with anything. It could still be overwhelmed—there was a reason why Ranma and Shaak had never even thought to name it the Invincible, after all—but it would never be overawed unless they were fighting something ten or twelves more times their own throw weight. But starfighter pilots would help it to project force better than it could alone.
The two Mon Calamari ships were soon joined by a few others, gawkers zooming in to look at this new amazingly artistic and beautiful ship before zooming away. As this continued, Shaak and the other Jedi started to feel a sense of smugness, while Tune relayed what the local communications grid was telling them about the various responses to their ship.
"Oh, Force forfend, please don't let the seed ship's gestalt become vain," Shaak muttered, trying to send an admonishing feeling through her connection with the ship. It settled down quickly, and soon they were entering the massive construction rings around the planet.
As they did, HK brought his masters' attention to something interesting. "Calculating observation: Master, there seems to be four or perhaps more ships out here which do not match the local fishy meatbags' construction preferences."
Ranma and Shaak frowned at that, then pulled up close up shots of the ships in question, and both of them recognized the ships immediately. They were from the Katana Fleet: large dreadnaughts with the typical long, semi-cylindrical body and square engine nacelle at the back of the breed. They were not the largest ships docked in view—there were a few larger Mon Calamari ships being built— much of their hulls had already been painted in the normal blue and green the Mon Calamari favored, and they had large sections added to their exterior hulls. Despite this, what they were and the fact that they weren't from around here was noticeable once you knew what you were looking for.
"Huh… Okay, so the work on the Katana Fleet's been…what? Sourced out or broken up?" Ranma asked, while Fay and Kit leaned forward too. Both of them had been read into that secret too, since they had already known about the Sith being out there.
"Broken up, for certain," Shaak said authoritatively. "Given the number of dreadnaughts, no one system could bring them back online unless you rotated them through. But I believe that Dac was probably the best choice for the work. The sector's borders are still restricted to the rest of the Republic, the entire sector is largely self-sufficient, and the Mon Calamari can keep secrets too. I don't doubt we'll see one or two dreadnaughts in orbit over Kashyyyk too."
"I suppose it's a good thing, then, considering it's been over two years since we found them," Ranma replied. Huh. I wonder if they've thought about trading those ships to the Mandos? Get them to crew a few, but also force 'em to sign on as soldiers for whenever the Sith start to move openly, using those ships. Or the Nova Guard too. "We'll see when we meet with the old frog in person, I suppose."
Exiting the ship, they found more than a few friendly faces among the locals waiting for them. Two of those locals were the same two who had greeted Shaak and Ranma when they arrived on Dac the first time around. The others wore the coveralls and name tags of various ship design companies, including the one that built the Wild Light.
"Welcome back, Master Jedi," said the Governor of Mon Cal, Ycharg, holding out his fin first to Shaak, then to Ranma. "It has been several years since we last saw you, although I will have to report that Chief Designer Ducat took to his pool the instant he heard you were not returning in the Wild Light."
Indeed, Ranma reflected that it had been a little over three years since they left Dac, and he estimated that it had been a little over six years since he had come to this universe in the first place. Despite that, if anyone from his past life had seen Ranma they would've immediately recognized him. He hadn't really changed much physically. Oh, he was taller and wider in the shoulders, but not by much, and he still had the same ponytail.
"Meh. I'll stop by and talk to him about it. The amount of punishment the Wild Light took was a testament to his design skills. We just couldn't look after it as we should have and, like Shaak said over the coms earlier, threw it into one too many fights," Ranma said to the local's joke and then he smirked. "On the other hand, we walked away from all those fights and the other guys didn't, so take that as a win right there."
Ycharg laughed in the gargling manner of his race, and the greetings continued.
"Now here is a surprise," Ranma said after greeting the police chief, stepping over to one of the Jedi and staring up at him, holding out his hand. "How you doing, big guy?"
"I am quite well. And it is Knight big guy now, thank you," Jedi Knight K'Kruhk said, grasping Ranma's hand with his own four-fingered one and squeezing. He knew from his experience with Ranma during the Yinchorri War that he didn't have to worry about hurting Ranma with his strength. Not that he would have attempted to do so anyway—the Whiphid Jedi was a gentle soul at heart and left such displays of aggression to the rest of his people.
Whiphids were a large, clan-based species that preferred to live as primitively as possible on their homeworld, though many had left the planet over the centuries since they had been contacted by the Republic. K'Kruhk was a decent example of the race: tall as a Wookiee with lank hair to either side of a large, almost boar-like head with a long snout and expressive lips fronted by two large tusks jutting up from his lower jaw. Yet for all his dangerous appearance, there was something gentle about his eyes and face.
"As for why I am here, the Force brought me here for some reason. A reason…" K'Kruhk said softly, looking at Ranma and then over at Shaak Ti, "that I think I am beginning to understand."
At that Ranma cocked his head. "Huh. Well, we'll talk about that later, I think. Right now, let's get the meet and greet over with."
They had to deal with several of the local ship designers, who were almost on the point of begging to look at their new ship from the inside, but Shaak answered that she and Master Fay would speak to them each in turn, and that they were here on a mission from the same planet that had developed the ship in the first place. "That planet wants to form an alliance of sorts with Dac," Fay said. "They want to bring in your ship designers to learn from and to learn in turn, of course. This is why Captain Suvroa and his ship are here, to take any volunteers with him when he goes as well as to deal with transporting other Jedi back there as well for our own reasons.
"Perhaps we can take this discussion elsewhere?" Fay asked, and the locals quickly agreed as Captain Suvroa came out of his own ship, moving forward silently to join the others. Suvroa was a thin man with a ready wit and a lively face who had married one of the Ferroans during the past year spent on Zonama. That was one of the reasons why he had been chosen for this mission.
Ranma shook his head and looked over at Shaak, who waved him off. "No, I don't think we'll need your input on this, Ranma. Go see Chief Designer Ducat and apologize for me too, would you? I was, after all, the one who was piloting the Wild Light when it was literally cut out from behind me."
Beside Shaak, Master Grohto frowned censoriously at that. "This attachment to a mere vessel does not speak well of your discipline, Master Ti. I do not doubt your strength in the Force or your experience, but I do have to wonder about your dedication to the tenets of the Order."
"Master Grohto, I am a Jedi. I serve the Light Side of the Force. Further, I was not attached to the ship as a piece of personal property, but rather to what it represented: my home for several years. In this instance it is the memories that I am attached to, not the ship itself. I will treasure them, learn from them, but not let those memories cloud my mind, letting my attachment to them fade over time as I move forward with my life. What else could be asked of any Jedi?" Shaak asked, her smile serene as she led the way after Ycharg, who was leading them to a nearby conference room.
Once more Grohto frowned. There was nothing in her tone or words that he could take umbrage at, but, even so, he felt as if Shaak Ti was making fun of him. Raised to soon to her Master rank, that's what it is. Oh, I can tell she is powerful; her strength and serenity are both equally impressive in one only in her third decade. But even so, the way she seems to flout her own interpretation of the Jedi Code over that which the Order has followed shows that she still has much to learn.
He was about to say something but then caught Master Fay watching him. The sight of that ancient and revered Master moving alongside Shaak Ti, making no move to remonstrate with her, brought the Ishi Tib up short, and he sighed, moving after them without another word.
In contrast, K'Kruhk followed Ranma and HK as they moved off on their own little errand. He remained silent as he did, watching Ranma and HK talk, and later Ducat as well, without saying anything, simply observing.
Inside the conference room, Master Fay quickly took charge, laying out Zonama Sekot's request. "Ladies and gentle-beings, I am Master Fay, and I speak for a newly discovered planet named Zonama Sekot. Sekot has several new and very innovative design and construction practices. What it lacks is experience and defensive capability. This last point caused it to run into issues, which was why the Force directed both Master Ti and myself to it. Captain Suvroa of the Corsica is here to make a deal between the denizens of Zonama Sekot and the Mon Calamari government to bring in ship-building and design experts in return for sharing their own secrets."
"One of those secrets being, where it is?" the police commissioner asked. He had seen the direction the two ships had come out of from hyperspace, and if they hadn't made a few small jumps to throw off any observer, which he supposed they probably had, they might well have come from the unknown regions beyond the 'back' of the Mon Calamari sector.
"In time, yes," Suvroa said. "Our ships… You've seen the Wild Blade. Imagine what a corrupt official of the Republic could do with access to ships like that." The Mon Calamari did, and their faces twisted at the image. "And now imagine what ships Sekot, that is, the Sekotans and you Mon Calamari, could create together."
"The defense aspect of this is why you wish to work through the government rather than individual companies, I assume," Ycharg surmised.
"Exactly. We would like to purchase several cruiser-sized ships and crews to see to our defense and are willing to pay with further ships to your specifications in time. We would also be willing to provide a large scale starfighter force, if need be, in the defense of Dac or the sector as a whole."
Ycharg smiled at that. Mon Calamari and Quarren were not, alas, natural starfighter pilots, as a rule. Yes, they produced good starfighter pilots, but their own starfighter designs were not the best, and there were never enough to go around all the missions throughout the sector that starfighters would have served. "In that case I think we should get down to specifics. How many designers are you looking for, and what kind of ships will they be designing beyond the defense ships you already mentioned?"
After the discussions had finished for the day, the crew of the Corsica was put up in a local hotel, complete with access to some beaches, free swimsuits, and scuba diving gear. They'd have to pay for their own food, of course, but this was the height of largess from a government from the surprised point of view of the Eriaduans, who were not used to such things from a true governmental body. They discounted their time on Zonama, given how odd that organizational structure was, but Dac was a fully modern planet, and the government still acted as if it cared about all its citizens equally.
At the same time, Master Grohto and K'Kruhk took the newcomers down to their temple, flying over it a few times to let them see it from on high, and it was quite a sight.
It was inevitable, given the nature of Dac, that the Jedi Temple here would be an oceangoing ship. There were very few landmasses at all on Dac, and none of it could be turned over for living quarters for the Jedi. Instead, the locals had gone the whole nine yards and built them their own city-ship. Or perhaps the phrase should be village-ship, Ranma thought as he compared the size of the ship below them to the cityscapes he had seen here on Dac.
The village-ship was painted a pristine white—which set off sharply against the blue of Dac's oceans—with an occasional splash of brown and red. The ship was long—longer by five times or so than the size of the Wild Blade—with a fin-like protrusion to the back where the shuttle eventually set down and large mounds to either side of a main thoroughfare. There, several Jedi and younglings were performing callisthenic exercises. Set into the large mounds on either side were doorways, leading deeper into the ship.
Grohto explained as they landed. "We move around the planet, going where the Force carries us most of the time, but there are several Jedi on duty controlling the ship at any given time, just in case. On top of that, there is the shield generator, several anti-ship weapons, and the fact that we can dive just in case of trouble, though why the High Council asked for all that and were willing to put up with the added expense, I have no idea. Still, they are the High Council, and I will abide by their decisions."
"Wait, really?" Ranma asked skeptically. He hadn't seen any sign of a city-ship being able to actually dive underwater when he was on Dac the last time.
"We brought in several Quarren to help with the design, young Ranma," Grohto said with a faint condescending air. His attitude had not changed overmuch over the years, and Shaak hoped that his attitude had not come to permeate the rest of this Temple.
"Work on the ship only finished about seven months ago, but we have been living here and helping with the construction for more than a year. This has been a learning experience all around," Master Grohto said, actually smiling—something Ranma had thought impossible—as he looked towards a few younglings who were busily painting the wall. "Every day we have younglings who are on punishment detail do this, but it quickly stopped being seen as an actual punishment."
"It is beautiful," Fay said, smiling as she stood by the railing of the ship's entranceway, staring out over the sea instead of into the Temple. There, nearby, they could all see large, whale like creatures cavorting through the waves, a sight that brought many a gasp from the youngsters arrayed outside doing calisthenics. Their teacher actually had to pause the class for a time to let them watch.
Shaak smiled too, feeling the life of the world around her. It was different from Zonama Sekot, of course, but there was just as much life in the oceans here as there could be in any jungle in the universe. She still preferred forests, of course, but there was something amazing about water planets like Dac too.
"Swimsuits," she said, clicking her fingers and looking at Ranma. "We're going to have to go shopping for swimsuits too. We lost most of our clothing with the Wild Light, after all."
Ranma nodded morosely at that, then seemed to perk up, leaning forward to whisper into one of her montrals. "In that case, I'll need to head to a planet with something large and furry to hunt, won't I? Can't have you going around not wearing a coat I got you."
Shaak laughed at that, taking his hand with hers as they entered the Temple. This caused Grohto to sniff disapprovingly, but the giant Whiphid simply raised one eyebrow, not commenting as he followed after the others as they entered.
They were swiftly led down, the ship proving, as with most things built upon Dac, to have far more going on below the surface. Eventually they reached a room set up with a communications grid, which linked the ship to the Dac System's Hypercom array.
Soon Shaak, Fay, Kit, and Ranma were all sitting at in front of the pickup, having had to pull a few more chairs over to do so. On the other end of the line the conference call connected to Master Mace Windu on Coruscant and Master Yoda on Kashyyyk, along with several other members of the High Council, visible around each of them.
Yoda's eyes crinkled, his smile visible in the pickup. "Master Fay. Good it is to see you once more. Received your sending, I did. Acted on it somewhat, we did. Anything of major import, find, we did not. Still, good it is that survived, you all did."
Master Fay sighed. "I had feared as much, but that hardly matters in the great scheme of things, does it?" she answered just as obliquely.
"I agree with Master Yoda's sentiment," Mace said with a smile for the ancient and revered Master. "And how did your mission go, Ranma, Shaak? Your abrupt departure from Dorin was rather startling, given we had thought you would return to Kashyyyk after your ship was fully repaired."
"I had a Force vision, Master Windu of Master Fay and Kit falling against a superior foe. Given the urgency of the vision, I felt we did not have time to wait. We were right, as we arrived as the battle in orbit was turning against the defenders."
"That would be the missing flotilla from that egregiously named Eriaduan institution, the Outlands Region Security Force?" Adi Gallia asked, rolling her eyes. "That was a major black mark against the force, and their expansionist ambitions came to an abrupt halt after that, which caused much joy among their law-abiding neighbors."
"Indeed. They arrived to conquer an unknown planet in the Gardaji Rift under an Admiral Tarkin. We attempted to talk him down in my capacity as a Jedi Master and lawful representative of the Order, but my efforts failed. If not for Master Ti and Ranma's timely arrival, we would have faced a full planetary invasion. With them and my own mental abilities, we turned or outfought the flotilla under Tarkin, who…took his own life in shame," Master Fay said, looking directly into Mace's hologram as she said the last few words.
"What could they possibly have thought to gain from an unknown planet? I have to assume it wasn't very developed. What did it have that made this planet so important?" Master Agen Kolar, a Zabrak Jedi Master Ranma hadn't met before, asked intently.
"Bah, it was just a stupid rumor," Ranma cut in, able to lie far better than any of the trio of Jedi. "The planet's got an interesting way of creating ships; they call 'em live ships because they come from this coral stuff that acts like metal but can be grown like coral, only as quickly as grass. Ships made from it are fast and maneuverable, but the coral seems to negate shielding somehow, and their weapons are crap."
Beside him Shaak used all her Jedi skills to keep her face from cracking into a grin at Ranma's overacting. Yet the Jedi on the other end of the call seemed to take his words at face value, and she hoped that if their conversation was being tapped somehow, so too would any Sith. That is, after all, the point of all this.
"Hell, even the ship we had the locals commission for us isn't all that great. We've got okay weapons scavenged from the opposition, but no shields. Our armor's okay and, all right, our mobility's fantastic, but the no shield thing is a deal breaker. Let's face it, Tarkin fell for an overdone advertising ploy. Only an idiot would think these living ships are worth anything."
OOOOOOO
At the same time Ranma finished speaking, Zonama Sekot's synapse rod in the planetary control center suddenly turned red. This, of course, caused the locals on duty there to look up in shock. "What is it, Great One?" a Ferroan asked tremulously.
"Nothing of significant import at present. I simply sense that Ranma just said something that I will need to pay him back for." The red quickly faded at that thought. "Does this mean I am developing a Force sense!?"
"I doubt it," said one of the older Ferroans in the room dryly. None of them were quite certain what to think about how much more alive Zonama was these days or his general personality either. Not that they could do about it either way, really. "Still, hope springs eternal, so I presume you can go on hoping, Great One."
"…Harsh…" Sekot muttered, before subsiding once more.
OOOOOOO
"How long before you arrive on Kashyyyk, will it be? Missed, you have been," Yoda asked leadingly, his old eyes crinkling in perhaps the most untarnished look of good humor Shaak had ever seen on him before. He also knew that Fay and those with her had said all they wanted to over a Hypercom link.
In reply Shaak felt her lips twitch into her own smile, but replied with a shake of her head. "As Ranma said, our new ship is still not as ready as we would want it to be. I am afraid I can't give you an exact timetable."
"However, I will not be coming with them," Fay interjected.
Now she spoke up, drawing the eyes of those around her and those of everyone else in the conference call. "The Force does not call me to Kashyyyk, and I do not think my place is traveling with Ranma and Shaak any longer. Not for a while yet, at any rate. I am being called elsewhere and will be leaving after my work here on Dac is finished."
At that Yoda merely closed his eyes, entering a minor meditation trance while a few of the other High Council members seemed ready to object, particularly Adi Gallia and Agen Kolar, the newest councilmember, elevated to that post after Coleman Trebor's death had been confirmed. None of them had dealt with Master Fay very often, and the way she simply ignored the Order's commands and went where the Force willed her tended to throw many Jedi. But Mace remained silent, watching Yoda and Fay equally, as did the trio of other, most senior, Masters.
Eventually Yoda opened his eyes and nodded slowly. "Conflict, aggression, the center of the storm, Ranma is. Those with him, thrive in that environment they must. Your ways, the storm has never been. A soothing breeze, you are, sent to those places where, do the most good you can. Where that would be, I know not. But respect your visions, we have; respect them now, we will."
Kit leaned forward. "Masters, that brings up a question. Should I remain with Master Fay, or should I remain with Ranma and Shaak. I have been of some aid to Master Fay several times in our travels, most notably in this latest battle due to unforeseen complications, but I cannot say that I am that useful to her all the time." Of course, even the news about Jerec turning on them couldn't be shared across the Hypercom. Even if the Sith would probably already know about Jerec's death, there was nothing to be gained by confirming it or letting anyone else who might have tapped the Hypercom
To Kit, both options appealed. He had learned more about combat and fighting from Ranma than he had ever dreamed of, taking his mastery of the Shi Cho to a whole new level over the last year, and his toughness training too. On the other hand, learning from Master Fay as they traveled had been a profound experience as well. And in terms of where he could do the most good, Kit had no way of judging, one way or the other.
Shaak nodded, as did Ranma. "You would be welcome with us if you wish to stay with us, my friend."
While Ranma had liked him before they had met up once more, Kit had earned some serious badass points from him during the battle on Zonama and since. Getting your arm cut off and killing the man who did it? That was intense, but to not even whine about it afterwards and wait for it to be healed? That brought your level of badassery to a whole new level. And, though Ranma hadn't seen him in action, Shaak had told them that Kit was also a decent pilot, so he could be the start of building their new squadron. Then again, I've got some other ideas on how to do that and obligations to meet, too.
Mace and Yoda looked at one another, then Mace shook his head. "I don't think so. Unless the Force is telling you otherwise, I believe the Force and the Order would both be better served by letting you remain with Master Fay. In many ways the impact Master Fay leaves behind can be just as permanent as those Ranma has. We cannot solve all the problems facing us with fist or lightsaber."
"No, you can just solve the most important ones that way," Ranma retorted, but he was smirking as he did, and Mace chuckled.
From there this conversation segued into the way the Order had been investigating Eriadu and its ruling clans without much result. They had cleared much of the government of its corruption and installed a Jedi Watchman on the planet. Both these responses were long overdue considering the way the ruling clans had been editing what education and news the workers could get. But for all that, Eriadu proved to be another dead end when it came to the Sith still out there, though, once more, that was barely even hinted at.
After that Mace ended the connection with Coruscant, and Fay, Kit, and the locals left, leaving Ranma and the others talking only to those on Kashyyyk. Master Rancisis indicated that he would have something to talk to Ranma about when he arrived on Kashyyyk once more. Then he and the other masters on Kashyyyk also bowed out of the call, leaving the council room.
By this point Yoda had already sent a runner to find young Ahsoka, and Shaak smiled as her fellow Togrutan appeared in the pickup.
Ahsoka's face lit up with delight, and she quickly scooted forward, bowing quickly to the Council members before sitting in front of the pickup. Shaak lifted a hand into the pickup on her end, calming the girl down with that very slight gesture before speaking in their native tongue. "Greetings, daughter of Clan Jedi. Are you well?"
Ranma chuckled, patting Shaak's shoulder and standing up, heading out the door after the others. She barely registered this, using the visible image of Ahsoka to reach out into the Force. With that aid she could just barely feel Ahsoka's presence from this distance. This she did as Ahsoka began to reply, the words starting to tumble out of her before she regained control of herself and continued on as a youngling should, calm and contained, centered in the Force. Or at least, this was the case on the surface. Any youngling's impression in the Force tended to radiate outward unless they really were centered in the Force, and Ahsoka was not.
Instead, Shaak felt Ahsoka's desire to prove herself, her joy at seeing Shaak once more, and below that… Is that boredom? Oh dear. Still, I suppose given her age it is time for me to take her on as my padawan. She is a little young for it, but it is not unheard of. And if she truly is becoming bored with the ongoing education at the Temple, then it would be best for all if I did so quickly. Force knows what she would do if she became too bored. Ahsoka will have enough problems conforming to what the Order expects of its Jedi without clouding the issue further.
The discussion went on for some time, Shaak quizzing Ahsoka on this or that aspect of her training, mostly her emotional control and her ability to reach out into the Force. Those two areas, of course, were the areas where Ahsoka's progress had stalled after she had a vision of Shaak's near-death experience on Mandalore. Once convinced that the girl had not only made up for the time lost on those but had continued to learn, Shaak turned the discussion to her lightsaber skills.
There Ahsoka shyly admitted that she had begun to actually create her own lightsaber. This was the last lesson a youngling did before she or he became eligible to become a padawan.
"Good," Shaak said, smiling slightly. "In that case you should know that we will be making Kashyyyk our next stop unless something comes up between…" Shaak Ti paused, actually covering her mouth, an act visible in the pickup as she groaned.
"What's wrong, Master Ti?" Ahsoka asked quickly.
"Oh, why did I even think that?" Shaak muttered, shaking her head and looking back up at Ahsoka. "You will learn as you travel with myself and Ranma, Ahsoka, that the Force has a very unique sense of humor when dealing with him and anyone nearby."
Ahsoka blinked, then smirked. "You mean like the feeling we get through the Force when he changes gender? That never got old when he was here."
"Not just that, no. It is simply that some words or phrases can be seen to affect how likely events are, changing the probability of them in some odd fashion," Shaak said with a shake of her head. "But tell me more about your lightsaber. Have you decided on a style yet?"
Outside, Ranma turned to K'Kruhk as Master Fay began to talk quietly to Master Grohto and Kit and the others headed back up to take in the fresh air on deck. Once there, Kit swiftly shucked his robe, moving toward the edge of the ship and saying over his shoulder that he was going to get a closer view of the outside of the ship.
Ranma shook his head with a laugh. "That's just an excuse to go swimming, and you know it, fish boy."
"As if you would be any different without the curse of yours?" Kit retorted back, waving his hand behind him as he moved off.
A few of the nearby Jedi and younglings stared at the two of them for this bit of byplay. Jedi were not known for jocularity or even friendly teasing like this. It smacked far too much of attachment in the form of friendship, which Jedi had to eschew lest they cloud their ability to use the Force.
But Kit simply smiled at them, bowing slightly from the waist before moving on.
For his part Ranma ignored them, turning back to K'Kruhk and not replying to Kit's parting shot. It was the truth, after all. Swimming was a lot of fun and something they hadn't been able to do much on Zonama, given all the demands on their time there. "Tell me more about why you think the Force wants you to go with us. I'm not objecting, mind. I'm just asking. That and I thought that the High Council and the…whatever council that orders you lot around were supposed to make those kinds of assignments."
"The Council of Reassignment, and yes, they do. But they make allowances for Jedi who are able to sense the Force guiding their steps, like Master Fay. There are few of us, and indeed, this is the first time I have felt my steps guided in this manner, but I believe I am to join you and Master Ti," the large Whiphid replied.
Having only met her in passing before, K'Kruhk didn't know as much about Shaak as he did about Ranma, given their time against the Yinchorri and afterward on the journey back to Coruscant. But he had talked to Masters who did, and their respect for the younger Master was profound. It also said something about Shaak Ti that she had been made a Master by the High Council, rather than declaring it herself, like a few others had, and this before she had even taken her first padawan.
"In fact…" K'Kruhk closed his eyes for a moment, his large, four-fingered hand tapping gently against the side of a large, well-made straw hat he had pulled on to shade his face. While not nocturnal, Whiphids preferred the shade to direct sunlight. Ranma also noted that he wasn't wearing a lightsaber, though he knew the big guy used one, and somewhat decently for a normal Jedi, from what he had seen against the Yinchorri. "In fact, I believe I am here to learn first, and then to teach. I am here to learn from you, but who I will teach is clouded to me at present."
Ranma shrugged. "Let's see if we can find out. Can you pilot a starfighter?"
"Not very well," K'Kruhk admitted. "My size is against me there. Very few starfighters are roomy enough for a man of my size."
Ranma chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that."
"I was surprised that you did not wait for Master Ti," K'Kruhk noted, tilting his head to one side. "And might I ask what exactly is going on between the two of you? I do not mean to pry, but…"
"What goes on between the two of us is none of anyone else's business but ours," Ranma said with a dangerous smirk on his face, a few teeth flashing dangerously. "But if you want to know for your own peace of mind if the Order knows about what's going on between us, the High Council does. Yoda sort of approved of it; didn't understand the point of it, but approved of it. She retook your oaths in the old way, which allows for relationships."
"I see," K'Kruhk said, though he really didn't, having expunged any desire for affection or lust from himself during his training as a Jedi. Still, it wasn't his place to judge. The Force did not impart wisdom to the Jedi to allow them to judge others, only to judge themselves and to choose the right path going forward.
"So, if you can't pilot a starfighter, what's your skill set?" Ranma asked, moving back into the temple now and exploring with K'Kruhk beside him, who only now realized that this was what Ranma was doing.
"I am something of a Jack of all trades, I have heard it called. I am quite decent at healing, both myself and other people. I am also decent at combat, as you are aware, though I am not a specialist in any form, be it hand-to-hand, blaster, or lightsaber. I am a Consular, rather than a Guardian. I would say that the only place my skills are above those of most Jedi is in surviving in the wild, regardless of the setting that word is used to describe," K'Kruhk said before his long snout twitched into a smile behind his large tusks. "And though it pains me to say it as it smacks of arrogance, my Force Sense is markedly better than most, even most Masters."
Ranma paused, looking at him as they exited a classroom of some kind, complete with large circular areas surrounded by recessed seats. "You're not just talking about how the Force guided you here, are you? Are you talking about sensing the, the intent of people around you?"
"There is a part of that, yes. I am accomplished at sensing the intent of others around me," K'Kruhk said, looking almost embarrassed now, though how the large Whiphid did so, Ranma couldn't say.
Setting that minor mystery aside, Ranma asked, "Not emotions, like Aayla? And not thoughts either?"
"No. Sensing emotions is an entirely different subset of Force Sense, and a rare one. It is the difference between knowing someone nearby is angry and knowing someone nearby is about to pull a trigger of a gun in your general direction," K'Kruhk replied. "An empath would read people around them. They could tell you that someone was angry, shy, or any other emotion, of course as well as the reasons behind the most prevalent emotion a person was thinking if they wished to. Most Jedi would be able to tell you what they were thinking if they concentrated on a single person. I can tell what those around me intend to do or are in the process of doing. It links to my ability to sense danger about me."
"Huh, you know that might be the best explanation I've heard yet about the differences between what normal Jedi sense and what Aayla does. Thanks," Ranma mused.
"But my Force Sense also works at discovering cloaked Force users," K'Kruhk said, dropping a bombshell as if it was no matter. "I have seen through the best cloaks of the Dark Woman and even Master Tholme."
"Okay…" Ranma said after staring up at the giant furry alien for a moment. "In that case, I think I just figured out exactly why you were sent here. I'll have to check in with Shaak on telling you about it, but I bet we'll make that decision quickly. Until then, welcome aboard."
Again K'Kruhk cocked his head quizzically. "You won't need to speak to Shaak first about my joining you?"
"Nah, she'll go along with me. She may question you about that technique—if you can teach others how to become as good as you are—but for now I have to warn you about what kind of trouble we tend to run into and/or find. The Force doesn't guide our steps as it did you here. It's just whenever we do set out, we tend to either attract or run into the shooty kind of trouble, not the talk about kind. That's why Master Fay's leaving us."
Ranma was a little sad about that. He liked Fay, and Kit was easily his best male friend at this point. Shaak, of course, was still his best friend, with their whole relationship piled on top of that. But saying goodbye to them would still be a wrench. "I'm not saying we don't run into any trouble that we can talk our way out of, or run into trouble all the time. But mostly when trouble comes to us, it comes with guns blazing. Do you think you can handle that?"
"I will not find it pleasant, but I can handle it," K'Kruhk replied firmly. "Just because I prefer nonviolence does not mean I am afraid of using violence if need be."
"That's a good attitude," Ranma said with a chuckle, opening the door to the room he had been searching for all this time: the indoor training area. "Now, come on; let's see how good your combat skills really are."
OOOOOOO
With the Secessionist issue becoming more and more in the foreground along with several other things laws and ordinances being pushed by his own Centrist party and those against them, Sidious was becoming more tied down with the Senate and the moves therein with every passing week. The secessionist movement was gaining ground as he had hoped, but balancing that and all the other things going on just in the Senate chambers meant he did not have the time to keep abreast of everything his spies were reporting Republic-wide.
He had to pick and choose, and he always oversaw anything to do with industry, scientific progress, and the Jedi Order as a whole, as well as politics, with droids assigned to each subject to aid him. But Set Harth had been tasked a little over a year and a half ago to deal with the Chaotic Locus, and right now the two of them were meeting with one another via a secure comlink on that issue.
The task of killing or marginalizing the Chaotic Locus was harder now, given how the changes Ranma had wrought had spiraled further, each change he had made to what should have been causing new ripples in the Force. In fact, in many ways even killing the Chaotic Locus now would not stop all the changes, Sidious mused, though he, of course, didn't let any sign of that thought show. Killing him would stop any new injections of chaos into the Force, but there is already so much there that it is becoming increasingly hard to keep track of everything.
Despite that, Set had continued on his job fearfully, if not loyally. With both his collection and clones under Sidious's thumb, he had no choice but to obey. To that end, Set Harth had gone over his first meeting with the Chaotic Locus as well as every other battle the Locus was involved in that Sidious had learned about. In this manner Set had come to a somewhat startling revelation: numbers rarely, if ever, mattered against the Chaotic Locus, at least not in a good way.
The Chaotic Locus's personal style seemed to emphasize causing confusion on the battlefield: turning friend against friend and manipulating and using everything about him. Worse, his Togrutan mistress had also began to exhibit signs of that kind of thinking. That wasn't good at all. It meant that numbers alone couldn't turn the tide against either. So Set had to look for ways to match their abilities with a smaller, dedicated team of specialists. If need be he could make up the numbers with some more Tarentatek, but it would be skill and adaptability which would kill the Chaotic Locus, not numbers, at least not on the ground.
"You have had over a year on this," Sidious said, staring through the pickup at Set while another screen showed the information on what Set had been up to. He couldn't get out of the Chancellor's office just now, but he had fifteen minutes to check in with his least reliable tool, as he was tasked with one of the three most difficult tasks facing the Sith in ensuring the downfall of the Jedi and the rise of his Empire. "And this is the best you can come up with?"
Sidious looked at the information on the five individuals that Set had begun to bring together. "Durge, a bounty hunter. He has unique abilities, I grant you, and experience killing Jedi, though I do not see him able to stand up to the Chaotic Locus alone. The two individuals from Dathomir I can also understand, though the price you were forced to pay for Talzin's aid will no doubt prove larger than you think. How are you employing Cad Bane? Surely as a regular bounty hunter rather than a freelancer like Durge he will be leery of taking bounties against Jedi?"
Indeed, Sidious knew that to be the case. He had looked into Cad Bane, a Duros bounty hunter, along with a few others at one point when he was wondering if long range sniping could do away with the Locus for him. He had nixed the idea because he realized there was no portable weapon with a long enough range that would be able to kill the Locus.
"I'm keeping him on retainer for the task by paying him an exorbitant amount of money," Set said drolly. "Given what happened to the Crimson Nova chapter, Cad Bane is indeed unwilling to fight the Locus or any Jedi for fear of reprisal. But he is very fond of money and is making more money in a month on retainer that he would as a bounty hunter. I won't tell him of our actual target until it is far too late for him to back out.
Set paused before going on hesitantly. "I would also have liked to add Jango Fett, but you say you still need him training the troops?"
"I do. The clones' training is being pushed faster than it should have been, so we can ill afford to remove Jango from his part in that." Sidious scowled, unhappy that even in that area the Plan's timetable had been impacted negatively by the Chaotic Locus's presence. Despite his best efforts, the Secessionist crisis would hit a full year before the Clones were fully ready. That meant the clones life expectancy would be shorter, and their training would be too.
Still, it hardly matters, Sidious consoled himself. All we'll have to do is make the Secessionists stupider for a time to make up for it. It won't matter who wins how many battles, so long as the 'Republic' wins in the end.
That was something that Sidious and those before him going back to Darth Zannah had realized: the Republic as a whole was simply too large to defeat. You could smash worlds, slaughter entire sectors and species, but there would always be more planets, always be more people. While it had been the Army of Light which had defeated the Sith in the New Sith Wars, even at the height of that war the Republic could have won if the disparate segments of it could have worked together. So the Republic had to be the means with which Sidious's empire would rise.
Shaking that thought off, Sidious continued. "Besides, given the time the Chaotic Locus spent with the Mandalorians, I doubt any of Fett's unique abilities and skills would add anything to your group. What was your second plan?"
"My second plan is based around infiltration rather than confrontation. For this I have developed several toys and devices from my collection, which might prove useful. Whatever the Locus's physical defenses, he is still vulnerable in what he eats, drinks, or breaths. And a few of my toys were developed around capturing Jedi, cutting them off from the Force." Set smiled evilly. "With those, I believe that if we cannot outright kill the Locus or his lover, we can, at the least, weaken them."
"You said you had three plans," Sidious said, tapping his fingers irritably outside the pickup. He was displeased by the number of little toys, as Set put it, he had been able to create without direct access to his trove of Sith treasures and was somewhat concerned that the Jedi would recognize many of them after the fact. But that would be a minor setback if the Locus was no longer alive, able to divert both attention and resources away while also strengthening the Jedi's position. "What is the third one? I see no information on it here."
"That plan is the crudest of them all. With that one we go back to the original plan of overwhelming them in numbers, but this time in space," Set said simply. "I have developed contacts in several dozen large pirate bands, along with one or two of the most disreputable bounty hunter chapters. It's been a year now since Chaotic Locus and his lover disappeared off the grid, and much of the fear of their reprisals and knowledge of their abilities have faded. I can put together a very large fleet given time and ambush their ship if need be. Of course, the pirates won't know I'm behind it: I have a few front men involved in creating those contacts, including that disreputable Vilmarh Grahrk fellow that you used during the Yinchorri uprising."
Sidious let a scowl appear on his face. "That one is more intelligent than he likes to let on. Do not use him very often. I am quite certain that the Jedi have been trying to follow him for some time." In fact, he knew that because Quinlan Vos had been assigned that mission, and it had been reported to him through Bulq, a connection which, in turn, was secret and very well hidden.
"I can cut him back out of the deal quickly enough. I…" Set paused as his console beeped at him, and he looked at it quickly. "Interesting. Do we have any spies on Dac?"
"Only two, and I have ordered them to do their utmost to stay hidden. We had more, but I pulled one spy out a few years ago. He had done a magnificent job for us there in spying on the Locus and the Togrutan Jedi, and I felt his abilities were wasted on that backwater. As impressive as the Mon Calamari ships are, they simply can't make enough of them to matter. Why?"
"The Hypercom spy bots just reported a conversation between the Chaotic Locus and the High Council just occurred. We'll have a recording of it soon."
Nodding, Sidious glanced at the chrono on his desk, then quickly read through the rest of the core group Set had begun to bring together. That bringing tougher and training them to act as a team was why this process had taken so long, and the training would be an ongoing project. Sidious knew that: forcing incredibly skilled loners to work together would be a challenge for anyone, let alone someone like Set.
Two Anzati hunters who have yet to agree to work with the group, and it says here that Durge still needed to be outfitted for new weaponry. There were also a few notes indicating that Set would use the shape shifters who had performed so well as spies on Mandalore, despite that operation proving a debacle in the end. It was a very eclectic group, and Sidious felt a sneer appearing across his face at its makeup. These were individuals whose chaotic evil natures would have made them anathema to the Republic, and even in the Empire he envisioned their utility would be severely limited.
So either way I win. Just the way I like it, Sidious thought. He was actually quite upbeat at the moment, despite what Set might have thought. He had, after all, just rammed through the first laws of what would become the Militarization Act while seeming to be reluctant about its necessity, and adding enough provisos to it to keep the pacifist faction happy while also further angering the Secessionists. That was good, given the way the Order had slowly begun to change of late, grouping their Jedi into larger groups and backing away from the Senate except for when their own place in the Republic was under discussion.
"I expect you to deal with the Chaotic Locus permanently within the year," he said, glaring into the pickup. "Do so, and the ascendancy of the Sith will be assured. Attempt to use this fleet of yours first. I believe you are correct that space combat negates much of the Chaotic Locus's personal abilities. If that does not work, have a few plans for your assassination attempt on my desk by, say, two days after that, and then a plan to use this combat team of yours a few days after that."
"Of course, master," Set said
Leaning back after Sidious cut the connection, Set frowned. Sidious's ability to roll with the punches these days was getting better. He seemed able to now deal with all the tiny crises and changes the Locus's impact had caused far better than he had previously been able to. Yet he still hates the young human with a fiery passion. Indeed, that anger and hate is the only thing that I have seen break his, I hear, icy self-control. I have known Sith before this one, and I knew immediately that Sidious was powerful, but it is his self-control that truly sets him apart. His changes to the code of the Sith showed that. That there was still something that could break that control was amusing to Set, not that he would ever even think to let that show.
He is so orderly and disciplined elsewhere, but when it came to the Chaotic Locus, there he simply wishes to get rid of him, her, whatever the Locus was originally, as quickly as possible. I wonder if he is aware of the fact that even if we get rid of the Chaotic Locus at this point the ripples he has created will not disappear. If he is deluding himself about that, that is not a good sign. Then again, I've not seen anything pointing to that. And certainly, I don't see any way to use that information to my own advantage, alas. Unless I could contrive a personal meeting between them wherein the Chaotic Locus's personality could, perhaps, drive Sidious insane. But I don't see that happening, alas.
"Still, I have my marching orders. Or my flying orders, in this case," he said aloud into the darkness of his meditation room on Wayland.
After listening to the communique between the Locus and the High Council, Set continued to plan. The fact that this new ship was based off designs of the previous one was worrisome, for certain, but the way the Locus downplayed that made Set believe that it wouldn't actually be as good in combat. "So it only remains to be seen where I can set up my ambush and not have it be seen as one coming from the Sith. I think I'll get one of our bugged droids into the Temple of Kashyyyk. That will, hopefully, give me where to go…"
OOOOOOO
Ranma and Shaak spent about a month working on the ship and bringing in furniture to make it more homelike. They first removed an inner wall between the two guestrooms near the back of the ship, opening it up and creating a single sleeping quarter there. The fact that they could do so on their own caused some chagrin from a few designers and ship workers, who wanted to see the inside of the Wild Blade, but Ranma had learned quite a bit over his time in this universe about working with ships, on top of his previous Martial Arts Construction techniques. This weakened the ship structurally in that area slightly, but, given how strong structurally speaking the rest of the ship was, the difference was negligible.
Now there was room for sixteen people to live there comfortably, with bunk beds for all of them, set on the two remaining internal walls facing fore and aft. Indeed, they could almost fit twenty-four people, enough pilots for the two squadrons the ship could contain at maximum loadout. But it wouldn't be comfortable, and Ranma hoped they wouldn't have to do that any time soon. They also set up the two guestrooms on the other side. One of them was set up with a bed large enough for K'Kruhk, and the other room had a smaller bunk bed system. Given K'Kruhk's size, he had to have his own room, something he tried to apologize for, but which the two of them simply waved off.
On the other hand, they also discussed where to go from here. Shaak was adamant that they would be returning to Kashyyyk first to pick up young Ahsoka as she had told the council they would. "She is ready, and the connection between us means I can do no less."
Ranma agreed with that. "However, we need to head back to Mandalore. Remember, we made an agreement there. It's been a number of years, and we should probably tell them that we won't need a new, larger ship." The training area on the Wild Blade, which doubled as a dining room, sitting room, and all-around center of ship life, was large enough for their purposes.
While Shaak felt that was a secondary concern, she wasn't about to convince Ranma not to follow up on an agreement he had made on his own honor code. So long as they picked up Ahsoka first and checked in personally with Yoda and the others who had been read into the Sith secret, that was fine by her. Ranma surprised her then with a smirk. "Besides, this'll give you time to convince the Order to pull Aayla away from whatever job she's doing now for the wedding when we get to Shili after that."
Shaak had laughed aloud at that. "Hah! Just because Yoda acknowledges our relationship doesn't mean the rest of the council like or approve of our being together. No, if I want Aayla there I'm going to have to be a bit sneaky about it."
So that was their plan going forward: retrieve Ahsoka, talk to Yoda and the others in person while Shaak called Aayla to talk shop and exercises for the ambidextrous Ahsoka (a blatant lie, since Ranma could have helped her easily enough with the same thing), and incidentally mentioning a job on Shili she'd like a Twi'lek's perspective on. From there they would go to Mandalore to pick up the first batch of kids chosen by the Mandos to be trained under Ranma. Then they would head to Shili. After that, Ranma had a few ideas of places to go to learn new martial arts styles, but they both knew that if they could get away with all of that without interference, it would be a minor miracle.
During this time they also began to get a grip on some of the changes that had been going on in the galaxy as a whole in the past year and a half via discussions with the Jedi stationed on Dac. Specifically, they talked most often to K'Kruhk, who, of all the Jedi there, had been on Coruscant more often than any of the others during that time frame.
The first thing they learned was that the Secessionists, which had barely been a political concept before, had grown to become a true political party. There was growing tension on numerous worlds and in different sectors as more of the Outer Rim, Inner Rim, and even Expansion Region sectors started to make noises about wanting more independence, less taxation sent to the Republic, and, above all, less centralized government.
"This, of course, goes directly against the Centrist faction led by the Chancellor. Chancellor Palpatine acknowledges many of their points about there being too much graft and other examples of corruption," K'Kruhk had said, holding a small, almost childish looking cup of some local drink to his long snout. "But his party argues that while they might be fighting for more independence, what they'll actually get are small, tin pot dictators or large corporations carving out their own empires. Further, his party argues—correctly, alas—that seceding from the Republic is an actual illegal act. They cite a law made during the time right after the New Sith Wars ended for that."
"Which doesn't do anything about the accusations of corruption or deals with the senators who are actually corrupt, right?" Ranma asked. He didn't really understand much about how the Republic ran itself as a whole, but he understood that much, at least. And that the real powers of the senators varied wildly. Some actually ruled their sectors or planets as well as represented them in the Senate on Coruscant. Others were merely representatives of their sectors with no real power to make policy within them. But they had votes in the Senate equal to those who were real leaders. Some planets had senators, some sectors had senators, and all were ostensibly equal, yet really, they weren't.
"Indeed not. The Chancellor has been making it his priority to get rid of the corruption in the bureaucracy that underscores the Senate, and he has done a decent job. The Judicial branch is now almost clear of corruption, and Coruscant itself largely free of graft at the lower levels. But clearing the Senate of corruption would have been a monumental task, and then this movement started to gain momentum," K'Kruhk said. "I have never met the man personally, but Masters Poof and Twoseas both speak highly of him as a decent man, but one who is running more and more into the limitations of his authority as he tries to do the right thing."
"And the Order's position in all this?" Shaak asked.
"We, alas, are facing our own internal problems. While the Veil of the Dark Side is no longer as powerful as it once was, the Jedi Order is still without our ability to truly see into the future beyond the short term. This clouds our vision and leads to narrow-minded focus far too often," K'Kruhk replied, leaning back on the small sofa he was inhabiting in the central room of the Wild Blade. "I'm afraid that narrow-minded focus has begun to infect even in the highest levels of the Order. Specifically, how closely we are allied with the Senate and the Republic as a whole."
K'Kruhk waited for a moment, but when Ranma and Shaak simply stayed silent, he went on. "I and many others believe that we should be distancing ourselves from the Senate and the Republic. The Republic as a body has begun to collapse under its own corruption and partisanship, despite the Chancellor's best efforts. What purpose does the Republic serve? What is its purpose? Why can the sectors in the Outer Rim or Expansion Regions, which are being taxed far more heavily than similar Core World regions, not simply be let go? So long as the Order serves the Force, why does politics matter at all?"
"Are you saying you agree with the Secessionists, that there are Jedi who do?" Shaak asked, mildly concerned. She had no connection or love for the Republic as a whole, although she was a realist enough to admit that if it fell it would spawn thousands of different governmental bodies, and for a certainty they would not all play nice with their neighbors. The Republic and the Senate, perforce, kept the peace, but she had, of course, seen in the past ten years or so that its ability to do so was waning badly. And that was before I ran into Ranma, discovered that there were still Sith out there, and all the other myriad issues we've run into since, she thought dryly.
"No. The Secessionist movement is fronted by the Trade Federation, the Commerce Guild, and the Techno Union," K'Kruhk said distastefully. "Whatever they may spout, those three bodies are too steeped in corruption and self-interest themselves to ever truly speak from a moral position. But there are others who have joined the movement, many of whom can, and their most powerful spokesman is one or our own: Master Sora Bulq."
Shaak nodded slowly. "I see. The Order, then, has not taken a single stance on this issue? We are still willing to see both sides of the story?"
"No, and that is the problem. Master Bulq has left the Order, and did so before taking this new position of his. He has brought in numerous other governmental bodies, all of whom had problems with the way the Republic is run or are against the Chancellor's centrist movement. About fifteen other Jedi, Masters, and Knights followed him, saying that the Order should serve the people rather than the Senate."
Ranma and Shaak exchanged a glance at that, the meaning of which escaped K'Kruhk. But Ranma made a go ahead gesture, and K'Kruhk did so.
"I am one of those who, while unwilling to leave the Order, believe much the same. That we should be looking for ways to work directly with the various planetary or sector governments, not the Senate. This movement has gained a lot of strength in the last few years, thanks to Master Yoda and Master Windu pushing to spread out to more than the single temple on Coruscant. There are also the Old Guard, as they call themselves, who believe that we should be doing the exact opposite: tying ourselves more to the Senate and the power structure. They also believe that the new emphasis on combat skills and the techniques Ranma passed onto the Order open us up to the Dark Side and should be rejected." K'Kruhk sighed, his long snout twisting into a wan smile. "So you see, even we Jedi are not immune to factionalism."
Later, after K'Kruhk had left, the two lovers looked at one another before Ranma put their shared thoughts into words. "So, while we know that the Order's been preparing, it looks as if the Sith's plans are still going forward."
"Agreed," Shaak said with a sigh.
They also said farewell to Fay and Kit. They had stayed on Dac for three weeks while Master Fay arbitrated between the Quarren and the Mon Calamari. Even with the Jedi there to see to specific cases and arbitrate justice from a neutral position, there was still tension between the two species, as there had been for thousands of years. But Fay had done such a good job with both parties that now Shaak and the other Jedi doubted there would be any large-scale problems between the two races for a long while, if ever.
"Where will you be going now?" Shaak asked as the four of them stood by the Consular class ship that Master Fay and Kit would be taking on their new mission. Master Fay's yacht had been destroyed on the ground during the battle over Zonama Sekot. Kaasa'lia, her astromech droid, was already inside the ship and plugged in.
"I will be traveling to Thyferra," Master Fay said simply. "The Force directs me there, and I wish to take samples from the bacta plants there to send back to our new ally." Even here at the back of the training ship, none of them were willing to say anything about Sekot and his unique status, just in case it got out before they were ready.
Shaak and K'Kruhk both nodded, the Whiphid going on to state, "Ah, there must be some issues going on between the ruling corporations and theVratix again. I know there have been several attempts to arbitrate between them before this. May the Force be with you in this, Master Fay."
"The Force is with all of us, always," Fay said simply, a small smile flickering over her expression. "I can but hope to be equal to its demands."
"Well, as long as you got the green guy next to you, I won't have to worry about you running into anything physical you can't handle," Ranma said with a smirk, shaking Kit's hand.
Kit, Shaak, and Ranma had sparred against one another every chance they could on Zonama, and also here on Dac, with K'Kruhk joining them along with a few of the other locals. Master Fay had not sparred with them. Oh, her ability with Force Push and Force Telepathy were astonishing, which she had proven many times, but they weren't dangerous enough.
Yet, on the other hand, Kit had nearly taken his toughness training to the same level Shaak had reached with hers. He could now shrug off blaster bolts and even disruptor beams, though a lightsaber would still eventually cut through him if he stayed still and allowed it to contact his skin for more than a few seconds.
"You may be assured that I will guard her to the best of my abilities. The Force willing, that will be enough," Kit said, a wide smile on his flat face. "And if not, I will just have to improvise. Besides, I've got a certain event I need to be around for some time in the near future."
Of course, Ranma and Shaak also had had time to spend some time together and do some shopping of their own. The swimsuits on Dac were amazing at times, and they even had an underwear shop that Shaak convinced Ranma to go to with her. Mon Calamari and humans were similar enough that a swimsuit designed for a woman of one race would only need a bit of work to fit a woman of the other, and the same held true for Togrutans.
Normally going shopping with any woman would be seen as something approaching torture for any man, even one like Ranma who had his own female body. But in this case the payoff was well worth it in Ranma's opinion…
Ranma, in his female form, followed Shaak down one of the streets/streams of Mon Cal, the capital city of the planet. As it was the capital, more of its shops catered to the few non Mon-Calamari or Quarren who were on the planet, as they had known from their first visit to the planet. And now, much like then, they were in search of swimsuits.
Or rather, that was how the day had begun. After they had purchased one swimsuit each, Shaak had decided to move on to other things. They both had picked up more clothing in terms of pants, leggings, shirts, skirts, and male underwear for Ranma.
In turn, Shaak had chosen a long skirt that covered her from waist to ankle and a blouse combo, over which she wore her normal robe. The blouse seemed as simple and plain as the skirt—both of them made of the same, coarse fabric, which seemed to tell everyone that the individual wearing it didn't care—the colors grey and brown like the skirt.
But the blouse also slightly hugged her figure, subtly emphasizing the fact that Shaak was a woman without outright stating it. Somehow it made the impact all the more powerful because she wasn't attempting to state anything. In Ranma's opinion the blouse was performing the visual equivalent of a polite cough to bring attention to Shaak's sensuality.
Ranma found himself both unable to not notice and grateful that it was so subtle. He didn't want to beat off her suitors, after all. That process was messy, as he knew from his own experiences.
At the time Ranma hadn't realized he was broadcasting both those thoughts so loudly that Shaak couldn't help but hear them, which caused her to hide a smile behind her hand, her face going slightly paler in the Togrutan version of a blush.
Now they were on to other more…personal purchases, in order for Shaak to, in some small way, pay Ranma back for his patience today.
"I still can't believe they didn't have any socks," Ranma said, chuckling as they left the men's store, stuffing her purchases into his ki space as she did, ignoring the fish-eyed stares this act drew from a few passersby.
"Well, you can hardly blame them given the webbing and the wide toe structure both Quarren and Mon Calamari have," Shaak said philosophically.
While out in the greater galaxy, both species could wear boots and socks like most humanoid species, here in their own territory they much preferred an all in one sock/slipper combination, when they had to wear them at all, such as when they were working in zero-G. But this was a problem for Shaak and Ranma, who, while having purchased new shoes, their old ones having given out over time, hadn't purchased any new socks on Zonama. They were both now down to only a few pairs, and all of them were getting very holey.
"There just seemed to always be something more important to do," Ranma said, with Shaak nodding rueful agreement. "And now we're paying for it in lack of socks. Sad."
"We're here," Shaak said, causing Ranma to stop speaking and look up at the door they had stopped in front of. It was a simple, tasteful looking place, with only a bronze sign on the doorway stating its name. And, while it had windows, the interior of the building was blocked by varicolored blinds.
Ranma reflected for a second that if a passerby didn't know what the name implied, they could just as easily have assumed 'Desired Shores' was… Ranma paused then and shook her head. Yeah, no. With a name like that it's got to have some connection to, ahem, adult rated fun. Still, it's subtle, right?
Following Shaak into the shop, Ranma was both not disappointed and also turned off the whole affair. There was lingerie everywhere, even the equivalent kind of underwear for men, which Ranma had never considered a possibility before this. But the problem was there were also mannequins, who all had their heads. Mon Calamari heads and Quarren heads. That right there made him want to turn right the heck around and then ask Shaak if she could use the Force to remover the memory.
Shaak, too, winced internally as she looked at the mannequins, but she was able to ignore them after a second, concentrating on the walls that held the shop's products through the use of her Jedi training. A way to use Jedi concentration that perhaps no Jedi since the Reformation would ever have dreamed about doing, she thought.
Finding the small section of white colored underthings, she perused them until she found some in her size, then in Ranma's. She waved off the store clerk, a Mon Calamari of late teen, early adult age, if she was any judge, and gestured for Ranma to follow her. "Ranma, come here. I've found a few in your sizes and a few in mine, too."
Flushing slightly, Ranma followed her lover towards the changing room, ignoring with difficulty the quizzical expression from the clerk, who was evidently wondering what two female aliens (they weren't from Dac after all) were doing here, and evidently together. Luckily, Shaak had her lightsaber in ki space at present. Far too many people, in Shaak's opinion, only noticed the lightsaber, equating it to the Jedi Order. Plus, none of the few images which had pictures of their last visit here had shown Ranma's female form with her hair down like she had it now.
The two women entered the dressing area, and Ranma turned to enter her own cubicle, but before she could, Shaak grabbed her arm and pulled her into the one Shaak had chosen. "Shaak, wh…"
"Shh..." Shaak said, smiling slightly at how embarrassed and just cute as a button Ranma looked at the moment. "I wanted your opinion on these underthings, so why wait? Besides, it's nothing you haven't seen before. Dozens of times by now, actually."
"Yeah, but that doesn't exactly lessen the impact, y'know?" Ranma replied, blushing and looking away, not noticing how Shaak had flushed in pleasure at the inadvertent compliment or the wide smile that briefly crossed the Togrutan woman's face. "Besides, I thought you wouldn't like any, um, public play or whatever ya want to call it."
"We won't do anything, Ranma. Just…tease one another a bit," Shaak replied, leaning forward to lay a gentle kiss on the turned Ranma's collarbone. "Now, come on; we don't want to be all day about this."
Gulping, Ranma nodded and backed away to the door where she began to pull off her clothing, her eyes unable to leave Shaak as she peeled off her own. The difference in style there was obvious. Where Ranma was simply pulling off her clothing quickly, Shaak took her time and did so slowly, revealing her perfect, ruby-red colored form like she was stripping in front of Ranma in their own bed.
Ranma pulled off the sports bra she had been using since Shaak had insisted on it that morning, a sight which made Shaak pause in turn. An almost overpowering urge to lean over and take Ranma's tiny cherry red nipples in her mouth came to Shaak, and she beat it back with difficulty. This was compounded an instant later when Ranma turned around and leaned over, her rear sticking out toward Shaak.
For her part Ranma could not tear her gaze away from Shaak, now that she had stripped her last layer off. Shaak's red skin never ceased to fascinate Ranma. Like her lekku and montrals, they marked her as inhumanly exotic. This was compounded when she was naked by the white highlights showing on her skin, the large claw mark on her leg, the slash marks here and there, showing her species equivalent of scarring, and, of course, her large nipples and pussy lips, that were just slightly glistening now, showing that she was enjoying this daring bit of show and tell. Ranma's gulp reverberated around the cubicle, and it was all the redhead could do not to fall on her knees and reach for her lover.
With both her body language and the thoughts she was picking up from Ranma telling her that this was getting out of hand, Shaak quickly pulled on the panties she wanted to try out followed by the bra. This seemed to break the spell, and Ranma followed suit quickly. They then both stared at the full-length mirror stuck on one side of the cubicle, taking in the results.
"What do you think?" Shaak asked, her voice sounding rather perplexed and unsure as she looked at the image. For one thing, the bra didn't quite fit perfectly on her, despite the tag saying it was in her size. Evidently, Mon Calamari breasts were a little narrower and pushed out more than her own. For another, the design on it left much to be desired. It was the local equivalent of lace, which was very comfortable, but the frills were a bit much, all of them shaped into the images of cavorting sea animals, which was also a bit off-putting.
"Um…no… Sorry, Shaak. You look great, but that does not do anything for you," Ranma said, her words, as always, endearingly honest. "Um, my own is sort of the same thing." Ranma's breasts were a little fuller and larger than Shaak's, and they looked decidedly squished out of shape in the local bra she was wearing. Further, it was just too plain. It seemed the Mon Calamari and Quarren believed in either far too much lace and frills or none at all. "Were there any others?"
"None that I think would fit any better than these. Further, the styles are just not my type. Ahh, well. There's always next time." By unspoken consent based on a desire not to go too far in public, both women turned away from one another at that and dressed themselves quickly, exiting the store moments later.
"So, I guess that's it. Back to the temple now?" Ranma asked, her voice an alloy of hope and barely restrained desire.
However, to Ranma's chagrin, Shaak shook her head. While on the hunt, Togrutans preferred a quick kill after stalking. When it came to romance, Shaak definitely preferred a slow burn. "Oh, not at all." She watched Ranma's face fall and then went on, her teeth flashing in a brief smile before she covered it once more, linking her arm with Ranma's. "There are several other lingerie stores I'd like to try before we head back. And, if you're good, we might just skip the temple entirely and go straight to the Wild Blade."
Despite the fact that the rest of the lingerie stores were just as lacking as the first, Ranma couldn't say that the day was a total loss…
So, all in all, Ranma enjoyed his time on Dac this time around even more than the first, until it became time for them to go.
OOOOOOO
Since the two shapeshifters were training with the Anzati, should their more indirect plan prove necessary, this unfortunately left Set without anyone else who he could truly trust to see to the work of downloading a program into the cleaning droids used by the Jedi on Kashyyyk in their temple. The number of new security procedures all three temples the Jedi were currently using made this job very taxing for anyone, and all his other team members were not exactly subtle tools.
This left the job to Set himself, which was not ideal in any way. His irritation and concern about this was compounded by the fact that Set remembered Grand Master Yoda from his own time in the Order centuries ago. Rather disturbing to think about, actually, he thought to himself as he stared out from the landing ramp of the ship he had stowed away on to come to Kashyyyk. That that young padawan has become the Grand Master of the Order and has been such for so long most living Knights cannot remember a time when he wasn't.
Set moved through the city, using both Force Cloak and Stealth so that not only was he unseen by any, he could not be sensed through the Force either. Traversing from the capital to the temple was a little irritating, but not as much as attempting to enter it past the various security systems set up around the entrance. Though most of the Jedi didn't even notice them any longer, there were two heavy blasters set up in alcoves above the main doors, sensors on said doors, and infrared and pressure plates both. There were also video cameras hidden in the forest around the temple.
This all made it very difficult for Set to sneak in, but he was still able to eventually when the guard, who was also outside the entrance, entered, switching out with another young Knight. Neither of them were skilled enough in the Force to even notice his passing by them.
After that, Set was able to find a droid and download into it the spy program while also giving it a small tracking device, hidden among the vacuum suctions it used on its feet. Its orders were threefold. One: spread the program to others of its kind. Two: spy on any discussion dealing with the Chaotic Locus. And three: if possible, get close to the Locus's ship and implant the tracking device. Set and his master had had good luck with that in the past, and he hoped to be able to use the same trick again.
Getting out was even harder, but Set managed even that without being spotted, since Yoda was deep in a conference call with Master Windu. Now I just need to wait and see if this works. With that, Set left the planet, smug in his ability to get in and out of the temple, which indeed, was quite a feat. But he didn't notice that there were a few signs around the planet that could have told him that the Jedi were not entirely without tricks of their own.
OOOOOOO
The Wild Blade came out of hyperspace, and this time it didn't cause a stir at first. The Wookiees were not nearly as organized or as law-abiding as the Mon Calamari, and this was reflected in how they oversaw space control in their home star system. That didn't stop Shaak from calling ahead, however. "Kashyyyk traffic control, this is the Wild Blade newly out of the Mon Calamari sector, Jedi Master Shaak and party arriving."
The roaring, growling tones of the Wookiee language came back quickly, followed by a translation droid coming online soon after. They weren't in orbit just yet, and Shaak couldn't reach out that far without a visual aid to use the Force to translate the Wookiee's words. "You are welcome here, Master Ti. We were told of your arrival by Master Yoda. We will start to guide you in when you reach orbit, whereupon you will be immediately directed to the Jedi Temple's personal hangar."
As he read this translation, Ranma wondered idly, "How secret can a secret hangar be if everyone on the planet knows about it?"
"It's not so much secret as simply out of the way and a hard target," Shaak said ruefully, as the ship plowed forward through the star lanes.
Soon enough they were all in orbit around the Kashyyyk, where once again HK called her attention to something. "Amused horror: Masters, might I direct your attention to two things? One of them seems to be hidden on the planet below us, which I just caught a glimpse of with our scanners. The other is sitting in orbit over the capital in that large junk ball the furry meatbags of this planet call an orbital yard."
"Junk, huh? I…" Ranma began, then blinked as the image came up on the screen. "Okay, that's not actually a bad description."
It was a Katana fleet Dreadnaught, sure enough, but a person would have to know what they were looking for to recognize it. Instead of taking it apart in sections, replacing large bits of it with their own design as the Mon Calamari had, the Wookiees had instead welded stuff on. Bits and pieces of girder, extra weaponry, and a shield generator stuck out haphazardly and all served to break up the outline of the dreadnought completely. That and what little of the dreadnought could be seen underneath looked as if it had been through a series of wars, with scrapes and marks all over it, only visible as the Wild Blade passed close by.
The one hidden on the planet was seemingly in much better repair but was also even harder to spot. It was buried within a wroshyr branch of one of the largest trees visible from their current position. If a person didn't notice the blunt prow of it just barely sticking out, they would miss it entirely.
"It's just another camouflage," Shaak mused. "That makes six ships we've seen from the Katana fleet so far. I am impressed. I did not think that the Order would be able to reactivate that many dreadnoughts on our own."
"Yeah, I wonder how they did that?" Ranma mused, scratching at his pigtail thoughtfully as he guided their ship down into the atmosphere and then further down through the foliage.
As her lover did so, Shaak felt a shiver through the gestalt mind of the live ship, a sense of both trepidation and joy, before it faded once more into the background. That was interesting.
Soon they were entering the secret landing area carved out of the interior of a large tree branch. This was much harder than it would've been with the Wild Light, given the size disparity between the two ships. Indeed, the Wild Blade barely fit into the entranceway.
"That was close," Ranma muttered, guiding the ship in on repulsor power. He then turned the ship around 360 degrees so that they faced the doorway once more before setting down. Even then it seemed to fill the entire hangar bay from one side to the other.
"Indeed. I had neglected to think about the size of the entrance," Shaak replied ruefully. "The Force does not make us an omnipotent, after all. Luckily, the interior of the hangar bay is more than large enough for us."
"For now. I'm just glad there isn't that much traffic here already."
"That is true; there is not. But there is a welcoming party for us," K'Kruhk replied for Shaak, pointing over their shoulders out the cockpit's viewports.
Ranma nodded, looking at Master Yoda who was waiting nearby out of the repulsor jets' backwash. Shaak was mildly disappointed that Ahsoka wasn't accompanying him, but realized that Master Yoda probably wanted to get the serious discussions behind their being here on Kashyyyk out of the way.
"HK, Tune, you're on guard duty on the ship. I don't want anyone or anything to enter who isn't accompanied by me, K'Kruhk, or Shaak. If they aren't Jedi or a Wookiee, feel free to use comedic, yet not quite lethal force."
"I think I'm going to regret asking, but what is comedic, yet not quite lethal force?" K'Kruhk asked, turning his large head around to look at Ranma and then HK in turn.
"Gleeful pronouncement: That order means I can shoot them in amusing, but not quite lethal areas. On meatbags this includes kneecaps, ankles, thighs, rears for preference, big toes, hands, and a myriad other places. I then can take my time about subduing them further, until the master arrives to question them," HK said, hefting up his new repeater blaster in one hand and moving with the others out of the cockpit through the ship onto the landing ramp. There he halted, raising his weapon and looking around himself for any hiding positions there could be nearby.
"I was right," K'Kruhk muttered as he stepped down from the landing pad. "I did regret asking."
Shaak, Ranma, and he moved towards Yoda, who Ranma greeted cheerfully. "Long time, no see, ya old frog! You're looking pretty much the same. Though, given the fact you're older than gravity, I suppose a year here or there doesn't matter."
Yoda chuckled, while K'Kruhk looked somewhat aghast and Shaak rolled her eyes. "Amusing, you think you are, when reality does not always match. In other ways, feel my age I do. Hrhrhrm, learn manners, I see who have not. Alas, normal gimer stick, I have not the reinforced type. Correct your attitude I cannot."
"My shins are thankful," Ranma said with a chuckle as K'Kruhk and Shaak both bowed to Master Yoda.
Yoda turned to them, smiling slightly at Shaak. "Felt your arrival, Ahsoka did," he answered her unspoken query. "But important business, first, we must discuss."
"I expected as such, Master," Shaak said coming out of her bow to gesture to the towering Whiphid next to her. "However, can we ask that K'Kruhk join us for this discussion? We have not told him anything yet about the…threat…that is out there, but we both feel that anyone who travels with us should be read into that secret."
"Hrhrhrm, agreed," Yoda said, looking up at K'Kruhk. "Yet, travel with them, you will? To await these two the Force sent you to Dac, not to a specific task? Had thought, there to pick a padawan, or join the other teachers, we did."
"I'm afraid not, Master Yoda. I did teach there for a time, and there is a very young youngling that I have my eye on, a young human female named Grace. But she is at least five years, possibly as many as seven years distant from becoming an apprentice. As for the Force, it did lead me to Dac, but the moment Master Shaak and Ranma arrived I felt that the Force had sent me there to meet up with them. Since then I have meditated, and I am on the path the Force wishes me to follow.
"Good," Yoda said simply. "But realize you must, that a secret you will now know. This secret, dangerous it is. Large, and dangerous. Accept that, you do?"
"Yes, Master," K'Kruhk said without even a hint of hesitation, bowing his boar-like head deeply. "If this is the path the Force wants me to follow, I will follow it to the end and do my utmost to perform my duties as the Order would expect of me."
Yoda stared up at him, gazing into the far larger Jedi's eyes for a long moment and then nodding. "Speak without pride you do. Courage, and determination I see. Accept this we will. Much you will learn today." Yoda turned to look at Ranma and Shaak. "Learn much the Council will too, I think."
"Yeah, you can say that," Ranma said with a groan before his eyes hardened. "Though I hope we'll be doing some learning of our own."
Without reply, Yoda turned and moved sprightly off with Ranma and Shaak quickly following, followed in turn by K'Kruhk.
The quartet passed through the temple quickly, passing by a classroom wherein one of the youngling clans was going over pilot training. Ahsoka was there, and she looked up before they reached the door, staring out of it as Shaak, Ranma and the others passed. Shaak saw this and nodded her head just slightly to the girl, causing her to nearly vibrate in her seat for a moment before turning her attention resolutely back to what she was learning. At that Shaak had to fight back another smile, following the others up the stairs, higher up into the temple, until they arrived at the Council room.
There Ranma and Shaak paused, taking in the Masters who were waiting for them as Shaak put her hands together in her robes, bowing deeply from the waist. "Masters, we have returned."
The assembled Masters were different from the ones that they had communicated with when they first got back in contact with the Order on Dac. Master Tiin was gone; Master Giiett was gone. Master Rancisis was still there, and he had been joined by Master Depa Billaba and Master Eeth Koth, who Ranma and Shaak had not seen since the end of the Naboo incident.
He and Ranma looked at one another and then nodded as one before Ranma moved further into the room, squatting down as Shaak did the same. The two of them would probably never like one another, but Ranma still remembered how the other Master had survived against Dark Clown Face.
The other Masters looked at K'Kruhk as he entered at Yoda's insistence, but Yoda simply said, "Shaak and Ranma, ask that we read K'Kruhk into the secret, they have. Explain everything now we will not, but answer his questions after this meeting we should. Agreed I did to do this because…"
"Because I have a target on my back from this Sith character out there, and anyone who travels with me should know about it," Ranma said, smirking evilly. "Mind you, he might be running out of pawns by this point. At least, I hope so."
"Humans have a saying from my planet," Master Depa said with a faint smile, showing more humor than Ranma would have thought possible from her. "Hope in one hand, and…"
"That's not just from your planet," Ranma said with a laugh.
Depa nodded, and looked up at K'Kruhk's surprised expression before he controlled it quickly. "Yes," she said to his question, "there are still Sith out there. Their strength and numbers are still unknown, and they haven't moved against us openly just yet, although, given some reports from the past few months, there are indication that that might be changing. I would not have believed it possible for them to come back without our knowledge, but both Mace and Master Yoda have been very persuasive about this. And there have been too many instances even in the past two years for us to not realize something is going on."
"Who all knows about it now?" Ranma asked.
"The entire High Council has been read into the secret," Master Rancisis said. "That was almost inevitable given the fact that we had to start using a few of our members as couriers for different missions, most of which had to deal with trying to discover where this Sith is hiding. But now, I believe, it is time for you to tell us some things. You said in our initial discussion with you a month back that you had a vision of Master Fay being in trouble. That this was the case is interesting, but how exactly were you able to get that clear a vision through the Veil and the chaos of the Force?"
In the ancient Thisspiasian face was a kind of hunger that made Shaak's eyes narrow even as she noticed that most of the rest of the council here had the same look on their faces. The Jedi as a group were still far too dependent on the Force to guide both themselves as individuals and as a group. Even with the Veil weakening, the fact they were still blocked from scrying the future beyond the next few weeks or months of their own lives bothered a lot of Jedi still.
Before she could answer the newest member of the Council said, "I understand that your new ship is called the Wild Blade. I have to say that I am not in approval of the message that sends."
Shaak subtly pinched Ranma's thigh before he could answer, speaking up instead. Ranma would probably not have been very diplomatic in replying to that statement, given that it sort of assumed that anyone else's opinion mattered when it came to naming his ship. "We felt given the nature of the missions we routinely find ourselves on and the fact that we are a target for the enemy that a more militant sounding name was appropriate. We are no longer going to be roving wildly to hither and yon; rather, we will be going looking for trouble and assuming it will come for us too."
That drew some frowns from both Depa and Kolar, the Zabrak's expression being almost censorious. Rancisis also looked a little concerned, but he said nothing. Instead Yoda spoke up, his tone and face serene. "Enough. Main topic we must cover now. Start with your vision, you will."
Speaking up for them both once more, Shaak described the vision as best she could, which was quite a bit better than Ranma could have. He had learned a few of the Jedi mind tricks for memory, but his memory was still nowhere near as good as hers, even for regular things and not Force visions like this one.
Both Yoda and Depa reacted as Shaak described the Jedi Vergere, leaning forward intently. As the vision came to a close, Yoda spoke slowly, frowning now. "Jedi Vergere, disappeared he did months before this purported vision. Sent two Jedi to find him, we did. His former master and Master Jerec. Due to work on a project with Master Jerec, he was. Yet their names, mentioned they were not in your initial discussion with us."
"…We will get to that eventually," Shaak said with a faint sigh.
All of the Jedi Masters there realized what that meant and bowed their heads for a moment before Depa asked, "Could you replicate that technique with another person, using Ranma's pillar of Living Force to burn away the Veil?"
"Probably not," Ranma answered honestly. "It was based upon our connection with one another more than anything else. Plus I'd be leery of trying it too often. Remember, we've already run into the fact that the Sith can manipulate visions like that."
"True," Depa said with a sigh, while next to her Kolar and K'Kruhk both stiffened in surprise. "I had hoped that this technique would offset that, but if you say you could not replicate it with other people, I will take you at your word."
From there Ranma and Shaak went into the battle over Zonama Sekot, with Shaak taking the lead in that discussion for a bit since she had been the one piloting. She began by mentioning how Master Fay had attempted to talk down their enemy and had convinced half of them to turn sides, but how, even so, they would've eventually lost without the Wild Light's intervention. From there she ran through her part of the battle from one end to the other when the Wild Light was nearly destroyed out from under her.
Shaak finished by describing how she survived, then how she had assaulted the ship, only to discover that Tarkin had killed himself. "Or so his troopers said. With what we know of the Sith, I am uncertain if that was indeed the case," Shaak finished dryly.
"To reach out from another star system and control someone," Master Rancisis said slowly, his tone that of concern. "That speaks of a tremendous amount of strength in the Force. Or could the very Veil of the Dark Side which obscures our ability to reach out like that aid the Sith with his own abilities in that area?"
"Hrhrhrm, possible," Yoda grunted. "Even probable. Yet, more you have to tell, yes?"
Ranma took up the tale there. "First," he said, smirking at them all. "I suppose I should be a little clearer about things. The live ships I talked about on the Hypercom, they are way more important than I tried to let on, but not just because of themselves. No, what they represent is way more interesting. You see, the planet, Zonama Sekot, it's alive."
"And we do not mean alive as in it has a living environment or a viable bio-system. We mean that the planet has its own sentience which is both alive and can interact with the universe around it," Shaak said, a slight smile on her face as she joined in with her lover.
They fell silent then, letting that sink in before Ranma went on. "Nearly everything on the planet's surface is in some way connected to the living intelligence, which is called Sekot. The planet is named Zonama. With the help of the three species that live on its surface—there are three of those, each of them with their own distinct parts to play—Sekot can design and build ships as well as help run the local economy."
From there Ranma went on to describe how he and Shaak had bonded to their ship, the positives they had seen from the Sekotan starfighters during the battle as well as the negatives, which had hopefully been addressed during the construction of their own ship. He also mentioned how quickly Zonama Sekot could create starfighters on the fly. "They aren't independent, but Sekot was able to control them well enough during the battle with Master Fay's help."
K'Kruhk sat silently listening to all this, somewhat agog at the idea of a living planet, but he wasn't the only one. Many of the other Masters also seemed to have been shocked out of their normal Jedi imperturbability by the news. This was compounded as Shaak took up the tale there, telling them how Master Fay had used the Force to connect to Sekot's consciousness during the battle, aiding it in directing its starfighters.
"The implications are incredible," Master Rancisis said at last. "Utterly incredible. I knew the Force could create such wonders, but to hear of something on this scale…"
Only Yoda retained enough presence of mind to concentrate on the topic at hand. "Fascinating this is, and understand something of the long-term impact I do. But tell us about Knight Vergere and the others, you will," he ordered.
"Well, after HK and I jumped out from the ship, we ran into about a company or so of Trade Federation droids. We also found Kit without one of his arms. It turns out that Master Jerec had turned to the Dark Side. Now most of this I only have from Kit, so you will have to question him about it, but it turns out that he and this other Jedi Master were there, like you said, to search for Vergere, but Jerec was searching for him to kill him. We assume from that that Vergere had discovered something. Jerec's sneak attack succeeded in killing Master Thracia Cho Leem, but Kit stopped him from killing Master Fay, losing his arm in the battle before slaying the other Jedi Master."
For a moment the Council simply sat silent, taking this in. Then Depa broke the silence, asking, "Do Master Fay or Kit have any clue about how long Jerec had turned the Dark Side?"
"Not from what they said to us afterwards. Master Fay said she recognized it in him at the time, but she was so busy helping Sekot direct his defenses that she couldn't concentrate on dealing with him. And she did not anticipate that Jerec would spring into violence once she had accused him."
K'Kruhk spoke up for the first time, sitting down. "Jedi Master Vergere, was he there as well? Did Jerec do away with him somehow without Master Leem knowing? What happened with him? There is still more here to learn above and beyond Jerec's fall to the Dark Side and what it might imply."
"Sense this too do I," Yoda said.
"Vergere was no longer on the planet when we arrived. Indeed, he was no longer there by the time Master Jerec arrived. The planet had been attacked a few months before that by what Sekot and its denizens called the Far Outsiders. We talked about that label afterwards, and we believe that that means they come from outside our galaxy, from across the great divide," Shaak said softly.
"That is impossible," Depa said simply. "Nothing can live through the great divide. It's simply too large, too wide, and completely impossible.
"Zonama Sekot said that their ships looked something like its own; not quite, but close. They attacked without warning, coming down to try to conquer the planet from the ground. However, Master Vergere met them and convinced them somehow to simply take him prisoner and leave the planet. We have no idea what happened after that."
Shaak sighed. "We could have, possibly. Master Vergere apparently had begun the process of bonding with one specific seed partner and could have left a memory of himself inside it for us to examine. But Master Jerec destroyed it as he tried to question it about where Vergere was. Or so he told Master Fay and Master Leem. Whether or not that was deliberate, no one can say."
Shaak and Ranma fielded several questions from both the Council about the Far Outsiders until they all eventually agreed that what had occurred was some kind of scouting mission. Whether or not there would be further trouble from that side of things, none of them was certain. But they all decided that nothing would be served in sharing this information with anyone outside the Order. They had enough home-grown issues without these Far Outsiders coming in as well.
"Anything more you have to add?" Yoda asked.
"Master Fay and Zonama Sekot agreed on an alliance, a sort of mutual defense treaty and alliance of interest. It will supply us with starfighters in the future as long as we provide both defense and knowledge. Any Jedi that goes there will have to share some of his or her adventures with Zonama Sekot, which will allow him to build up an idea of the Republic at large."
"Not," Ranma said with a laugh, "that it will need much in the way of defending."
Yoda was the first to get at what Ranma was talking about there, and he sighed, actually reaching up to his large eyes and kneading them with a hand for a moment. "Taught Sekot your techniques, you did."
Ranma nodded. "Zonama Sekot can't connect to the Force as a whole like you Jedi can. However, it was able to learn a few of my own techniques."
"Will that carry over to these live-ships?" Master Rancisis asked quickly.
"It has indeed," Shaak said, letting her smile widen somewhat. "The toughness technique makes the coral that the live-ships are made of many, many times tougher than durasteel of an equal weight. As we said, they also solved the issue with the shields and how they could interact with their ship. The Wild Blade is more like a living cyborg ship rather than a simple living ship. They even developed the space expansion matrix, but Ranma insists on calling it ki space. Our ship can carry up to two full squadrons of starfighters within it, when most people would barely think it has enough room for its single shuttle."
"It's true," K'Kruhk said with a nod. "They showed me one of the ki expansion areas. It is very cold in there, quite nice, actually, and getting into the starfighters themselves will be somewhat unpleasant for most, I assume. Most sentients would not be able to perform any maintenance on them in their hangar bays without wearing spacesuits. But it is still an amazing find."
"Start to rotate Jedi through there, we will," Yoda said simply. "Master Tsui Choifirst will be, then Master Tiin."
"We will have to be careful who we send for now unless we want the secret to get out," Depa cautioned. "But I agree, this is a major find."
"I think we need to do something more than that," Master Kolar said. "You have told me about the budding Temple on Dor, but I think that since it is not fully set up yet, we should transfer that entire Temple to Zonama Sekot."
Yoda closed his eyes, thinking, searching the Force for the possible outcomes of this move. Swiftly, he opened his eyes and nodded. "A good idea that is. Master Saa, do very well on Zonama, she will. Also, transferring one out of every three new younglings found and brought into the Order out there we will, instead of the Temple on Coruscant."
"This is all defensive stuff. Has there been any activity on the offensive side of things?" Ranma growled, causing Shaak to squeeze his hand as she felt Ranma becoming frustrated as he realized, like she had, that all this talk about reorganizing things meant that there probably hadn't been a progress there.
"No," Yoda said simply. "Inducted more Shadows we have. Defensive measures we have taken. Jedi no longer act alone. Two or more there must be in most cases if Consulars they are. More Guardians graduated from padawan. But evidence of the true Sith behind things, nothing has been discovered."
"That's not to say we haven't identified a few of our opponents," said Master Rancisis dryly. "It's just that we don't think they are the policy makers, the true Master. The apprentice, rather than the Master."
"Like Dark Clown Face?" Ranma asked.
That won him a chuckle from Master Koth, and he replied. "Indeed. We have identified one of them. Her name is Asajj Ventress, and she is a deadly combatant who seems to take an inordinate amount of pleasure in killing Jedi. We believe she has killed possibly fifteen, maybe more Jedi. That is inconclusive. There is also another one, another female human, we think, but that is about all we have discovered of that one."
Depa sighed. "We've been forced to be more and more active in a defensive role outside of the Order too, which has soaked up our available numbers. With the Secessionist Crisis now in motion, there have been numerous attempts on various Senators and even the Chancellor. All of them have been clamoring for Jedi protection. We could hardly turn them down, unfortunately."
"Which obviously paints you as taking the Senate's side in this whole debate," Ranma said sharply. "Is that a good idea?"
"We provide guards to all sides of that conflict within the Senate, so it is not quite as bad as you might fear," Master Rancisis said.
"That's still quite bad though. You are still being tied more and more to the Republic and the Senate as a body when those who wish to leave it have legitimate grievances," Shaak said, her tone somewhat more diplomatic than Ranma's.
"Why can't you just step aside, say that the Jedi will no longer serve the Republic as a whole; rather, you will continue to serve the people of every planet you can," Ranma asked.
"The Senate is already leery of us," Depa said with a sigh. "It would be seen as betrayal, and public opinion is not so strongly with us as we could like."
"Where is Master Coleman?" Shaak asked suddenly, frowning at that as she felt something niggling at her senses. "I had thought that he had been tasked with, well, our own propaganda campaign, honestly."
"Master Coleman was slain eight months ago," said Master Koth sadly. "We learned through the courier system, however, about what he had discovered practically up to the point of his death, and we have been attempting to combat the anti-Jedi propaganda in the Core Worlds since. We've had some progress, but not as much as we would like. It is both subtle and deeply entrenched, and there does not seem to be any one source of it. Further, this is an arena that we Jedi are simply not trained for. We serve the Force, not public opinion."
There was little Ranma could say to that, and so he looked around at them. "Military plans? We saw a few Katana fleet dreadnoughts above Dac and two more here."
"There are actually two others that you did not see here," Master Rancisis said with a thin smile. "One of them is hidden on the moon in a crater there, and another is hidden on the other side of this planet from the capital, along the only true shoreline the planet actually has."
"We have a team of thirty Jedi out there along with thousands of Rangers and fully two-thirds of the Order's complement of astromech droids out there," Master Koth said. "Organizing that was, in fact, why I was brought into the secret about the Sith at first. That, and I had, of course, run into the Sith assassin on Naboo."
"You brought in the Rangers?" Shaak asked. "How are you covering that?"
"For one thing, their organization is not truly tied into the Republic as a whole. Rather, they answer to the Order and to their own home system of Alderaan. We slowly weaned them off, twenty or ten at a time, and brought them in on what we termed a long-term mission. They have not returned home since then; they live out there on a few of the dreadnoughts."
"Use the flagship to slave the other ships, we do. Move them to target systems, we have. Cleared fifty of them since last you spoke to us, we have. Cannot crew more than twelve with the Rangers; loaned several others out to our allies, we have. Condition we gave them: hide where the ships came from, they must, and never anything about the ships in their computer systems there must be."
"That," Depa said dryly, "was actually a much harder sell with the government of Dace than it was with the Wookiees. But we are still running into the problems of crewing them, of course. We even sent a few to the Corellian Jedi recently, since they can hide practically anything in that system given how much junk there is from all the old battles that have occurred there over thousands of years. We've given them four ships already and have talked to Senator Bel Iblis about possibly adding more to their defense fleet, if need be, in the future."
"Corellia, a crux point is. Wooed by every side they have been. Made no move to join any party secessionist, centrist, or peace faction. Feel that the Senator is leaning one way, Secessionist, and their ruler leaning towards the peace faction, she is," Yoda supplied to Shaak's look of interest.
Rancisis spoke up then, looking at Ranma. "We do have an agreement to provide manpower for an undetermined mission with the Nova Guard, but that agreement is…"
"They want to learn from me: my techniques and abilities," Ranma said with a nod. "Especially since we proved that at least my training if not the actual ki techniques can carry over. How many ships will they be able to crew?"
"As many as ten, perhaps, off the bat, though we do not know just yet. I could not, of course, mention the ships or anything connected to them directly. But that was my impression. The Nova Guard leaders are practically salivating, or rather, their species equivalent of it, for your techniques."
Ranma simply nodded. "All right, that's fine. I can agree to that."
"Really?" said Master Koth, looking surprised. "We thought they would have to have something to offer you personally before you agreed."
Ranma shrugged. "Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But I was thinking about the team we're going to be assembling on our ship. Like I said, we can field a full two squadrons of starfighters, although we only really have room for sixteen pilots inside. But anyway, the Nova Guard could provide the heavy weapons team and the defense, with the Mandos the scouts and skirmishers, and me, Shaak, and K'Kruhk, the assault team."
K'Kruhk fought hard not to let his thoughts on that show. He had yet to come to terms with how often Ranma turned his thoughts toward combat. But with the news that the Sith are out there once more, does that not make a certain amount of sense?
"Further, could this whole Secessionist Movement be created by the Sith?" Ranma asked. "I am presuming you investigated this Sora Bulq guy closely, right? Think I met him once, but very briefly."
"You did, and yes, we investigated Master Bulq and every Jedi who had since spoken up about his position," said Depa with a sigh. "Mace did it personally, and unfortunately we've detected no sign of his going over to the Dark Side."
"Further, there are just too many legitimate grievances for the whole Secessionist Movement to have been devised by the Sith. The three major powers backing it, those we are extremely leery of, and we think this Sith might be among them somehow, but we can't simply say that the entire movement is aimed at our destruction," said Master Rancisis.
"But they'll still profit from it, won't they?" Shaak said, her eyes narrowed in the white marks around them.
"Yes," Yoda said. "Hrhrhrm. Death, anger, hate, the Dark Side these will feed. Strong already the Veil is, the Sith behind it also. Dangerous the future very much still is."
"Can you stop it? Stop the Secessionist Movement from either happening at all or resulting in a war?" Ranma asked.
"There are only two ways to stop it. First, we can stop the militarization act, which has just begun to be put together and at the same time make it legal to secede from the Republic. There is absolutely no chance of that occurring," Depa said with a sigh. "The Centrists have too much power; the Core Worlds will refuse to even consider the idea of two galactic governments. The other way would be to create a neutral pacifist party. But that won't stop the war. It could only possibly lessen its impact on those planets, which join the movement. And even that is doubtful if they reside in important strategic positions. Still, Master Poof and myself are pursuing that aspect."
"I don't understand politics all that well or galactic strategy either, but can I make a suggestion?" Ranma asked. When they all looked at him, he went on. "It's past time to stop holding secrets. K'Kruhk told us about the factions within the Order. Some of them thinking you all need to remove yourselves from the Republic like those following Sora, others are thinking that the techniques I shared with you and the emphasis on combat you've been pushing leads to the Dark Side. So instead of keeping the Sith still being out there a secret, tell them. Tell the entire Order that there are Sith out there. Tell everyone that you have been trying to prepare for the Sith ever since I showed up. I think that can cut away from your internal issues a lot."
"Indeed," Master Billaba said, brightening at the idea while the others slowly nodded thoughtfully. Only Agen Kolar looked a little askance at the idea. "We could even expand that idea; tell the Senate that we are afraid the Sith are still out there and will profit from any open warfare."
"No," Yoda said simply. "See this as truth, they would not. Proof we would have to have. Even the body of a Sith, insufficient it would be. Otherwise, naysayers and rabble-rousers we would seem. Using an ancient boogeyman to gather strength, they would say."
"Perhaps a recording of a battle with a Sith could work. Still, it's a good idea. This way we can turn all the Order's efforts into finding him and any and all resources individual Jedi might be able to bring to the hunt. Even those groups of Guardians searching for Ventress and the other woman would benefit from that," Master Rancisis said.
Soon after that Yoda realized that everything had been said. And they were in danger of going over old ground with the added benefit of pulling Ranma and Shaak along for the ride. Instead of doing that, Yoda, realizing they didn't have anything new to offer to the discussion at this point, asked Ranma and Shaak where they would be going from here. After all, until they had a target to let him loose on, or at least a trail for him to follow, Ranma could not truly help them find their enemy.
"We'll be heading to Mandalore to fulfill our bargain with the Reborn," Ranma said firmly. "Then, I suppose, to the Nova Guard's home system, given what Rancisis said." Ranma's eyes flicked sideways to Shaak, his lips twitching. "After that we'll be heading to Shili for a little event."
At that Shaak's couldn't stop her smile from widening into a near grin, causing everyone but Yoda to frown in confusion. "What event would that be?" Master Koth asked.
Shaak and Ranma looked at one another, silently communing, then Ranma indicated with a barely perceptible wave of one hand that it was Shaak's choice. Shaak breathed in deeply, centering herself in the Force, asking it quietly, Is this a good idea… After a moment she spoke, having gotten no opinion one way or another, but for a memory of a conversation she and Ranma had had when they first got together and another, far more unpleasant one.
The first memory was of the first time that she had said that she had no wish to rub anyone's noses in their relationship. The second was of the intergalactic reporters trying to grill Ranma outside the Wild Light on Mandalore. The connection there was far too obvious to miss: that the Order both didn't need to know and that the news might spread, causing more scrutiny of the two of them, something Shaak Ti had no desire to see. Ahh, well. Having Yoda officiate things was more a passing amusement than anything.
With that in mind, she simply smiled a small, almost emotionless smile. "Oh, just something between the two of us. Nothing important, I'm sure."
Ranma reflected that it said something about the Jedi mindset that, once they felt the truth of that statement in the Force, they didn't question her on that. Yoda, he could tell, wasn't convinced, but the old frog said nothing, instead calling an end to the meeting.
At that all of them left quickly, save Yoda, who closed his eyes to meditate. K'Kruhk moved off after Master Rancisis to get some more information on the Sith threat, eager to get more of a background than the meeting had given him on that and Ranma and Shaak's part in this conflict. However he stopped and stared for a moment at a little cleaning droid, his eyes narrowing.
None of the others noticed this, even Rancisis, since he wished to head to his own mediation room. K'Kruhk moved off after the droid swiftly, with Shaak and Ranma moving in the opposite direction.
Ranma was almost radiating irritation and anxiety. Not anger, per se, but something a little too close to it for Shaak's comfort. Knowing the problem, she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. "It is a very big galaxy, Ranma. You cannot solve all the problems out there, even if a fist could do it in the first place," she said, trying to make light of Ranma's worries.
Ranma smiled faintly at that, but Shaak could still feel his anxiety there and she went on more seriously. "You are a fulcrum Ranma. You have changed a lot, but even so, you cannot move the entire galaxy with a single fulcrum. You have to spawn others, which you have. You have helped us and others prepare. So long as we have a fighting chance that is all any of us can ask for."
As Ranma smiled at that, his good mood returning, Shaak asked, "Will you be fine on your own?"
"Off to see the rugrat?" Ranma asked, though it was obviously rhetorical. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He looked over as K'Kruhk rounded the corner at the other end of the hallway. "Maybe I'll drag K'Kruhk out for a little sparring or see if Master Koth has anything interesting he thinks he can teach me."
"Very well. I'll see you later tonight, back on the Wild Blade," Shaak replied.
Ranma nodded, watching her move off. His eyes perhaps automatically drifted down to her rear for a moment before pulling his attention away, heading off after K'Kruhk.
Of course, Shaak felt that spike of interest from her lover and smirked internally. Better he concentrate on something like that then his own growing dark thoughts. Swiftly, she shook that thought off, moving through the temple downstairs towards where she could sense Ahsoka. She found her along with the rest of her clan in another classroom, learning what looked to be some mathematical equations, which Shaak recognized as astronavigation. That fits with the earlier class, Shaak reflected, stopping in the doorway.
She nodded to the teacher, then asked softly, "May I take young Miss Tano from you for a moment?"
The teacher bowed in reply, knowing, as did the entire teaching staff, what this was about. The padawan bond which had begun to form almost instantly between Shaak and Ahsoka was well known. Now that she thought about it, Shaak found it ironic that the Order approved of the padawan/master bond when they were so dead set against any other forms of attachment. I suppose it could be because the bond between padawan and master is meant to end after a time. Its very lack of permanence makes it acceptable. Still, I'm certainly not going to complain at the moment.
Ahsoka bowed to the teacher, then walked with measured steps over to the door, following Shaak down the hallway for a few moments before gleefully grinning up at her. "It's good to see you, Master Ti!" she exclaimed, looking as if she wanted to hug the older Togrutan. Shaak simply smiled faintly at that, reaching over to lay a gentle hand on her still slightly soft montrals. As she grew, those horns would both grow and harden into the horn-like substance Shaak's were now.
"I imagine you already have realized why I am here, but let us formally state it. I am here to take you on as my padawan." She held up a hand before Ahsoka could speak. "Realize that I will be a stern taskmaster. Realize that the life Ranma and I lead is chaotic, combative, and very difficult at times. While there will be joy and laughter, there will also be combat, sorrow, and, alas, even death. You will learn things about the universe as a whole that you have not before this, things both dark and deep. Do you still wish to come with us? Do you still wish to be my padawan?"
Ahsoka actually paused and listened to her words rather than simply shout out a response as a child would have. Instead, she listened to Shaak's words and let them percolate through her mind, reaching out to the Force to sense the truth of them. Then she nodded, her voice formal. "Yes, Master. I want to be your padawan."
"Then come, child," Shaak said, leading the way through the temple out and down onto the landing pad. There they found HK marching around the landing ramp, glaring out into the rest of the 'underground' hangar bay. "Problems, HK?" Shaak asked as Ahsoka made a face at the large droid.
Ahsoka had never quite liked the droid ever since it had gotten a body. As a head, Ahsoka remembered that she used to think it was kind of funny the two times she'd been in its presence. But ever since he got in a body, HK was kind of off-putting.
"Disgruntled grumble: I detected some slight movement a time or two in the shadows, mistress. It was too small for them to be normal meatbags, let alone one of the locals. My optic sensors did not get a clear reading, but it was there."
"Interesting," Shaak said with a nod. "Stay on guard, but pass that on to Ranma, would you? I am going to be a bit too busy in a moment to deal with it myself." She peered into the darkness, reaching out with the Force, but found nothing: no sign of movement, no hint of danger. Whatever had been there had retreated quickly at the threat of HK. Smart of it, whatever it was. HK's been on edge for months now.
Ahsoka, for her part, had listened with a half an ear, staring at the ship in front of her. It was unlike any ship she had ever seen, and for some reason she didn't think it was made out of metal. "It looks almost alive," she said aloud.
"Most astute of you," Shaak said with a smile. "Instincts like that can sometimes be the way the Force chooses to speak to us. Listen to them when you can. The Wild Blade is indeed alive. It is called a living ship, and it is a fascinating creation with a fascinating back story. We'll tell you about it some other time. But come, I will show you inside."
Shaak took Ahsoka around the ship, quickly showing her all the different areas before showing Ahsoka her room. "You'll have to share it with another Jedi if one joins us at any point, but that shouldn't be a problem after your time with your clan, should it?"
"No, Master, so long as they don't snore, anyway. We had five people in our clan who snored, and the rest of us have taken to meditating before going to bed in order to try and dull our ears via the Force," Ahsoka replied, pushing down at the large, for her, anyway, bunk bed.
"Which in your case would be much more difficult than most," Shaak said with a faint smile. "Understandable."
With the tour over, Shaak sat in the main sitting area, crossing her legs under her once more as she had in the Council room, folding her hands in front of her in her robe. Ahsoka did the same across from her, minus the robe, staring at her new master intently. It was evident to Ahsoka that Shaak wanted to make certain that Ahsoka understood that training under her would be difficult and wouldn't all be sweetness and light, whatever she might have thought previously.
Then again, I didn't actually think that it in the first place, did I? she thought with amusement. Just because she and Shaak got along very well and that Ranma was around to be a distraction wasn't enough to hide the fact that Master Ti was very demanding as a teacher. Ahsoka had learned that during the time Master Ti had helped Ahsoka get over her vision of Master Ti's death.
So Ahsoka met Master Ti's eyes evenly, then suddenly found she could not have looked away if she wanted to. Some kind of pressure, a Force touch so light she hadn't even noticed it, kept Ahsoka still as a pressure built behind her eyes and all around her body.
"The Jedi Order teaches: in all things, balance. We must form a balance inside ourselves between our emotions. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There also needs to be a balance between the Force and ourselves. But balance is an uncaring thing. We Jedi must also serve the Light Side of the Force. What do I mean by this? I mean that I will teach you to be open to your emotions, to control them, and to never be afraid of them, yet also to never act on those feelings in an aggressive fashion. When you reach out to the Force, you must do so with joy in your heart and wonder in your soul. Never reach out in anger or hate or fear.
"Fear…." Shaak paused for a moment, watching Ahsoka, her Force powers all around the young girl, pressing down on her and pushing her words directly into Ahsoka's mind. "Fear like you felt when you saw a vision of my death. Fears like what many people routinely feel for a loved one, for their family, for themselves. Many times when Jedi speak of not giving into the Dark Side, we assume that anger or hate are the most powerful emotions, but they are not. Fear is, because it is more insidious, more difficult to combat. Yet we must never give into it, never act through the Force in fear.
"We must combat fear with courage," Shaak went on, giving each word a weight that threatened to press Ahsoka to the floor. "We must combat hate with love, and we must combat anger with determination and the desire to defend others. We must fight the Dark Side of the Force through calling on the Light Side and the Force as a whole, rejecting the Dark every time we do so. That is a Jedi's highest duty: to serve justice and to defend those who cannot defend themselves through the Force and our connection to it. To be the advisor, never the tyrant. To reject ego and ambition in favor of understanding. Do you understand?"
Not realizing what Shaak was doing, Ahsoka could barely think, and it was now a struggle to meet Master Ti's eyes. Yet Ahsoka did so, and eventually she forced out the words, her own Force power pressing out against Master Ti's, the words almost formal, but heartfelt, pulled both from within Ahsoka and from the Force as she swore what amounted to an oath. "Yes, Master. I, I am Ahsoka Tano, Jedi, and that is what I want to do. I will serve the Light Side of the Force and justice with all I am and may become."
Suddenly the pressure was gone, and Master Ti smiled, standing up and moving towards Ahsoka, enfolding the girl in a hug and pulling her to her feet. Ahsoka only now realized that she had just passed a very important test, and she hugged the older Togrutan back tightly, her body shivering in aftershocks.
"Well done, daughter of clan Jedi," Shaak said in their native tongue before stepping back slightly and reverting to Standard. "Now, here is what our daily regimen will be, when we can stick to it, at any rate. Don't expect us to do so very often. As I said earlier, mine and Ranma's lives are very chaotic. Far more chaotic than most Jedi would be willing to put up with; you will need to be able to deal with that. Nor will you be alone here for very long. We are, in fact, going to Mandalore to pick up other young people that Ranma will train in his own techniques. However, before that…" Shaak said, stepping back and pulling out her lightsaber via the Force into her hand. She activated it, then lowered the setting visibly, moving her thumb to do it so that Ahsoka saw. "Let us see what you have already learned."
OOOOOOO
In the temple above, K'Kruhk had followed the cleaning droid which had grabbed his attention for a bit, just far enough behind it that the droid didn't notice.
"What exactly are you doing?" Ranma asked from behind him. But since K'Kruhk had been extending his Force senses, he had known Ranma was there before he spoke.
"My Force Sense is telling me there is something off about the droid, and it was outside the Council room a moment ago…" K'Kruhk said quietly.
Ranma frowned. "Your Force Sense is so strong you can detect even if something mechanical is acting oddly? I don't mean to sound skeptical, but…"
"I cannot notice when things are so much acting oddly as out of place or a danger. The droid intended to be there at that time, and now it is attempting to throw us off the trail," K'Kruhk said with a frown on his boar-like features.
"That's amazing, though I've never run into any other Jedi that can do that concerning mechanical things, not even Master Yoda," Ranma replied, falling into step behind the large Whiphid.
"The Force does not run through mechanical items, so you have to sense the intent of the intelligence behind the droid," K'Kruhk said. "Some Knights and Masters can do that, but it is very difficult and gets tougher over time after the sentient behind the oddity has done whatever you are trying to sense. Other Knights can use the Force to see how mechanical things work together, though that is a far rarer gift, one I do not possess," K'Kruhk replied, trying to downplay his abilities.
"As for Master Yoda not being able to, he is not mechanically inclined. In fact, he is anti-mechanical in the truest sense of the word," K'Kruhk chuckled, turning his head slightly to actually wink at Ranma with one of his large eyes. "I've actually seen him cause a microwave to explode in the cafeteria at one point by punching the buttons and getting angry at it."
"I am going to have to make fun of him for that, you realize that, right?" Ranma said with a laugh before staring ahead of them through the five Jedi moving around the hallway between them and the target droid. "However, your stalking skills need work."
"All right, how would you go about this?" K'Kruhk asked evenly.
"Shaak's taught me a lot about hunting, but one thing I already knew before I met her was that a normal hunter stalks, a good hunter waits. If the droid is responding to orders, needing to listen in or something?" Ranma trailed off, making that a question, and, after a moment, K'Kruhk nodded. "Okay, then. How could it upload what it listened to?"
"The communications center," K'Kruhk said simply, turning and moving quickly. Ranma followed, but opened up the communicator to HK who had just called him. "We might be onto something interesting up here, HK. Bring something that can stop a droid without actually harming it."
"Irritated grumble: Wreck all my fun, master. But on that note, I too have something to report," HK's voice replied.
HK soon joined them, carrying a small gun that looked even smaller in his large mechanical hands and thee disks, which Ranma recognized as slave disks, mechanical items which could shut down a droid's ability to function and think without direct commands. "Professional report: Master, this is a blot gun, a glue gun in normal parlance. It should stop the droid swiftly, and the disk will keep it from doing anything. I took these disks from the Jedi's own storage area. Side-note: I also might have threatened bodily harm on one officious busybody to get into the storage area."
"Meh, I'll apologize for ya later if this don't work. If it does, I think the Knight in question'll just have to take it as a learning experience," Ranma said with a shrug. "Now, let's see what our ambush point is like."
The communications center was at the end of a hall without any doors leading off, on the floor directly below the council chamber. The wooden floor between the two levels was so thick you couldn't hear anything from above, and there was always a Jedi on station there.
K'Kruhk paused, frowning a little. "I had hoped we would be able to hide and catch the droid in the act. But my Force Cloak would not work on the droid. My ability to see through such is much greater than my ability to use said technique."
"Who says we can't?" Ranma asked with a smile. "Now, HK, you take position in the center itself. Me and K'Kruhk will stay here. If the Jedi on watch asks, tell him we're running a security exercise or something. That'll work, right? The cleaning droid can't upload wirelessly? It actually has to enter the room?"
"Indeed. It will need to connect physically with the communications console. That in turn will connect to Kashyyyk's Hypercom array," K'Kruhk replied. "But how will we hide in place?"
Ranma reached up, touching K'Kruhk's shoulder as he concentrated, pulling them both under the Umi-Sen-Ken and making them unseen and unnoticeable by anyone, even droids. Ranma had tested this technique on HK occasionally, freaking the droid out something fierce. "Now, we just wait."
After about ten minutes there was no traffic in the hallway from one end to the other. The next instant a little matte black cleaning droid skittered around the corner, beeping and booping. It made no odd moves, just moving from side to side of the hallway, cleaning the floor as it went.
However, when it reached the door to the communication room it signaled the door and entered, only to stop suddenly.
HK stood there, staring down at the other droid. "Suspicious growl: I would say freeze, but that would take all my fun. Try to run, do. Prove you are guilty of something, please?"
The droid beeped, then quickly began to retreat as HK raised his gun. But then Ranma was there, reaching down and grabbing it up off the ground, the control disk slapping onto its side. "Now, let's see what we can get off this thing."
Turning it over to two of the local Jedi who knew some programming proved to be something of a dead end however. "It's a simple one time program, a look and report type," said one of them, frowning irritably. "How it was uploaded is the question, though. We scrub these things every week."
"What's that mean in plain Standard?" Ranma asked.
"It would listen in on conversations to do with specific people, in this case you and Master Shaak. Then it would fire off anything it overheard over the Hypercom. It doesn't know where it goes from there, and it would erase the program the instant it did. Although…" The Jedi in question, an Aqualish, shook his head. "On the other hand, there's another program in the droid to upload to its fellows the first program, propagating it."
Nodding, Ranma looked over at two other Jedi who had been working with the first one. "You two and HK, get on this. Round up all of these little droids for now. And tell Yoda. We'll want to keep the communications center shut down for now."
As the two Jedi leaped to obey, not even questioning Ranma's right to give them orders despite not being a Jedi himself, Ranma turned back to the Aqualish. "Does that mean we could follow the signal through the Hypercom system?"
"I see what you want, but we could only follow it until it reached the first Hypercom relay hub, the larger relay stations that organize the network," the Aqualish Jedi said ruefully. "Trust me, we've tried to trace specific messages of this nature before."
"Okay…" Ranma frowned as behind him the door opened, admitting Master Koth and Master Yoda. "How much did it actually overhear?" Ranma asked. "And could we actually trace the signal if we were in position at this relay?"
The Jedi, having seen his superiors enter, quickly replayed the message. The droid hadn't overheard the entire conversation, just the conversation which had occurred near the end of the meeting. "So they'll know where we're going, but that's about it?" Ranma said with smile. "That might mean they are going to try to ambush us. Good."
Ranma pulled out his communicator, contacting Shaak this time and reporting what they discovered.
"I am unhappy about taking young Ahsoka into combat so quickly, but so long as she is actually aboard the ship I believe this is a viable idea," Shaak said, looking at Ahsoka sternly.
The two of them had been sparring for only thirty minutes, and Ahsoka was now drenched in sweat, while Shaak stood pristine, barely having moved as they dueled. Ahsoka was frankly astonished. She had known that Master Ti was a master duelist and in very good shape, but she had never seen her and Ranma spar before and had only ever seen Shaak do exercises with Ahsoka and the rest of her clan. It was evident that Master Ti had a lot more than just the Force to teach her.
Despite her physical exhaustion, however, Ahsoka had enough energy to send her master a puckish smirk which would not have looked entirely out of place on Ranma's face. "So don't pull an Anakin. Got it."
Shaak rolled her eyes at that as Ranma, who had overheard the comment from the other end of the line, laughed. He turned as Master Koth asked Yoda, "Do we have any Jedi near to this Relay Hub?"
"Obi-Wan and Siri Tachi," said Master Yoda after a second. "A dispute between a few of the locals and the human settlers, he is in that area to settle. Siri Tachi, there to trace an embezzlement scheme, originated within the Banking Clan, it did."
"That works quite well," said Master Rancisis with a nod, his eyes narrowed as he both ran calculations in his mind and reached out for the Force to feel its response. "The two of them make for a very decent investigative and combat team, though they are not among our best or brightest in either alone. They might well have been unremarked upon by the enemy we face."
"Need help, they will. A computer specialist's aid, they must have," Master Yoda said, looking at the Aqualish. "You, Knight T'vern, join your fellows, you will. Estimate how long the trip will take, can you?"
"If I take a Sprite, Master Yoda, about three to five hours. There are only a few jumps between here and there, and none of them will be very long," the now-named Aqualish Knight replied, trying not to visibly show his pleasure at being chosen for a mission like this.
"I will go with you," Master Koth said. "If this can lead us back to our enemy or even one of his bases, they might detect us coming through the Force and try to stop us. An extra lightsaber will come in handy then." Left unsaid was that Koth had proven himself against one Sith already, standing off the Sith assassin on Naboo with Kit Fisto, and he had only upped his training since.
"Wait we will for five hours, then send the message, we will," Yoda decided, looking up at Ranma. "Dangerous this will no doubt be for you."
"Meh. It'll be danger we'll see coming, anyway, thanks to K'Kruhk. And hey, it's been more than a year since our last death-defying fight," Ranma said with a fierce smirk on his face.
When told of the plan after he returned with several more cleaning droids, HK's entire body seemed to vibrate with joy. "Ecstatic exclamation: So, master, you, myself, and two Togrutans along with the giant primitive are going to play bait while this other team tries to localize the message?"
"Exactly, HK," Ranma said with a smirk.
"Joyful statement: Which, of course, will mean more violence. Oh, happy day!"
"There is something wrong with your droid, Ranma," K'Kruhk said with a tight smile on his boar-like features. "It takes far too much happiness in the idea of combat."
"You're not the first person to say that, K'Kruhk, and I doubt you'll be the last," Ranma said with a laugh.
With that Ranma headed to the commissary to get something to eat as Ahsoka raced back to the temple for the few personal possessions she had: a datapad with mediation techniques and other lessons on it, a few different bits of clothing, and a green lightsaber crystal she hadn't used in the creation of her lightsaber, but which had still called out to her.
Shaak took this moment to call Aayla but didn't get a reply, only her astromech droid taking the call. She left a message for her friend to contact her if she could, then began to prep the Wild Blade for launch. After that she meditated in the cockpit for a time, reaching out to the Force and preparing for what was to come.
However, her attention was diverted from this an hour later as Ranma and HK returned from the temple. There was a squawk of outrage followed quickly by the now familiar and somewhat welcome feel of the Force giggling in her mind as Ranma changed forms, and Shaak exited the cockpit to find Ranma glaring down at an unrepentant Ahsoka, who was wielding one of Anakin's water guns.
"Oh ho, so it's gonna like that, is it, rugrat?" Ranma growled, running fingers through her wet hair. "If it's a war you want…"
"None of that, now," Shaak chided. "Ahsoka, there is a time and place for pranks like that, my padawan." She looked away, amused by the look of pleasure on the young girl's face at being called her padawan. "As for you, Ranma, besides being wet now, do you really have a problem being in female form any longer?"
"Well, besides being so much shorter and with a shorter reach, um… Not really, I guess. I still prefer being in my normal body, though."
"I actually think a better term than short would be fun-size," Shaak said, smiling wickedly at Ranma.
Ranma flushed, shaking her head. "Heh, you'll break poor little Ahsoka's brain before you even start her training, Shaak. Still, I suppose we do have better things to do than my getting back at the rugrat for her assault on my person. Though that's only postponed, Ahsoka. I'll get you back when you least expect it."
At that, Ahsoka looked torn between glaring and blushing at what little of the implication behind her master's statement she understood. Why is the Force telling me to mind my own business just now? "Hmmpf! I'll be waiting, but I've spent the last few years with my clan and students both older and younger, all of whom have taken to use the Force as a prank tool. I can take anything you dish out!"
"Oh, you should not have said that. Still, I suppose some humility will help you learn better in the future," Shaak said with a shake of her head as Ranma cackled.
"Irritated grumble: Can we forgo all this pointless meatbag interaction and get ready to kill something already?" HK groused, heading up to the cockpit.
OOOOOOO
Similar to the fact he only had a few agents capable of spy missions, Set did not have an admiral to put in charge of the ad hoc armada he had been able to bring together. Thus, Set found himself in the uncomfortable position of needing to actually be there and take part of an ambush once more. Since there was no way he could observe without his ship being spotted—the area where the ambush was occurring was a planet-less star system and was not exactly a trade hub—he would actually have to be part of the ambush. This was not something he was looking forward to, but there was nothing for it.
Since his former ship had self-destructed after the battle on Vjun, he could no longer use it, though to be fair, he probably would not have anyway. Set always felt that there was more protection in anonymity than in martial prowess. Following that thought, he was piloting a Belbullab-22 starfighter. This was a heavy starfighter constructed by Feethan Ottraw Scalable Assemblies, known for its tough shielding for a starfighter and its triple laser canons, which were able to target both starfighters and larger ships. Since there were three squadrons of them, he was simply one of many. Set's fighter even had a special communication device that would bounce his orders around the fleet randomly once battle was joined, so that the Locus and his allies could not localize him in that manner. With this anonymity and his Force Cloak, Set was certain he could hide his presence from any scrutiny.
Accompanying those three starfighter squadrons were two more squadrons of Vulture fighters, the oldest variant, which had been sold on the open market; two squadrons of Dianoga starfighters, which had four laser cannons and one ion cannon; and thirty larger patrol craft and gunboats, most coming from the Turbostorm variant. These were old but still viable and tough gunboats, which contained two concussion missile launchers that could fire their magazines in sprint mode. Backing these smaller combatants up were ten large freighters that had been refitted for combat purposes, with one of them acting as the control ship for the Vultures. The others had a very eclectic mix of weapons, but deadly for all of that.
This was the firepower of seven different pirate bands brought together by the promise of money. Set had promised the survivors of the action each enough money to buy their own space stations. Together they had enough firepower to conquer many an Expansion Region planet, enough firepower to fight a sector patrol fleet and win.
Then why is the Dark Side whispering to me to be wary?
OOOOOOO
"Warning: unknown gravitic hazard ahead. Exiting hyperspace!" Tune's voice echoed around the ship, waking up Ranma from where he had been napping in the pilot's chair. An instant later he was joined by the two Jedi, and the Jedi-in-training joined him in the cockpit quickly.
The Wild Blade came out of space in a system near where they would change course to use the Hydian Way that would take them directly into the Mandalore sector. Their progress to that point had been stopped by a large asteroid being pushed into the lane they were following from Kashyyyk, which Ranma flew them under as Shaak strapped in, pushing the yoke forward as hard as possible to avoid smashing into it. "Ah, our guests are here," he quipped. "Tune, any damage to our engines?"
"Negative, master. The living ship basal-based engines are more robust against sudden exits like this," Tune reported. "The synapse intelligence actually spotted the trouble coming at the same time I did."
K'Kruhk was leaning over Shaak's shoulder, looking at the radar screen and counting out the numbers, a little shocked as the enemy ships closed in, already firing. "We, we are looking at what amounts to four…no, perhaps even seven different pirate bands, an entire fleet! If the Sith can bring together these kind of numbers quickly…"
"Yeah, we are. Real target rich environment. And I doubt it was quickly. I'd also be willin' to bet it was a one-time thing," Ranma said as he reached back over his shoulder and pulled the control hood over his head. He felt the sting of the synapse feelers touching his skin but ignored it, already throwing the ship into wild evasions. "HK if one of those ships out there doesn't die before they get in their first hit, I will be severely disappointed in you."
"Gleeful response: Challenge accepted, master. Oh, happy day! More than a year without any true bloodshed, only sparring with the master and his equally un-squishable mistress. Ah, this is a balm on my electronic soul," HK replied, connecting himself to the weapons station behind the two pilot's chairs.
"Still waiting for you to actually do something, y'know?" Ranma replied, while Shaak pulled her own hood over her head, scowling slightly at the feel of it over her montrals. Soon enough, like Ranma, only her mouth and chin were visible, as she and Ranma melded into the disparate parts of the ship. Ranma was the pilot, part of the engines, thrusters and wings. Shaak became its primary weapons, the forward facing weapons systems.
"Prideful tone: Target acquired; target dead. And look, master; it died before your version of wild maneuvering could get us all killed," HK replied.
"Great. One down, hundreds to go," Ranma drawled as more starfighters began to attack from all sides. It was evident that his fast reaction to the asteroid had thrown off the pirates or whatever they were, catching them well out of position. Now they came together in two large wings, which had been gathered around the sides of the asteroid, coming down and around it toward the Wild Blade.
Standing with Knight K'Kruhk by the hatch into the cockpit, Ahsoka had to stifle a giggle at the droid and Ranma's responses. Gone was any wariness she had been feeling towards the droid, replaced by amusement.
To her side K'Kruhk looked a little lost, wondering what he should be doing here, until another seat folded out of the back bulkhead next to HK.
"That is the aft weapons station," Shaak said, powering up her weapons and removing their coverings. "Please take a seat, K'Kruhk. We are going to need more eyes on this fight. HK controls the quad cannons on the wings and the belly; you control the magma missile launcher and the quad laser set into the top of the aft section of the ship."
"What about me, Master?" Ahsoka asked
Shaak paused, thinking, and at her thoughts another seat came up out of the floor to one side of the Whiphid between him and Tune's recessed hole. This made the cockpit somewhat crowded, thanks to K'Kruhk's size, but it was certainly safer than having Ahsoka retreat to her quarters. And I know I would dislike not being able to see what is going on.
"Wow…" Ahsoka breathed, staring at the chair which looked like it had just molded itself out of the deck. She sat down quickly, and she felt the sides of the chair come up to meet around her middle in a thick safety belt. To one side of her, a section of the console around Tune turned so that she could see it.
"Take the radar station and control of the dovin basal. If you see anything unusual, warn us. In particular look for sections of the enemy which are operating more as a unit than the rest," Shaak said as she began to fire the plasma cannons at a group of starfighters coming towards them. This was an excellent example of overkill, as each shot killed a starfighter regardless of type or shield.
"The what?" Ahsoka asked. She knew she had heard about that weapon system before, but why would a person need to be in charge of it over all the rest?
"It's a weapon that can fire at missiles and other things," Ranma said with a grunt, turning the ship on a dime and dodging incoming fire from a few gunboats. Their lock broken, they all died in a second under fire from HK's quad cannon. "It creates some kind of gravity thingy and makes them explode too soon. Tune, see if you can hack into their communications systems. Then tell us about the types of ships we're seeing out there."
The next second the ship rocked slightly as a turbolaser blast from the large merchant ships caught them. "No damage, shields still at nearly one hundred percent" Tune reported.
It only then occurred to Ahsoka that this was real. That this wasn't a simulation, and that they weren't even going to try and run. Shaak and Ranma, even their droids, seemed confident. That feeling spread from Shaak to the two newcomers, filling them. With that help, Ahsoka threw off her momentary anxiety, straightening her shoulders as she reached forward, her fingers hovering over the control of the dovin basal. "Let's do this!"
For Set, in his starfighter, the battle was somewhat surreal from the get-go. First, he and his dupes hadn't been prepared for the visual impact of the ship they were here to kill. It looked like a predator of space, and the way it moved was incredible. The way the ship dodged and danced around made it seem as responsive as the best kind of starfighter despite its size, which was closer to the size of a capital ship than a gunboat like the Wild Light had been. This, of course, made many of the pirates' fire hit one another instead of their target. That wouldn't be good in the long run, but it wasn't anything pirates weren't used to.
No need to worry just yet, Set thought, despite the Dark Side now nearly screaming a warning at him. The Locus said it was responsive, but not durable… He watched as two turbolaser blasts caught the side of the ship and shields intercepted the bolts, showing no strain as they did.
When he saw that, Set realized he had fallen for the Locus's attempt at disinformation. His worry grew at that, and he began to wonder, who is the hunted here?
Working in tandem, Ranma and Shaak knew that they had to move through the dogfight towards the larger ships that were staying back. Given their defenses, it was those ships that were the real threat. But that didn't mean they were the only ones.
"Master Ti! I have incoming starfighters, a full squadron, staying together," Ahsoka said, trying not to shout, as that would be unbecoming, even as a few laser beams tagged them. The enemy were mostly getting in their own way, the numbers working against them as Ranma dove their ship around and through the dogfight, but that didn't mean the enemy couldn't still overwhelm them.
Tune had described these fighter a moment before, and Ranma and Shaak both instantly knew this was a threat they had to take seriously. These fighters, which looked like a flying cross, almost, with a slightly forward thrusting main body, carried a single small ion cannon. Still, even though they were small, massed ion cannon fire would take out the shields and the quad cannons.
"I see them, thank you, padawan," K'Kruhk said, killing two of them with single magma missile shots each. "The shields of those vessels leave much to be desired."
"Professional displeasure: At least they have shields, unlike those pitiful excuses for droids."
The Vulture droid fighters were easily the most agile starfighters in the battle, dodging in and around other starfighters and the blaster fire that was crisscrossing space, lighting up this small portion of the star system as if someone had decided to set off the galaxy's largest fireworks display. Their two concussion missile launchers, with four missiles apiece, also gave them a decent punch if they could lock on to the Wild Blade, which the pirates were having a tremendous amount of difficulty doing thanks to Ranma's wild maneuvers.
But they didn't have any shields. Even a glancing hit from one of their fellows sent a Vulture careening out of the fight, and HK locked them up with the quad lasers whenever he could. Thanks to their having the aforementioned concussion missiles, a single blast turned them into scrap. "Disgruntled tone: They must be the oldest variety available."
"That is the only variety of Vulture fighter that is allowed to be sold on the open market, so yes," Shaak replied matter-of-factly as she readied the Wild Blade's primary weapons. A second later the Force whispered to her once more, and she saw the opening she had been prepared for. A gunboat's shield flared out after two bolts of plasma fire from her cannons landed, opening the range to one of the freighters that were keeping their distance from the dogfight and raining turbolaser fire into it.
Three shots struck home on the Wild Blade's shield, and, for the first time, the shield indicator on Ahsoka's screen went yellow. But in reply the four capital grade ion cannons on the Wild Blade lashed out, impacting the freighter's shielding. Those shields failed in a cascade of fire, and an instant later two proton torpedoes slammed into the freighter's hull near the front. Those two proton torpedoes blew off the front of the freighter, sending its pieces tumbling through space.
This was yet another sign to Set that the battle was not going well. Oh, the pirates were scoring hits, and he could tell that eventually they might be able to wear it down, but that was a very large 'eventually.' The target ship's shields slowly rose to full power again even as he watched, only to be beaten down once more by incoming fire, but that hardly mattered. For every minute they went by, his side lost starfighters, and he could feel through the Force that panic was setting in.
These were not trained soldier, dedicated terrorists, or religious fanatics, willing to die for their cause. These were pirates, and the breed was not known for their spinal fortitude. Worse, it was evident to most of the starfighters that they were doing most of the damage to themselves. The Locus's wild maneuvering made at least two out of every three shots go wide, and they had yet to score a hit with a concussion missile or a proton torpedo.
We just need to take out those shields. Are they a Mon Calamari design? Set hadn't had any dealings with them before this, but he had heard from Sidious that they believed in a redundant shielding policy, multiple generators overlapping one another. That seemed to be the case here, as when one shield generator began to lose energy the others would take up the slack.
A plan began to emerge in Set's mind, and he quickly opened his radio. "We need to get organized! No more of this free-for-all nonsense!"
Aboard the Wild Blade, Ahsoka noticed something change on the radar. "Master Ti, I'm seeing a pattern here. Those cross shaped fighters…"
"Dianoga," Tune supplied primly.
"Yeah, them," Ahsoka replied, reaching over and patting him on the dome. "Sorry, Mr. Pedant. Anyway, they're falling back. All of them are forming up together once more. And now they're being joined by those heavier starfighters, the ones that can take multiple hits from the quad lasers?"
"Those are called Belbullab starfighters," Tune supplied helpfully. "Not very agile, but tough shielding and decent offensive fire."
"I sense a single mind out there has taken command," Shaak said to the rumbling grumble of a Whiphid grunt of agreement. But even as she spoke, Shaak had to concentrate on firing, hitting a few gunboats here and there around them.
But now those gunboats had fallen back too. No longer were they attempting to close the range; they were simply taking potshots at mid-range and continually surrounding the Wild Blade, making certain that it couldn't, in turn, close the range with the larger capital ships, which were still keeping their distance. The Vultures and one squadron of mixed starfighters continued to dogfight with the Wild Blade and were succeeding now that the enemy was more organized and not getting in their own way.
Worse yet, because they had opened up like this, the larger ships also now had a better chance of actually hitting the Wild Blade rather than their own troops. The ship rocked through a series of hits, but Ranma was moving the ship so wildly that they still couldn't get a lock on.
However, K'Kruhk's next words caught her attention even as she fired her cannons once more. "There is a Force user out there," he said, his eyes actually closed at his station even as his large hands moved on the controls, killing another Vulture fighter and then knocking out a Belbullab fighter's shielding for a follow-on kill from HK. "He is hiding under a Cloak which is better than any I've felt before, but I can still sense his presence. Little else, I'm afraid, though putting that together with the fact that they are now coming up with an actual plan means this whole thing was indeed set up by the Sith as we supposed. Though I am surprised one of them is actually here to take part."
"Good," Ranma muttered, ignoring, like the two Jedi, the gasp of shock from Ahsoka at the use of the name of their ancient enemy. "Maybe we can kill another apprentice. The Darth, or whatever he is, has to be running out of those at some point, right?"
"The galaxy is vast, as is its abundance of scum. Else he would never be able to put this kind of assault together," Shaak said, mock-philosophically.
Set's plan was simple but effective, for all of that, as any plan would have been when dealing with a single ship, no matter how dangerous. With the Vultures and gunboats taking the fire from the Wild Blade, he pulled the Dianoga back, allowing them to reform their unit cohesion. Then, with a squadron of Belbullab fighters in the lead to soak up damage, they went in as a unit, coming up from the underside of the Wild Blade. From that angle, they could get a firing solution on it no matter how the Locus attempted to dodge.
Of course, this put the onus of dying on the gunboats, something no pirate would have agreed to under normal circumstances. The pirates' own very disorganized and egotistical nature had done just as much damage to Set's ambush as the Locus and his ship's amazing maneuverability. However, Set had the proper response to that: promising the gunboat survivors three times the amount they had agreed upon initially to be part of this ambush. It was just money, after all, and Set didn't intend on letting any of them live anyway.
With that in mind, he also decided it was time for a more personal gamble. Reaching through the Force and thus revealing his presence despite his Cloak, Set's mind settled on the pilots of the Dianoga fighters, overriding their willpower. With that control, he set them against the Wild Blade.
With Set directing them, the Dianoga starfighters strafed upwards, following the Belbullab, at the underside of the Wild Blade, which, alas, was as protected as the rest of it. Several ships blew apart under the concentrated quad laser fire, and the ship attempted to evade, rolling to one side and thrusting forward even faster than it had been moving. But the Dianoga squadron still were able to hit it with a wave of ion cannon fire, and they stayed with it, pouring as much power into the shields of their enemy as they could, unmindful of their own mortality. Indeed, Set exulted, the hate and rage he felt through them caused by their sudden loss of free will fueling his powers.
"Port shield generator offline. Redistributing," Tune reported, his young boy's voice now utterly robotic. "Shields down to fifty percent, forty percent. Aft shield generator offline."
With HK, Shaak and K'Kruhk all on the job, the enemy starfighters paid for their successful strafing run, nine of them blown out of the sky in the next few minutes, but the damage was done. The Blade's shields were based on the Mon Calamari design. Redundancies were built into them everywhere they could be, and they could have shrugged off a few ion pulse blasts. But more than a dozen overpowered ion blasts delivered in quick succession was too much.
Even as K'Kruhk sent magma missiles after the remaining trio, concussion missiles and turbolasers spread through the battlefield. As good as he was, Ranma couldn't quite dodge them all. "Shields failing," said Shaak, still calm, while Ahsoka was silent, trying to fight back a wave of panic that threatened to break through her training.
Then she felt Shaak reaching out to her through the Force. "Calm, Ahsoka. Watch and learn. Surely you have heard of Ranma's toughness technique?"
"The toughness technique? But…" Ahsoka said, then stared around the cockpit in renewed wonder. "Of course! This ship, it's alive!"
Ranma grinned at that but didn't turn away from his controls, still piloting them through the battle. Numerous hits both large and small got through, but the ship simply absorbed them, taking no real damage. An instant later HK killed the last Dianoga with K'Kruhk's aid, and Ranma flung them through the fire of a few gunboats trying to get at them from above.
This, however, let one of the converted freighters lock onto them, and more concussion missiles flashed out, this time followed by a few proton torpedoes too. "Ahsoka, get ready!"
Having felt this moment coming through the Force, Ahsoka didn't need Ranma's shouted warning. She was already poised, one portion of her mind reaching out to the ship's gestalt and getting a feel for the range of the odd weapon she was in charge of, both its shooting range and the range of the effect it created. She waited as more than three dozen mixed missiles and torpedoes rocketed towards them, enough firepower to crack a dreadnought should they all hit the same spot.
A few more missiles flashed past from the gunboats and Vultures, their systems having now compensated for the Wild Blade's amazing agility, allowing their computers to lock onto the enemy ship. But Ranma still dodged them all, though this only opened their ship up further to the incoming wave from the converted freighter. Ranma tried to turn away from them, but even that would not have saved them.
"Now," Ahsoka said calmly, firing the dovin basal as the missiles clumped together, each individual missile turning to follow Ranma's wild evasions.
The dovin basal was situated along the spine of the ship, a little bit towards the aft of the ship between two of the quad cannons. It was the most organic looking of the weapons the ship contained, surpassing the plasma cannons or magma missile launcher by a wide margin, with a barrel that looked more like the sucker from a fish of some kind attached to the normal organic turret.
Now it fired out a black ball of living matter like a child with a spitball. An instant later that spitball in turn created gravitic waves all around it, which shredded all the nearby missiles, causing many of them at the outer edge to explode, taking with them more of their fellows.
Before the pirates or the controlling mind behind them could recover from the shock of this sudden turnaround, Ranma flipped the ship around and blasted back through the wreckage of the explosion. HK killed many of the gunboats around them in that time before they had a chance to realize the Wild Blade was back among them, while K'Kruhk concentrated on the remaining Belbullab starfighters. The ship took more hits as the pirates recovered their wits, but by then K'Kruhk had found his target. "There! I have him! The Sith!"
"Take the shot!" Shaak grunted.
An instant later K'Kruhk began to fire on the target starfighter, which attempted to twist and turn away, unloading ten magma missiles at it. The Sith could dodge a few of them, even with HK and K'Kruhk adding quad laser fire into the mix, but he could not dodge them all. An instant later his starfighter exploded.
At the same time, the Wild Blade once more closed on the larger ships at the back of the battle. Shaak's fingers danced as they fired on one after another. Plasma cannons tore down their shields, followed by ion cannon blasts, which knocked out every system aboard one ship. The next ion cannon blasts took out the shields for the proton torpedoes, while plasma cannons simply tore through a third pirate vessel whose captain had not invested enough in shielding.
By the time K'Kruhk had finished with his chosen task of ending the Sith's life once and for all, three more large pirate vessels were so much wreckage along with more than ten of the remaining gunboats.
"Tune, open communications to the pirate fleet. Flood the channels. It's time to use a bit of psychological warfare." Ignoring Ahsoka asking, 'Isn't that just a fancy way of saying taunting?' Ranma waited for Tune to indicate that the coms were open before speaking. "This is Ranma Saotome and Jedi Master Shaak Ti. I thought you idiots would've realized by now that fighting us is a losing proposition whatever you do. Still, far be it from me to complain when you idiots want to sacrifice yourselves for nothing."
Almost instantly the pirates put that name to the image of a certain pigtailed warrior who had slaughtered pirate bands, mercenary groups, and even a whole bounty hunter chapter. Nearly two years out of circulation, those stories had started to seem more like tall tales, but with the truth of them all around them, the pirates had no recourse but to believe.
With Set dead and more than two thirds of their forces shattered, the surviving pirates did what overmatched pirates always did: they fled, every ship for themselves. The remaining five converted freighters turned and jumped instantly for hyperspace, already being out of the gravity well of the asteroid they had moved to pull the Wild Blade into their ambush. The gunboats and scant handful of remaining warp capable starfighters simply turned and fled, racing for the edge of that gravity well as HK continued to fire on them until Ranma ordered him to stop.
"Affronted shock: Master, you cannot be thinking of leaving any of these idiotic meatbags alive, can you?" HK asked, swiveling away from his post at the weapons control to stare at the back of Ranma's head.
"Not out of the goodness of my heart, HK," Ranma said, reaching up to disengage the hood, the feelers pulling at the skin of his neck and head as he did. Good thing I don't have to worry about those things trying to actually puncture skin. I'd have to split my attention between the actual fight and pushing down the ki in my skin. "It's called advertising, HK. We've been out of sight for a while now, which means we need to build our reputation back up to the level where these idiots won't be willing to mess with us again."
"We want the Sith to start having some real recruitment troubles, HK. That means balancing the need to defend ourselves as vigorously as possible with the need to let survivors escape to tell the tale," Shaak added. "K'Kruhk, where did you say that Sith was?"
K'Kruhk directed them through the fight to where he had killed the starfighter containing the Sith. At the same time Tune brought the shields back online, the generators having shut down due to ionic overload, with the help of the ship's intelligence.
Ranma also used his Living Force to aid the gestalt in rebuilding the amount of energy that had been used to toughen the ship's outer hull to absorb the damage it had. Ahsoka felt this but said nothing, just adding it to the growing list of questions she had about what the kriff she had really signed on for here.
Staring out the viewscreen, Shaak wasn't actually seeing the wreckage of the battle. Rather, she was using the Force to scan through it and the memory of what she felt when the Sith reached through his Force Cloak to take command of the minds of some of his pawns. "No trace of his body left, but I feel as if I knew his mind. It felt like the Sith we tangled with on Vjun."
Ranma groaned. "Could he be like that ancient ghost guy you dealt with on the jungle moon?"
Feeling Ahsoka and K'Kruhk's confusion, Shaak turned her seat around to smile at them. "Don't worry, I will fill you both in on that. It was a bit of an adventure we ran into several years back. But to answer your question, Rama, yes. I very much fear that Set Harth has developed something similar to Exar Kun's abilities."
"Great…" Ranma drawled before shaking his head as he got up out of the pilot's chair, setting the gestalt on autopilot. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll tell the Order about it when we can. For now, Tune, set a course for Mandalore. Me, I'm thinking a victory steak is in order."
Ahsoka bolted upright, thrusting aside all her other questions for a moment to concentrate on something far more important to her Togrutan predator's soul. "Did you just say steak?"
OOOOOOO
Set found himself once more in a clone body on Waypoint, although this time the experience was much less debilitating as he hadn't been in pain when he abandoned his corporeal form and sent his mind and soul out into the Force, searching for another clone body. Yet for all of that, he was most definitely displeased. No, Set was furious about how the day had gone.
After dealing with the various security droids and programs put in place, Set growled out, "Droid, contact Durge via the regular dead drop. I'll want the team ready to act within a month. Tell him we're going to insert into Shili and await them there. If direct force in space cannot work, we are left to attempt subterfuge. I am going to take a bath and meditate. Contact me if one of the known free windows with Darth Sidious comes up. He isn't going to like this day's business or the implications…"
End Chapter
I had thought to use Obi-wan as a permanent part of the crew, but I decided that, like Fay, he and Siri Tachi just would not fit in with the crew—they are investigators and Consulars, not Guardians, despite their skills in combat, Siri in particular, there. Doesn't mean we won't see them again, but not as part of the Wild Blade's crew. Instead, K'Kruhk has some unique abilities that made him a good choice, as shown in this chapter, though I haven't quite fleshed out his place in the crew quite yet. I will introduce the others as time goes on, including several Mandos that will be OC's created by my Patrons. Don't worry, guys, I'll name you in the forward in the next chapter when I use the characters you came up with.
Oh, and since I know people will ask: Ahsoka is twelve now and Anakin is sixteen. The Clone wars will start a year earlier than in cannon.
The July polls are up now, both the small story and the SW Poll over on Pat R on (soon, for that one). If you want to have more of a say in what stories I concentrate on, please consider signing up over on my Pat R on page. There you will get four votes in each poll—the small story poll and the Star Wars Crossover story poll (which includes ATP when I can say that I will be able to update it)—for every dollar donated and access to my Ranma/Fairy Tail crossover, Making Waves, as well as several teaser chapters, omakes, and future story concepts. If you think about it, there are close to 120,000 words this month alone in these stories, so…
