Mor'how and his tribespeople joined forces with us in order to battle the Separatists which attempted to land their droid army on the planet after they broke through Master Plo's blockade. Our troops were able to spring a surprise attack upon them, and the planet did the rest of the work destroying them before they had been able to properly form their ranks. The planet being so overly hostile and dangerous proved to the Separatists that to build a new factory there was unviable, and so they left the system, and Mor'how promised that his people would continue to protect their world, proving themselves such vicious warriors as to be more than capable of ripping apart the metal bodies of the droid army.
Once the planet of Roth was secure, we were able to leave the planet and as I turned my back to the viewport, I felt a sense of peace as through the Force, that I would never go back to that planet for the rest of my life. I could not deny that this knowledge granted me a great deal of comfort and reassurance. For the final time, I closed that chapter on my life, and intended to never reopen it again. Upon returning to the temple, I resumed my previous routine only this time with the addition of Barriss Offee, who had been released back to the Jedi Order and was now under my supervision. Master Luminara had no choice but to relinquish Barriss as her padawan, but now that she was in my care, I was able to remind her of Jedi values, and even brought her with me to teach in the lower levels of the Underworld.
Being able to give her direction and focused was clearly the right option, as Barriss began to return to the gentle and devoted Jedi that she was before. Teaching softened her views of the war, as she was now able to feel that she was doing something productive to lessen the burden, and soon enough, she was calling me 'Master'. I had not officially taken her on as a padawan, but the council was also requesting that I continue and finish Barriss's training to see her through to the Trials, as they had recognised their mistakes and acknowledged that they were partly to blame for pushing Barriss and neglecting the fact that she had fallen towards the Dark Side.
I accepted Barriss as my padawan learner, however I made the note that since I had not trained her from the beginning, once she became a Jedi Knight herself, I would not accept the elevation to the rank of Master, as I felt that it would be cutting the journey short. If I was to become a master, I wished for it to be through my own abilities, and not because of chance or convenience. I felt that I still had a great deal of learning and growing to do myself before I could acknowledge myself to be worthy of the title. Barriss was a calm, attentive and very obedient padawan. Master Luminara only had the highest praise of her, though I accepted that it was usually traditional for some species within the Order to be trained by their own kind, but in this case, an exception was made. Barriss needed very little more training in any case, merely a slight…recalibration of sorts.
She stayed by my side, helping to train the younglings and teach my students as we settled back into our routines. Together, Barriss and I played our part in the temple as the war continued to progress, and every spare moment that Kit and I were near one another and alone, we stole time to be with one another, even if it was just for a few seconds to hold onto one another's hands, to share a look with one another, an embrace, before we would then part ways as if nothing had occurred at all. Our relationship was kept a secret, as if we were found out, Kit would lose his seat on the Council and I would most likely be expelled from the Jedi Order. Again. We did not want for either of those things to happen, as although we loved one another, we both held a sense of duty to the people of the galaxy to be able to do whatever we could to serve them as Jedi.
I kept my feelings for him a tightly bound secret, even from my master and closest friend Aayla, not allowing anyone to become aware of the secrets I harboured. Instead, I kept my focus on my teaching and classes, but also upon the progression of the politics in the Senate, and the war effort around us. Although I did not agree with it, I felt it prudent to keep an eye on things that were occurring, and more often than not, either my master or Kit would mention something of importance that would give me a reason to ponder and think for many hours afterwards. Most recently were the events concerning the killing of one of our own, Master Tiplar, by a clone trooper known as Tup, and the subsequent devolvement of the ARC trooper known as Fives. Both had been soldiers in Anakin Skywalker's battalion, and Master Plo told me a little of the conspiracy that Fives had tried to uncover whist being hunted for trying to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor.
These events caused a tremor in the Force, one that I had felt at the time of Fives's death, shivering slightly as I had been with Barriss, who had asked me with concern if anything was wrong. At the time I had not been able to answer, but now I was certain that the death I had felt had been that of ARC trooper Fives, the truth he had sought to tell us dying with him. It had been found that inhibitor chips had been placed in all clones since the early stages of their birth cycle, supposedly meant to keep their aggression in check, however with the words 'conspiracy' floating around, I could not help but find myself curious.
Once curious, I thought to understand these events for myself with a little more clarity, and upon happening past Captain Rex whilst still stationed on Coruscant, I was able to ask him about the incident. "Of course sir, I know Fives was out of order attacking the Chancellor, but I know he didn't mean it. He was sick, confused, there had to be something wrong, otherwise he never would have done something like that." Rex said to me as we continued our discussion whilst walking through the streets of the upper levels, as I was on my way to teach. "I know Fives, I've fought beside him. His actions weren't anything like him, and these inhibitor chips…something feels off about them, I logged my concerns but so far they've been ignored. I don't know what else to do, sir."
"I sense that you are right in your assumption that something is amiss in this case." I admitted thoughtfully as I tucked my hand behind my back, thinking carefully. "From what you have described, and what my master has mentioned from hearing the account from Master Shaak Ti, it would almost appear as if the Kaminoans were attempting to keep Fives and the chips away from Jedi hands. They themselves have completely disappeared, I do not believe that these incidents can be coincidental." Rex looked at me with intelligence, his mind measuring my words and processing them quickly.
"Then do you mean sir, that this may be a Separatist plot after all?"
"I cannot be certain, please, can you recount everything that Clone Trooper Fives said in your meeting? Even a single word could be crucial. Better yet, will you allow me to see?" Explaining that I might be able to see what had happened through his eyes with the Force, Rex allowed me to do so, though I warned him beforehand that it would prove distressing for him. Still he agreed, telling me that if there was some truth to what Fives was saying, then it needed to be investigated. I watched the events unfold, seeing flashes of images, faces and places, and felt the feelings Rex had gone through upon finding his brother in such a state of mind. Through Rex, I was able to feel Fives and his own fear, his anxiety, listening to the echoes of his words in my own mind as he insisted that the Chancellor had framed him, and that there was a plot to destroy the Jedi, and the chips had something to do with it.
Drawing back just before the moment of his death, I lowered my hands from where my fingers had been resting upon Rex's head, now completely overwhelmed in thought. "If there is any truth to what Fives was speaking, then these are very grave accusations. I find I cannot bring myself to believe that there would be such a grand plot against us, even long before the war had begun. It sounds too implausible, and yet I could sense how adamant Fives had felt in the moments approaching his…I am sorry. He was a dear friend to you. A brother. I have been insensitive." Seeing the flicker of regret and pain in his expression, I chided myself for letting my words run away with me and instead placed my hand upon Rex's armour which covered his shoulder. "Know that he is at peace, and has become one with the Force, as will we all."
"Thank you sir. I'm alright. We clones are trained to accept loss quickly and move on."
"How sad a notion, to not be able to properly grieve your loved ones." I murmured, reminded once more just how ill-treated these life forms were, trained to fight in a war not of their making, little more than slaves to the Republic. "I should like to investigate this matter a little more closely, discreetly, so that I am not to alert anyone. I understand you mentioned that a particular clone was the one who contacted you with the rendezvous with Fives for yourself and Master Skywalker. Kix, was it? I should like to speak to him too. Are you able to give me a location?" More than happy to help, and promising that he would not mention a word of this to anyone, Rex promptly sent a message to Kix with an order for him to meet me tomorrow in order to talk.
Barriss, meanwhile, had been quietly following along behind us, and after Rex departed, she moved closer to my side. "Master, you said you wanted to investigate these events discreetly, but you spoke openly in front of me, does that mean…?"
"Yes Barriss, you and I are going to be undertaking a mission together. Think of it as a little side project to occupy our time with." I said to her with a smile as she brightened.
"If it will help uncover the truth, then I would be glad to offer my assistance master. You can trust me to be completely inconspicuous."
"Yes, I know that I can. I trust you, Barriss. Come now, we have a class to teach." Chuckling softly as I waved my hand for her to follow, we both descended into the Underworld to teach our ever growing class of students who wished to learn, and the next morning, we went to meet with Kix in order to talk. We learned what we could from him, then went on our way, and I told Barriss to think no more on the investigation for now, which confused her initially. "It is still too close to the events, all eyes will be open and aware. We shall observe and await for the heat to die away before beginning a more thorough investigation, padawan. If the fate of the Jedi truly hangs in the balance, then I do not intend to rest until the answer is found. I trust that you will make no mention of this to anyone, Barriss. Not even the Council."
"I shall do as you say, master." She promised, satisfying my mind. I had already decided that I would not reveal my intentions to either my master or Kit, as their involvement may only draw further attention, and I did not wish for them to come to harm should the perpetrator behind all of this become aware of my interference and choose to secure their secrecy. The war was still waging, but I sensed that the descending shadow upon us all was tipping the balance. The Force often trembled these days, and I knew that something was coming, I simply did not know what it was, and I feared it was linked to the death of Clone Trooper Fives, and the conspiracy he claimed to have uncovered. My first priority was to ensure the safety of my people, especially the younglings, so I vowed that I would not allow them to come to harm, and began to meditate long hours into the night, and investigate as other occurrences gave rise to questions, such as the Banking Clan falling into disarray, with the betrayal of Rush Clovis the former Senator and known Separatist conspirator, to leave the Banking Clan itself under the power and authority of the Supreme Chancellor himself.
Further to that, when the remains of Master Sifo-Dyas's ship and his lightsaber were discovered after a distress signal was found, I had gone with Master Plo Koon in order to locate it, and the following rotations afforded only more mystery and confusion. Although not on the Council, between Master Plo, Kit, Obi-Wan and Anakin, who had followed the trail to better understand the circumstances of Master Sifo-Dyas's death, I was able to be given a full picture of the facts. It was suspicious, truly suspicious, that Master Sifo-Dyas would be killed on a planet such as Felucia during a small civil conflict, only for his crashed ship to turn up on the moon that orbited the planet of the Pyke Syndicate.
That was where the existence of another had been discovered, an assistant to the old Chancellor who had joined Master Sifo-Dyas who had been kept prisoner by the Pyke Syndicate for ten years. Upon this discovery, Count Dooku appeared in order to kill the assistant before he could reveal the truth, and his other name, Lord Tyrannus, was revealed, and that he had been the one to commission the creation of the clone army alongside Master Sifo-Dyas, insisting that he had turned to the Dark Side. I could not believe this, but there were too many factors that could not be ignored. They made my mind spin long into the night, attempting to puzzle through the confusion and uncertainty.
The very same army that fought the Republic's side of the war had been commissioned by their enemy, it simply did not make sense. In addition, I wondered how it was that Count Dooku had known that Obi-Wan and Anakin were searching for the truth behind Master Sifo-Dyas's death, and just happened to show up in the very same place where they had been following a lead. A worrying thought occurred to me, and made me wonder if there was perhaps a traitor embedded deep into our midst. It would not be the first time, but so few people had known about the mission, that I was concerned that they were either very skilled at listening without being detected, or the infiltrator was deeply embedded into the Senate…or the Jedi.
I kept my silence on this also, this time, not even speaking of it to Barriss in order to keep her safe from detection as I began to secretly investigate all things that troubled me. I accomplished this slowly, little by little as to avoid detection or alert any to what I was doing. So long did my investigation take, that I would track each lead only after several rotations, and even entire weeks before making another move, and the more I discovered, the more I protected these secrets, uncovering plots upon plots, the darkest of deceits, and the suggestion that this entire war had been planned many years before it had ever begun, manipulated by the Sith since time long passed. In the absence of Master Yoda, who had now taken himself off on a journey to chase the voices of the dead, I allowed myself to think on the possibility that everything could be connected, and that soon, we would see the truth of these manipulations come to light.