Chapter 30
Conclave of Kashyyyk
The Jedi High Council
It was amazing how, even in such times of darkness, one could see a light, a simple spark that overcame the murky, oppressive shadows that were the new status quo. Such a spark always seems to strengthen the good and righteous spirit, and bring hope to a person's heart. To those assembled, at this moment, that spark of light was watching the innocence of youth, the next generation of potential Jedi.
Aayla sat on an elevated root, acting as a sentry as she watched the ten younglings of the Soaring Hawkbat Clan rush around her, playing a game of tag, smiling and laughing all the while. Crys was sitting beside her, and Celeste was somewhere in the trees above. Aayla guessed that Celeste was probably trying to catch some sleep; it had been a long and arduous day, after all.
Across from them was the form of the children's caretaker, Chase Piru, a young Jedi Padawan who was the apprentice of the Clan Matriarch. Said matriarch, sadly, was killed when Order Sixty-Six was implemented. Chase looked just out of her teens: a human woman with dark skin and a bald head, the only strands of hair coming from a Padawan braid. The woman was sitting cross-legged on the ground, reading a story to three younglings, two of whom had already fallen asleep.
Aayla smiled softly at the scene before returning her attention to the more hyperactive children, and even before Crys pointed him out for her, she recognised the pilot's son. The boy had his father's strong physique, she guessed, but he had his mother's hair and eyes. The bonds between mother and son also seemed to still be firmly in place, with the five year old rushing to his mom's side when he saw her, chattering excitedly about something he and his friends had gotten involved in.
It was a good decision to take these children away from the main camp and to open ground where they could work off some of their stress and forget about what was happening. She wasn't too wary of predators; they weren't too far away from the camp and she could sense the presence of at least a dozen Wookiees in the trees above. She could give herself a brief respite knowing that they were safe here.
"Where did Naruto disappear to?" Crys asked as she took out a canteen and took a gulp of the water within before handing it over to Aayla, who took it gratefully.
"We're not joined at the hip, Crys," Aayla replied as she too took a quick gulp of the cool liquid, sighing in elation as she handed the half-full canteen back to the pilot.
The pilot gave her a wry smile, "I never said you were."
Aayla leaned back against the root, placing her hands behind her head and crossing her legs as she attempted to find a comfortable position to lay in, her body telling her that perhaps sleep wasn't such a bad idea.
She answered Crys with a tired yawn, "He said that the atmosphere was a little tense, and he wanted to take a walk."
"In this forest?" Crys asked in bewilderment, before she broke out laughing, "…sounds exactly like something that man would do. I'm guessing that girl you brought with you was Ahsoka, the one from the holo-messages?"
"Mm hmm…" Aayla replied with a nod. True to her word, she had kept in touch with the crew of the Uhumele, sending them messages at least once a month to little Reza when she could. The last message was nearly two months ago though, "…I really should say hello to Reza, maybe when the conclave ends we'll meet up somewhere."
"She'll like that…" Taanzer nodded in agreement, "…she gets all excited every time she receives a holo-transmission from you."
Aayla smiled, closing her eyes as she rested. There was a companionable silence between them for a moment before Crys spoke again, and opening her eyes, the Jedi saw that the pilot was looking in the direction of the camp, tenseness in her form, "They've been in there for a while."
"Mm," Aayla managed to hum with a nod, eyes fully open now as the true enormity of this conclave hit home. The conclave was about more than resurrecting the Jedi High Council and gathering the remnants of the Order. The meeting of the highest authority of the Jedi would also be making another decision, a decision which could be instrumental in the Order's survival or destruction. The decision facing them was a simple one: to run and hide, or to stay and fight – a decision so simple, yet carried such complex and immense ramifications at the same time.
It was a question which all Jedi were asking themselves and each other: what do we do from here?
Logic dictated that such open aggressive action against the Empire and its vast armies was suicidal. The best the remnants of the Jedi would be able to manage was a heroic last stand - a stand in which the Empire and its numerous resources would make them out as the villains of the battle after they were all dead and gone. Logic dictated that they scatter, hide and prepare for a time when the people of the galaxy began to see the truth of their "beloved Emperor" and his circle.
Though while they all knew the logical choice, their feelings screamed at them to take the more aggressive approach and fight back against the injustice that they had been subjected to; to avenge the loved ones that they had lost. They were reminded, very brutally, that while the Jedi Order had its rules and codes, its members were sentient beings with hearts and souls, all of whom had formed bonds during their days as apprentices and knights; they had formed friendships, and become brothers and sisters in all but blood. Everyone here had lost so many cherished people: pupils, teachers, brothers, sisters, surrogate mothers and fathers - people they loved and respected dearly.
Logic coldly told them to wait and be patient: wait for the galaxy to wake up and see the wolves they had allowed into their door, and be patient, determining the course of action with the best possible outcome…and refrain from taking action until that course had presented itself after cold, hard analysis of the facts. In the past year or so since the execution of Order Sixty-Six, however, the repressed passions within the hearts of the Jedi survivors would at best ignore logic's cold voice, and at worst beat it down, cursing its coldness and labelling it cowardice.
Their hearts were demanding that they stand up and shout with a united, defiant voice, "Here we are, face us now!"
Aayla knew that their best chance for survival lay in being patient, in hiding in the shadows as the Sith had done for a millennia, watching, waiting and preparing for the day when they could step out into the open and face the Sith. Even she, though, had that voice demanding retribution. Too many friends had died at the hands of these butchers – The actions of the Sith demanded retaliation of some kind.
Not only those who had perished during Order Sixty-Six, a response had to be made for those who had fought and died during this whole debacle, which was obviously now a well-planned and intricately-woven Sith trap: the Clone Wars, events where Jedi and civilians alike died at the hands of the Sith as far back as the Invasion of Naboo, perhaps even further than that. For a millennia the Sith had made the galaxy think they were an extinct order. How many had died simply because the Sith didn't want to be exposed too soon?
The thought brought with it a cold chill to Aayla, but also a fire of righteous fury which she mercilessly reined in lest it get out of hand and cloud her judgment. She took a deep breath, feeling the negative emotions leave her, and knew then, above all else, that the best course of resistance was not in openly challenging the Sith, but to keep the Jedi Order alive. Now was not the time for open aggression; now was the time to wait and to plan.
Logic needed the dominant voice right now. Reason needed to win over passion. It was easy to be angry – the challenge was being angry at the right time, and in the right place, so that their anger could bring about the best possible outcome when acted upon.
Aayla knew this; she just hoped the Jedi Council, such as it was, did as well.
"We cannot allow this atrocity to go on unanswered…" Master Hudorra said with a fire in his eyes. The Bothan Jedi Master was leaning forward in his chair, his right hand held out and tightened into a fist as he spoke, "…I was there at the Jedi Temple, barely a day after Order Sixty-Six was enacted. I watched as they piled the bodies of our brothers and sisters and set them alight. It did not matter to them if they were Masters, Knights, Padawans, old, sick, teenagers…even younglings, younglings!"
"Please quell your anger, Master Hudorra…" Master T'ra Saa soothed as she attempted to defuse the situation, "…this conclave has been convened, and the Jedi High Council's numbers renewed so that we can best decide how the remnants of the Jedi Order are to survive, not to plan revenge upon our enemies."
"To the dark side, revenge leads…" Yoda interrupted with a shake of his head, "…leads to anger, hatred and death, it does. Within all of our hearts, this darkness exists."
"Perhaps that is what we need!" Hudorra growled low in his throat, "…the Sith are only two –two - yet they destroyed an Order of tens of thousands of Jedi with a single sweep of their hand!"
"It is not that simple…" Obi-wan stated as he leaned against his chair, hands steepled together as he spoke, "…the Sith did not do what they did overnight; such thinking is naïve and short-sighted. They have been planning this for decades, maybe even centuries, maybe even as far back as the time of their supposed extinction."
"And it was your pupil who helped the Sith complete his plan!" Hudorra snarled, pointing an accusing finger in Kenobi's direction, "…your pupil turned against us; massacred Padawans, children and Knights within the confines of the Jedi Temple. It was your failure in teaching him that led to this, Obi-wan!"
"You are out of line, Master Hodurra!" Shaak Ti frowned as she looked right at him, "…Master Kenobi had trained Anakin until Knighthood, but he could not have foreseen the path his student would have taken after leaving his care. No one here could have foreseen his union with the Senator of Naboo, and the emotions which it bred."
The guilt and hurt was well-hidden in Obi-Wan, but it shined in the Force as brightly as a flare. Even his fellow Councillors could sense the disturbance in the Force that Kenobi's feelings created. He blamed himself for Anakin's fall to darkness, and continuously thought that perhaps if he had been a better teacher, a more seasoned teacher, then maybe he would have seen what was happening under his very nose.
"I agree with Master Ti…" Tholme stated with firm conviction, leaning forward with an open challenge to the Bothan clearly visible in his eyes, "…Master Kenobi trained Anakin well, but it was Skywalker's own decisions which led to his fall, not those of his teacher!"
Hodurra scoffed openly at the old master's words, "I will not take such words from you, Master Tholme! Wasn't it one of your own apprentices who went down the same path, who barely a day before handed in his resignation from the Jedi Order!"
"Quinlan Vos had decided this course of action before Order Sixty-Six was implemented, and he has made it abundantly clear that if any Jedi require his aid, all they need to do is ask for it…" Tholme replied with a scathing glare, "…my former pupil has defeated his darkness and chosen his path well: something, perhaps, you should take note off, Master Hodurra."
"Perhaps we should take a recess…" the young Master Fy-Tor-Ana spoke up, attempting to defuse a tense situation between Hodurra and Tholme, "…we came here not to cast blame upon each other, but to decide on the best course of action to follow, so that what remains of our numbers can survive for the foreseeable future. That is what we should be focused on, yes?"
"Wise words from the youngest present…" Master Tsui Choi stated with certainty before managing a weak chuckle, "…over the past few days, the wisest words I have heard have come from those younger than most of those in this room. Our reason for this meeting is not to place blame, or to plan revenge, but to decide on what our next move should be."
"It is obvious what our next move should be…" Master Kota spoke up, looking upon those present, "…we must respond to the Empire's aggression. We must save the Republic!"
"There is no Republic to save, anymore!" An'ya Kuro admonished sharply, the legendary dark woman having been silent for much of the debate, only speaking up now, "…the Senate made the decision to become an Empire. They may have been subtly manipulated by Palpatine and his minions, but it was their decision: they made it, they ratified it, thus making it legal and binding! If we make a move now, we will cement the belief that we are the enemy of the proper governing authorities, not them."
"Any aggressive move we make will be playing right into Palpatine's hands…" Obi-wan added in agreement, "…the Sith have planned this too well, and have framed us to the point where any move we make against them will make us look like the traitors they have made us out to be."
"Then what do you advice, Master Kenobi?" Swan asked, looking over at him for a long moment.
"We must be patient…" Choi said in the stead of the legendary Negotiator, finding himself repeating what he had said during the Conclave of Kessel barely a week before, "…in time, the Galaxy will feel the oppressive nature of the Sith; it will groan beneath the Empire's heel. In time, the Galaxy will rise up to fight against them and their tyrannical regime. That is when we need to act!"
"That could take years, decades even!" Kota shot back in exasperation.
"Which is why we must prepare the Order as such…" Choi countered evenly, "…we must prepare for what is coming. The Sith and their allies will be moving soon to finish us off. We must prepare for their next move, counter them, scatter and hide, prepare for the inevitable insurrection which will come!"
"Scatter and hide?" Hodurra repeated slowly, in disbelief and growing anger, "…that is this Council's decision, to run and hide from our enemies like cowards instead of meeting them in battle? To allow them to continue butchering us without a word?""
"Meeting our enemies head-on in battle will end only in this Order's destruction!" Tholme shot back with absolution, "…how many are we, Master Hondurra? Can you really see the battle-scarred few hundred survivors being able to defeat the full might of the Imperial War Machine? Can you see these broken and defeated men and women defeat the whole Galaxy? Well…CAN YOU?"
"Against the full might of the Imperial War Machine, no…" Hondurra replied with a shake of his head, "…but against two Sith lords? Yes, I believe we can win."
"And just how do you propose we do that, Master Hondurra?" Choi asked poignantly, "…how exactly do you propose that we even get near the Senate on Coruscant? We can't just stroll in through the front door!"
"If we can kill the two Sith, then this preposterous empire will fall…" Kota said in what appeared to be realisation, a small smile forming on his features, "…without them to dictate the situation, the Empire will fall apart at the seams…and we can rebuild the Republic!"
"It will not be that easy," Tsui Choi chastised with a heavy sigh.
"Master Choi speaks the truth…" Obi-wan said, "…the situation is no longer that simple."
"And how is that?" Tholme asked.
"It's not just the Sith we need to deal with anymore. The Emperor has been busy recruiting the remnants of Dooku's Dark Acolytes, as well as brainwashing members of our Service Corps and other Force-sensitive individuals to build his own private army…" Obi-wan explained, "…he's split them into two factions, an Inquisitorium that he's been using as his private police force, and also a small army of bodyguards he's calling the Shadow Guard."
There was an eerie silence among the members of the Council as they digested this information. It was K'Kruhk who asked the necessary question, "What are the numbers of this new organisation?"
Obi-Wan replied with a heavy sigh, "I'm not sure, but from what my sources could tell me, there were a few dozen survivors of Count Dooku's personal guard, and the potential manpower that the Emperor can manipulate with our Service Corps is well within the hundreds, maybe even thousands of brainwashed recruits."
The thought was beyond chilling. The Service Corps was an organisation financed by the Jedi Order, made up of four branches known as the Agricultural Corps, Educational Corps, Medical Corps and finally the Exploration Corps - all created for those initiates who were Force-sensitive but unable to pass their trials to become Jedi. Those who did not reach the level who had no families to return to were drafted into the Corps, still considered Jedi, but using their abilities to aid the Republic in other ways.
The potential manpower the Emperor could utilise from those Corps was terrifying, and the fact that there were a few dozen fully-trained Dark Jedi training those who inevitably fell to the whispers of the dark side of the Force made the possibility all the more real, and all the more terrifying and chilling to those present.
"How do you know this?" Hondurra asked in suspicion.
"I would like to say that I still have some agents scattered about, but that is mostly a lie. Most of what I am telling you now I found out on my own, through infiltrating the Coruscant Archives of the new Imperial Centre…" Obi-wan explained, slouching back in his chair, "…I do not know where they are centralising this, but my guess is that it's a planet in the Core, maybe even the Deep Core."
"I see. This is worrisome, to say the least," Kota muttered lowly, knowing that it was an understatement of the century.
"There is also another piece of information I have found: the Emperor is creating another, much smaller force of Force-sensitive soldiers. He's handpicking the most promising recruits and training them personally to become his personal force of assassins and bodyguards. He's calling them the Hands of the Emperor, or the Emperor's Hands…" Obi-wan added, "…he's surrounding himself with trained assassins and killers, meaning that he's now more dangerous than ever before."
"Is this Emperor's Hand movement ready?" T'ra Saa asked.
"I don't believe so; I've only began hearing about them recently. At the moment, there are probably only a handful of them ready for actual combat, and even then they'd probably be pretty inexperienced in the field…" Obi-wan paused before adding, "…that is just my hypothesis, though. I could be wrong."
"It may only be a hypothesis, but the information is helpful…" K'Kruhk said gravely, looking over at Obi-wan, "…thank you for sharing this with us, Master Kenobi. We need to spread word of this along to the rest of the survivors."
"It will be unwise for any Jedi to travel alone," Shaak Ti nodded in agreement.
"Even with this information, we still need to consider fighting back," Kota said in a low whisper.
"No! Now is not the time for that! Even if the Emperor's new Force-sensitive private army was not an issue, there are still other concerns," T'ra Saa said softly, yet firmly.
"Such as?"
"The ideal of the Empire is now firmly in place," Choi spoke up in response, "…almost every world in the realm of the Republic has agreed with it in the year since its declaration. Even if we assassinate the two Sith, and declare a return to the Republic, the Galaxy will see us not only as the traitors that the Sith have made us appear to be, but also as fanatical traditionalists who refuse to accept change, which would be even more damaging to us!
"Think for a moment! Let's assume that we're somehow able to overcome the odds and kill the Emperor and Darth Vader! Then what? How would we be able to serve a Galaxy whose citizens regard us as an enemy and a threat? What, do you think that the Galaxy will just welcome us back with open arms after we've killed the leader that they're completely enamoured with and enthralled by? We'd do nothing more than create a martyr! The populace will then do what the Sith have been trying to do: they will destroy us in place of our enemy! Why? Because the Sith have planned that…far…ahead! We cannot hope to win as we are now. The Galaxy is against us. We cannot force them to accept our ideal!"
"Then you suggest we simply allow them to hunt us down and destroy us?" Hondurra asked with a harsh glare, "…I will not allow that to happen, Master Choi!"
"To strike against the Empire right now will accomplish nothing but the extinction of the Jedi Order, and worse still, it would plunge the Galaxy into civil war, which will undoubtedly cost many millions of lives, if not billions! Even if we defeat the Sith, we will still lose in the long run…" Choi countered firmly, "…what I am suggesting is not to allow the Sith to pick us off; what I am suggesting is that we create an underground network to aid us in vanishing from the eyes of the Empire, while also allowing us to rebuild our numbers from the safety that the shadows will best provide us right now."
"I agree with Master Choi…" Kenobi spoke up, "…he is correct. In order to survive, we need to disappear from the eyes of the Empire."
"I also agree," Master K'Kruhk added in a gravelly voice, nodding his head.
"As do I," Fy added timidly.
Shaak Ti sighed and nodded, "Revenge is not the Jedi way, and emotions are running high. I support Master Choi's position. In time, the Galaxy will see the truth, and we need to be ready when that time finally arrives."
"And how will we do that?" Kota asked, his tone showing the doubt in his mind that such a plan could work, "…our list of allies has become rather thin as of late."
"Yes, how are we going to do it?" Hondurra asked, closing his eyes and sighing as he continued to calm himself, "…two hundred plus Jedi cannot disappear as easily as you all believe. Our faces are all known to the galaxy, either through the war effort or the wanted posters. Many Jedi Knights have spent the last year dodging Imperial agents and bounty hunters. How do you all propose we vanish?"
Silence was their only response.
The night had brought the temperature down to a bearable level, at least, and Rex found the quiet to be very soothing. For the first time in quite a while, he finally had some solitude away from the ragtag group of rogues and fugitives he had joined. The former Grand Army officer closed his eyes and relaxed, seated on a deckchair beside the open ramp way of the Will of Fire.
He enjoyed a little quiet, but that didn't mean that he would rather it remain that way. He enjoyed the company of those he now called comrades; those who had brought Ahsoka back from the depths of despair. He enjoyed the atmosphere when the group was together - the laughter, the jokes, the living for the moment, not knowing what was going to happen next. There were times when they almost seemed like a family…an unorthodox family, to be certain, but a family, none the less.
The idea of family was a bit foreign to Rex. After all, he was a clone, born and bred to be both the thrusting sword as well as the raised shield of the Galactic Republic. He knew little about his progenitor, the Mandalorian mercenary Jango Fett, and he didn't know anything at all about the now-deceased man's past, or if he had any family. Rex, like many other clones, made bonds with his fellows, bonds of camaraderie and friendship only formed on the field of battle. He had forged these bonds with many of his fellow brothers, and of course, with the Jedi he served under.
"Family", however…that was an alien term to Rex.
But…if he was asked if he considered these people to be his family, he would answer without hesitation that he would consider them as such; they were that important to him. In his military mind, a family was a group of individuals who looked out for each other, who had firm bonds of friendship and trust, and who would watch each others' backs through thick and thin. In most instances, the members were related by blood, but there were common instances where that was not the case. As with Ahsoka, Rex wanted to protect these people…which is why he had decided to do what he was about to do.
He heard the snap of a twig from within the dark of the forest. Quietly getting to his feet, with a subtle movement, he picked up his blaster carbine from beside his deckchair, effortlessly lifting the medium level weapon with a single hand and pointing it into the darkness of the forest. He was pretty sure it wasn't any of the local wildlife; the perimeter sensors he had installed around the ship would have warned him in advance of that.
This left one possibility of whom his visitor was.
"Flash," he said into the dark, weapon still levelled and ready for anything.
"Thunder," was the solemn reply.
Rex smirked as he lowered his carbine, watching as a single figure stepped into the low light. His facial features were almost exactly the same as his own, black hair, tanned skin, dark eyes. The clone was dressed in the armour of an ARC trooper, worn by age, chipped and dull from combat. In his hand was a scoped blaster carbine, which was held idly in his hands.
Rex stood up, eyeing his visitor, "My name is Rex, designation CT-7567, former-"
"I know who you are, Captain…" the ARC trooper cut him off lightly, "…you've become something of a celebrity. Did you know that the bounty on your head has tripled over the last week?"
"Has it, really?" Rex asked evenly, though one could see that he was mildly impressed with himself that the Empire wanted him that badly, "…that is interesting. And you might be?"
"Alpha, Designation A-17, of the Alpha-classBatch of the Advanced Recon Commandos," the man replied, and Rex immediately became alert. The Alpha-classBatch was the first ARC troopers to come out of Kamino: a unit of one hundred clones trained under the watchful gaze of Jango Fett himself, created to be fully-independent with unaltered minds. They were considered some of the most dangerous elements of the Grand Army of the Republic. Survivors of this batch served with bravery and distinction that was almost unparalleled, but were also known to voice disagreements if they received orders they didn't like.
"It is an honour…" Rex allowed with a nod of his head, "…you received my communiqué, that's why you're here?"
Alpha nodded his head in response.
"Are you alone?"
"Of course not," the ARC trooper replied. More figures appeared in the depths of the forest, stepping from the shadows into the dull light. Rex mentally counted each man as they stepped forward, some wearing the uniform of ARC troopers, others were obviously officers of Sergeant, Lieutenant and even Captain Grade – twelve in all, not counting Alpha.
"You called us, Captain…" Alpha said, sitting down and placing his blaster in front of him, and one by one the others mirrored his motion, each taking a seat until they formed a circle, "…we are the leaders of those within the Grand Army that are now considered traitors to the Galactic Empire. Once again, I will introduce myself; name's Alpha, Designation A-17, Leader of the survivors of the Alpha-ClassARC Unit, now numbering a total of twenty three."
One by one the others made their introductions, including their given name, their designation number and the number of soldiers under their command. The number varied from a squad level unit of roughly six, to platoon sized contingents of about twenty. All of them were either ARC troopers or commandos of some fashion. Rex took the information in stride.
"Many have come…" Rex said as the introductions ended, "…that is good."
"And why have you called us all here?" Alpha asked, "…it is rather dangerous, not to mention a bit foolhardy, for all of us to meet in one place, no?"
"I have asked you all to come here because, at this very moment, the survivors of the Jedi Order are meeting to decide what their next course of action should be…and we need to do this as well…" Rex stated with certainty, "…what I propose is that we ally ourselves with the remnants of the Jedi for our mutual survival and benefit. What say you?"
The sounds of a gimmer stick hitting the ground caught the attention of all present. Master Yoda had risen from his chair and was walking towards the centre of the chamber, ignoring the looks of confusion coming from all around him. It was T'ra Saa who asked the aging Jedi master what was wrong.
"Master Yoda?" she asked, standing up herself and walking over towards the much smaller leader of the Jedi. The Neti towered over the Grand Master, looking down at him with worry that was mirrored by those Masters still seated, "…is something wrong?"
Yoda said nothing for a moment, instead focusing his attention to the ceiling high above, "A visitor, we have."
The reaction was imminent, T'ra Saa saw Obi-wan, Shaak Ti, Hondurra and Kota rise from their chairs, lightsaber hilts held in their hands, ready to be ignited in less than a moment. A raised hand from the aging Grand Master stopped them from making any other aggressive action as he took another step forward, "Not necessary, weapons are. Reveal yourself, you will."
A blur fell from the ceiling high above, and a figure appeared in the centre of the chamber in a crouch, barely half a meter away from Master Yoda. He rose to his full height, almost as tall as T'ra Saa, but not quite. He was human, with blond hair and tanned skin, wearing unfamiliar clothing, yet at least four of the present Masters recognised him.
"Naruto?" T'ra Saa asked in confusion.
Naruto smiled good-naturedly, "Hi there. How long have you known I was here?"
"From the beginning," Yoda replied, studying his opponent.
"What are you doing, Naruto?" Tholme asked with a sigh.
"You know this man?" Obi-wan asked.
"Mm," T'ra Saa hummed in response, "His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he has been aiding Tholme's former apprentice, Aayla Secura, since Order Sixty-Six was carried out. Tholme and I have met him before."
"As have we…" Choi added and Swan nodded, "…alongside Knight Secura and her allies, he aided us in our escape from the Empire on Kessel."
Tholme finished, "During our dealings with him, we have considered him to be a strong ally to us, and Knight Secura trusts him with her life."
"Trust him, you do," Yoda stated as he took a few steps forward. Naruto looked on, his eyes locking with those of the much smaller creature. He knelt before the Grand Jedi Master so that they could look each other in the eye as equals. He felt a great power emanating from this creature, far stronger than Aayla, Celeste or Dass. Only Darth Vader had emanated the level of power that seemed to radiate through this diminutive creature.
The air seemed to be saturated with power, but Naruto did not look away, feeling that he was being tested. Yoda kept the young man's eye for what seemed like an eternity. Even the Jedi present could sense the tension in the air as the Grand Master probed this stranger's being with the Force, attempting to see even the slightest hint of betrayal.
Yoda closed his eyes, a smile playing his aging features, "A good soul, you are, but a troubled soul. A soldier, are you?"
"Aayla was right…" Naruto said with a cheeky smile, "…you really can see anything."
A dry chuckle escaped the ancient master's throat, "A reason for your visit, there must be, hmm?"
Naruto became serious in a heartbeat, nodding his head, "Indeed, there is."
"Then speak, you must."
"Very well…" Naruto nodded his head, "…from what I have heard, the majority of you have already come to the conclusion that the only way for the Jedi to survive the coming years is not in taking to the offensive, but in vanishing from the Empire's sight. I can aid you in this."
"How so, pray tell?" Hondurra asked in pure, unkempt suspicion.
"My teacher was considered to be one of the greatest of spymasters on my home world. As his student, he taught me a great deal about the arts of espionage and deception…" Naruto replied without hesitating. His eyes travelled across the room, meeting all of their gazes before settling his own upon Yoda's smaller form, "…I know how to disappear. Not only that, but I can also aid you in gathering potential allies and building reliable, wide-spread, air-tight spy networks."
"Hmm…" Yoda murmured as he took a step forward, looking up into the sapphire orbs of the human standing before him. Naruto didn't know how, but he understood. The blond knelt before Yoda, bringing himself down to eye-level with the diminutive Grand Master once again. Yoda reached out with a three-digit hand and pressed it against the blond's chest, closing his eyes as he concentrated with the Force before voicing his findings a few moments later, "…the truth, you speak, and a genuine wish to aide us in our time of strife, I sense. Great strength of will and character, I sense in you, also great power; one that no normal human should be able to possess."
A great power seemed to settle upon Yoda's shoulders, and the aging creature's eyes became wide as he felt something pull against his very being, something of incredible strength and power. It didn't come from Naruto himself. Rather it seemed to come from somewhere deep inside his soul, his very being.
Yoda was unable to utter neither a word, nor even a syllable before he was pulled into the recesses of the blond human's mind.
In the time it took for Yoda to blink, he was no longer standing in the hollowed-out shell of a great tree. Instead, he found himself standing in what looked like a throne room of some kind. A grand cavernous chamber, with large pillars on either side of him holding up the high ceiling and lit torches bearing light along these pillars, and on the outer walls. There was a carpet of royal red set along the centre of the chamber, leading to a set of stone steps leading up to a high-backed throne.
A humanoid form, cast in shadow, was seated on this throne, looking upon the small form of Yoda with a calculating, inhuman gaze.
Yoda hesitated for a moment, before resigning himself to his fate. He began to hobble in the direction of the steps, each tap of his gimmer stick echoing through the massive chamber he found himself within. The being seated on the throne did not react, but just continued to sit on the high-backed chair, the form of a single crimson eye glowing through the shadows as it studied the small form approaching it.
With each step, Yoda felt the power emanating from this being. As he moved closer, he felt that power grow, seemingly exponentially, and settling on his shoulders, making it difficult to breathe, difficult to move. The very air seemed to be heavy, saturated with the power of the being before him. Yoda continued to persevere, showing his will as he placed one foot in front of the other.
Before long he was at the foot of the stone steps, looking up. His breath was leaving him in gasps, sweat now running down his brow and a single hand was pressed to his chest. His determination would not leave him, however, even when the very power saturating the air was killing him.
"Enough," a deep booming voice exclaimed.
The power left the air, and Yoda was glad for it as he took in huge gulps of air, suppressing the need to collapse as he called upon the Force to replenish him. He looked up, sweat still streaming down his face, to see the humanoid figure rise from his throne and walk to the edge of the platform. With each step the being took, more light fell upon him, showing his form to the ancient Jedi Master.
"I have gained many visitors since coming here…" the being said as he continued to advance, coming to the edge of the platform before stopping. Yoda could only look on, continuing to take deep breaths, "…the first called himself a Sith lord, and thought he could control my host and take my power. The second was a young Jedi girl, who aided my host in remembering who he truly was, and now…"
His full form stepped into the light. He wore plated armour of blood red with black lining, black fatigues worn underneath. His hair was a long mane of messy crimson locks which reached well past his shoulders. His facial features were sharp and handsome and his skin was pale, but his eyes stood out, crimson orbs with feral sickle's as black as night staring at him with an intensity which Yoda felt in his very soul.
"And now, standing before me, is a creature that is almost as old as I am."
He looked human, but he was not. No human, nor any mortal creature, could carry such power; no mere mortal had the right to carry such power. Yoda could feel what this creature was capable of: capable of unleashing destruction on par with that of an Imperial-classstar destroyer firing upon the surface of a planet…no, perhaps capable of exacting even greater devastation than that.
"Who are you?" the creature asked as he began descending the steps separating Yoda and him, each step he took echoing through the chamber, "…you do not have that rancid, spoiled feel of the Sith Lord. You feel more akin to the Jedi girl, but with less spark, less…youth. I suppose that is the difference. You are like her, then, ancient creature? A Jedi?"
Yoda could not find his voice, so instead he nodded. He did not wonder who this Jedi girl was that the creature before him was talking about, for he already knew, but he could not regain his voice to ask other, more pressing questions which were on his mind. Such as who, or what, this creature standing before him was.
He heard an echo of footsteps from behind him, and turned in time to see the tall form of the human man from before walking towards him. He had not changed in the slightest, and continued to walk until he stood right beside Yoda, looking up at the creature before him with a solemn expression, followed by a sigh.
"Well, I certainly wouldn't have expected this…" Naruto said as he looked up at the creature before them with a raised brow, "…I've seen that armour before. It's the same armour that Madara Uchiha wore in his prime. I thought you hated the man with a passion, Kurama."
"Believe me, I do…" the now-identified Kurama replied as he began descending the steps, spreading out his hands and allowing his armour to glint in the low light, "…if I ever see that man again, I would take great pleasure in turning him into a crimson smear on the ground…but…even I have to admit that he had style. I always liked this armour, even if I could not stand him."
Yoda looked at Naruto for a long moment, before returning his attention to the other human-like individual halfway along the steps: Kurama. His old mind worked to try and discern what was going on, but he had never seen anyone…or anything, for that matter…like this before. This Kurama was not a product of Naruto's imagination, nor was he a product of some multiple-personality disorder.
That left the question that was now searing the venerable Jedi Grand Master's mind - this Kurama: just who…or what…was he?
Author's Note 1: Thanks to ncpfan for once again beta-reading the chapter. The next update probably won't be put up for a few weeks, just giving my readers a heads up on that one. I need to do a little thinking on the continued progress of the story, I have a rough idea of where I want to go, but I just need to sort out some of the kinks before I start writing again. It shouldn't be a long break, a few weeks to a month tops before I deliver the next chapter; apologies in advance.