YODA

He had been travelling for months, trying to convince various groups and communities to join jedi in their efforts in lifting the dark veil of the dark side. His only companion during that long journey was a spirit of Barsen'thor, Selleana Myr, who was the one who convinced him to start this endeavor.

He quickly learned that she wasn't a typical jedi. After all her best friend had been a trandoshan warrior, she learned many techniques deemed too controversial for the order of her times and she had a lover, whom she eventually married. In the past it would make Yoda doubt her commitment to the order and it would make him suspicious about her intentions.

But now that the fate of the order balanced on the edge of destruction and the teaching of their order failed them, he decided to listen to her, no longer certain his own path was correct. Thanks to that, he was able to find wisdom in her actions. Despite her controversial choices, she turned out to be wiser and more benevolent than most, using her unusual tendencies to try to bring peace to the galaxy.

Her friendship with a trandoshan came from her acceptance of different cultures and traditions, which helped her bring many races together during the war with the sith. Her love for her partner wasn't a liability like he would expect, instead providing her with calmness and inner peace, while at the same time giving her a reason to keep fighting. And her techniques, though controversial, were used for the sake of the republic, saving many lives in the process.

Apparently the Jedi order during her time was more open minded than a current one, as they gave her a seat in the council, seeing her wisdom, contrary to the existing council, himself included, who would have rejected her. How did the order become so rigorous and strict without anyone noticing? How did he not see it changing during his long service?

There was also the fact that the order forgot many abilities that were used during Selleana's life. During their journey she taught him many things, some of whom he thought were lost forever. For example he now knew how to use the force to mend wounds, healing injured and sick. How could such a useful and crucial power be forgotten? He could have understood some esoteric or offensive powers no longer being used, but force healing was not something order should have discarded so easily. He was truly ashamed by this.

Selleana also taught him a technique used to shield others from the influence of the dark side. It was extremely powerful, letting users purge even the strongest corruption from the heart of the target, but it was also extremely draining, sometimes even prenamently weakening the user. It would surely be useful in fighting Palpatine's influence.

All in all, he learned a lot from a former council member, though every lesson showed him how much their current order failed in their duties. How could they deviate so much from their former state? It was a question he was asking himself frequently during their journey.

Fortunately their mission was successful so far. Many groups were distrustful at first, but the threat of the sith, combined with negotiations conducted by Yoda under guidance of Selleana, convinced most of the force users to attend the conclave. He only tried to convince light side users so far though, so their quest would get more complicated from now on. It was one thing to convince some Baran Do sages, it was another to talk with members more attuned to the grey side of the force, who would have different priorities than the jedi.

That's why he was on Voss now, deciding to convince its mystics to help him. Selleana told him they were gifted with foresight, potentially allowing them to see the solution to their problem. He wasn't sure if getting help from people close to the dark side was wise, but Selleana assured him that they were worthy of trust, so he decided to try.

He was now nearing Voss-Ka, capital of Voss. It was located at the top of the mountain, secluded from the rest of the world. Voss was not a heavily populated planet, with many inhabitants living in seclusion, it was also generally avoided by travellers, with nothing valuable located on the planet. Because of it, Voss's cities were quite rare and small. Even its capital was the size of a big town, not even coming close to cities in the republic space.

He approached the gates to the city, where he was stopped by two voss guards.

"Halt" one of them exclaimed, preventing him from entering the city. "Why do you wish to enter Voss-Ka?" Yoda wondered about the question. Should he tell them the real reason or maybe it would be better to use some excuse? He was here in secret after all. He doubted Palpatine would have spies there, but he had to be cautious.

"Tell them that Barsen'thor wishes to speak with their mystics" said Salleana. Yoda looked at her dubiously, not convinced it would work. She didn't change her mind, waiting for him to say it. Deciding it wouldn't be worth arguing with her, he did it.

Guards looked at each other after hearing his answer, before one of them left, presumably to ask the mystics about that.

"Know of you, will they?" Asked Yoda, quietly enough for the guard to not hear it. "Thousands of years, it has been"

"I don't think it matters," said Selleana with a smile. Before Yoda was able to ask, she continued "they probably already knew we would come" They spent several minutes before the gate, before the guard came back, asking Yoda to follow him. Together they entered the city.

It looked quite interesting, with huge open areas and distinctive architecture, completely different from ones in the republic. Most of the buildings were made out of white stone, which contrasted heavily with a reddish ground. It appeared that the city wasn't heavily mechanized, with its residents doing most of the basic works themselves instead of using droids.

Yoda was led to the biggest building in the city, apparently called the tower of prophecy, which was the only notable structure in the entire city. He was escorted to the huge chamber, where he was greeted by the sight of many mystics. They were seated at the table, obviously waiting for him. After letting Yoda stt at the opposite side, they started.

"Yoda of the Jedi Order. We have long foreseen your arrival. We greet you" their leader said, before turning to Selleana, apparently seeing her despite her being just a spirit. "we welcome you, Barsen'thor. You are as always a welcome guest" He then bowed to them slightly, as a sign of respect.

"We thank you for agreeing to meet with us, honored mystics," said Selleana, deciding to speak for herself, seeing that the mystics would be able to communicate with her. She and Yoda then returned the bow, also wishing to show respect.

"We know the reason for your presence on Voss. We also saw the danger looming over Galaxy" exclaimed the leader, apparently already knowing about their mission. It bode well.

"Yes, to talk about the veil we came. Over the galaxy dark powers loom. To stop the threat we wish" said Yoda, happy that he wouldn't have to explain everything to them. They already knew about the dangers, so convincing them shouldn't be so hard. That was why he was quite surprised to see that mystics started to look at each other, confused by his words. Their leader spoke again with a voice filled with surprise.

"The veil? We thought you came to us because of the threat of Darth Imperius. Isn't he a bigger threat?" He said, concerned. What? Darth Imperius? He met the man and he didn't seem as dangerous as Palpatine, nor was he responsible for the veil. He was the sith and thus dangerous yes. But Yoda didn't think he warranted more caution than other important matters. Why were Voss mystics so worried about him?

"Lifting the veil is more important, I thought. Dealing with ancient sith later, we would" he said, still not understanding the situation. Leader of the mystics then looked at Selleana, trying to find answers there.

"And you agree with that? You met Darth Imperius personally. You must know how dangerous he is" he said, waiting for her to explain her reasoning.

"Yes, Adas Kallig is a serious threat, bigger than the current generation of siths. But lifting a veil takes priority" Salleana said seriously, truly believing that Darth Imperius was more dangerous than Palpatine and his manipulations." Sith ritual moved the force in the universe to the dark side, hindering light side and grey side users, while empowering dark siders. Without removing it, we will always be at a disadvantage against the sith, Darth Imperius included. Lifting it will help our forces, especially as I already started teaching master Yoda many techniques lost by jedi, which he will share with the order. With larger power and new techniques Jedi will have better chances against Darth Imperius, which as you said yourself is a huge threat" She approached mystics.

"We also visited many communities, convincing them to help us with lifting the veil. That cooperation doesn't have to end there though. After seeing that working together was possible, it would be easier to convince others to join forces against a common threat" She then looked at mystics seriously "That's why we also hope for your help. You know about the real threat and now you learned the first steps we need to take to combat it. Will you help us with that?" The leader looked at her, before sighing.

"We have already decided to support you in your endeavors against Darth Imperius. Meeting you was just a formality. You must know that we do not possess any knowledge about the veil though" Hearing that, Yoda wasn't sure if he should be happy or disappointed at the result of the meeting. They were able to convince voss mystics to join them, but they too didn't know anything about the veil, even with their foresight. They would have to keep searching.

Seeing conflicting emotions on Yoda's face, the leader smiled "You don't have to be so sad, master Yoda. We have already seen the veil being lifted. Gather other force users and start the conclave. There will be an unexpected visitor there, one who will bring the solution to your problem"

SHEEV PALPATINE

Palpatine was sitting in his office, reading various reports presented to him by his subordinates. It was a boring task, but as a leader of the republic it was his duty to do his best, even in most mundane tasks. That was why he wasn't slacking, instead giving his all to show himself worthy of the expectation placed on him by the republic. He just finished reading one report and was ready to start another when he saw that one of his subordinates was calling him.

After receiving the transmission, he saw it was the leader of the intelligence department. It probably wasn't a great sign, as he wouldn't call without a good reason.

"Chancellor" said the man, saluting. "I have news of great importance. We were able to intercept a transmission sent by the known fugitive, Yoda" Oh? That was unexpected. No one knew where the small jedi master vanished after escaping from prison. They only knew he probably wasn't on Coruscant, as he was too recognizable there to hide, especially with so many people determined to bring him to justice.

On his part Palpatine had nothing against Yoda. Judging from objects located in his hidden room and the fact that he was apparently a master of the confederacy leader, his past self probably had it coming.

Having to live without a hand, instead using a prosthetic version wasn't ideal, but he didn't have any personal grudge against Yoda and Windu for that, as he apparently didn't go easy on them as well.

"I see, do you know where he is?" It would be useful to know. Now that he had good relations with the order, it wouldn't be wise to just kill their honored elder. Maybe he would be able to convince Yoda to come back, giving him and Windu official pardon. It would surely make them more cooperative in the future.

"I apologize sir, but we don't know. We however know where he will be soon. He apparently gathered many obscure cults around himself and plans to lift something called the dark veil with their help. We don't know what it is, as there is no information about something like that in our database, but it sounds like they plan to conduct some sort of weird, exotic ritual" The man then frowned, as if disgusted by this development

"Yoda must have really lost it after having to escape. But I shouldn't have expected anything else from a religious terrorist. What should we do, Chancellor?" said the officer, finishing his report and waiting for Palpatine's order.

Palpatine started to think. He heard about the veil before, but where? He tried to concentrate, searching through his mind, when he realized. He had notes about it in his hidden room!

He knew what to do. It was such a great opportunity. He would not only make peace with the master of the Jedi order, but potentially also recruit some of the other cults existing in the galaxy, empowering the republic even further! He just needed to give them the knowledge about the veil he possessed and aid them in the ritual. It was perfect!

"I think this situation requires a personal touch. I intend to meet our green little friend myself" He said, happy with the opportunity he was presented with.