Thread : Mace Windu headaches, chapter two : Skywalker by way of Solo
Mace had long believed Han Solo to be an unpleasant manipulatory man who was sadly one of the only beings clear-sighted and insightful enough to discern an hidden Sith then arrange others to do the heavy lifting following this understanding, as he would not be able to fight off this incarnation of the Dark Side. If Mace was chauvinist, he would have attributed these disdainful plots to his corellian origin. As he thrived not to be, he believed Solo ways were linked to a long built and ingrained habit of running circles around powerful Dark Siders. Shadows were queer Jedi whose jobs left heavy traces on their psych. Mace would be more surprised to find that Han Solo was not halfway fallen to the Dark Side than he was to find him brilliantly mad. Maybe even unable to cope with Temple life any longer, and thus having parted way with the Corellian for a decade prior to his death.
Until this day, Mace believed he had a modicum of understanding on Han Solo: namely that there was limits to his understanding. He had a rough guideline of significant events of the Jedi who called himself Han Solo lived, even if he lacked detail. Then came Anakin Skywalker, who justified Solo outrageous claims of out of bound midichlorian counts. Mace could count on one hand the number of Jedi currently in the Order whose count was over eighteen thousands and still have fingers left. Even including other Temples, he'll probably run short of names before he'll finish his second hand. How Solo had been able to make such a claim believable to Yan remained a mystery. But three blood samples later, Mace had to admit Anakin Skywalker scored a bit over twenty thousand midichlorian per cell. The number wasn't unprecedented and Master Yoda count was slightly higher, but most beings with a similar count belonged to history records and the truth of their counts was subject of discussion amongst historians.
They were now joined by an unschooled emotion-emoting nine years old whose count would probably augment in due time. Mace had enough to do preparing the Jedi to face an hidden Sith out to eliminate them until the last without dealing with either the nine years old or the repercussion of his existence amongst the Order. On the other hand, there was absolutely no way he could leave Skywalker out of the Order oversight with a Sith prowling somewhere in the Core. He quickly delegated the task to care for Initiate Skywalker to a Shadow who would leave no Sith come close to the powerful boy and was in need of a vacation which he stubbornly refused.
He could have similarly delegated the visit to Shmi Skywalker to another Jedi. Maybe a Councilor now the uproar about a documented Sith was calming down, or Jocasta as she had a vetted interest to anything remotely linked to Ach-To, or even the newly minted Knight Kenobi. But Mace did not trust any of them to not jump to conclusions or give him a relatively speaking report. So Mace met Shmi Skywalker, who either had excellent shielding or wasn't a Force-sensitive. He shortly learnt the Skywalkers were some sort of priestess dynasty the like Force-sensitive families often became on back-water worlds, and one who spanned for a very long time. Enough a way of speech was attached to the function and Mace did not dare to demand his interlocutor speak more plainly, for fear she chose to stay silent or take ill a remark. It was most probable Shmi Skywalker was herself a powerful Force-sensitive, even if he doubted she was ever a Jedi.
The headache only started when Shmi Skywalker confirmed the family tree Solo had expounded to both Knight Kenobi and Master Dooku, which Mace had previously discarded. For such a family tree to be true casted doubts on the Jedi versions of Solo life, but, as Mace belatedly realized, Solo had not finished exploiting their preconceptions. And he himself had projected his Jedi norm on Solo, fitting his tales into his own frame. Those Solo had spoken about could have been a family instead of a teaching line, even if the concentration of Force-sensitive amongst them was most odd. Or maybe that line wasn't as clearly cut for the Skywalkers as it was for the Coruscanti Jedi. Jocasta works on the Skywalker family established apprenticeship induced the apprentice amongst the children of the master in the Skywalker tradition. It made for convoluted and ultimately useless lineage charts, as most Skywalkers shared a name and deeds were hard to identify amongst the namesakes.
Finding Solo place in that mess was a futile endeavor, and one Mace quickly abandoned after fleshing his eighth theory on the subject. He was still mostly persuaded Solo had been some sort of Shadow and had a Jedi background, but whether he had been a Green Jedi, a Green Initiate or had learnt from a kin who was linked to the Jedi remained unsure. He based this belief on the near ignorance the Skywalkers had from the Jedi, which could either mean they had lost the knowledge – but not their family tradition related to the Force – or that Solo had been the Jedi vector, encountering the Skywalkers while traveling the galaxy. Mace most probable scenario included the Shadow discovering the Skywalkers in the course of tracking Dark Sider, and for some reason joining them instead of reporting them.
Mace would have been quite curious whether Solo shared blood with young Skywalker as that part of his tale seemed to indicate, but he had thoroughly effaced any trace of the blood sample years previous and there was enough Solos on Corellia he wasn't going to run a DNA test between all of them and Initiate Skywalker for the sake of a fancy whim. Solo could have quite well identified himself as kin to Initiate Skywalker without a relation, as he was a probable teacher of the boy's probable grandmother. Knight Kenobi at least had latched on the possibility and learnt a Tatooinian term of endearment he referred the Initiate with, and admitted to Mace his first master had once mentioned a Shmi Skywalker. Shmi herself acknowledged she had "fallen stars" amongst her recent ancestors, which could as well mean spacers as fallen Force-sensitives from what Mace had understood, and confirmed both instance, once again evoking the Shifter for the second hypothesis.
In an effort to ascertain the veracity of this claim of Force-sensitives in the family, and as a part of the ongoing effort by Temple scientists to divine why one person was Force-sensitive and another was not, Mace asked for both a blood sample and a midichlorian testing. Based on her son count, Mace expected Shmi Skywalker to be one of the individuals missed by Seekers, but she scored only at five thousands. Mace had been prompt to think of a logical – if highly irrational in these circumstance – reason, and just as quick to find another one. Light Wall was a safe explanation, in accordance to the Skywalkers knowledge of lost technics, and fitted Shmi tale about her mother death. It was also one Mace had formulated to his peace of mind and as such as much a foolishness as most of his fellow Councilors beliefs these days.
He couldn't shy from exploring the most frightening explanation, which was that the parent attuned in the Force hadn't been Shmi, but Initiate Skywalker father. As a mystical point of view, the Force may have been an acceptable explanation for Qui-Gon Jinn, but Mace thrived for a little bit of clarity in this mess. And with Solo having casually mentioned another twenty thousand count and a twenty-two thousand count, Mace couldn't refute a possible twenty-five thousand count or higher on the basis of the impossibility of such a midichlorian count per cell. Which left a really powerful Force-sensitive somewhere in the galaxy, and opened another slew of dangerous thoughts.
But the most probable possibility remained the Light Wall, and Shmi own count, as the daughter of Rey, coupled with a high, but more reasonable count for Initiate Skywalker father. Based on present knowledge of family related counts, it seemed sensible, as Initiate Skywalker predicted count in his adulthood would match Rey Skywalker, and it was more probable they were related amongst trillion of humans than the possibility they were unrelated with having independently such a high count. But, based on the same knowledge, it meant that Shmi count, at the highest, was still not enough to explain Initiate Skywalker own count alone. Which meant there was still a powerful unreferenced Force-sensitive of around eighteen thousand midichlorian per cell out there. After another pointed discussion with Shmi and a DNA check between Initiate Skywalker and the genetical bases of all the Temples, Mace had unlashed the Shadows after the unknown father.
A quick and safe hypothesis remained unanswered after Mace questioned Knight Kenobi – well, Padawan Kenobi but the Council was proving stubborn on that one. The young Knight-in-deeds readily confirmed young Skywalker shared a superficial resemblance and hair color with Han Solo, but was unable to ascertain or discard a possible paternity. Jedi were not the best at establishing parentage based on features, having grown up in a multi-species environment with very few members of each species. As a rule, Jedi even had a tendency to identify their interlocutors by their Force signature rather than their physiognomy and Knight Kenobi had not changed this quirk during his early padawanship. Mace did not discard this possibility, however. Eighteen thousands counts – at a minimum – were not common in the galaxy, so Mace had hoped an unregistered Force-sensitive already linked to the Skywalkers may prove a more satisfactory explanation than an unknown Dark Sider. Even if Solo could have fitted the second description as well. No one knew exactly how high he scored on the midichlorian testing or the flavor of his Force signature. But based on his repeated survival confronting Dark Siders and even a Sith line, his talent in foresight placing him amongst the most talented seers in the last centuries, Mace could tell with certitude that Han Solo had been very much in touch with the Force and what affinity he had with it he had exploited it on a degree superior to most masters.
Honing one connection with the Force was often more important than the midichlorian count dictating the potential strength of such a connection, and even masters often exploited only half of their potential. Master Yoda wasn't exceptional amongst Jedi for his midichlorian count as much as for the attunement he had with the Force. Observers had tried to extrapolate midichlorian count by measuring feats and repeatedly made error in their assumptions. But, as Knight Kenobi was eager to remind Mace, Ben Skywalker may have been Han Solo son as well as his student. As Mace had already found at least one offspring of Han Solo on Corellia and such a claim came up often enough in Solo tales, he admitted it may be the truth. Like many things about Solo, certitude was out of reach, but it had sufficient basis to formulate an hypothesis.
Han Solo himself had kindly given the midichlorian counts of both Leia Skywalker and Ben Skywalker as roughly seventeen thousands and nearing fifteen thousands. Based on the data from the Force inheritance researcher team, it meant than Han Solo count was most probably between twelve thousand five hundreds and thirteen thousands. Nothing to scoff at, but nothing exceptional either. A natural inclination toward foresight coupled with such a count and an individual particularly attuned with the Force could feasibly do what Han Solo was reported to have done. Alas, as well as being unable to ascertain the validity of such a comparison, Mace was well aware that such estimations were subjects to large variation. Based on discrepancies between parents and offspring, Han Solo count could be anywhere between twenty-seven thousands five hundreds and a little over five thousands. But either of those were unlikely.
That discussion with Knight Kenobi was not useless, as he now had a dubious – as anything related to Han Solo – explanation about young Skywalker puzzling inbreeding quotient. The clueless researcher team tracing young Skywalker genealogy explored with gusto the story of incestuous first degree cousins as Shmi parents. It warranted another visit to Shmi on his part and an unexpected mess induced by the assumption of a Toydarian named Watto. Apparently Shmi and earlier young Anakin owner, who had taken note on Mace repeated visits in the last year, Shmi welcoming him in her house, eager for news about her son, and drew the wrong conclusion. It at been a long time since Mace had been accused of having an affair, as it was generally a ridiculous rumor to purport about a Jedi. However, Mace could understand where the idea came from, as he had not gone wearing his Jedi garb. His brethren wasn't any more welcome on Tatooine that it was to any non-Republic planet. It was one of the reason he readily accepted a being he believed to be a Jedi had passed himself off as a smuggler for years, for Han Solo had spent most of that time in the Outer Rim.
On a huttese planet, floating one Jedi status was nearly asking for an attempt of kidnapping to be later sold into slavery. A problem Mace was well aware in statistics and figures as the master of Order. In a situation such as this one, it made sense to fit in, so Mace pilfered from the deepest corner of his closet a carefully folded Korun outfit. A gift from a cousin, when some thirty years ago he had indulged in his curiosity and visited his homeworld to see from where he came. He had spent little time on the planet and only returned once since to pick up another Force-sensitive infant, who later became his second padawan and with whom he was kin through a relation he never very well understood and never cared much to shed light on even after he took Depa as his padawan. Having be worn very little time and bringing the benefit of his former people umbrageous mood, Mace deemed the outfit a good idea for these excursions.
Alas, neither Korun reputation nor his scold were as fearsome as some of the beings Watto usually dealt with and on the third visit the Toydarian got the brilliant idea to tax him the access of Shmi assets. As it was a wholly unexpected accusation and formulated in a very crude way, Mace was shocked silent a moment too long for his denegation to be believable. By the time he had been dragged before a Hutt with a cowering Shmi and a Toydarian persuaded to have been cheated, he had somewhat recollected his bearing and was able to present a coherent defense. It was out of question to reveal his link with Initiate Skywalker, as Watto had started his opening plea by a recrimination about offworlders liars stealing Tatooinian property such as the disguised Jedi tricking him into ceding his other slave a year previous. Which was, as far as Mace knew, a piece of bullshit as Toydarians were immune to mind tricks. Hutt however could be mind-tricked if not totally opposed to an idea, so it was an intelligent play for the Toydarian.
Shmi however was a brave soul unaware Mace had no intention to reveal his affiliation, who either believed he could escape from this trap or did not know about a Force-sensitive value to slavers. That she managed to keep her son with her for nine years could explain the later or put it in question. So when came the time for Mace to explain his point of view in this dispute, he had to do so accounting Shmi had declared never having laid with him. It was a lucky coincidence some communities on his homeworld were firm believers of wedding before consumption and he could pass himself off as originating for one of such communities. One of the spectators ascertained having heard something similar once after a little encouragement through the Force, because the idea seemed scandalous for some in the room. Considering the den of villainy he was currently in, Mace was sadly not surprised.
Having successfully established himself as a besotted straight-laced traditional Korun to those he needed to convince, he had to deal with the subject of money. The Hutt wanted to be compensated for the derangement as he had not a guilty party to throw to his rancor. The Toydarian quickly drew up his part of the money without a mutter, a clear sign this avaricious being recognized the situation as too dangerous to haggle. Mace, however, had not a wuipiti on him so, after being shot down when he offered to pay in republican credit, he offered a wager. The crowd had smelled blood when he announced he could not pay and he could distinctly feel the rancor underneath the room. Eager for amusement, the Hutt accepted to hear his wager as Mace believed he would. Playing a besotted fool, he announced that after today event, he did not believe Watto would be willing to sell him Shmi even if he could pay her price. The Hutt nodded in agreement so Mace continued that he would wager himself in a game of his choosing against Watto. If he won, Watto would pay the compensation for the Hutt and sell him Shmi so they could wed. If he lost, he would become Watto propriety, so that he could still marry his beloved. Mace had correctly pegged the Hutt, who agreed to the promise of amusement, which convinced the Toydarian he could not refuse the wager lest he angers the Hutt.
He had to jump through a few hops to find a wager Watto did not veto and who interested the bloodthirsty spectators, but once they had settled on the bastardized version of a card-hazard game Mace knew from his Initiate years with additional penalty in form of severed digits, things were considerably easier. Not because Mace was a good player, because Watto was better than him, but because the crowd watched attentively for any sign of treachery and the Toydarian did not dare to cheat in such circumstances. Mace, on the other hand, was attuned enough in the Force he did not need to make overt gesture to influence the game, and while he could not read the Toydarian thoughts, he could spy his game through those of a bystander behind him. The outcome was decided as soon they settled on the terms, and they proved enough a spectacle the Hutt did not feel the need to add penalty or clause.
The aftermath was problematic but sorted in due time. Speeding away from this planet and not coming back in case justice decided it had been too lenient took priority on deciding what to do with his new bride. Alas, the triplicate report detailing how he acquired a slave/free bride was the sole answer he received for the question he came to ask. Shmi Skywalker did not know who her father was, as he had never been around, and the rain metaphor was actually her mother explanation.