Chapter 3: Yoda and the Battle of Dagobah

The final war with the Sith empires ended on the planet of Ruusan. Knowing the Sith had gathered for a final stroke, the Jedi Grandmaster of the time led 100 of his most powerful knights against the Sith. In a battle that was said to crack the planet, the Jedi were victorious before treachery struck the Sith. In a bold move a Sith Lord had constructed and tricked the others into using a Force weapon that would destroy them. The Sith were slain and the Jedi knights fell with their enemy. Despite the loss of the knights, the long-sought victory over the Jedi's bitter rival appeared to be final at last. The Republic Senate then ordered the Russan reformation, demilitarizing the Republic and preventing the Jedi from holding sovereign systems, except for Ilum. With the losses of the war and having already lost Tython and Ossus in the Sith wars, the Order returned to the central point on Coruscant as their headquarters. There a debate was held about whether the Order would continue to train what some called Force Masters. Many of the heroes of old would have been considered Force Masters: Revan, Bastila, Satele Shan, The Hero of Tython. The feats of the time were legendary, but documents of their accomplishments prove the accuracy.

The Force Masters were considered the strongest Jedi of the order and the first defense against the Sith. In fact, it was said the Sith feared these knights as a child who checks under his bed for monsters. Only the most powerful or arrogant of the Sith would dare stand their ground against them. After Ruussan, though, the Republic feared the Jedi would become like the Sith and asked the council to put restraints to prevent another incident such as the one with Revan. The dispute went like this. With the enemy gone there was no need to seek the power that was once needed. Others, however, believed that the enemy was not truly gone. As such, an uneasy decision was reached that the decision to train or not would fall on individual masters. Since many of the Order's Force Masters died on Russan it was decided that it was a moot issue. Some of the masters, such as Fay, wanted nothing more to do with war ever, but believed it foolish to not give their students the tools for the eventuality. When a youngling by the name of Yoda arrived in the temple, Fay took him as her own padawan after he had been there 80 years, since both were from long-lived species, except Fay looking like a human-sized elf. After 30 years of training, Yoda was knighted during an era of peace, despite having been trained for war just in case. On the eve of his knighting, the high council received notice that several members of the Jedi Order on Bpfassh had fallen.

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The training facility on Bpfassh had continued to teach and train their members to be Force Masters. What happened wasn't clear even centuries later. What was known was that several of the most powerful members had decided to take over the sector. Any member who disagreed was cut down by the Dark Jedi. Concerned and worried, the council sent in every one of the Force Masters to put them down. Yoda followed along despite having just been granted the rank of Knight, as he had been trained for this.

Yoda and Fay were assigned with their strike team to Sluis Van where it was reported that several of the Dark Jedi had went to spread terror across other sectors. Yoda was given the task of staying with the ship in case the others needed a quick pick up. The young knight waited beside his ship, meditating on the currents of the Force and his team as they left the area of the Sluis Van's shipyards. He sensed them engaging with the Dark Jedi several hours later and was so in tune with the fight that he almost missed the darkness coming closer to him. Sense it, however, he did in time to see half the ships in the yard pulled off their dock and smashed to pieces. To the knight's surprise, he realized that it was no random member of the Bpfassh Dark Jedi on the docks. It was the master of the facility and leader of the insurrection, Master Sebastian Chi. Knowing there were thousands of workers on the docks whose lives were in danger, Yoda engaged the deranged master with a Force push and rushed to close the several hundred-yard gap between the two of them. Master Chi looked at his approaching foe with a smile. "I'm insulted you believe you can defeat me they should really have left you some help, baby Jedi."

"More insulted you will be when defeat you I do," Yoda retorted jumping to clear the last level between them.

The deranged master laughed as blue lightning crackled at his fingertips. Instead of aiming at Yoda, though, he aimed at a large ship overhead. The ship's engines were instantly distressed and it began to fall from the sky. Yoda looked up and reached out to stabilize it. The ship righted itself and the engines reactivated as the lightning dissipated. Yoda turned to face the Dark Jedi, but was hit by a full blast of lightning. Thrown against a wall, the Young knight heard the Dark Jedi laugh at him.

"The weakness of the Jedi. Put a few civilians in danger, and they ignore the threat in front of them."

"If so powerful you are, why do you need a shield?" Yoda asked igniting his saber.

"I have better things to do than waste my time on a young upstart like you. They should have sent your master," the Dark Jedi replied, throwing a single-person ship at Yoda.

Yoda caught the ship and set it down to see his opponent taking off in a fighter. The young knight, not thinking, leaped in the small ship that had been thrown at him and rapidly activated the engines and pushed the throttle forward after his foe, who was breaking for space. Yoda's fighter was faster at sublight and managed to close the gap to weapons range before the gravity well had been reached. Sensing his closing, his enemy turned to fire on him. In a 10,000-miles per hour game of chicken, the two raced at each other, laser guns blazing. Shields on both ships kept them from blowing up but didn't prevent damage. A quick scan of his systems showed Yoda his nav computer was gone, while his enemy's engine appeared to have been damaged. The Dark Jedi made for the edge of the gravity well, apparently intent on attempting a jump despite the damage to his engine. Yoda followed, desperate to not allow his enemy to escape when he saw the ship make the jump. Yoda frowned and reached for his own hyperdrive lever and did the most reckless thing he ever did in over 9 centuries - he pulled the switch with no functioning computer.

The ride through hyperspace was not smooth. Yoda had to rely on his Force sense to keep from running his ship into objects and to keep behind his enemy. Yoda was not certain how long he followed his enemy- minutes, days, hours- but eventually his enemy's ship succumbed to the damage and fell out of hyperspace. Yoda came out right behind, way too close to an oddly colored green planet. Both ships went down too fast towards the planet's surface. Yoda was forced to keep his mind on his own survival as a mist covered the planet's surface and he couldn't see where he was going. With the engines out he was having to use the Force to slow his ship and hopefully cushion his crash. All he could do was wait for the sudden stop as his poor ship's engines had been pushed too hard in the non-procedural hyperspace flight. Yoda was feeling the strain of using the Force to the max for a large amount of time and was quickly growing weary. Finally, the ship crashed into a tree, taking off a wing before the ship settled into a bog. Yoda collapsed in his seat and barely had time to put himself into a healing coma before he went unconscious.

How long he was out, he was uncertain, but when he awoke it seemed clear either his enemy had landed far away or had also been injured in his crash. In the dim daylight of what now appeared to be a swamp, Yoda finally opened the hatch and exited the vehicle. His masters' teachings now came back to him as he realized ruefully he had not brought along any kind of kit with rations. At least water didn't seem to be an issue. Digging through the ship's limited contents, he did finally find some food. Yoda decided he was going to spend more time in the future on survival classes involving being stranded in locales like this one. Yoda, still exhausted, fell asleep with the coming of nightfall, but his sleep was disturbed by the angry shadow he could sense searching for him, thankfully still distant. The next morning, he awoke, sensing the shadow was growing nearer. Yoda decided that it was better not to prolong the inevitable. Even if help was on the way, he didn't even know what planet he was on. Food was an issue, so time would likely make him weaker and not stronger.

Gathering his strength, he walked towards the shadowy presence, stopping in a clearing near what seemed to either be a cave or depression- it was hard to tell in the fog- and wait for his enemy. The Dark Jedi entered the clearing after about half an hour later. He was still hooded yet his clothes had suffered from the crash and jungle trip and his anger was radiating like a dark supernova. With no introduction more than a rabid cry ,the Dark Jedi shot an intense beam of Force lightning at his enemy. The young knight repulsed the attack with his hands and the enemies were knocked away from each other by the explosion. So began the battle of the millennia, although most observers didn't know it. The Battle was felt in the Force by every Force user in the galaxy, Jedi or Sith. Both stopped and observed the battle with keen interest. The battle lasted over a day and every tree within 10 miles of the combatant's starting location was flattened or burned. Lightsaber and lightning flashed through the fog, no quarter nor respite was given nor sought. Yoda's master was able to discern the location and tried to reach the battle in time to help, but it was over before she entered orbit. The Force users across the galaxy felt both the shadow and light rise against each other in a symphony, crashing suddenly with the fall of the shadow. Moments later, the light dimmed, and it was like nothing had happened. The Sith gritted their teeth and knew their revenge would be a long time coming because there was no way two Sith could stand against the Jedi yet. The Sith would not dare intentionally risking the fate of the galaxy in a fistfight with this knight. Yoda himself would never know his battle with the Dark Jedi would be the main reason the Sith would hide until he was old.

When his master landed, she found her former padawan on his back, bleeding and unconscious. Her companions found the body of the Dark Jedi a hundred yards away in a cave, where it had already begun to disintegrate. The best they could determine was that Yoda had pushed the Force lightning back onto his opponent without the use of a lightsaber and the positive feedback had caused an explosion separating the two. Either way, Yoda was unconscious when he left the planet and only later did he learn its name was Dagobah. Nearly a millennium would pass before another Dark Jedi would take an injured crewman from a hijacked ship to the planet where his dark hero passed, only to find the same Jedi knight that would in turn cut him down.

The incident, however, caused the Jedi council to institute a ban on teaching new Force Masters and instead teach only what was needed to survive peacekeeping missions and lightsaber techniques. The abilities and teachings of the Force Masters could only be seen by the Grandmaster and were locked in the vault while access to that portion of the great holocron was also locked. With that the order felt it would prevent the galaxy from falling into darkness. However, the Sith were not bound by those rules and taught every generation until Palpatine the full scope of their abilities. Palpatine not wanting to share power, never taught his apprentices any of these abilities.

Yoda's meditation room

Yoda looked out the window as he finished his story. "A full-fledged Force Master, if fallen, was every bit as dangerous as a Sith Lord. Therefore few were taught the secrets over the next 800 years, though several were taught against the order of the council. Jorus C'Baoth was taught by an aged force master and several of the Bpfassh Jedi it is believed were taught, though it was never proven. Of the two suspected members, one has chosen exile on Al'doleem. You remember Master Fay from early in the Clone Wars? She sacrificed herself for Kenobi, thus I am one of the only ones left in the galaxy."

"So, I will be trained?" Anakin asked.

"Yes," Yoda said.

"You will train me, Master?"

"Uncertain that is. Perhaps that is my path; perhaps it is the path of another," Yoda mused. "The first step, however, to becoming a Force Master is balance of oneself. An issue it is that war has caused you to become unbalanced. Also, your concerns over the future, yes; these must be dealt with first, before you begin your training.",

"So, this mission is a meditative retreat of sorts then?" Anakin asked

"Of sorts, perhaps, though I anticipate you will have your hands full?" Yoda replied.

"May I ask how this will help my friend?" Anakin asked. "Or can this wait until the crisis is over?"

"Nope, no waiting. Today you will go, and your journey will be guided by two Jedi from the unknown regions, learn much from them, you will. Take with you Master Kenobi and Senator Amidala, you will," Yoda said and waited to see the reaction.

Anakin flinched noticeably.

"I'm not certain, Master, that the senator can leave her duties for so long," Anakin said tentatively.

"A choice she will not be given, inform her you will, that critical for you this is," Yoda stated. "If she complains, have her talk to me."

"Should we inform the Chancellor of her taking leave from the Senate?" Anakin asked.

"No, deal with the Chancellor I will personally when the time comes," Yoda sighed. "In fact, you are to have radio silence on this trip. Return to Coruscant you will not until your teachers deem you ready, so prepare yourself and your companions for a long journey."

Anakin turned white. "I'm not sure the senator's health will sustain a very long trip."

Yoda heard the silent plea but decided not to directly intervene. "Rest will do her good. The Jedi accompanying you are quite capable, so I hear. Better off she will be away from Coruscant."

Anakin could not disagree with the master's assessment on rest, but decided he had better see when the old master had started planning this trip - before or after his visions. "Master Yoda, when this trip was decided on?"

"Over the last few hours. In fact, only while we were talking did I decide certain timing of the trip, for example. When you came in, I would likely have waited some time, but our discussion proved the necessity of here and now and with whom."

Anakin considered this. Perhaps he had been off on this trip when the children had been born. Yes, that made sense. Now he had a strong possibility of being with Padme when they came. "Who are these Jedi, Master?"

"Their names I know not; I know only they are more akin to you as a Jedi than they are to Obi-Wan," Yoda said cryptically. "They are from a group that, as far as I know, is not bound by the Russan reformation, and they will be shocking to see in some ways. Anakin, one more thing. You may have to defy the council on this matter."

"Why, Master?" Anakin asked.

"Approve of this they may not. Go with them anyway and take the senator with you and Obi-Wan, if you can," Yoda said gravely.

With that the old master got up and walked towards the door, their meeting obviously finished for now. Anakin was more than a little surprised at the events of the meeting but was more hopeful knowing that the old troll was on his side.

Author's Note: The concept of Force Masters comes from an older edition of Heir to the Empire I read, where Luke shivers at the idea of a battle between two Force Masters after hearing about Yoda and the Dark Jedi's battle on Dagobah. I'm not entirely certain if the terminology was due to a typo in my book or if it predated terms like Sith.

Thanks Ben