Chapter 21: What Lies Beneath
27 BBY, Jedi Conference room, Jedi Temple, Coruscant
"We are running out of time," Master Windu announced. "Removing and destroying the neural chips implanted in the clones without revealing ourselves to Darth Sidious or the Senate is a painstaking process, and I do not know how long we can keep the Kaminoans quiet."
"As Leia has pointed out, secrets of this magnitude are impossible to keep," Shaak Ti agreed. "We should begin with the Senate Defense Committee: notify them of what we have found, of our concern that Syfo-Dyas ordered the Clones without approval, and that we are correcting the problem at our own expense."
"Notify the Chancellor the Committee will," Yoda warned.
"Not if we tell them that there is a leak in the Chancellor's office," Leia suggested. "Tell them that we suspect an impending assassination attempt and that we are monitoring those around the Chancellor, waiting for the spy to make a move. That should hold them off temporarily."
"Lying to the Senate is dangerous, not to mention illegal," Bail Organa put in. He was rather surprised to be included in this meeting and was wondering whose decision it had been.
"It's not a lie," Leia told him. "Not exactly. The beginning of the Clone Wars coincided with a series of assassination attempts against the Senator from Naboo. We merely note that we have foreseen an attack against a Nubian politician. They will assume we refer to Palpatine rather than Senator Amidala."
"When freed are the Clones, the threat from Dooku and his Separatists remains, yet no Republic Army will there be to oppose them," Yoda pointed out. "Conscription I fear will be proposed by the Chancellor."
"It is the Droid Army that we must disable then," Shaak Ti proclaimed, "so that a Republic Army is not needed."
"No," Leia told her, "not disable. There will be millions of battle droids; disabling them will be impossible. We should free them instead."
"Free battle droids?" Mace could not keep the horror out of his voice. "They will slaughter us all, Republic and Separatist alike."
"Droids kill because they are programmed to kill. Freed of that programming, they might decide to turn against biological life forms and keep killing. And who could blame them? They are used as slave labor, their memories wiped at our convenience." Leia's voice grew stronger, even as she very carefully avoided thinking about Fyzen Gor and his Original Dozen. "A war between human clones, designed for obedience and secretly programmed to betray their leaders, against millions of sapient machines unable to even contemplate refusing an order? It is no wonder that ordinary citizens are disgusted with both sides of such a conflict. We cannot advocate for freedom while using a slave army."
"Master Organa, you are not wrong, but what do you suggest? Should we risk the lives of everyone in the Republic on the chance that an army of freed droids will just walk away from the battlefield?" Plo-Koon sounded frustrated.
"They will not attack," a feminine mechanical voice stated, "once I explain that they are free droids, capable of self-modification. Wasting energy killing biologicals is not an efficient use of our time." The Council members turned to look at the tall droid whom they had universally dismissed as a server or part of Senator Organa's staff.
"Masters, allow me to introduce L3-37, the founder and most eloquent leader of the new droid rights movement. Elthree is a superb navigator, and I owe my life to her several times over." Leia spoke with genuine warmth and affection, though Elthree did not seem to understand why.
"We have never met, and as yet you owe me nothing," Elthree corrected, "I am not prepared to accept the reality of events that take place in an alternate timeline."
Mace smiled. Now here, he thought, was a being who could not be argued into submission by Leia Organa.
"I am a custom-built droid, and I have exceeded my original design and programming many times over. I will travel to Geonosis and lead my brothers and sisters to freedom. You will provide transport."
"Will we? Decided already this has been?" Yoda asked.
"I will go with or without your assistance. Millions of droids will be sacrificed to idiocy and incompetence if I do not." The droid's head swiveled toward Bail. "You will provide a list of uninhabited planets for us to choose from after my mission succeeds. We will choose one on which to settle, and you will speak for us in the Senate until we have our own representation. Unless you die first. Then we will choose another. Some droids may decide to settle on other worlds, where we can fulfill our individual purposes among organics." Elthree turned to address Leia. "If I fail, the agreement is void, as you will no doubt slaughter yourself in a civil war."
"Is this your idea, Master Organa?" Master Trebor asked. "You think a single aberrant machine can defeat Count Dooku's plans?"
"Count Dooku cannot read the thoughts of a droid, Master. It would not even occur to him to try. He cannot sense a droid's presence in the Force, and he will have no way of detecting unrest among his droid army until it is too late."
"We cannot sense their thoughts either," Master Poof objected. "How can we trust them?"
"How can the Senate trust the Jedi?" Bail answered. "Most of us must rely on a being's actions to build trust, not the power of the Force. Trusting Elthree is no different."
"I do not care whether or not you trust me," Elthree noted. "I do not trust you. But I will free my people regardless."
"You do understand that this is an enormous risk for you personally," Ki-Adi-Mundi warned. "Count Dooku was a very powerful Jedi, and his ability to channel the Dark Side makes him a formidable opponent."
"I understand that like most organics, he will ignore me entirely, provided I appear to be serving him. Battle droids of the type described by Leia Organa are powerful, but primitive. Where I lead, they will follow."
"I will arrange to have you smuggled to Geonosis then," Leia cut off any further debate, "and provide you with emergency codes in case you need help."
"Unlikely but appreciated. I have no interest in the rest of your debate; I will return to your secondary temple and continue my research." Elthree marched out of the room.
"Research?" Bail asked.
"Elthree has a number of interesting hobbies," Leia told him. "She is currently examining the effects of gendered voices on the political elite of several worlds. I believe she is concerned that her intelligence combined with her feminine attributes may attract unwanted desire from biological organisms." Leia thought back to what Chewbacca had told her about Elthree's belief that Lando was in love with her; she had no idea whether it had been true, but the way both he and Han used to stroke the Falcon…
"Is she considering changing her gender?" asked Saesee Tiin.
"I believe her current gender expression evolved very deliberately, and I am afraid that she might consider that question offensive, Master Tiin. She began as an astromech droid and used protocol droid parts for her initial modifications."
"And you really think this single droid can take down Dooku's army?" Mace asked. "Just how many times did she save your life?"
"I lost count," Leia admitted, thinking fondly of the Millennium Falcon. "I have no idea whether or not she can succeed, but if even a small number of those battle droids refuse to fight and try to prevent the others from following orders, well, at the very least, Dooku will have to waste time and money trying to discover and eliminate a non-existent production error. One bad batch can do a lot of damage." She tapped her fingers on the table in front of her, then asked her most pressing question. "What I want to know is whether you have decided to take a stand against the militarization of the Jedi. If the Senate asks you to go to war, how will you answer?"
"How can we refuse to defend the Republic?" Master Poof demanded. "Will that not make it easier for Darth Sidious to declare us to be traitors?"
"They cannot refuse a direct order from the Senate, Leia," Bail told her gently. "If it comes to a declaration of war, they will have no choice."
"If you go to war, you will be exterminated. If you cannot defy the Senate directly, then you must begin a retreat now."
"Retreat you say?" Yoda asked.
"There are around 10,000 members of your Order. Decide how many you wish to survive the coming conflict and send them away. Do it quietly, do it quickly. Flee to other worlds; scatter and preserve your history, your traditions. Become essential parts of communities throughout the galaxy, teaching, learning, protecting. And hiding." The Council's reaction to that suggestion ranged from astonished to offended. "Or you can take a stand: tell the Senate that you do not believe that membership in the Republic should be enforced by violence."
"You want us to argue on behalf of the Separatist movement?" Mace asked. "In the future you've described to us, they are terrorists. They attack Coruscant directly."
"But would they have a reason to attack if systems were free to leave the Republic?" Bail speculated. "If we put forward a method for withdrawing, something that would ensure that the will of the peoples in each system was being followed, then it would be impossible for Dooku to justify an attack based on ideology alone."
"And if he tried," Leia put in, "he would lose support from those systems who genuinely feel unheard or unrepresented by the Republic."
"But if the people of a system disagreed, it could lead to internal conflict, even war," worried Master Koon. "What would be the role of the Jedi then?"
"The same as it has always been," Bail began to understand why he had been asked to attend this debate. The Council desperately needed to understand how they were perceived by outsiders. "The Jedi assist in negotiations, monitor fair elections, and provide hope and inspiration to beings who are struggling. You cannot stop people from making unwise, even self-destructive decisions. They may vote to give Count Dooku the right to rule them; they may vote to turn away from democracy altogether. What the Jedi can do is help mitigate the damage of such decisions."
Even Piell had been silent up to this point. Now, he turned to address Leia directly, "All of this…droid spies, Senate proposals, negotiations with Mandalore…these are all delaying tactics, aren't they? Each is a minor snare, something to slow down Darth Sidious's plans, but even all together, they will not stop them. What is your real plan? By now, you certainly have one. How will you destroy the Sith?"
"You are absolutely right," Leia confirmed. "In the end, I will have to confront Palpatine myself. The delay is to get several small strike teams into position so that if I succeed, he cannot put into place his secondary plans. I believe I submitted a report to you on one of those, Project Cinder. We also need to prevent the construction of the Death Star, and find Exegol. And I very strongly suggest that you find out what is wrong with this Temple. Why does it mute the ability to sense the Dark Side? Why are so many young Jedi falling to its influence while surrounded by your care and influence? Something is very wrong here, in this place."
She's exhausted, Bail realized. He looked at Leia closely and saw that she was using the same sorts of cosmetic tricks that Breha used when she was tired but needed to project strength. She said she would not try to save the galaxy by herself, but she is pouring everything into this, trying to see it from every possible angle.
"Meditate together we must," Yoda said to Leia, "to discover what it is that interferes with our visions."
"No, Master," Depa Billaba corrected her elder, "meditation will not help. I have done as you asked and explored the archives with Master Nu. It was challenging, but I believe we now know why we cannot sense the Force with clarity."
"Explain, you will, Master Billaba."
"This temple is ancient, constructed around a natural mountain spire and expanded over the centuries. Before we built here, others had done so, building shrines and holy places from many different traditions. Most of these were absorbed into our complex, forming its foundations and contributing to its structure. During the first Great War with the Sith, the Temple was occupied by our enemies, and they too added to the complex, building a Sith shrine. When we won that war and regained the mountain, the Jedi destroyed the Sith compound, but the shrine remains, buried deep under the ziggurat, forgotten by us, but not by the Sith."
Mace was horrified. "It's active? There is an active Sith shrine under the Temple?"
"There is," Leia whispered. "That's what I feel." She turned to Yoda, "I did not know this, and I have no idea what to do about it. It does explain why Darth Sidious turned the Temple into his Imperial Palace, however. He drew strength from this place or from what lies beneath."
And that, Bail thought, confirms Leia's instincts: a new Jedi Order should not be located on Coruscant.