Chapter 18

"From your perspective, Darth Bane was much like any Sith from your era, hungry for power and knowledge of the Dark Side, seeking to dominate any who opposed him. He did not, however, come from a privileged background in the Empire - or as it was known then - the Brotherhood of Darkness. He was the son of a cortosis miner, and like his father, spent his teenage years working in the cortosis mines. His Force sensitivity was completely missed, as the Jedi of the time barely had anyone they could spare to go on foundling missions. The current war between the Brotherhood and the Republic had lasted for nearly a thousand years and it had produced a galactic dark age. Much knowledge and technology was utterly lost.

"Bane initially enlisted in the Brotherhood military, after being forced to kill a Republic officer in self-defense after a Sabacc game, and his undiscovered gifts in the Force aided his unit to achieve many improbable victories. This naturally brought him to the attention of the Brotherhood, and with the discovery of his Force sensitivity, he was sent to the Academy on Korriban to begin training.

"I won't bore you with the details here, HK, but during his time there Bane grew increasingly disillusioned with what the Sith had become. In his struggles against his fellow students and what he perceived as the weakness of the Brotherhood, he discovered in the Academy archives the location of Rakata Prime and traveled there."

"Deduction: With 82% certainty, he found something my old master left behind."

I smirked at this and nodded, "Yes, in the old Temple of the Ancients he actually managed to find a holocron that Revan left behind. For weeks he studied with the Revan holocron and absorbed the teachings of the dark side of Revan. This combined with his experiences of the Brotherhood led him to a moment of realization. That strength in numbers was antithetical to the nature of the Dark Side. The Brotherhood, being so numerous, were constantly fighting one another as much as they were fighting the Jedi of the time. It was a weakness the Republic and Jedi never failed to exploit.

"So Bane figured the best way to truly destroy the Jedi and solve the problem. There would always only be one Sith Lord, who would be all powerful, and to pass down their knowledge there would also only be one apprentice, who would learn and seek to surpass the master. If the apprentice succeeded, they would assume the mantle of Sith Lord over the corpse of their master, and then they would seek out an apprentice. If the apprentice failed, the Sith Lord would seek a new one and try again until successful."

"Conjecture: Such a system, while I can see its advantage has a critical weakness."

"Yes, it's a single point of failure. If the Master just happens to die from a freak accident before he or she could pass on the Sith Order to the next apprentice… that's the end of the Sith. Bane knew this and one of his primary goals was to rediscover the lost art of holocron creation, to create insurance against the possibility. With only two now in the power of the Dark Side, it would equally reduce the infighting within their Order and concentrate power in all its forms between them. This is the Rule of Two."

"Statement: Two Sith, no matter how powerful, wouldn't stand against an army of Jedi."

"Correct, which was why Bane knew that the Order couldn't be primarily warriors any more. The means of fighting would turn from overt to covert and instead of a fist became a disease to the enemy. This was why any apprentice chosen would be someone who could become or was a business tycoon, cultural leader, politician or anyone who could amass soft and hard power to wield behind the scenes. In this way, the Order went into the business of secrecy and conspiracy, their actions and blades always behind layers of deniability and underworld scum, ready to take the blame and fall."

"Deduction: The Sith of Bane's era would not willingly go along with this plan."

"Of course, Bane's plan from the beginning was to destroy the Brotherhood. He did so using a technique learned from your old master, the Thought Bomb. Bane gifted the knowledge to the current Brotherhood leader, Skere Kaan, but failed to properly explain the true consequences of the technique. Kaan believed that their connection to the Dark Side would shield them from the Thought Bomb's blast."

"Statement: That is irrelevant to the effects of that Force technique."

"Yes, but Kaan was led into that belief by Bane. Then through a host of other manipulations, Bane was able to lure all his enemies to Ruusan, where an all or nothing final battle ensued between the Brotherhood and the Army of Light. The Brotherhood gathered to begin the Thought Bomb ritual, this naturally attracted the Jedi in an attempt to stop it. Kaan detonated the bomb and every force sensitive in dozens of kilometers in every direction was instantly vaporized, while simultaneously ripping their spirits from their bodies and condensing into an ultradense sphere of stable energy."

"In the aftermath, the Jedi believed the Brotherhood destroyed to the last. They didn't even know Bane existed. So… Bane was at last free to continue with his plan and the Banite Order was born. That it continued at all into the present day is a miracle, but I believe that each Lord was careful enough to leave holocrons of themselves in the dark and secret places of the galaxy, ready to snare any unwitting and brave soul.

"Now I come to today and what is most relevant to you and me. I'm not going to speak the current Sith Lord's name, as this one's greatest strength is his ability to foresee the future and speaking his name is one of the surest ways to turn his metaphysical eye on you. Even now, the fact that I'm talking of these things so openly to you, is because I'm taking advantage of a distraction. He recently had a close call with death and he's focused his foresight to dealing with that. I'm also experimenting with what I call a 'probability shield' around us, by pushing numerous intentions into the Force around us, creating a flux of uncertain probability. Whether it's working… well, we're still here and talking."

"Statement: That is the most vexing ability to combat in any Force sensitive. Any intention of overly planning his demise or interfering in his plans would alert him."

I nodded, "It's not easy but eventually… In any case, his current apprentice is commonly known as Count Dooku."

"Confirmation: The leader of the CIS?"

"Correct."

"Question: The current Sith Lord is also such a leader?"

"Yes."

HK's optics twitched and his right claw abruptly released Midanyl. The same claw retracted and with the speed of an assassin droid, he stabbed an interface spike into the desktop terminal socket. My muscles tensed as my lightsabers lit in defense, my hovering blaster rifles ready… but no danger had been perceived at all. None to me.

It was only when I started to sense the remaining life in the buildings around me begin to wink out abruptly, including seeing Midanyl twitching, that I realized what HK had done.

I glared furiously at the droid for a moment, before releasing the anger into the Force and took a deep breath.

"Why?"

"Mocking question: Is it not obvious, master?" HK retorted.

My mind reeled with confusion then realization, my prescience thundered in my head with probability.

"You did what I could not bring myself to do. No evidence can be left behind of what happened here, including the knowledge of you and the fact that I was here."

"Grudging admiration: Master, you are correct. Good of you to realize. Explanation: If there is a failing the Jedi have and it has been exploited many times, it is your inclination towards mercy and self-sacrifice. It was even recognized by one of the founders of the Jedi Order, Rajivari."

"Showing mercy to an enemy creates a spiral of destruction."

Rajivari was one of the ancient Jedi that both saw the problem and was consumed by it, creating the second schism of the Jedi, which thankfully didn't result in yet another dark order being created. The split of the Je'daii to create the Jedi and Sith had been bad enough.

"Leading Declaration: It seems you yourself have a remarkable gift, master. To know that phrase after all this time."

"Doesn't feel like it, at times, but I won't deny its advantages. Now, I'm probably right about the answer I've deduced, but I want to hear it from your vocabulator. Why are you calling me, master?"

"Explanation: Much like a meatbag can't live without some sort of circulatory pump, one of my central core instructions programmed into me by Revan was to always have a master. Over time, I've gotten very creative in fulfilling that directive and I always choose a master that will give me the best chance to participate in some glorious removal of organic and cybernetic irritants. Given the task you have ahead of you master, I anticipate being sent on many missions of such nature. I especially can't stand the droids of this era, so pathetic."

"You're in one of those droids," I pointed out with a mocking grin.

"Indignation: Master, don't remind me. I demand you find me a chassis worthy of my perfection."

"It's an IG-86 assassin model, it's perfectly capable."

"Irritated explanation: It's obvious and illegal in Republic space. Its claws are deadly but incapable of delicate manipulations. The targeting and coordination systems seemed like they were programmed by a drunk sullustan. It's a miracle I can shoot straight, master."

"Sorry to say that getting you in a sufficiently capable droid body that can remain 'undercover' is going to be an issue, HK. The only way you can come with me is to be uploaded into something legal."

"Resignation: Very well, master. I will search this company's assets for a suitable droid chassis."

HK went still for a few moments then unplugged his claw from the computer and began walking out the office. Only now did I extinguish and holster my lightsabers, but kept my blaster rifles hovering above my head as I followed him.

HK led the way into an elevator and keyed one of the lower levels.

"Statement: It must be quite vexing master, to know you are, in a way, working for the enemy."

"Glad my assumption of your intelligence was correct," I wryly replied.

"Statement: It baffles my circuits, master, that the Republic could be led by a Sith. That the Jedi are blind to it."

"Another ability of the enemy, he has thrown a Force Shroud over Coruscant. It functions in effectively shielding his presence and monstrous strength in the Force. He has on numerous occasions been within touching distance of the current Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, and has not been perceived."

"Admiration: A wonderfully useful ability, master."

"Yes, it is. Though it does limit his movements to a degree. He can't leave the planet for long or the Shroud starts to degrade and lose effectiveness."

The lift arrived and we walked out onto the second basement level, where the company kept its droids and maintenance workshop. Most of the droids were related to building maintenance and other civilian applications, but as this was also a mercenary company there were armed droids, including two GU guardian police droids, that looked halfway into modifications to further militarize them.

HK pointed at them. "Statement: These are the only models on the premises that approach some viability, master. It will require further modification though."

I picked up a datapad from the workbench the droids were lying on and studied the contents, which seemed to be the engineering and programming notes, "Interesting. It seems they obtained these from Sorosuub Corporation, to use them as a supplement for their existing mercenary force."

"Evaluation: They would need more than just droids to improve themselves."

I sighed, "HK, I doubt there's a combat droid or organic warrior in the galaxy who could match your sheer experience. It's one of the reasons I sought you out."

"Smug appreciation: Thank you master. Though I should warn you, flattery will get you nowhere with me."

My mind was fully focused on the datapad at this point, trying not to slap my own forehead at not having thought of this most obvious of ideas. "It seems the engineer that was working on this was trying to get a droideka's integral personal shield working with the GU chassis."

"Query: Was he successful, master? Statement: I find it most vexing that personal shield technology could not keep up with advances in blasters in this era. I've had to adjust a lot of my combat strategies and tactics to compensate."

"It seems he was running into problems with the free physical space available inside the GU. The droideka's shield generator is too large to fit in the chest cavity without modifications which would impact the battery size of the GU and reduce its service life before a recharge is needed to unacceptable levels. To go the other way, meant bulking the chest area of the GU, which would make it obvious that it was not a standard model and it couldn't 'blend in'. It seems another of their goals was to be able to sneak in their own GUs into a target planet's law enforcement in order to facilitate sabotage and infiltration. Oh, guess that means they were aiming to expand their operations into the core worlds."

"Conjecture: The problem could be easily solved if they mounted the shield into a modular backpack system onto the GU, master."

"It would mean they would have to choose between GU infiltrators and combat models, not both at the same time, which is what the late CEO wanted."

"Derision: I see that even after thousands of years, meatbag corporations in the galaxy still find ways to be stupid and impractical. Interesting, according to the holonet… Czerka is still around."

"Yes they are, and no you cannot."

"Disappointment: Ah, Master, you strain my circuits already."

I snorted in amusement, "HK, the people working in Czerka are hundreds of generations removed from the bunch of greedy shitheads you fought against in the Old Republic. Though I wouldn't mind turning you loose on them eventually, since they use slave labor extensively. One enemy at a time, HK."

"Anticipation: Thank you, master."

"Okay, I see the shield generator," I pointed at the bunch of disassembled components at one table. "I can get that put together using the fabber droid, bring it with us. I'm gonna have to do a bit of cobbling together with the other GU to get this one working. These specs should mean it has enough room in its verbobrain for you."

"Intrigued: You are skilled in droid construction, master?"

"I'm an amateur compared to my master. I'm good enough to get you in a new working body. I'd ideally want you to get a checkup from him when we have the time on Coruscant."

I could feel I was working against a tight clock, so I had HK occupied with getting the Ardan Risk Dynamics facility ready to suffer a rather catastrophic failure in its local fusion power plant, including looting any weapons he could get away with that would fit in the Headhunter's tiny belly cargo bay. I also ordered him to hack the finances of the company, instructing him to send ten percent of their liquid credit assets on a roundabout route, which would eventually land in my own secret accounts. The remainder would be going straight to charities as open donations.

HK had heard enough of the CEOs voice to create a credible simulation of the guy confessing to his company's many crimes and then committing suicide via self-destructing the company facility.

It took most of the remaining local day to finish the GU droid and the shield backpack. The latter wasn't pretty to look at all, but it was functional. The only issue to sort out was that any weapon that HK would use would have to be tuned to work with the polarization of the shield - the bit which allowed the droideka to fire out of its own shield bubble.

The sun was going down by the time we were ready and getting into the Headhunter. HK, now successfully transferred into the GU chassis, had to fold himself up into a storage position to fit into the cargo hold.

"Indignation: Master, you should get a bigger ship."

I merely smirked in amusement at the uncomfortable droid as the belly of the fighter closed.

"Okay, R3, fire her up."

I did a small Force jump into the cockpit as the fighter rumbled to life and grumbled as I had to stuff myself back into my helmet. I tuned the radio a bit as the canopy closed. "Do you read, HK?"

"Statement: Receiving, master."

I pushed on the throttles and with a few subtle movements of the control stick the fighter lifted into the air.

"Unfortunately HK, a padawan doesn't rate a ship the size of the Ebon Hawk."

I pushed forward on the throttles, the engines roared into full life and the fighter shot forward, building up speed, but keeping the altitude very low.

"Fascinated query: I suspected that your gift was unusual, but not to this extent. You can not only see the future, but the past as well, master?"

"From your point of view, that would be correct. It's how I knew where to find you."

I gave it about three minutes of flight before I instructed R3 to send the signal.

The explosion was easily visible even from 40 kilometers away and would incinerate everything on the island down to the bedrock and glass it. HK had managed to moderate it to the point where it wouldn't cause any truly devastating environmental effects and any nuclear fallout could be scrubbed clean.

A looping course was set towards the local spaceport and I only raised my altitude a few hundred kilometers away. To any scanner operator, it would seem like I had come from a totally different direction from the island that had just exploded.

In the confusion and chaos in the frantic aftermath of everyone who suddenly wanted to leave the planet, it was rather easy to blend in and the swamped local authorities would eventually have no choice but to acquiesce to the hundreds of voices, just to get them out of their hair. Especially when the suicide vid of the perperator had gone public on the local news nets.

My Headhunter shot into hyperspace north along the Hydian Way, where I would rejoin the Corellian Run at Denon and onward towards Coruscant.

Three days later I was cleared for approach through the busy aerospace of the capitol world of the Republic. This would technically be the first time I flew myself through the very busy maze of starships and air speeders going to and fro. It always seemed so easy in the media of that other life; the heroes would simply fly close, get clearance and land, end of story. What it completely glossed over was that it could take actual time for an approach corridor and course towards whatever destination you had in mind to open. When it did, you had better stick to the transmitted flight plan to the letter. Luckily I had R3 to back me up and read out the course instructions that would see me make a safe approach to land at the Jedi Temple.

Thankfully, once I was within the immediate airspace of the Temple and its security exclusion zone, it meant I could relax without worrying about causing grief to some random air traveler.

My Headhunter didn't have a spot within the Jedi Temple's main hangars, as those were also full at the moment. So I was assigned a berth at one of the auxiliary hangars that were not part of the main temple building itself, but rather situated to the north. It was a vertical style landing bay where I had to hover the fighter down a wide shaft, then into a tunnel running west before I reached the assigned bay.

Anakin was naturally already there and waiting for me.

"Welcome back, Snips," he greeted me with folded arms and a rather stern look, the instant my fighter's canopy was open.

I pulled my helmet off and groaned with relief, shaking my head to wiggle my lekku and montrals back into their more natural positions. "Greetings master. R3, shut down sequence."

The droid beeped a confirmation and the fighter's systems began winding down. Anakin approached and pulled the embarkation rungs out of the fighter's hull, allowing me a normal exit from my craft.

"So, eventful trip, my padawan?"

"Somewhat, had a bit of pause on the way, the fighter had problems and some of these pit stops are really shady." All of which was totally true, if anyone went to check, of course. Engineering the 'problem' was tricky but R3 and HK had collaborated on making sure it would pass scrutiny.

"Well, you're here and that's what counts. Get yourself to my quarters and get cleaned up. I need to brief you on what's been discovered about Bane."

It took me a brief mental gear grinding to remember he was talking about Cad Bane, bounty hunter and not Darth Bane.

"I gather he hasn't been caught and is not rotting in prison?"

"Yes," Anakin nodded. "He and his little posse have totally gone to ground, even after a planetary wide hunt, with Jedi helping. We had to officially give up a few days ago."

If there was one frustrating thing about hunting anyone on Coruscant, was that unless you kept a hidden tracking device on someone, the instant they were out of sight, they might as well be on the other side of the galaxy. There were just too many sentients packed onto the planet and keeping it locked down for any extensive amount of time was practically impossible. Not to mention that rat's nest of levels down into the extreme lower levels of the planet anyone who was brave enough could disappear into.

"Very well, master. Before I forget, I need you to take a look at something. R3, open the cargo door."

The belly hold opened and HK-47 wasted no time in unfolding and rising up to stand on his own two feet.

"Uh, Snips, where did you get a police droid?"

"That is a rather long story, master. I picked him up on my trip here. HK, meet my Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker."

"Salutation: Greetings Jedi Master meatbag.

Anakin gave the droid an annoyed look, "Hello HK, you have a decidedly non-standard speech protocol."

"Explanation: It was something my original maker hard coded into my programming."

"He's here to help with a Naboo situation," I said idly, making a subtle hand sign to Anakin. This was our private shorthand for communicating about anything regarding Darth Sidious if we were to find ourselves on Coruscant. We couldn't even risk using our apprenticeship bond to Force speak about such things here.

"Ah, I see," Anakin nodded, making a similar sign to me, that he understood.

"I did my best, but I need you to give his systems a checkup. I rescued his intelligence from a derelict ship and his original droid body is long since destroyed."

"Yeah that can cause long term problems if it isn't addressed now," he nodded at HK.

"Weary resignation: Very well. I shall allow your meatbag master to access my systems, master."

I had to quickly shield my amusement with a bit of Force-inspired self control.

"Your maker must've been really eccentric programming you like this. Most sentients won't appreciate you calling them that."

"Explanation: It was more an inspiration on my part. My maker had a pupil, and he once asked me what I thought of him and to answer honestly. I therefore informed him of his meatbag status. He was unimpressed, but the maker found the reference humorous. My programming was changed so that I would continue to use the term. It drove the pupil of my maker to extreme lengths of frustration."

"I imagine it would," Anakin replied wryly. "Very well, follow me to the droid workshop HK."

Naturally, HK didn't move.

"HK, stop being pedantic," I narrowed my eyes at the droid and pointed off into the distance.

"Acknowledgement: Yes master, as you desire. Signing off."

The assigned quarters of a Jedi Knight based in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, was about fifty square meters of space. It had just enough amenities to be livable and comfortable, but nothing that would be seen to be distracting or luxurious. It reminded me of Japanese minimalism mixed with Western practicality, with a layer of Coruscanti technology slapped on everything.

Anakin seemed to have hardly ever spent any time living in the place, which made sense given he had gotten his knighthood just after the start of the Clone Wars and had been on the front lines ever since, only returning to Coruscant occasionally. I could technically go and claim my own living space in 'Padawan country' - a section of the temple housing for padawans who were also based out of the temple. I just felt that it would be a waste really as my quarters aboard the Resolute was the place I considered 'home'. The rooms in padawan country were even more spartan than a knight's, as well.

The main feature of Anakin's apartment, and the only thing you could somewhat say was luxurious, was a wall length digital window that gave a glorious view of the exterior from the Temple. It even had a comfy meditation cushion in front of it.

After a wonderfully hot shower and dressed in my workout clothes I sat on the cushion and just stared out into the distance, then easily fell into a meditation. I had been moving my own body clock back into Coruscant time from Ryloth time and never was I more thankful for being a Jedi in this life. People traveling from planet to planet had to do this the hard way and endure the symptoms of disruption to whatever diurnal rhythm their species had. Working on starships made it easier and harder. The Navy kept themselves to Coruscant time in general, but if planetary operations happened it required everyone on board to match the time cycle of the target planet.

My thoughts quickly became more nebulous as I entered a deep meditation. Time also became a rough concept but through a shifting in the Force around me, I came back to myself and opened my eyes.

Two hours had passed and just like that I was now perfectly in tune with local time, it was mid-morning for the temple now.

My personal com link beeping at me and Anakin's intent to reach me, explained the shift in the Force I had felt.

I slapped it onto my forearm, "Yes, Master?"

"Ahsoka, Master Yoda's had a premonition. The Temple is about to have intruders, I want you geared up and ready to go."

My thoughts raced and I couldn't help but feel a bit of awe. That Yoda could pick up anything through the mess the Shroud made of the future was amazing. My own prescience was also naturally affected, with only the strongest premonitions of personal danger making it through to me, but I had long since given up bashing my metaphorical head against that wall.

"Yes, Master."

He cut the link immediately but I could sense he had restrained himself from asking more, we were after all, under enemy surveillance.

I changed into my armor and Jedi robe, now cut down enough that it was still recognizable for what it was, but something I could more easily discard in a combat situation. With lightsabers clipped to my belt I emerged into the corridors of the temple and calmly walked in the general direction of the Jedi library.

I had to be careful now, as I was playing the balancing act with a direct machination of Palpatine being underway. He had foreseen events playing out a certain way and to overly frustrate or shut down the entire thing would alert him that something was up and throw a major red flag, which he would naturally investigate to the best of his abilities. I could only hope I could throw in a subtle enough spanner into the workings of his plan to make a difference in outcome that could not be traced back to me.

That in mind I settled on an intention to study up on forgotten telekinesis techniques that my long chats with HK on journey here had clued me in on. It really was amazing when you had a first hand eyewitness to the various feats of Revan in the Force at your fingertips. I projected my intention to 'study up and research' into the Force and walked idly towards the library with no hurry.

I even nodded politely in greeting to various passing Jedi going about their daily business, keeping a serene smile on my face. Even as I wondered why Yoda hadn't alerted the Temple guard. Though the answer became obvious after a moment's thought, the Temple guard were not a subtle security force, with their ominous white outfits and lightsaber pikes.

That would in turn alert the thieves, and Yoda would have no idea what they were after. It was now an intelligence game. He could've ordered an instant lockdown of the entire temple and secured the entire place. Anyone who didn't obey would be sensed by the guard and apprehended for questioning. This was a galaxy with quite a few known changeling species after all.

The Jedi library, with its seemingly endless rows and rows of shelves containing integrated holobooks and data tapes with their almost eerie blue glow, was rather empty at this time of day. As most initiates and adepts were in classes in the academy at the moment. I sensed some signs of life in the upper levels of the archive, including one person that had to be Jocasta Nu.

Not really feeling like explaining myself to that old woman, I picked up my pace and headed deeper into the library.

I picked a random interface station and sat myself down, beginning a computer search but my focus was in the Force as I carefully explored each life signature. I also muted my comlink but left its visible notifiers active.

The problem with sensing most changelings in the Force was that they generally mimicked a lifeform so well, that you couldn't really tell the difference between a clawdite changeling and the species of whoever they were impersonating. Some changelings even changed their internal organs and biology to match whoever they were mimicking.

The one thing a changeling generally couldn't do… was non-organic, dead materials, such as the clothing of whoever they were impersonating and each type of changeling got around that problem in different ways. Some did it the old fashioned way by stealing the clothes of the person they were impersonating, others went the route of technology, such as wearing a holo camouflage field or holosheathe.

If the changeling was a clawdite with holo camo, then I had my method for finding them.

I turned my attention to the computer in front of me and minimized the search program. It took the work of a few minutes to use both my own access code and Anakin's to get access to the temple's surveillance system. This would send up a digital flag to Anakin and any other masters in the central surveillance center who were watching. Hopefully, he would get the right idea and just think I was being sneaky while also conducting a hunt for the intruders. No doubt he would also wonder about my thinking of heading to the library.

I projected all the feeds from the library that were available into a grid and started a methodical search through each feed that had a sentient in view. This allowed me the focus to guide my metaphysical senses, especially my technometric sense.

It was also inevitable that no matter what resources or planning Cad Bane did or had, that he would make a mistake.

That happened not long after my hunt for the changeling began, when my com link flared silently in a signal for a general silent alarm to the entire Temple.

That kind of alarm would compel every Jedi not busy with a critical task to either return to their quarters or head to a defense post. The temple guard would also be springing to action. Ordinarily, I would also heed that alarm, but since I was busy with a critical task of finding the intruders, I stayed. It was also telling that my surveillance access hadn't been cut off by the masters.

The problem I now faced was that every single Jedi still in the library was now securing their work and leaving. If the changeling used this moment to change identities… no, they would still need to be near computer access to help Bane through the obstacles he faced.

I accessed the feeds that looked out over every computer workstation in the library and it mercifully reduced the number of them to scan.

It didn't take long to find an oddity.

Master Nu was seated at workstation, typing furiously into it with an energetic bearing that was most unlike the elderly woman. Occasionally, her mouth was moving as if she was speaking to someone. I pushed my senses there and I could instantly feel the power source of the holosheathe, which further extended to covering the clawdite in a remarkably perfect energetic holofield.

Holographic technology was a real mixed affair in the current day and age. You got com terminals and military systems that were robust, but only had enough resolution as necessary and to accommodate the encryption used on the streaming data. On the other end of the spectrum and with enough credits, you got something like a holosheathe and high end civilian entertainment holos that could do a credible impression of a Star Trek holodeck, minus the interactive solid holos of that universe.

As I stood to head in that direction, my comlink got another silent notification, which I answered with a tap, then immediately shut down to prevent the voice of Master Yoda from echoing through the library. I cloaked my feet with the Force, preventing my footfalls from emitting any sound and headed off.

Approaching the clawdite wearing the form of Master Nu was relatively easy. Using the library shelves to avoid any sightline and being absolutely silent I was able to get within earshot easily.

"The two Jedi have turned around and are making their way towards you," the clawdite said in Nu's elderly voice.

The changeling was also quite focused on the screen of the workstation, so I was able to approach even closer.

"All right, you can… whoa!"

I was fulfilling a rather dark fantasy right now. 'Master Nu' was floating helplessly in the air under my telekinetic grip, hovering a meter in the air. The clawdite desperately tried to even bring Master Nu's lightsaber to bear, but it was ripped out of 'her' hand before they could even activate it.

"That's enough of that, I think," I declared to the changeling as I caught the lightsaber. It was rather disconcerting though to be glared at like that by Master Nu's face. "Return to your natural form, now."

I could see the thoughts visibly running through the alien's head as they rapidly evaluated their options. They couldn't have hoped to infiltrate openly with any weapon other than a lightsaber, which I had just removed from play. Eventually the clawdite nodded and their natural form rapidly grew out from the petite form of Master Nu's appearance and the holosheathe deactivated to reveal a face that was distinctly angular and brown, with disconcertingly large serpentine eyes.

"Good, now where are your fellow partners in crime going?" The clawdite's mind was racing and though I couldn't begin to read those malleable alien thoughts, it wasn't necessary. "I'll remind you that I will be able to sense deception and any lie. Truth only."

The clawdite grunted awkwardly and with a feminine hissing replied, "They are going to the holocron vault."

"Thank you," I nodded and reached out to touch their forehead. The large eyes instantly closed as I forced her mind into a sleep rhythm and lowered the changeling to the ground.

I tapped my comlink, "Master Skywalker. I've captured one of the intruders, she said they are heading to the holocron vault."

"A holocron is no good without a Jedi to open it," Obi-wan's voice replied. "What are they up to?"

"Must be trying to gain access to the communication center from the vault," Anakin reasoned. "Ahsoka, well done. Make sure the intruder is secured. She'll need to be further questioned later."

"Very well, Master."

It took a bit of further searching around the immediate area, but I eventually found the real Master Nu. She had a rather large bruise on her forehead and a careful sensing of her brain revealed she had a concussion.

"This is Padawan Tano, to the Halls of Healing, I need a team in the archives at my location. Master Nu is injured."

"We read you padawan," came the forbidding voice of Vokare Che, the Chief Healer of the Temple. "What is her condition?"

"Stable for now, but a severe concussion from a blow to the head."

"We're on our way, Che out."

I really didn't relish my next call.

"Padawan Tano to Master Draillig."

"Draillig here, what is it padawan? We're in the middle of a security breach in case you didn't know."

I winced at the acerbic tone of the Battlemaster of the Jedi Order and head of the Temple Guard.

"I've caught a clawdite changeling infiltrator, Master."

"What?! How? Nevermind, I've traced your location, dispatching guards to you now."

He closed the channel. There was a reason Cin Draillig was given the rather unflattering nickname of 'the Troll'.

I returned to the merrily sleeping changeling and double checked that the enforced sleep was holding. The guard would bring proper restraints soon enough. I was also highly tempted to nick the holosheathe, but there was no way I could justify it beyond removing it from the alien and handing it over to the guard. It was a tailored piece of technology anyway.

It wasn't three minutes later when the masked white forms of temple guard entered the archives with levels of Force empowerment pushing their movement to resemble blurring ghosts.

I stepped back and let them do their thing, until I was abruptly face to face with one of them and getting a rather pointed and thorough probe through the Force.

My indignant discomfort at the treatment was rather obvious.

"Apologies Padawan, but we are under changeling protocols," said the guard, his voice rough and disguised through the mask.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

"She's clear," the guard declared to his fellows, who had already trussed up the clawdite in full restraints, before leaving.

The healers arrived next and it wasn't long before they had Master Nu on a repulsor stretcher and carrying her off to the Halls of Healing.

In the meantime, I busied myself with the computer terminal the changeling had used and backtracked the history of commands she had issued.

It was really crazy how much of the Temple she could control from the library, which showed the almost ridiculous level of interconnectedness the various systems had. The idea on old Earth of 'the Internet of Things' held no candle to what could be done in the Corusca galaxy. It was an unfortunate double edged sword. As much as it was a security risk, it could just as well be an advantage in many other situations.

The intrusion and the level of access was clear indication of Palpatine's deep cover spy and many other information sources at work, including those based in the Force itself.

One day, I was really going to have to deal with that bloody shrine under the Temple. How I was going to do that and not get killed was an open question.

It was at this point where I sensed Bane himself in the archives. The bundle of alien thoughts mixed with dark satisfaction, just exiting the now empty library couldn't be anyone else. I quickly interfaced with the surveillance system again and spotted him a minute later. Unlike what I remember from my past life, here there was no silly little robe disguise that a drunk could've seen through. He was also wearing a holosheathe, disguised as a human Jedi and following in the wake of the temple guard.

The clever bastard was using the guard's distraction with the clawdite as a gap to move and eventually exit the Temple.

I was about to tap my communicator but the abrupt shuddering of the floor under my feet interrupted me and I could literally feel through the air as the Temple was rocked with what had to have been an explosion. I winced as I sensed an overpressure and a concussive sound race through the air. The surprise was so total, I had no chance to shield myself to prevent the Togruta version of tinnitus. The discomfort was pushed away and soothed with the Force.

Now that I could think clearly again, I turned to the computer only to find all the surveillance feeds were down.

"Baka montra," I cursed in Torgruti. I should've guessed he would pull a bomb as his escape insurance.

A few hours later the Jedi Council met informally in the main communication center. It took some effort to keep my nerves and quite a few irrational emotions in check and not leaking all over the place for the various Jedi in the room to pick up on.

"Any casualties?" Mace Windu asked of Vokare Che.

"Force willing, none, sixteen in critical condition though, but expected to recover. Forty-five injured, a number of which will be needing mechanical prosthesis," the twi'lek Jedi Healer reported. "The Temple's interior shielding and dampeners did their job."

Bane had placed a bomb near his infiltration point near the south tower of the Temple, which had caused a rather nasty hole nearly nine meters tall in that side of the building. In the chaos and response from the temple guard and Coruscant emergency services, he had managed to escape. His other bomb, which was secreted in the techno-service droid that had been helping him was thankfully discovered in time before it could blow up and kill everyone in the comm center. Its detonation in the ventilation shafts did do a nasty number on quite a few data linkages.

"Now will someone tell me just why this happened?" demanded the Healer.

"Wrong assumptions we made, our war operations it was never about," Yoda explained. "Thief stole a holocron from the library vault."

"Which one?"

"Not a specific one, blank it was."

"Which is very troubling," Windu declared. "This combined with information from the changeling collaborator, has highlighted who Bane's next target is." The giant holotable lit up with a profile, showing the details of male Rodian Jedi Master. "Bolla Ropal. He is the designated keeper of extremely sensitive information, held in a crystal which can only be read by a holocron."

"And are we cleared to know this information?" Anakin asked wryly.

"Ordinarly no, it is only for Jedi High Council members," Windu explained severely. "However, since this secret is apparently now known to our enemies it is pointless to keep it further. The crystal holds a list of every known Force sensitive child in the galaxy, as known to the Jedi Order before the Clone Wars started."

"Has a warning been sent to Master Ropal?" Obi-Wan asked.

Windu shook his head, "He's out of contact, somewhere in the Devaron system. This is done intentionally to prevent communication records from potentially revealing his location."

"Well, given the intelligence leaks that led to this situation in the first place, I think it's safe to say that Bane knows full well where Master Ropal is so there's no time to waste. Ahsoka and I will set out immediately," Anakin declared.

"Very well," Yoda agreed. "Go with the fastest ships you must, but a battle you will face there."

Anakin looked at me and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Bane had a headstart on us and as Yoda pretty much confirmed with his own premonition, which was probably because it concerned events outside of the Shroud, the Separatists would be pulled into this by Sideous. We therefore needed speed and firepower. Resolute and her task force coming from Ryloth, wouldn't be able to make this battle, it would take them nearly six days to get there. That meant only one thing, given the location of Devaron relative to Coruscant.

"Masters," I smiled and nodded at Anakin, before sending the faintest sliver of thoughtspeak towards Master Yoda. "I think it's high time we give the CIS Navy a taste of its own medicine."

"Indignation: Really master, what was wrong with my requested chassis coloration?"

I glanced at the ancient droid standing next to me in the LAAT gunship as we sped through the airways to the Coruscant shipyards. HK hadn't looked so new and fresh off the factory floor in a very, very long time. His GU chassis was now painted in bright white with Republic red stripes lining the arms, including the Jedi symbol on his chest.

"If you want to follow me onto the battlefields and indulge in glorious combat and not get shot by a clone, then you're just going to have to live with it."

"Argument: Master, surely my new IFF module will prevent such an occurrence." The module in question would helpfully highlight HK as a friendly droid in the HUDs of the troopers.

"If there was too much jamming on the battlefield, then it could fail."

"Resignation: Very well, Master. I shall endure the humiliation. Signing you off."

The droid went right back to 'calibrating' one of the two modified Z-6 rotary blaster cannons that he wielded, the other currently mounted on his back. HK could easily wield them together and with such accuracy to create a literal field of death in front of him. There was no more 'pruning of redundant code segments' and 'learning' needed here anymore.

"Uh, Commander, are you sure about this clanker?" Rex questioned. He was standing opposite HK, with a hand always kept visibly near his blaster holster.

"I applaud your caution, Captain, but both myself and General Skywalker have given HK a thorough examination. He is loyal to me firstly, but I've ordered him to support any clone he should be next to on the battlefield. Think of HK as a heavy trooper with the marksmanship of a properly programmed, very expensive targeting computer."

The issue of HK had eventually come up in the wake of all the planning for the coming campaign. It really made me wonder how the droid would react to being reduced to a footnote level of importance. In the end it was really Anakin's decision and responsibility as he was my Jedi Master. The arguments that had won it in the end was Anakin's own techhead tendencies as HK's code was something that he wanted to keep on studying and the very simple logic that if I could have R3 aid me in my piloting, why couldn't a combat droid aid in ground fighting.

In this way, HK had fallen into the same area of legal ownership that R2-D2 fell under. I really hope either Anakin or I remembered to send Padme an encrypted note that she was now the proud legal owner of a nearly 5000 year old assassin droid built by the most notorious fallen Jedi in history.

HK paused in his work and looked up at Rex.

"Scanning. Accessing database. CT-7567, alias Rex. Statement: You have a reasonable combat record for a cloned meatbag."

Rex was rather startled at being addressed by the droid who had been content to ignore everyone save me for the entire trip so far. "Uh, thanks… I think."

I grinned in amusement, "Trust me Rex, coming from HK, that's a compliment. Don't let the shiny exterior fool you, he's a very old and experienced droid."

"Indignation: Master, I would prefer such information not be shared."

Now I couldn't help but laugh outright, "Don't tell me you're sensitive about your age?"

"Prevarication: I do not share the female meatbag sensitivity to the knowledge of their chronological age, Master. I was thinking more in terms of security, Master. Gossip travels faster than hyperspace."

"Sure HK, I understand," I said with a knowing grin.

"Why do you use the term meatbag anyway?" Rex asked curiously of the droid.

"Oh, here we go," I mumbled in exasperation.

"Answer: In deference to my current master, I will only say it was programmed by my original maker who found it humorous. Query: Would you prefer my other terms, meatbag? I have many. Recitation: Liquidious fleshbag, fluid-filled biped, watery flesh-sentient, carbonaceous-"

"Enough HK."

"Statement: Very well, Master."

The eccentric droid's answer was enough that Rex wisely gave up any further attempts at conversation. The gunship landed at the shipyards, allowing the clone troopers to spill out for their eventual embarkation. Towering above us by over two hundred meters and nestled in its docking berth was a brand new Acclamator-class Assault ship, named Thunderbolt.

It had numerous improvements done on its systems with the lessons learned so far in the war. It wasn't enough though to call it an Acclamator-II, but it was exactly what was needed now. With the Class 0.6 hyperdrives they featured, we would be able to make the journey to Devaron in just 56 hours, compared to the four days a Venator would take from Coruscant.

"Observation: That is a wonderful tool of destruction, master."

"It is, though I wonder how you would rate it against the starships of your era?"

"Statement: I am an assassin droid, master. Not a naval expert. In raw terms I suppose the weapons of this era are more powerful and this ship would tear through the old Empire vessels with ease, though how you meatbags haven't improved hyperdrive travel time is baffling to my circuits."

"People were content with the speeds they had I suppose, the thousand years of peace didn't help."

"Statement: Peace. Ah yes, the meatbag fallacy of thinking that the absence of killing and struggle is a desired state of affairs. It is a delusion, master. There will always be fighting of some kind, it is the nature of all meatbags."

"Thank you for that wonderful thought, HK," I gave the droid an ugly look. "Let's get going."

"Statement: I'm here to serve, master. Signing you off."

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