The Force Wills - Chapter 44 (Patreon)

The cantina beyond was mostly darkened, with only a single booth lit up.

The place could easily fit about two hundred if no one cared about much personal space. This was a pirate bar though, so the place probably counted as ‘packed’ when eighty people were in here.

Hondo Ohnaka was many things; scoundrel, pirate, mayor, lecher, but he definitely knew what a good cantina was supposed to have. The selection behind the bar was not something far removed from what you’d see on a luxury cruise ship, though the furniture could definitely use a bit more cleaning. There were even a few public holocall stations for use by the patrons.

Our host for the upcoming hostage negotiations sat calmly at the lit booth, idly fiddling with a half-filled glass of greenish liquor with her very long fingers and occasionally drinking from it as we walked towards her.

Aurra Sing in person was an odd experience - in the Force she was surrounded by the Dark Side, selfishness and ego, but she didn’t actively use it much, it was wild, untamed, if I had to give it words. There were streaks of light in her heart though. It was what you’d generally expect of a Force Sensitive who entered into the unforgiving life of a bounty hunter in the Outer Rim. Her hands were stained with blood, but there were principles she still held onto. No one would consider hiring or entering into a contract with her otherwise. Her strength in the Force was also undeniable, what she had molded it towards was something that was not easy to pin down outright. That in itself spoke of a form of obfuscation she was holding around herself. I could only come to some educated guesses and deductions by putting myself in her shoes and what I would need to survive in the galaxy. It was an interesting spin on using the Force for concealment.

Now that I had a good read on her signature in the Force, it would also be interesting to see at what distance I could keep her in my senses.

I could also sense Boba Fett clearly as well. Who was hiding in a very good place if he’d wanted to jump and surprise anyone who wasn’t a Jedi or a togruta with very sensitive hearing. The kid was surprisingly good at maintaining his silence; keeping his breathing even, not moving a muscle otherwise, keeping to a natural pool of shadow not a few feet away from the booth. The problem was he couldn’t keep his heart rate under control, which I could just about hear frantically pumping at this range. In the Force, I could sense his anger, fear and disappointment.

It made me wonder what Sing was playing at. She had to know that Boba would be standing out like an rancor walking through an open desert to both Master Koon and myself. Was she just humoring him at this point with the whole revenge saga? Letting the kid get it out of his system? So she could eventually have an apprentice and adopted son all in one.

Yes, she did have motherly instincts and even a bond with Boba, that I could perceive clearly. I didn’t know much about her species, but she was in that perfect age where a female would be having child-bearing urges, but her profession clearly didn’t allow for getting pregnant, given it would be an extensive period of ‘weakness’ and afterward having the added complication of taking care of a child - who could easily be used as leverage against her by many enemies.

In adopting Boba, she mitigated a lot of those problems.

Master Koon arrived at the table and sat down whilst I kept standing about a meter behind him, in a position to directly watch his back. This was exposing my own back to Boba, but it was relatively inconsequential to a Jedi.

Sing took a deep sip and pointedly put down her glass with extra emphasis.

“Bad move, Jedi. This will cost you,” she said darkly.

Boba chose that moment to pop out and aim his WESTAR-35 directly at the back of Master Koon’s head. That neither of us reacted or even flinched at his sudden appearance completely went over the young clone’s head, his emotions were firmly in the driver’s seat. It almost inspired a bit of respect from me towards Sing, that she could somehow deal with the impulsive, moody child and let him walk around with blasters. Save me when my own procreation instincts kicked in.

“I wanted Windu,” Boba said, choking back anger. “What are you doing here?”

I reached out with the Force and firmly grabbed a hold of the trigger of Boba’s blaster. He had a commendable steady aim, but I was not taking chances.

Sing gave me a look, but didn’t comment or even challenge my control, when she clearly could have. If I was here on my own, maybe, but with a full Jedi Master of Master Koon’s power sitting across from her, he would’ve swatted aside any attempt to rob me of control over the trigger.

“It hasn’t been long enough that you’ve forgotten the way the Jedi Order works, Aurra Sing,” Koon said evenly. “How long are you going to continue to indulge him?”

She looked at him coldly for a moment before smirking slightly. “Long enough to get at least someone with authority and standing among the Jedi to sit across from me.”

Boba gaped at his mother/mentor, his aim slightly slacking, “Aurra, what-”

“This was the last draw from the Pazaak deck for your revenge, Boba,” Sing said with finality, crossing her arms and glaring at the young clone. “I gave you every opportunity and guidance for killing Mace Windu in the only manner possible for someone your age. It all failed.”

“No! You said-”

Sing slammed her fist down on the table and glared. “Yet you still didn’t listen!”

“But…urghh!”

She raised a hand curling a long forefinger quickly and used TK to force the young clone’s mouth shut. Boba’s eyes widened in astonishment and fear came to dominate his mind.

“Enough, Sing,” Master Koon slapped her control away firmly.

She wisely didn’t fight Koon’s strength through the Force and snorted in amusement, then took another sip from her drink. “That was but a minor taste of a Jedi’s power and yes, I used to be one, Boba.”

The revelation was like someone had bonked Boba over the head with a frying pan. He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his ears, yet he had felt that unyielding invisible strength take over his jaw.

“That’s… that’s, if you can do that why-”

“That is overt strength, Boba, that would draw too much attention eventually. The Jedi Order would eventually send someone who could easily defeat me in a straight fight, such as the Kel Dor you’re holding a blaster to, who is Master Koon, I believe?”

“Correct,” he said through his breather mask, a slight tinge of amusement showing in his face. “Now if you’d please explain what this is all about, Sing?”

“Nothing galaxy shattering, Jedi. Boba had been talking my ears off since the war started about getting his revenge on Mace Windu for killing his dear daddy. This was the first opportunity that really presented itself, but credits have to come in somehow, so I also took the opportunity to collect a bounty. You see, Republic naval officers who aren’t clones, such as Admiral Killian, have a standing bounty from the CIS.”

“I know of no such bounty, but will admit I haven’t checked recently,” Koon said.

Sing pulled out a large datapad from a duffel bag next to her chair, switched it on and tossed it across the table. Koon gave a little gesture with a large clawed finger. The datapad stopped immediately and began floating into the air, then turned to display the screen to him from a safe distance.

“Paranoid are we, Jedi?” she grinned nastily.

“Considering your penchant for small explosive traps in trying to kill Master Windu, I see it as justified caution, Sing.”

I was careful to keep my awareness wide and open as I gave a brief glance at what was clearly the official Bounty Hunter Guild board on the Holonet. Sure enough, there was the open bounty in question, with scaling rate depending on what rank of officer was brought in alive for interrogation. It had been placed less than two weeks ago.

The last time I had checked the Guild Board was when my own bounty from the CIS had been flagged and forwarded to me by Republic Intel. Most every prominent Jedi involved in the higher echelons of command in the GAR had a bounty, including quite a few Council members.

It was a rare bounty hunter that had the resources, skill and tech to actually have a chance, so for the most part hunters didn’t bother and considered Jedi bounties to be one way tickets to either prison or the afterlife. On the other end of the spectrum though, there were the stupid and desperate. The war also gave more opportunities for the potential of a successful bounty on a Jedi.

Koon sent the datapad spinning back the way it had come, which Sing caught by slapping her hand down on it.

“So you are simply claiming an arguably legitimate bounty and we should ignore the fact that you aided the attempted assassination of Mace Windu, the destruction of the Endurance, directly killed numerous soldiers of the Grand Army?”

“How else was I supposed to claim my bounty?” she retorted with a sickly sweet smile. “But let’s get to the point, Jedi. You want Killian and the clone officer, I have them. I have an associate who currently has both at gunpoint and listening to our conversation. I really don’t have to spell it out for you further.”

“You wish for us to outbid the bounty for their safe return to our custody.”

Sing nodded, “To further encourage your cooperation, there are also a number of failsafe explosives dotted about the cantina. Anything but a smooth transaction here or I see a lightsaber igniting, well, we’ll all have a bad day.”

“You don’t think the life of Admiral Killian is enough to ensure our compliance?” Koon asked curiously.

“More like I know what you’re capable of and how the Force works, Jedi. There must be more at stake in the game than just a few hostages. Now you are hostages as well from a certain point of view.”

Boba couldn’t keep his silence at this point and gasped in outrage, “You’d kill us all if they tried anything?”

“In an instant, dear,” she smiled sweetly at the boy. “Master Koon here would sense instantly if I was bluffing. This is no bluff, is it, Master Jedi?”

“No, you are fully willing to do it,” he said with certainty. “So the standing bounty is 30,000 credits for Killian and 10,000 for a clone of high level importance. We are willing to offer 50,000.”

I was sure for a moment that the rug had been pulled out from under my feet. Not that we were really in a good negotiation position at the moment but there had to be other options. What was Master Koon doing? A glance at the probability lines with prescience was throwing a bunch of them at me, quite a few of which ended with the entire cantina blowing up.

My will and thoughts carefully pushed down my bond with Master Koon.

“Master, is that a good idea?”

“Trust me, Ahsoka,” was the only reply I received.

“Aww, you can do better, Jedi,” Sing wagged a single long finger admonishingly. “Seventy.”

“Fifty-five,” Koon offered.

“Sixty-five,” she countered.

“Fifty-eight, final offer.”

Sing was silent for a long moment, clearly dragging it out and testing Master Koon’s resolve. She narrowed her eyes and eventually nodded, “Fifty-eight, agreed.”

“On your profession and bond as a bounty hunter?” Koon queried mildly.

“I survived here on the Outer Rim by knowing when to be ruthless and always keeping to my word once given,” Sing answered lazily. “Oh Boba, do holster the blaster, now.” Her tone brooked no compromise.

The boy scowled but did as he was told, automatically performing a deft and skillful spin with the WESTAR around his finger as the blaster found its way to the holster on his waist.

“We will pay and exchange at the following coordinates just outside of town,” Koon pulled out a small datapad, tapping on it briefly before showing it to Sing. She quickly referenced the location on her datapad before agreeing with a nod.

“Very well, Jedi. We will be there in fifteen.”

Master Koon stood and inclined his head to Sing briefly before turning to leave. I followed him immediately, giving no indication of any confusion or hesitation at his actions. I also got a strong impression along the bond that any discussion of this would happen later and not in the middle of a pirate freeport.

We had barely left the cantina when we were intercepted by Hondo.

“Ah, my friends, wonderful. Your business was quick and fruitful I hope?”

“That is correct,” Koon replied neutrally.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Excellent, I was half afraid I would have to rebuild the cantina or clean up an awful mess.” He signaled to a group of weequay and droids. The eclectic group hurried back inside the cantina, most likely organizing everything so regular customers could return.

“Does Sing usually leave behind messes to clean up?” I asked curiously.

“That she does, but usually because someone makes the mistake of betraying or crossing her. An occupational hazard in her business, I can tell you,” he said almost jovially. “Most are distracted by her looks, thinking her a pushover. She was trained by Jango Fett himself and I like to think teaching her my wily ways helped a bit in contributing to who she is today.”

“Fascinating,” I murmured, it was good to get a bit of confirmation on that suspicion. It certainly went a long way to explain how Boba ended up in Sing’s care after the first Battle of Geonosis. It said something that Jango had made provision for what would happen to Boba if he ended up dying. That’s what any good Mandolorian did for their children and clan. Fett couldn’t have shown his face in the aftermath of the Civil War in the Mandalore sector nor could he send Boba there, so he improvised.

“Thank you for the use of your cantina, Ohnaka.” Koon casually flicked a high denomination cred chip towards the pirate.

The pirate lord caught it without missing a beat. “Thank you, Master Jedi. Do come again.” His attention abruptly zeroed onto someone in the distance. “Hey you! Get back to work!”

We left the pirate to his business and headed back to the shuttle.

Finally, when we were inside and the ramp was firmly closed, “Master, do we have 58,000 credits?”

“Look in troop storage locker three,” he said casually.

I frowned for a moment then did as he said, heading over to the lockers the troops could use to stow their supplemental gear on missions. Sure enough, inside was a large nondescript but very secure plasteel crate, which looked ordinary at first glance, but I was sensing a resonance in the Force - the same one that usually accompanied the Force-operated locks that was all over the Jedi Temple.

“How much is in here, Master?”

“Oh, a hundred or so.” He gestured with his hand and the crate sprang open, revealing the thick thousand credit denomination chits inside. “Count and put aside the agreed amount into the standard crate in the next locker, please.”

I did so, somewhat marveling at the amount of physical money I was so casually handling. In the future, Luke Skywalker would get a 60k bounty on his head in Imperial Credits for being the pilot that blew up the Death Star. Republic Credits in my own estimation, currently had roughly double the value of the future Imperial Credit.

The question was still, why?

“Master, if we do this, don’t we set a dangerous precedent?”

“Yes, but the Republic can ill afford the information in Killian’s head falling into the hands of the CIS. That would be even more expensive in the long run.”

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Not long after, I was piloting the shuttle to a landing at the agreed upon meeting point. It was a nice flat clearing surrounded by sloping hills that was out of view from anyone looking this way from the freeport.

Slave I was already landed there in its awkward, aft landing configuration, giving the impression you were looking at a gigantic old fashioned clothes iron.

Arrayed in front of it was Sing, Boba and another bounty hunter of infamous repute; Bossk.

The trandoshan was wearing a simple yellow pressurized suit, a white flak vest, and a harness featuring a full array of gadgetry and ammunition pouches for what looked like a micro grenade launcher, which he was casually cradling in his arms. He wore no shoes, but that was probably because he liked to use his very dangerous clawed feet as yet another close range weapon.

I was seriously tempted to just reach out and snap his neck. How many wookiees would I save from the regular hunts that bastard went on?

Kneeling in front of the line of bounty hunters, was Admiral Killian and the clone navigator, both looking rather worse for wear, but alive and breathing.

I took a deep breath and cast the notion and temptation from my mind quickly, before triggering my pilot seat to lower into the trooper bay below. Master Koon already had the credit crate hovering by his side and triggered the shuttle ramp to lower.

We descended together and with a few long steps we were standing opposite the line of bounty hunters.

“It’s all there?” Sing asked casually.

“See for yourself,” Master Koon gave the crate a slight TK push to propel it towards her slowly.

She halted its flight with her boot and opened it, quickly counting it with just her eyes. Then slammed it closed with the first genuine smile on her face I’d seen yet. She radiated greed and satisfaction, she really liked money.

“Thank you for doing business,” she jerked her head to Boba.

The youth scowled and used a knife to cut off the binds of the hostages and pulled off their gags.

“Up, on your feet,” the boy groused.

Killian and the clone navigator stood, rubbing their wrists. Killian was not exactly in the prime of his life, being in his late seventies or so and winced with every step he made towards us.

I kept my focus and senses on the hunters, whilst spreading my awareness, weary for some sort of double-cross that they might try to pull. Prescience didn’t show a high likelihood, but I was detecting some mutinous intent from Boba. He clearly wasn’t liking the idea that the people he saw as his best tickets to Mace Windu were leaving his grasp.

Sing must’ve sensed it as well, because she casually walked over and stood behind Boba, putting her hands over his shoulders in a seemingly motherly gesture of support. I could see the message she was conveying to the boy though.

“Aurra Sing,” Master Koon began. “Tread carefully. Republic space will no longer be a friendly port of call for you. When this war is over, the Jedi will seek justice.”

She smirked and waved goodbye with a two fingered gesture to her forehead. Then picked up the crate herself, quickly climbed up the boarding ramp of Slave I and vanished inside. Bossk gave a pointed hiss to Boba and the boy turned away to join the trandoshan in also boarding their ride.

“Come, little ‘Soka, we must see to Admiral Killian and Disk, they could do with some basic medical attention before we return.”

Slave I took off as we boarded the Nu shuttle. I hurried to grab its medical supplies and got to work.

“Thank you, Master Jedi,” Killian grimaced as I wiped and sterilized numerous scratches and bruises on his face. A brief look at his body through the Force showed I had lots more work to do. He had numerous cracked ribs and a broken right ankle, the latter he wasn’t feeling unless he did a hyperextension of his foot.

“You’re welcome, Admiral. I’m going to ask you to stay off this foot for now,” I had to cut away his normal leather shoe to prevent jostling that foot too much, before placing a long medical boot over his foot. A press of a small button had it stiffen to immobilize the foot, then start to fill with a minor amount of bacta from its internal reservoirs. “Master Koon, I’m curious, where did you get the credits from?”

The Jedi Master was helping the naval clone with basic first aid as well. “From Coruscant of course,” he chuckled. “I suppose now that the money’s gone and Sing is flying away from the planet as we speak, it doesn’t matter. The credit chits we used in this transaction are perfectly normal legitimate currency and every scan she is undoubtedly running on it will prove that. However, what she will not detect is something new that some very clever Jedi slicers have come up with.”

“We have dedicated slicers?” I asked in astonishment. How could I’ve missed that?

“It’s not something that is generally made known, little ‘Soka. You could say they’re a small reclusive circle of Jedi that fall under the purview of the Council of First Knowledge. They scout for new members carefully in the Jedi Academy, those who show talent in computer skills and mathematics.”

“So what did they do to the credit chits?”

“The specifics I couldn’t hope to explain to you, but they managed to hide a ‘spike virus’ on them. The effect is that the virus will stealthily infect any financial device used to verify the chit. They will then report back the moment they detect any connection to the Holonet. Every single credit is infected.”

“So you wish to track Sing this way?”

“Not just her,” Master Koon said, as he carefully helped Disk to pull off his torn naval uniform shirt. “The Council wishes to gain intelligence on the illicit financial networking between the Outer Rim and the core worlds. It’s also hoped that she will carry this wealth and the virus to the CIS.”

That made me wish I could be a fly on the wall of the Council meeting when they eventually received the report from the slicers. It was a remarkably simple idea for possibly getting a picture of the actual financial channels both legitimate and black market. It would be very slow going at first. Sing would spend her newly gained funds on fuel for the Slave I, but eventually with only the CIS as a friendly port, her money would be spent on luxuries and indulgences there - it was sentient nature, especially when you received such a jackpot increase of funds.

My attention was next on Admiral Kilian’s ribs. I directed the Force to flow to the affected areas, ease up on the swelling a bit and numbed the pain just enough. It would be dangerous to get rid of it completely, as the pain was a useful tool for reminding the man to take it easy. The bones were already in the process of healing naturally, which I sped up with a careful infusion of the Force. “Admiral, the good news is that your ribs are just cracked. No need for surgery or nano-droid work. There’s no danger of getting a puncture of your lungs unless someone kicks you there again or you aggravate it yourself. I prescribe a single bacta dunk, at least a week off-duty and in bed.”

He grimaced at the prospect, “You’re killing me, Master Jedi,” his northern Corellian accent came through strongly.

“A normal doctor would give you two weeks, Admiral. I’ve sped up the healing process already, so make sure you eat well on the Defiance as we journey back to Coruscant. I also notice your caf intake is rather high. Now I enjoy a good cup as well, but not to this level and especially not at your age and with this injury.”

“By the blood, now you’re really doin’ it.”

I grabbed some extra padding off one of the unused seats of the shuttle and carefully inserted it behind his back for extra cushioning.

“Get us back to the Defiance, Ahsoka. I’d rather not linger here, lest we are delayed by an unfortunate pirate testing his luck. I’ll watch over your patients,” Master Koon’s cheeks openly turned into a smile behind his breather mask

I tried to accept his teasing with as much grace as possible and headed for the cockpit of the shuttle.

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The return journey to Coruscant was mercifully quiet and routine.

Master Koon could only spare me an hour or two per day on further Tutaminis training as he had to pick up the slack from the still recovering Mace Windu. I also kept myself busy when not training, by checking in with my steadily burgeoning covert network and what they were doing. Only to discover that HK-47 and Hermione had achieved a significant milestone, finding and recruiting the first ‘operatives’ on Corellia and Alderaan, marking the point where the network was finally stretching its wings beyond just Coruscant.

Who HK had recruited was something that served as a reminder to me just how bloody experienced and good the droid was in not only assassination, but any general covert activity, as the two generally had a lot of overlap. Reading his decrypted report made me want to both crush the droid in an industrial press and hug him in sincere gratitude.

That bloody droid had recruited Garm Bel Iblis himself into the network. He didn’t go into the exact detail on how, just noting that the Corellian was naturally in support of anything whose stated goal was to oppose Palpatine, his ever increasing political power and that HK had played up that angle considerably. The droid had also demonstrated the network’s ‘effectiveness’ to the Corellian senator.

Giving the senator some very handy political leverage on a local rival politician by providing evidence of some good old fashioned graft schemes and a sex scandal. HK had also done a number of other ‘good deeds’ among the Corellian underworld to fulfill his need for ‘eliminating meatbags in a most satisfactory and ironic manner as possible’. Such as a local organized crime boss primarily dealing in the sex trade, suddenly being found dead of a heart attack while he himself was ‘doing the deed’.

Hermione, on the other hand, had managed to make a contact while negotiating a services extension contract for Corusca Online on Alderaan. This wasn't too earth shattering, but she had pulled in Dulgan Teral of House Teral. A noble house that had familial ties with Organa and was primarily involved in finance and trade these days. It definitely meant that the network would not find itself lacking in funds for its operations in a pinch.

By the time the Defiance docked in the Coruscant Shipyards and we transferred back to the Jedi Temple, I could finally put words to the general feel of the galaxy and events that were about to come.

It was the deep breath before the plunge - a sentiment that was only further reinforced when I looked at the picture of the galactic map and the movements of the CIS and Republic fleets.

Looking at the scope and enormity of it all brought home the fact that I needed to knuckle down and get started on learning Battle Meditation. The clock was ticking.

All I had on the technique at the moment were theories and deductions from my own studies in the Force, combined with what I knew had been achieved in the past.

The question of who would be best to approach was something I also had to be careful with. The need for secrecy and avoiding Palpatine’s foresight and his other forms of penetrating the Jedi Temple’s security made it a no-brainer that I would have to request Yoda’s holocron and use it when away from Coruscant.

The frustrating thing was that I knew there was someone far more skilled on the Council in Battle Meditation, who would be an even better teacher.

Master Oppo Rancisis.

Unfortunately, the Thisspiasian Jedi Master was probably the busiest Jedi Master on the Council, since he was the main strategic military mind behind most of the Jedi and GAR’s movements. Whilst Yoda was the one who pointed the way, it was Master Rancisis who dealt with the question of ‘how to best make it happen’. He was rarely shown in my past life simply because such matters were hardly glorious and spectacular to be worthy of gripping an audience.

There was just no way I could envision even getting to see the master, even if I technically had every right to approach him.

The possibility was taken out of my hands just as Anakin received his clean bill of health and he returned to full duty.

The Force, however, didn’t give its Chosen One the luxury of idle hands for long.

That was how I found myself standing next to Anakin in the communications center being addressed by the holo of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“We have obtained intelligence out of the Besh Gorgon system in CIS space, an undercover Jedi there has intercepted a communication that indicates an imminent attack on the Kamino system.”

The Jedi Master’s holo vanished to be replaced with a very distorted rendering of Asajj Ventress, indicating it had been heavily encrypted and decrypted, with numerous data artifacts rendered as distorted blocks.

“...the clone planet of Kamino will be a d- d- dangerous target.”

The holo was replaced by the towering, armored form of General Durge. “Am I hearing the beginning of an excuse for failure, little dathomirian? The planet that is producing so many clones of that damnable Jango Fett must be sterilized to the bedrock! I want to boil its oceans!”

Ventress wasn’t phased at all by the insulting address. “As laudable as that enthusiasm is, rest assured I will do my p- p- par…ttt….”

The holo completely distorted and broke apart, before a rather grim faced Obi-Wan returned.

“What do you need, Master?” Anakin asked with determination.

“Both of you, the Resolute and the entire 501st. While the Kamino garrison and blockade fleet is substantial, it’s a known quantity by now to the Separatists. I’m bringing the Negotiator and most of the 5th Fleet to Kamino with all speed.”

“Master, has there been any thought as to just how the Seppies are even in a position to launch an attack? We’ve driven them away from that sector decisively. Their forces should be well bottled up in the south.” I asked pointedly.

“You ask an excellent question, padawan. On the face of it, any force large enough to attack Kamino with any hope of success should be easily spotted or stopped cold on the various fronts. Yet here we have Durge and Ventress discussing an attack candidly and as fact. The chance that this is a deliberate false conversation staged for us we can’t rule out, but in the same vein we can’t afford to ignore it either. Just because we can’t imagine how the enemy would achieve it, doesn’t mean they can’t do it.”

“Another question is whether we have enough time, it’s a roughly seven day trip to Kamino for the Resolute,” Anakin said.

“Then I suggest you make best speed, Anakin. I’ll be arriving in two days. Until then, the blockade fleet and garrison must hold out.”

“We’re on our way, Master.”

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Resolute got underway on the journey to Kamino relatively quickly. The ship had long since finished its resupply and maintenance cycle since it had unloaded the Zillo beast corpse into the hands of Republic R&D. As usual, the only delays were simply due to the congested nature of the Coruscant system itself.

The mood on board from every clone was tense, yet they were also filled with a grim determination. They considered Kamino their home and more than any other place in the galaxy would gladly fight and die to protect it with no orders required. I wondered if what I was seeing was a conditioned behavior from the kaminoan cloners or if this was just a genuine natural feeling of protectiveness towards their home that most sentients developed. I was leaning towards the latter and it was something that the kaminoans just took advantage of without interfering.

That first day in hyperspace was mostly spent in my quarters as I probed the future with prescience. Durge’s presence and the veiled strategic mind behind him, instead of just Grievous, would make this coming battle an affair that would not be simple. Yet that was counterbalanced by the fact that neither Palpatine nor Dooku could afford a CIS victory at Kamino. The production of clones needed to continue, the war needed to go on, and that couldn’t happen with Kamino reduced to cinders by Durge’s hand.

As I explored the probabilities, it irked me something fierce that I was seeing no path that would truly hurt Palpatine or the Sith cause. I was firmly wedged in a corner, playing my role on the stage. I had to do everything in my power to defend Kamino, because doing otherwise would see me pulled off the board. It would be condemning the clones to a fiery death en masse.

I pulled myself out of the future because it only served to make me angry at this point and turned to do something actually productive.

My will reached out and the holocron hovered over to my meditation mat on the floor. A slight application of the Force in just the right spot and the device burst into bright life, before blossoming open in an intricate display of mechanics that could only be achieved with the union of the Force and technology.

Holo-Yoda appeared directly on top of the device, the diminutive, ancient master’s ears perked upward with a warm smile on his green face.

“Ah, young Ahsoka, to see you again, good it is.”

“And you Master Yoda,” I smiled, feeling the invisible burden lift off my shoulders. Here was one of the few ways I could be truly open and honest in how I spoke and not constantly weighing and seeing every word for its probable impact on the future.

“A request, you have?”

“Yes, I want to begin learning the ways of Battle Meditation.”

Holo-Yoda rested his hands contemplatively on his gimer stick, “Hmmm. Battle Meditation, yes. Learn it, why?”

I looked inward and examined my feelings, going over my thoughts on the topic. “At this point, I just want to learn it for the sake of the knowledge itself. I know how potentially useful it could be in any war. Its use is limited in this one by the fact that you can’t exactly demoralize droids and make them lose their will to fight. It would help the clones, but their battle conditioning prevents them from experiencing a lot of the morale problems that a traditional army of sentients would experience.”

“Learning for the future, wars beyond this one, you expect.” Holo-Yoda said matter-of-factly.

I only nodded. As much as I had shared with this holocron, there were things I couldn’t. The holocron, for all its sophistication and wonders, still had its basis in the material universe and as such was subject to the problems that came with it. It was not inconceivable that it would eventually give up its secrets to a determined, smart Force Sensitive and don’t even get me started on the disaster it would be if Sidious got his hands on it.

“Correct, Master.”

I felt the lightest touch from the holocron itself through the Force. It was amazing how subtle the device was.

Holo-Yoda’s shoulders slumped slightly, “Long has peace been. Must we now pay, with era of war?”

“Balance in all things, Master.”

It was something that even the wisest and the smartest seemed to forget, using their money, their smarts, their bright new idea or their innate power, that would bring about their vision for what should be, what utopia was, then eventually the universe came down and smacked them hard. I also didn’t arrogantly exempt myself from falling into that category. I also strove for a utopia of sorts.

Holo-Yoda shook his head. “Very well. Begin we shall. Understand this about Battle Meditation; turning the tides of grand scale conflict is the crudest way. Used it can be, even in small conflicts.”

“Even in a lightsaber duel, master?”

“Yes, very difficult and talented one must be. To its basic essence, this skill, about the conflict of the heart it is. The greatest battle. To conquer all doubt, despair in the heart of a single person. All that remains, hope and drive to success. In so doing, it is brought to reality.”

Described in this way, the skill was almost beautiful to think about. “That’s rather amazing, master,” I said in fascination.

“Understand, in the beginning, a choice you must make, Ahsoka. Fight the war out there or the one in here,” he tapped his chest. “Not both. You will have to let go. Think not of future. Trust you must in the choices of your friends and allies.”

Even Holo-Yoda really knew how to cut deep into the soul and heart, “Why?”

“Concentration, required in great amount for this skill. Rare to see used and even mastered.”

“Would I lose focus of my immediate surroundings then? I’d be vulnerable to personal attack?”

“Possible. In the early stages of your training, danger there is. Sense strongly you do, every death. Inevitable, it is. Accept it. To not do so will lead to despair.”

I nodded in understanding, “Which would cause the meditation to fail utterly.”

“The first obstacle in your way, that is. Strong you are, in bonding with the Force. Another danger, do you see?”

My mind carefully worked through the problem, “I must be careful, otherwise I could end up bonding in a near permanent fashion with the entire army. All the advantages from a bond could just as well become extreme impediments, I could be overwhelmed with the thoughts and feelings of tens of thousands.”

“The first things you must train, those are. Adeptness show me, we will move on.”

I knew of ways to train concentration, but finding a way to ‘not bond’, while being so close in the heart and souls of people I had no clue. Did I have to become an uncaring asshole? Able to shrug off the death of someone and say ‘Meh’?

“Know you must of the Dark Side of Battle Meditation,” Holo-Yoda said, his bearing becoming hard and unyielding. “Our old foe, possess it they do. One day, fight against it you may.”

“It does the opposite? Sow despair into their enemy’s heart?”

“No, rare a Sith Lord is, who cares about such things. In this, they dominate the will. They push their armies to move, despite cost. Throw illusion, visualization of their will upon the mind of ally and foe.”

“What would the Jedi do to oppose that?”

“Fight directly, you cannot. The same dominance of will you would need. Only perseverance and hope, despite the darkness, can defeat this.”

“I think I understand, the answer isn’t to fight, but keep the hearts of your allies strong despite the illusions and fear.”

Holo-Yoda smiled and thumped his gimer stick, “Yes, yes, good. Now concentration techniques I will give you to practice, listen carefully…”

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We received no word of an attack on Kamino for the next three tense days.

Anakin had taken to dragging me along for three hour long, daily sparring sessions to get a work out. The mood on the ship was palpable and for us Jedi who were very sensitive to it, we either had to spend hours meditating or do training to offload those emotions.

Finally, Obi-Wan’s reinforcing fleet had arrived and his holocall was welcome news that Kamino had a much better chance of surviving the coming attack.

“I’m sending a stealth frigate and cloaked scouts along the most likely approaches, so we will receive some forewarning of their arrival,” he said. His holo in the primary aft holotank of the Resolute’s bridge was not maintaining the best coherence, due to distance combined with the fact that we were in hyperspace.

“It’s the unlikely routes that we should be looking at,” Anakin retorted, folding his arms.

“I only have so many scouts, Anakin.”

“What’s the condition of the local garrison, Master?” I asked curiously.

“It could be better, they’ve been at high alert levels for nearly five days now. That is taking a toll. I’ve ordered them all onto the six hour watch rotation, that will hopefully help things.”

“My padawan and I have come up with a possibility you should look at while you’re there,” Anakin said, giving me a sideways glance.

“What is it?”

“First, they’re going to use the Trellius.”

Obi-Wan frowned for a moment, “To use the Trellius Route from northern CIS space, would mean a journey of nearly twenty-two days along the fringes of the galaxy. Add to that the size of the fleet needed to conceivably attack Kamino, means the fuel and logistical requirements are almost completely impractical.”

“Normally, you’d be correct,” Anakin acknowledged.

“There’s also the matter that the Trellius partially curves right through Hutt space. The hutts would’ve instantly thrown up a fuss and alerted us.”

“I agree,” he shrugged.

“Then why are you telling me this?”

“Master,” I continued the explanation. “Think of this question, what would the CIS need to do, to keep the hutt’s quiet about this large fleet?”

Obi-wan combed his beard with his fingers and thought for a few moments, “Money.”

“Yes, a very large amount, but what else do hutts value and prize highly?”

The Jedi Master closed his eyes, “Their young.”

“It’s not inconceivable that Dooku simply commissioned the abduction of the offspring of one or more members of the Grand Hutt Council. Do that and combined with credits or other forms of wealth, a simple miscommunication between treaty allies can be bought.”

Obi-wan stared at the both of us alternately, clearly not liking what we were saying. “What else?”

“We both think the Separatists are actually already there.”

“What?! I’d think we’d already be under attack if that were the case, Anakin.”

“Not the full fleet, Master. More than likely a special operation vanguard, that came in under cloak and is now using the vast oceans of Kamino to hide in.”

“A starship that can not only cloak, but is also a submersible?” Obi-Wan was clearly skeptical.

“Obi-Wan, Kamino is a strategic world, if the CIS has to design a special warship from scratch that would be ideal to operate in this environment, then they’d be willing to throw a lot of credits and brains into building it. Not to mention droids built to fight underwater. They’re not exactly lacking in labor.”

“You and your padawan make good arguments, Anakin. I will begin to discreetly search for any such submersible warships. If they do exist, I will begin looking into countermeasures. The kaminoans must have some means of conducting underwater defense as well.”

“Good luck,” Anakin smirked.

The Jedi Master sighed wearily, “See you soon, Anakin.”

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The urgency of the situation led to the Resolute doing something that could only be done under the cover of a lot of ships. At this point there were almost twenty-two Venators, eight Acclamators and sixteen Arquitens light cruisers arrayed loosely just outside the mass shadow of Kamino in randomized orbits, but keeping themselves within extreme missile ranges of each other. It almost reminded me of a backline of Rugby players that would converge the instant an opposition player tried to breach their half.

The ship powered through the atmosphere and soon docked itself directly to one of the gigantic city towers that seemingly grew out of the ever turbulent ocean world. Tipoca City was just another example of how sentient-made structures tended to be utterly BIG in this galaxy. The massive military complex and cloning facilities represented about ten of the domed stilted structures, each slightly larger than a Venator. However, that was just one cluster of the city. Its true size encompassed more domes that were spread out over 160 square kilometers of the equator.

The 501st Clone Legion disembarked orderly in their parade formations through the starboard docking tube in one long line of over ten thousand troopers.

The sheer feeling of purpose and conviction from all those troops behind myself and Anakin as we led them out into the city of their birth was quite overwhelming.

Standing to the side of the gigantic docking and arrival area, which would allow the 501st to array itself as a whole for inspection and issuing of orders, was Obi-wan, Jedi Master Shaak Ti, and the Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su.

“Knight Skywalker, Padawan Tano, welcome to Kamino,” Shaak Ti bowed her head slightly to us.

“Greetings General, Commander,” Lama Su said pleasantly. The very tall, thin necked kaminoan, with giant sparkly black eyes set in a small crested head had me feeling very creeped out. This was not just because of how his appearance resonated with my past life, but also because of how I was perceiving him in the Force.

Perhaps this was just the unfortunate confluence of him being a politician, business ‘man’ and an isolationist xenophobe at heart? He wore a perfect outward bearing that gave zero offense and nothing even remotely hinted at it, but this being hated me. He hated Anakin, he hated Shaak Ti. He didn’t even want us on his world and wanted to scrub the decking to cleanse it as we walked, or at least get a clone to do it.

“It’s a pleasure to be here at last,” Anakin bowed his head. “I hope that with the 501st here we can make a difference.”

“No doubt they will,” said Su lazily. “As you suggested, we have run sweeps of the ocean floor around the city, but found no sign of any CIS forces.”

“My scouts have also found no sign of an incoming fleet from any direction as yet,” Obi-wan said evenly. He gestured for us to begin walking towards a nearby turbolift.

If alarm bells had been going off, now I was getting a bloody parade of red flags in my head. There was something very wrong about what Obi-wan had said, but I kept my peace.

“Skyguy…” I thought.

“I see it, Snips. We must trust there’s a good reason for this.”

We walked at a stately, unhurried pace, even though I wanted to scream and jump for us to hurry up!

The lift doors closed around us and Master Ti selected a floor that would bring us deep to within the bowels of the military complex.

Obi-wan pulled out a small device, pressed a few buttons and it chimed as its functions activated; a surveillance scrambler.

“Right, so what did you really find?” Anakin asked pointedly.

“The Separatists thought they were so clever with their cloaking devices,” Su practically radiated smugness. “They and the greater galaxy are not fully aware of kaminoan technology and our mastery of the ocean environment. We’ve detected twelve ships with new profiles that are loosely based on a Trident class assault ship, modified for underwater operations.”

“And the reason for the doublespeak is because they’re already tapped into the city and watching,” I deduced.

Su only nodded.

“My own cloaked scouts caught the CIS assault fleet sneaking through the nearby Varristad system; they made the final jump into the Kamino Oort cloud roughly four hours ago,” Obi-wan explained.

“What are they waiting for? Why haven’t they attacked already?” Anakin scowled.

“More than likely conducting detailed cloaked reconnaissance on our defense fleet’s orbits around Kamino, trying to tailor a hyperspace attack that will knock our ships out quickly.”

“Tell me you have a plan,” Anakin narrowed his eyes at his former master.

“Oh, I do,” Obi-wan grinned wryly.

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A/N: All war is shadow and deception. Gonna have fun with this battle. Hope you enjoyed and have a good weekend.