The Weaving Force: Chapter 57 (Patreon)

Chapter 57:

Dennis:

He’d never been to Iktotch before.

He hadn’t expected to ever come here, frankly. It wasn’t exactly a tourist spot.

But the Jedi had called with the biggest “Please hurry the hell up” sign he’d ever seen. So here he was.

The long and short of it was that they suspected they had found the Sith, and they needed to get there yesterday, without the Sith becoming aware of it.

So, he was the man for the job.

Now, why use Iktotch as the rendezvous?

Well, it was only a slight detour from Coruscant to Naboo, and a nice “middle point” between Kamino and Coruscant. So, location wise: perfect. It also had the added bonus that the Jedi Master Saesee Tiin apparently still had some pull in the Iktotchi government that could provide them with some secrecy by logging his, Yoda’s and Windu’s arrival as nothing more than some transports for the mining product of the gas giant Iktotch orbited.

So, in short, everyone was being secretive, and Iktotch was basically the space version of the ass end of Kansas.

In short, perfect.

“Let’s bring it in easy,” he said, as he and Rugess navigated the Vista into its secret docking bay.

Miss M stood by the door, watching the approach quietly. They were both glad to be off Kamino; neither of them had been happy with that whole… situation. So an urgent secret mission, despite the potential danger, was a ”welcome” reason to leave.

“Master Yoda? Master Windu?”

It was Master Ti, strapped into a passenger seat behind him, that asked the question, blinking in astonishment as she sensed the Jedi Grand Master now that they were approaching the station. He was not going to leave the woman on Kamino. Much as she might have protested that she had a task to do, he wouldn’t be surprised if “convenient accidents” were a thing that happened somewhat frequently with Kaminoans and that dipshit, Fett.

Dennis nodded. “Yup. They’ve got a mission, so we’ve got a job,” he answered.

The radio crackled to life.

“Approaching freighter, this is Station 582 of the Iktotch Mining Control. You are registered as a Ghtroc 720 class. You’re not our usual visitors. Please confirm callsign and reason for your arrival.”

“Confirmed, Control. Callsign is the Vista. We’re just here to pick up some VIPs docked in Hangar 3,” he answered.

There was a momentary pause.

“Confirmed, Vista. Uploading access codes to Hangar Bay 3.”

“Thanks, we’ll be out of your hair in just a bit.”

“Heh, we don’t have hair, but no worries. Take care, Vista.”

—

The ship that was docked in hangar 3 was actually a nondescript one.

Which was surprising, since Jedi didn’t exactly do ‘nondescript’.

An old, beat up Corellian Model, the equivalent of a galactic Ford Focus.

Yoda and Windu were already waiting as the ramp descended.

Shaak Ti was the first to disembark, evidently wishing to confirm with her own eyes that the Masters were indeed present on this little station. He and Miss M followed after her. Rugess was running the usual pre-flight preps and checks for their takeoff. They wouldn’t need to refuel for the trip to Naboo, or even Mandalore afterwards if needed, since they’d already fully refueled and restocked on Kamino. Though, honestly, flying the girl that far on one tank would be pushing it.

“Masters.” The Togruta bowed, the other two senior members of her order reciprocating.

“Master Ti, we thought you would have remained on Kamino,” Windu observed.

“That was my intent,” she answered, tossing Dennis a look.

The ginger shrugged. “Look, my advice, if you want Jedi on Kamino, send at least two. Or five. I wouldn’t trust those fish heads as far as I can throw them.

“I have been there before,” she reminded him again. “I was perfectly safe.”

“Someone else can leave you there and get the guilt trip of you getting accidented,” he shrugged.

“You don’t trust the Kaminoans?” Windu raised an eyebrow.

“Trust ‘em? You’re lucky I didn’t shoot ‘em.” He shook his head. “Look. What’s done is done, and you guys told me to haul ass, so here I am.” He opened his arms, gesturing to himself. “So come on. Let’s head over to Naboo.”

Shaak blinked “Naboo?”

“Believe to have found the Sith, Padawan Skywalker has. On Naboo, it was,” Yoda nodded as Ti’s eyes widened.

“Truly?”

“He has, at the very least, fought a Sith,” Windu confirmed. “We go now to aid him and, hopefully, bring this to an end.”

“Should I join you?” the Togruta asked.

“No.” Windu shook his head. “Return to Coruscant with our ship. Confirm for the Council that we’ve linked with Kronos and are on time towards Naboo. We have been radio silent since we departed.”

“Of course, Master.” The woman bowed.

“Wait.” Dennis’ features scrunched up-

Militia however, beat him to the punch.

“You didn’t mention Anakin fought a Sith,” the Mandalorian woman said, her voice tight. “Is he alright?”

Windu’s eyes widened. Then he seemed to realize. “Ahh… Yes. You… rescued Shmi Skywalker. Forgive me for not realizing and delivering the news more… tactfully. But, yes, he did fight a Sith, and he is injured, but he’s alive.”

The woman’s hand fell on Dennis’ shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Your wish is my command,” he replied. Not that she needed to say anything. He liked Anakin. Kid made fixes to his ship for free better than most engineers would for a small fortune. “Let’s go,” he said to the Masters.

The two men nodded, whispering some last words with Shaak Ti before marching onto the Vista.

Barely twenty minutes later, they were burning thrusters at full speed towards Naboo.

(X)(X)(X)

The trip from Coruscant to Corellia wasn’t long, per se. It was comparable to a flight back home that would go from Boston to China, a solid 18 hours. What made it take slightly longer this time around, however, was the sheer size of the fleet in question.

Now, granted, Corellia and Coruscant saw mind-bending levels of traffic all day, every day. So, if taken purely on a numbers basis, the Jedi’s transport fleet was barely a drop in the bucket for them.

But the reality was that this kind of movement from the Jedi was almost unprecedented in living memory, even when taking into account the memories of some multi-century lived species. Only Yoda likely remembered anything close to it.

So, even if fifty corvette-sized vessels weren’t really a big deal, people were making it a big deal.

“Urgh.”

The sound I made caught Vicky’s attention, my blonde looking up from where she was laying on her bed, scrolling through a dataslate. “Hmmm? What’s up?” she asked.

I gnawed on my thumbnail, biting out my next words. “The Corellian Defense Force is asking to escort the ships down, towards our landing bays.

“That’s…” Her features scrunched up. “Good?”

“It’s a delay,” I hissed. “Pointless pomp and ceremony someone wants to use to make themselves feel important, escorting Jedi. I want off this ship!”

The admission slipped out, likely because it was Vicky I was speaking to, and she already knew. I saw her features soften, a patient understanding in her eyes.

“You never did like being on ships,” she mused, shifting her place on the bed. “Come on, sit down and let’s help take your mind off of it.”

I gave her a look.

“Not like that,” she smirked. “I mean, unless you want to.” She waggled her eyebrows.

“A ten year old,” I sighed. “A freaking ten year old,” I bemoaned even as I walked towards the bed.

I felt blind on a ship. My awareness for so long was so vast and so beyond myself, that suddenly getting in a ship where the entire world just ended beyond the cold steel walls of the hull was always disconcerting. It wore on me after just a few hours, let alone days.

I set myself down on the bed, laying with my back towards Vicky as she hugged me and pulled me close.

Physical contact wasn’t strictly needed for this… but was it so bad to welcome it, anyway?

I knew what she wanted to do, how she intended to help. She’d helped this way before.

The Queen Administrator was… too much. Too vast. She terrified the Jedi around her, and it took effort from both her and me to commune safely.

It wasn’t easy as it was with Victoria and the comparatively smaller Fragile One.

So that’s what she did.

I felt Vicky’s mind open to me.

And the little ball of sunlight, warm, bright and childlike, happy and carefree, touched both our minds.

Our awareness expanded. The vastness of the Fragile One, still so small next to Queen Administrator, was a balm to my pseudo claustrophobic anxiety. Her awareness became mine. Her senses became mine.

I felt the ship, the vastness of space around us, the distant reverberations of life that it could sense with eyes that were not eyes. Streams of data of which it was always aware, even beyond Victoria’s own senses.

It was a puzzle. A curiosity that occupied my mind, easing my fears with the equivalent of mindless busywork.

I felt the Fragile One, so happy and young… younger than either of us. A child in every aspect. Barely a newborn by the standards of something like the Queen that resided within me.

No wonder it was so much easier for Vicky than it was for me and the Queen.

My mind, so distant and wrapped up with the thoughts and exploration of the Fragile One, came back to my physical senses as I felt Vicky’s arms wrap around me, solid arms seeping her warmth into me

“You’ve been worried,” I whispered. Even if her mind hadn’t been open to me, laying bare all her thoughts, I had noticed that something was off.

Now it seemed as good a time as any to bring it up.

“Hmmm.” She made a sound, the vibrations moving from her chest into my back and from her lips tingling the hairs at the back of my neck. “Can’t you feel it, either?” she asked. “I swear… something’s wrong, Tay.”

I opened my eyes, my mind pulling away from the awareness of the Fragile One and back into my own corporeal body, as I shifted and turned around on the rather narrow bed in Vicky’s hold, my eyes finding hers. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t feel it,” she repeated. “Yoda and Mace admitted they were having trouble feeling it too. I know something is wrong,” she answered firmly. “Like… Like I’m standing in front of a ledge, about to drop. My heart is in my throat, my head’s pounding and it’s getting worse. Closer and closer, every day.”

“And you don’t know what it is?”

She shook her head.

I paused for a moment, my mind racing.

Precognition wasn’t unknown in Force-users. Hell, the entire reason this whole clone situation had supposedly happened was because Sifo-Dyas had a particular talent for it. But you didn’t necessarily need to have a gift for it to have a precognitive event happen to you. Technically, all Jedi learned how to tap into that particular branch of Force technique when they learned saber combat and deflecting blaster bolts.

But I’d never experienced it, and so I couldn’t help her, not in a tangible way where I could go out and… fix whatever the problem was.

“What’s your best guess?” I asked.

“Yoda and Windu,” she answered instantly. “I should have gone with them. Even if my presence is too obvious, or whatever. I should have gone with them.”

“You’ll drive yourself insane thinking about what ifs and maybes.” I knew that better than most. “What’s done is done. Let’s get through this thing on Corellia, and then we’ll hijack a ship and head straight to Naboo if you still feel something off.”

She let herself smile a bit. “What’s with you and hijacking ships? Is this you laying down hints on what you wanna do for our anniversary? Maybe you’re finally trying to play out the long game plan of corrupting the hero to the side of villainy?”

“Yes,” I answered drily. “That big capital ship in orbit. Let's take it for a joyride around the Outer Rim.”

“Can I drive?”

“Better you than Anakin.”

(X)(X)(X)

Aras:

Naboo was, indeed, a beautiful world. So different from the harshness of Mandalore that it almost immediately made him feel nostalgic for home.

The place was too soft by half. Its people were even softer.

He’d exaggerated somewhat. Shmi had not, in fact, refused him entry into his home until he went to collect her son. But the boy’s answering expression had been worth the deception.

The truth was, he did not wish the Skywalker boy dead. Aras’ family, Shmi included, would grieve if he did die.

That was enough.

And now he was here. On this too-soft world with its too-soft people.

“And you sensed him only when he was already close enough to attack you?”

“Not quite,” Skywalker answered Obi-Wan with a shake of his head. “I sensed him… everywhere. It was sick, in the Force itself, and it wasn’t until he was practically on top of me that I was able to tell where he was in all the… fog, for lack of a better term.”

Kenobi cupped his chin, stroking at his beard. “Hmmm… That doesn’t sound like anything we’ve sensed before.”

Aras left them to their musings, looking instead through the remnants of the destroyed hallway in the Senator’s summer home.

The hallways were too wide, with too many junctions and flanking routes. The surrounding grounds were appropriately open, lacking cover, but likely it was for aesthetic considerations rather than military ones.

The stonework was firm. Even with the gouges and tears across the length and breadth of the hall, there was little instability in the structure. Firm arches and solid brickwork allowed the construction to compensate for the damage, particularly with the three walls Skywalker had apparently pulled down to allow reinforcements to reach him.

Still, that begged the question…

“If you could do this,” he interrupted the two Jedi, gesturing towards the torn-down walls, “why did the Sith not do this to simply reach Amidala’s room?”

“I don’t think he could,” Anakin answered, features scrunching up in thought. “His physical strength was… immense, but frankly, I could outclass him in raw Force power… I- I don’t think he had the strength to tear down one wall.”

Now, Kenobi’s features scrunched up. “That… makes no sense. Even if he’s physically stronger than you, having enough skill to defeat you in lightsaber combat would likely entail skill in Force manipulation. It must.”

“Why?” Aras asked. One’s ability with a blade shouldn’t be linked to other skills, at least not normally.

“It’s how our training works. Physical amplification, warnings in the Force, even your ability to manipulate the blade in ways that won’t harm you, goes hand in hand with one’s attunement to the Force. Of course, there are margins of expertise that one can reach for, but not so wholly disparate that someone who can fight Anakin in lightsaber combat would simply be so flatly outclassed in Force manipulation.”

Skywalker opened his mouth, only to be cut off by his Master.

“No, it is not because ‘You’re awesome’, as Victoria would say,” Kenobi drawled, voice as dry as Mandalore’s wastes.

The boy fought down a smirk, then grew serious. “Honestly, you’re right. What I faced isn’t making sense to me ei-”

The boy paused, eyes glancing upwards.

Kenobi took a moment longer before he too cast his eyes skyward.

“Well, now. That’s unexpected.”

Aras cursed Jedi mysticism for not the first time, and almost certainly not the last. “What?” he demanded.

—

The ship’s engines howled, touching down on the wide open field in front of the summer home. Such a thing would never have been allowed on Mandalore. Royal Guard and judicial forces would have swarmed such a thing on Mandalore, but this was Naboo.

And, right now, he was grateful for the planet’s comparatively lax security.

The ship ramp lowered, and two Jedi he recognized - by reputation, if nothing else - began to descend. Master Yoda and Master Windu. The Grand Master and Master of the Jedi Order.

He barely cared.

It was when he caught sight of his wife a moment later that Aras marched forward, hardly hearing her surprised exclamation at his presence before he took hold of her and kissed her firmly, hands coiling around her waist to pick her up.

She gave a startled squeak of surprise, the flush of embarrassment as all eyes turned to them heated her cheeks just enough for him to feel it on his own skin.

It had been nearly half a month since he’d seen her- let them look - he mentally shrugged.

“Oh no! My innocent eyes! However shall I recover from this?! Seriously though, no nookie on my ship. I’m not buying new bed sheets and mattresses.”

He heard the Bith, Rugess, babble something in agreement.

Hannah pulled away, grateful to have something other than her embarrassment to focus on.

Embarrassment usually made his wife prone to outbursts, however.

She chucked her helmet at the boy.

The sound of a beskar helmet clanging off the boy’s up-raised hands was a welcome one, even as the boy laughed at their expense.

“Shut up,” Hannah hissed, straightening her armor as she fully stepped away before glaring at Aras.

He fought down the urge to smirk. He’d likely pay for his actions later.

“What are you doing here!?” she demanded.

“I was sent to fetch the boy,” he answered pointing with his thumb over his shoulder towards Anakin.

“I’m not a boy!” Skywalker protested, as boys tend to do.

Hannah gave him a suspicious side eye before her attention was drawn towards the Jedi. Aras noted the dark skinned human was already ignoring them, addressing Obi-Wan as the green one snickered with impish delight.

“I thought you were on Mandalore, Knight Kenobi.”

“You surely didn’t expect me to remain on Mandalore once I received word that Anakin had fought a Sith!” the Knight answered.

“The Duchess might still be in danger.”

The sandy haired Knight stared at Windu, almost daring the man to press the issue further. “There is an entire Royal Guard and an entire Jedi Enclave dedicated to her protection. Anakin might have needed me here, and so here I am.”

“A discussion for later, this is,” the green Jedi, Yoda, said, hobbling forward across the grassy field. “Sense, I do, the poison lingering in the Force.”

Skywalker nodded. “Yes. It’s impressive that you can sense it all the way out here, after so long. Obi-Wan could only feel it inside the house.”

“No,” the small Jedi shook his head. “Not in the house. Here. Still on the planet, the Sith is.”

(X)(X)(X)

Vicky:

She’d never been to Corellia before.

As far as first impressions went, she vastly preferred it to Coruscant.

Coruscant was… a crush. Just a sheer crushing sensation of people and iron and concrete and steel. All around you, pervasive and inescapable. Taylor loved Kashyyyk, Vicky knew. And Vicky liked Kashyyyk well enough; she had a lot of buddies there, like Chewie, Atti, and her ‘biggest fan’ (who would probably be getting taller than her in just a few more years).

But she was a city girl at heart, so she liked cities. But even for her, Coruscant was too much of a city. Like, an excessive amount.

Corellia, by contrast, was a nice middle ground. Well… more like 80% Coruscant, 15% New York, 4.5% Canada and 0.5% Kashyyyk.

And the 0.5 came from the fact that Corellia had actual trees!

True, it was in a park, nice and cordoned off and nowhere near the rest of the concrete jungle, like a zoo animal people passed by… but that was still 752.9% more trees than Coruscant had.

So, all in all, she approved of Corellia, and she had half a mind to ask these Green Jedi guys if they had any apartments available for rent or something.

Preferably near the park.

The Green Jedi Temple was near it, so who knows?! Maybe.

Speaking of the Temple, it was smaller than the one on Coruscant, of course, but like the rest of Corellia, the “lesser” nature actually seemed to serve to its benefit in a lot of ways. When you walked the grounds here, you felt like you could breathe. The plaza that framed the main entrance was open to the public, and it was a large space, seemingly welcoming all Corellian citizens to enter if they wished, whereas the Coruscanti temple was much, much more closed-off and imposing. A literal ivory tower on a hill, unreachable and untouchable.

Even still, all jokes and analyses aside, her feeling wasn’t abating. Much as she tried to distract herself with helping others get off the ships and get settled in, dealing with the kids and helping here and there, it was still just a distraction, and Tay’s suggestion of hijacking a ship and launching herself headfirst to Naboo was looking better and better by the hour.

“Okay!” Taylor said from just ahead of her, the five gremlins standing in front of them. “This is your keycard for your rooms,” she said, handing out two sets of two keycards to the five kids. Each one was sharing a set of rooms, much like she and Taylor shared a suite in the temple. One of the apartments had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and one living room. And the other had three bedrooms. It might have been easier to just get three rooms with two beds but Tay didn’t want one of the kids to feel left out. Luckily, the Green Jedi could accommodate the request. “Don’t lose them,” Taylor continued, a warning in her voice. “These are your rooms for now. Remember, you’re guests here, so keep your rooms clean. This isn’t a hotel with turndown service.”

“Yes, Miss Taylor,” the five chorused.

“Good.” The brunette nodded. “Miss Victoria and I will be staying right over here.” She pointed to another room across the hall. “Knock on the door if you need anything.”

“How long will we be staying?” Zai asked.

“Settle yourselves in for today,” Taylor instructed. “Tomorrow is when the gathering starts. And it should continue for around two to three days, tops. So, more or less a week.”

“The clones arrive tomorrow, right!?” Zaisk asked, excitement coloring his voice.

“I wonder what they look like,” Tenhu mused, his head tilting ever so slightly.

Vicky snickered. “You can probably guess real quick when ya see a couple hundred of the same guy.” Then, she looked to Taylor, winking. “Ya think they’ve got pizza on Corellia?” Vicky asked with a grin over the kids’ heads. “We can have a pizza party!”

Taylor gave her a dry look. “Given that you needed to tell the droids how to make it back in the Temple, I doubt it.”

“We should re-educate all cooking droids to make pizza,” Decimus recommended with a toothy grin.

Vicky cheered, a fist pumping into the air. “Damn right!”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Right. Well, now that everyone’s got their keycards and their rooms, go shower, get changed, and, in an hour or so, we’ll head down to get something to eat. Whether or not the Green Jedi droids will accommodate you guys wanting to teach them how to make pizza, we’ll se-” she stopped, her expression shifting in what Vicky could only call stupefied surprise as she blinked, staring blankly at a spot past their heads down the hall.

Vicky followed her gaze over her own shoulder, as did the kids.

“That’s a very nice window,” Zai remarked helpfully.

“Uhhhh… Tay?” Vicky asked. “You good?”

The situation didn’t get much clearer however when all Tay answered was, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Vicky felt she spoke for everyone in the hall when she answered:

“Huh?”

—

A few minutes later, the answer became somewhat clear.

A bit unmissable, really.

“Hi, Miss Taylor.”

“Karla.”

The little red Twi'lek’s face was likely blushing, staring up at the very cross brunette. Her complexion made it hard to tell.

Master Plo Koon stood behind the little Twi'lek, very loudly not saying anything.

Vicky could practically see his smile through that mask.

“What are you doing here?” Taylor demanded.

“Well, you said you weren’t taking Iskt away, but then you took him away!” the crecheling accused, cheeks puffing out.

“I brought him here to help him find a Master!”

Karla blinked. “Oh.”

Vicky fought the urge to laugh. If she did, she’d be in as much trouble as Karla.

“Yes. ‘Oh’,” Taylor bit out then pointed. “And why is Angelica here!?”

“Screee!”

The little mushroom’s tiny plush claws reached out, wriggling for a hug.

“I didn’t want to be alone on the trip.”

“We left him with Master Poof!”

“He’s very tall. He didn’t notice me.”

Vicky turned around.

Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh. You’ll get in trouble. Don’t laugh.

Master Plo coughed.

NOT HELPING!

Taylor growled, “How did you even get on a ship!?” Vicky heard the unasked part of her question: ‘Without me noticing?’

“Well, I knew you were leaving through the east side docking bay, and there were docking bays all the way on the other side of the Temple, so I just went there,” the little girl explained.

Taylor’s face was the picture of incredulity. “And they just let you on a ship!?”

“I think everyone was distracted,” the red Twi'lek admitted. “Something about a spill? I think?”

“You’re grounded!” Taylor barked.

Vicky turned, staring at her girlfriend’s profile as Taylor seemed to realize what exactly she just said.

Karla was similarly startled… though not for the right reasons. “...Uhhhh… What’s electricity got to do with anything?”

Vicky finally lost her valiant battle against her own laughter, and she received a rather solid smack on the arm as a reward.

(X)(X)(X)

Anakin:

Naboo Security Forces had hastily given them three transports filled with Naboolian guards armed in full body armor and armed with heavy (for Naboo, at least) weaponry.

He was riding with Padme and Obi-Wan in one transport, with Master Yoda and Windu riding on the two other transports.

Dennis, Miss Hannah, and Aras had stayed behind. It wasn’t their fight, not to mention the fact that their presence would be just excessive.

Frankly, he wished Padme had stayed behind, too, but she’d argued that the safest place in the world to be when a Sith assassin was hunting you was being surrounded by the two greatest Jedi Masters, and a Knight and Padawan that had already defended her once before.

Not really an argument to be made there, honestly.

The last thing any of them needed was to get lured away, only for the Sith assassin to double back, or for there to be a second one that completed the objective because they got overconfident.

The transports whined with high-pitched engines as the vehicles bobbed and weaved through the thick Naboo forests and jungles, following the trail Master Yoda detected.

Now, drawing closer and closer, Anakin could feel it too.

“Sir,” the pilot called, the Lieutenant of this squad leaning forward, “Got something on sensors, dead ahead.”

Obi-Wan straightened, grasping Anakin’s shoulder. “Stay behind me. You’re still injured, and we don’t know what might happen.”

“Yes, Master,” he answered.

“You too, Senator,” Obi-Wan insisted, even as Padme hefted a rather large gun in her hands.

“I have no intention of using this unless I have to, Obi-Wan, I promise,” she answered.

As they approached the edge of a river, Anakin could see what had set off the sensors - a ship.

“A JumpMaster 5000,” he observed, reporting it to Obi-Wan. “Corellian design, utilitarian, relatively cheap. This wouldn’t ping as odd on anyone’s radar. Likely it had the mods to run stealthily, too.”

“That’s all very nice, Anakin,” Obi-Wan answered. “But maybe take note of the dead body by the landing struts.”

Oh… Yes, that was important too.

Squinting at the mass of black robes and armor, Anakin did indeed recognize the body. “That’s him!” he exclaimed.

Seeing the unmoving form now, the poisonous air surrounding him was unmistakable. A trail through Naboo leading here, to a fungal bloom of dark side corruption.

It made him feel sick all over again just being near it.

“We’re getting orders to circle. Cover the teams,” the Lieutenant informed them, shouting over the pitching engines as the transport began to hover over the site.

“Do it!” Obi-Wan answered, and Anakin got the distinct impression the Naboolian hadn’t exactly been asking for permission so much as merely informing them what he was going to do, judging by the slightly irritated look he tossed at the back of Obi-Wan’s head.

The other two transports touched down, and Anakin felt Obi-Wan open his mind towards Yoda and Master Windu. Given the lack of radios on them it was the next best thing, regardless of the rather too intimate nature of the communication method for his liking.

The two Naboo squads spread out, team members scanning for explosives or traps as they advanced. Master Windu drew close first, his saber unlit but his hand hovering close to the blade.

Anakin closed his eyes, shutting out the distractions, focusing.

“He’s dead,” Windu said. “Skywalker did break his neck.”

“And yet, arrive here under his own power, did he? Hmm?” Yoda hobbled forward. “No. Something else I sense.”

The Grand Master walked forward, Windu did as well.

“Ohhh, Corellian Hells that stinks,” one of the Naboolian squadmates groaned. “Smells like it's been dead for a week.”

Windu inched forward, the physical stench now matching that in the Force. It was indeed putrid.

He pressed on, reaching the body with a cautious hand, and feeling the sickening give of flesh beneath the suit at his touch.

“This body’s been dead for at least two weeks,” Windu observed.

“Impossible,” another of the Naboolians responded. “The attack on the Senator was just days ago.”

“Hmmm.” Yoda stepped back, almost recoiling. “Recognize this… I do. Tsaiwinokka Hoyakut.”

The language, if not the words themselves, made something vile and acidic burn at the back of Anakin’s throat.

“A puppet. A corpse of an innocent. Used and discarded… pull free his helmet, Master Windu. Perhaps their victim can reveal something.”

The Master of the Order reached for the helm, peeling it off the head, chunks of flesh falling away, scraped off by the steel of the helm.

But there was still enough there to be recognized.

“Qu Rahn,” Windu breathed, his features darkening. “He was on a mission… with Master Jorus.”

Yoda’s voice was similarly grim. “Told us, he did, that remained behind to conduct further research, Knight Qu wished.” A realization seemed to pass between the two Masters.

“...We must get to Corellia!”

(X)(X)(X)

Taylor:

“Are those the clones?”

The question came from Tenhu, who stared at the white armored, faceless legion of soldiers in front of us with wide, astonished eyes.

“Seems like it,” I answered.

“Sir.” One clone, faceless and nameless like all the others, stepped forward for the rest of his battalion. Two hundred thousand white faced troopers arrayed in perfect formation across the Green Jedi’s plaza. “We’re the Kaminoan First Legion, reporting for duty and eager to receive your orders, sir.”

Master Plo bowed deeply at the waist. “We welcome you, soldiers of the Republic. As leader of this Council in pro tem, I am honored to accept your charge of command.”

It was all very ceremonial. Even though this ‘First Legion’ had been assembled in relative haste, the clones were eager indeed to get off Kamino and start fulfilling the duties they’d been preparing for their entire lives. The Jedi Masters and Knights were assembled, watching from the mezzanines and balconies of the Temple while camera droids were filming, but this had been planned out at least somewhat in advance, no doubt frantic calls being sent out right down to the last second over the last day or two mid transport from Kamino to Corellia.

And so, with a single commanding shout from the designated Clone Commander, all two hundred thousand clone troopers began to move like a literal well oiled machine. Breaking off in squads of two to ten, and taking up guard posts around the whole of the Temple. No doubt they, more than almost anything else, were going to be one of the leading drivers of debate subjects in the next few hours.

As I began to march away, my kids in tow I, as usual, listened to the surrounding conversations, one catching my attention as I stepped away.

“No, Master C’baoth, I’m afraid I cannot allow it.”

“This is meant to be an open forum of ideas, Master Plo. And if you’re allowed to parade about these… subhuman copies, different opinions on what is to be done with them should be allowed to be voiced. They are dead in the Force. Barely alive.”

“You will not use Master Yoda’s and Master Windu’s absence to try to push the travesty of genocide as a legitimate response to the clone situation during this Council. My decision to deny you entry to the conference is final. And if I hear another word of this again, I will see you removed from the planet entirely, if not the Order itself. That you’d propose such a thing at all shows you are unworthy of it.”

I sensed the fury rising in the man, slow and simmering, a cauldron coming to boil.

I paused, stopping my walk as I began to gather my swarm, one hand lightly hovering over my saber, just in case.

If someone was genuinely suggesting killing the clones and labeling them as subhuman... well… I’d known assholes like this back home, I also knew how to deal with them.

But the simmering fury calmed, bleeding out into the Force as if it’d never been there as the man began to walk away.

“On your head be it then, Master Plo.”

(X)(X)(X)

Dennis:

They’d barely even gotten refueled before Windu and Yoda were damn near tearing through his ship, demanding they take off immediately for Corellia. Dennis was halfway certain the two Jedi were gonna discover a way to fucking swim across the interstellar distances if they had to.

Apparently, some shit was gonna go down and it was gonna go down now. So they needed to be there yesterday.

Militia, Aras, Anakin and Obi-Wan would be heading back to either Mandalore or Coruscant. He didn’t even have time to say more than a hasty goodbye over the comms to Militia before he was firing up the engines and burning jets out of atmosphere and towards the hyperlanes.

As the hyperdrive began to spool up, it was Rugess who sensed something wrong first, his Bith hearing noticing it almost immediately.

His friend babbled, slapping at Dennis’ arm frantically.

“What’s wrong!?” he asked, the hyperdrive beginning to activate as stars began to shoot past them.

That’s when the warning sirens blared.

He slammed the emergency shutdown button.

Nothing happened.

The meters fluctuated, the entire system going haywire

Before he, or any of them, could do more than shout out warnings and try to activate the emergency failsafes, the hyperdrive was going critical just as stars began to rush past them.

(X)(X)(X)

At around the same time, above the skies of Corellia, the jewel of the Corellian defense fleet, the Centuriate-class heavy cruiser - the heaviest capital ship in the fleet - The Valorum,  suddenly found itself under attack.

Internal detonations, failing shields, collapsing internal systems, bulkheads opening into the void, and compounding all of this - a bombardment.

A mass of ships bleeding out of hyperspace, launching flights of fighters and bombers, almost pouncing on the still stunned fleet talons and fangs bared.

The capital ship that stood as the last shield of the Republic founding planet of Corellia; the final defensive line that should have withstood an armada… fell in barely twenty-seven minutes.

Cast down and broken, the burning wreckage of its hulk began to descend, breaking through the atmosphere to crash down in a rain of fire and steel onto the planet below.

(X)(X)(X)

Now. I know what you're all thinking. And sure we can talk about it. But lets not forget the really important thing here.

"You're grounded!"

It's official! Tay-Tay is now officially Tay-Mom!

:D

In all seriousness  we're here friends. We've finally reached the major inflection point. This story's version of "Geonosis"

And while I plan on having *a lot* of fun in the coming few chapters- I am also kinda nervous.

I'm not exaggerating when I say this is *by far* the largest single Battle I've ever planned out/written in my life

We are going *all* in on this attack and its sheer scale is... honestly very daunting and imposing.

Next chapter; We reach the battle proper, and finally get to see what our Girls have had time to learn during their time in the Galaxy far far away and how their Force powers will work in conjunction with their Shard powers...

It's gonna be biblical :D

(Also remember there is a wonderful Discord you can join to discuss the latest chapters without fear of spoiling it for anyone right here:)

https://discord.gg/pmFxjZpY