The Weaving Force: Chapter 67 (Patreon)
Content
Chapter 67
Taylor:
âThe bloody hell are these supposed to be?â
The whisper that was clearly not meant to be overheard, was of course, overheard.
I didnât even have to look to know what Trooper 85 was asking about- most of my kids asked it at some point or another when they first saw them too.
âTheyâre called books.â I answered, adjusting the thermostat near the entrance. Siri always made it too cold.
The troopers straightened a bit, they still werenât used to the fact that I could hear them regardless of how far I was in the room.
âSorry maâam.â One of them said.
âFor what?â I shrugged. âAsking a question?â I started marching closer back towards my desk. âThink of them as dataslates. My homeworld wasnât as advanced as yours, books until⊠relatively recently, were our way to store information.â
Not a lie. Sure, I was born in the digital age but my parents and definitely my grandparents hadnât been. A tablet, hell a cell phone wasnât something they were imagining when they were kids.
I could sense their curiosity so making it to them I pulled one thick hardcover. Mr. Lincoln, by Allen C. Guelzo. âHere.â I said passing it towards the trooper. âHistory from my homeworld. Fiction. Epic poems. Myths.â I gestured towards my mini-personal library.
Trooper 85 looked down at the book in his hand. âSo we might learn more about you and your homeworld through these?â
âPartly.â I shrugged, casting an eye over the books. âMy homeworld is⊠lost.â I answered carefully. âAnother person from there, Alexandria has abilities like Vicky and I do, part of it is perfect memory of anything and everything sheâs ever seen or experienced and so, wherever possible Iâve asked her to recreate the works of some of my favorite authors and subjects.â
Now some of the other troopers grew more curious, beginning to inch closer towards the bookshelf.
âGo on.â I encouraged with a nod. âWe have time. Maybe youâll find a favorite subject.â
I turned away, making it towards my desk; as the six troopers began leafing through the titles.
Soon enough all six of them had picked out something that interested them.
It occurred to me that; having been stuck on Kamino for the whole of their lives, they might genuinely be starved for outside stimulus beyond the military subjects they were inundated with day in and day out.
Even so, as they spread out through the room, some of them taking seats around the class, I felt a smile tugging at my lip.
They werenât younglings, but the fact that they were ten and sitting around in a class for younglings reading books tickled my funny bone.
Still; all jokes aside, the discussion had me jot down a mental note to get any books or materials Alexandria had on military history. Given what we were up against back home- she must have a genuine library on that subject stuffed in her head somewhere.
Vicky and I would need to study up soon enough if the discussions around the temple were anything to go by.
Masters that had been on extended missions in the outer and mid rim were being recalled. Knights were being hauled out towards Kashyyyk by the crate load, Anakin and Obi-Wan would be heading out there as soon as possible for intensive drills to be conducted. A crash course on personal combat if you will.
The only thing that so far hadnât happened, by the sole voice of Master Yaddleâs vehement insistence to the contrary, was the Knighting of Senior Padawans to fill in the ranks that had been lost.
To assuage your own guilt at sending them to fight this is. Not because they are ready. Murder by another name, it is.
That had shut down the conversation pretty firmly. For now anyway.
I suspected it would be brought up again before too long.
I busied myself, catching up to work that had piled up since Iâd been away. Listening to the kids, watching over Siri and the other creches. The scratch of my pen over the dataslates in front of me was a soothing routine, familiar⊠distant from everything that had happened.
When I felt Vicky making her way down here the trance-like calm evaporated and I was almost antsy in my seat before finally seeing her walk through the door.
âHowâd it go?â I asked.
Vicky gave me a look that was somewhere between amused and knowingly suspicious.
âHey guys.â She greeted the clones before catching sight of their books, smirking. âHomework already Miss Teacher?â She snickered; then paused, getting a⊠creative look on her face.
I rolled my eyes
A ten year old. I mentally bemoaned. I fell for a freaking ten year old.
She mustâve caught sight of my expression and knew that I knew- because she was smiling, insufferably pleased with herself.
She made her way over, floating past the others before reaching the side of my desk.
âHow did it go?â I asked again.
She raised a very arched eyebrow.
âTay.â She answered flatly. âI know you were spying.â
âI didnât have a single bug on you!â I protested.
âYeah but I did see the fly on the collar of healer Shaoâs very light colored robe today.â She answered archly. âYou know. Just sitting there. Completely still as flies do.â
Not for the first time I cursed my inability to see things through my insects.
I turned away. I was not pouting⊠nor mulish. Nor lying. âI was out of range.â
âUh-huh.â She took a breath and then plopped herself down on my lap, the full weight of her... everything, interrupting my breathing as the seat rolled back a bit.
âThe Surgery process is gonna be a bit more complicated than normal.â She said. âI have to stay awake to concentrate on keeping my force field down. But its doable.â She answered.
âAnd the risks?â I said, my legs crawling the seat forward, one hand holding onto her, mostly for my own needs rather than hers, Vicky could just fly before she was ever at risk of falling down to the floor.
My other hand reached out, over and past her legs to keep grading papers
âMinimal.â She assured. âLike, it's surgery, there are always risks, especially with me needing to be conscious. But cybernetic replacements are a well known tech. And I'm not the first to need to stay conscious. Some species can't be sedated like humans anyway. Hmmm-â She paused, thinking for a moment before smiling. âItâll be cool to have a laser eye!â
Again, I had to roll my eyes. âYou canât get a laser eyeâ
âSays you!â She stuck her tongue out at me. âJust picture it! Master Mundi being annoying? Zap, someone cuts in line? Zap. Anakin trying to take control of the ship again? Zap!â
âTempting.â I answered drily. âBut last I checked your forcefield wonât exactly be making an exception so, youâll likely just be zapping your own bubble out of existence from the inside and burning half your face off for the trouble.â
âŠ
âŠ
â... Details.â She dismissed with a careless wave of her hand. âStill, I can make you happy. Backup plan is X ray eye!â
She gave me a very obvious once over.
I groaned, facepalming.
Ten. Years. Old. Forever!
âYou know you love me.â Her toothy grin was wide.
Before I could answer appropriately, something slipped into the edge of my range, causing me to pause.
She noticed immediately. Our little game ending early. âWhatâs up?â
âSpeak of the Devil-â I said. âAnd she shall appear-â
â
âIâd like to begin by assuring you Master Plo- the Mandalorian Government nor are the people it represents at all affiliated with the terrorists that were involved in the attack against your order.â
The Duchess of Mandalore didnât bow per se, but her head was lowered, hands clasped in front of her.
âI understand.â Master Plo nodded. âMaster Fay assured me of such the moment we re-established contact.
The aforementioned Fay sat to one side of the Duchess, a Sephi who had a calm placidity about her that bordered on the eerie, at least to me.
And on the other side-
âIf that is the case.â Alexandria cut in. âMight we perhaps discuss mutual cooperation between our two organizations to bring members of this terrorist group to justice.
She was calm, calmer than sheâd been the last time weâd met face to face, that in turn made me tense.
We werenât enemies. Weâd both buried the hatchet. But I donât think I could ever allow myself to feel anything but tense around an Alexandria that felt she was in control.
âA proposal, you have?â Master Yaddle questioned.
Alexandria tossed a look towards the Duchess who nodded, her features tight.
Having seemingly received permission, Alexandria leaned back in her seat. âIt seems clear to us that this attack was meant to fracture our newly established cooperation. The Jedi enclave on Mandalore is the most recent of your expansions and the most politically tenuous apart from Zygerria. As such it follows that this attack was meant to divide us irrevocably for at least another generation.â
âI follow your logic.â Master Plo nodded. âYour solution?â
âThe Jedi are moving onto a war footing.â Alexandria said. âBut you have not been part of a genuine full scale war until long before living memoryâŠâ
I connected the dots before she said it, I sensed Master Yaddle had too.
âMandalore however does have experience of that nature in abundanceâ
A shocked silence filled the room.
âYou would send us soldiers?â Plo Koon asked.
âOfficers.â The Duchess corrected, quickly- perhaps too quickly. Like she was ready for it, or had been biting her tongue to keep from bursting. âWe would send you officers⊠Men and women who know how to command, who know tactics of modern battlefields.â They can help lead your clones, and educate Jedi, if theyâre willing and receptive, to lead men in a similar way.â
âWar has evolved quite a bit since the last time Jedi moved into open warfare.â Alexandria added.
âAnd what do you think of this Master Fay?â Plo asked, turning towards her.
The Sephi woman startled, pointing towards herself like she wasnât sure she was being addressed before tittering nervously.
âWell, forgive me Master Plo err-â
âIt was her idea.â Alexandria stated rather bluntly.
â
Iâm not sure which one of us âcorneredâ the other in the end. Master Plo and Master Yaddle promised to get in touch with their reply before the Mandalorian delegation returned to Mandalore- but insisted they needed to confer with the rest of the council for this decision. Vicky was escorting Satine towards Obi-Wan who sheâd asked after
And that just left us.
We were standing by one of the large window panes of the upper halls, overlooking the city of Coruscant in the distance. As usual, neither of us looked directly at the other. It was⊠easier- that way, for both of us I think.
âCook is missingâ She began. âAnd with him, your previous Master and Grandmaster, Yoda and Windu.â
âYou looking for them too?â I asked.
âOf course.â She nodded. âYoda and Windu provide⊠stability. And if Mandalore finds them itâll go a long way to repairing damaged relations.â
âNo care about Dennis or Rugess at all huh?â I tried not to sneer, but she could likely hear it in my voice.
âI doubt Mr. Cook would care for my concern if he knew it existed.â She answered.
I let out a huff of air through my nostrils. âAre you saying it does?â
âIs that so unbelievable to you?â
I wasnât sure how to answer that
After a moment, she cut to her original point. âHave you been following the politics at all?â
I decided to be honest. Even if I wanted to lie, sheâd likely see through it after a few exchanges. Just because she had difficulty reading me didnât mean she was stupid. âNot particularly. Itâs been⊠a hectic few days.â
âHn.â She made an irritated sound. âIt wonât surprise you to learn then- that the Confederacy of independent systems- the group that attacked you; have released their spin on the situation.â
âTook them a while-â I said.
She corrected me. âMore like it took a while for coverage of Corellia itself to make room on the holo-net.â She crossed her arms. âLong and short of it- theyâre claiming the attack as a pre-emptive strike against a clear military build up against their own interests.â
âYou canât be serious.â I scoffed.
Alexandria huffed out a laugh. âCanât I?â Her humor was black as coal. âYou know how this works. Lies travel around the planet twice before Truth can even lace up its boots.â
I grit my teeth. âWe had no army! There were kids there!â My kids!
âYou did.â She countered with a shrug. âNearly two thousand Jedi, another two thousand clones, the Corellian fleet. Optics wise, its a significant force. Or can two thousand Jedi not take a military target or two?â
I didnât bother to answer, the question was rhetorical.
She continued. âThe fact is, to the outside observer, a Jedi gathering, with a full batallion of clone infantry doesnât seem like something that would be done for the equivalent of a convention.â
âAnd the Civilian bombings?â I asked. âThey leveled a chunk of Coronet city!â
âUnfortunate Collateral caused by the crashing of the Valorum onto the city itself, the rest, caused by the Jedi and their force powers.â
âThis is such bullshit.â I sneered.
âMaybe.â Again, another shrug. âFact is, with so few of them- less than two percent of the galaxy has ever seen a Jedi in person. Let alone have a grasp of who they are, or what they can do. So for all the Confederacy cares- they can say you fired heat vision from your eyeballs and few people will have the knowledge or the interest to refute it. On the planets they control, they control the media and if you control the media-â
âYou control the narrative.â I growled. âControl the narrative and you can run with a lot of bullshit for a long while.â
I felt her nod, a noncommittal âHmmâ in her throat. We both knew where Iâd learned this from.
âOther governments?â I asked. âAnyone supporting them?â
âNot many.â She answered. âBut not many are exactly rising to support the republic either. Its made many enemies of Mid Rim and Outer Rim worlds over the years and, frankly, seeing one of the silver spoon core founders get taken down a notch or two is something theyâre enjoying.â
I shook my head, closing my eyes as I took a breath.
âDonât be indignant.â She interjected. âYou of all people know what it is to want to see others whoâve wronged you get taken down some, even if you yourself didnât act on it.â
I opened my eyes, turning and finally looking at her. She was still staring out the window.
âEven if youâre right-â I answered- no use getting into an argument over an ultimately pointless comment. âWhat matters now is 'What can we do about it?'â
âFor now- not much.â She shrugged. âGalactic scale issues are a bit beyond the capability of one or two people, even people like us to resolve overnight. This resentment has been boiling under the surface for years and even though the Confederacy is mostly composed of corporations fueled by greed, there is genuine feeling within the âtrue believersâ on the ground level. The Republic, to them is a tyranny.â
I frowned. âI know you.â I said. âYouâve already thought of ways to⊠deal with this.â
âI have.â She acknowledged. âLets just say I donât believe youâd like my answers any more than Satine would if Iâd have bothered to voice them.â
âWhy wouldnât you?â
âTrying to be a better person is a step by step process Iâve found.â She shrugged. âIâll let you know when step two isnât to âignore your reflexive answerâ
âHah!â The comment startled a sharp bark of laughter out of me.
I could relate.
We fell into silence after that.
Finally, after a minute or so, she broke it again.
âYour exploits are on the holo-net you know.â .
I offered a shrug. âDoes it matter?â
âIt might.â She said. âYou know how this works. Escalation. You and Dallon have shown your hand, now theyâll look for ways to beat what theyâve seen and youâll try to find ways to beat that and on and on until one side is dead.â
She was right but-
âWhy lecture about it now?" I asked. âWe did what we had to do to survive.â
âYou did-â She conceded. âAnd its not a lecture. Just⊠a reminder. Wether you believe it or not, Iâd rather you not lose everything youâve built here.â
I still didnât look at her. âSo this is you telling me to be careful?â
âYes.â She answered bluntly. âI donât know what you did on Corellia, but I know you didnât have that much range even on your best day. Enough insects to interfere with orbital targetingâŠâ She shook her head. âYou did something to achieve that. And from experience things like that tend to come with a price.â
She was right and still- âIâll pay it⊠if I have to.â
We said nothing for a time.
Then, she nodded. âFor what it's worth- I do not hope you dieâ
And she left, after a moment, I left too, back to my creche, my kids.
Tomorrow was another day.
(X)(X)(X)
Ok so as many of you can guess the "Favorite book/author" option won out in the poll for the clones names, and so now here we have a reason that they'll take those names :)
I will be comandeering 1 slot for the name Guelzo. Not many of you may know this but I'm a big history buff and a big Lincoln Fanboy and Allen C. Guelzo was my introduction to both these things and so, I will be stealing one name slot for Mr. Guelzo :p
I feel like taking a second slot specifically for an "Epic Poem" character, just so we break up a bit the "uniformity" and its not all author names. I'm particular to Siegfried and Cid personally but let me know what you all think would be a good character from those edas and poems to yoink a name from.
The other four slots are completely free on authors/characters from their particular books so feel free to leave your ideas/favorite authors down in the comments below, the top 4 based on 'likes' received will likely end up being the names (Tolkien is out)
Also, I feel relatively safe in confirming 2 chapters left for the end of this arc. Might change of course but I'm about 80% confident in that estimate