The Weaving Force: Chapter 69 (Patreon)

Chapter 69:

Taylor:

I thought for sure that Yoda, Windu, and even Dennis and Rugess would be swept up in the absolute madness that would ensue from both the Council and the Jedi as a whole now that they were back. No doubt people wanted answers. They wanted the reassurance of seeing and interacting with the returned Masters themselves.

But it spoke massively to the control both these men exerted over the Jedi when Yoda merely said:

“Long and arduous, our journey has been. Meet we will with the Council. But first, discuss certain things, with others. Master Plo, Master Yaddle. Come, speak in private we must.

The many Masters and Council Members, even as visibly impatient as they might have been, bowed respectfully; likely more relieved than anything at the fact that these two had returned.

Then, to my surprise, whispered much more quietly towards a tiny fly resting on his sleeve, I heard Yoda’s voice.

“Come, Knight Hebert. You and Knight Dallon both must join this discussion.”

I was confused. Not at the privacy of his call, I could understand quite a few reasons he’d want to keep that a secret, likely to just stop others from grumbling about favoritism or preemptively avoid hurt feelings of some kind.

But rather, I was confused at why exactly he was calling us at all.

Did it have something to do with Dennis?

Must’ve been. It was the only causation I could think of at any rate.

I reached through the Force, nudging Vicky who turned to look, finding me amidst the crowd as I jerked my head, asking her without words to follow me as I made my way out of the hangar.

As the crowd thinned, Vicky touched down next to me. “What’s up?”

“Don’t know, actually,” I admitted. “But Yoda and Mace want us to hear whatever they have to say.”

“Huh? Really?” She asked, moving to keep up with my longer strides.

I navigated through the hallways, my bugs letting me shadow the returned Masters and our friends as they moved out through another door.

It was relatively easy to avoid the crowds and map our way through a hall to head them off with my extended senses.

I even used my bugs to delay some of those trying to linger after the two Masters. A snagged sleeve on a doorway here, a fly buzzing in their face there.

Those weren’t my fault.They were just accidents… or bugs being bugs.

Either way, when Yoda, Windu, Plo, Dennis, Yaddle and Rugess rounded our particular corner, Vicky and I were already waiting at the relatively empty hallway.

“Knight Dallon, Knight Hebert.” Windu greeted with a nod.

“Aha…” Vicky smiled a little nervously towards the larger man. “It’s… ummm… Master now, actually.”

Windu frowned, considering. Then, he took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

“Much we have missed, it seems.” Yoda said, evidently giving voice to Windu’s troubled thoughts. Still, when he looked at us, it was with a smile that… honestly gave me pause.

“Even so, proud I am, of both of you.”

Immediately, Vicky teared up, the grip she had on her composure withering away as she sniffled, then bawled before kneeling down to grab Yoda in a hug, one that, for the first time I could remember, wasn’t protested with a swatting stick.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” She cried, and I felt compelled to place a hand on her shoulder.

“No love for me, eh?” Dennis called from his spot.

“Shut up,” Vicky demanded. “I’ll give you a back snapping hug in a second, you ass.”

The time stopper chuckled, but it was only half real… hollow. More out of reflex and custom than genuine feeling.

He met my eyes.

I offered a nod. “You two okay?” I asked him and Rugess.

The Bith lowered his head, babbling something I half understood.

“The Vista’s gone.” Dennis said. I saw Ventress shift behind him, her arms crossed, looking uncomfortable in her skin, standing here but paying particular attention to us, her gaze intense and piercing.

I met her eyes, feeling her unease beginning to grow after a moment as she stared at me… past me.

“We should continue this conversation somewhere more private.” Windu cut in before anything more could be said.

“The meditation chambers,” Yaddle suggested, floating on her hoverchair. “Come.”

We started to follow, Yoda taking a seat on Vicky’s shoulder, much to her happiness; as promised, she gave Dennis and Rugess a firm hug before she let them walk after everyone else.

Soon enough, we arrived, the meditation chamber computer recognizing nine occupants before rolling out nine hover seats for us to sit in.

It was Master Plo that spoke. “Master Yoda, Master Windu, forgive me if I am impatient but we are finally in a private location and I wish to know: What happened?”

Silence fell over the two men, but after a moment, Windu took a deep, slow breath through his nostrils.

“The Sith… is an insidious actor.”

“Watching us for much longer than we realized, he has been. High, his authority must be.” Yoda added.

“By all rights, we should be dead, and would be if not for the parahuman ability of Kronos.”

Finally, Dennis cut in. “They probably thought I just had some fancy energy shield that blasters can’t shoot through… I’ve normally just frozen myself or bits of cover, you know?” He snorted. “They rigged the Vista’s hyperdrive.”

“With what?” I asked.

“Not sure,” he said. “I had to time freeze it, so we could hardly take it apart to test. All I know is that it was… big. Cascade failures, all failsafes were completely bypassed, everything that should have stopped a critical failure were suddenly just… gone. The guy made that thing to blow and nothing could have stopped it.” He waggled his fingers. “At least nothing he could know about.”

“So you time froze the hyperdrive?” I asked

“We time froze the whole ship,” he corrected. “Rugess here,” he reached over, slapping his best friend on the shoulder with a hearty smack. “Is the only reason we didn’t splat across the whole side of the ship. Decelerated the ship without murdering us so I could stop the whole damn thing.”

The Bith said something else.

“Hey, nearly breaking our necks on the bulkhead is a hell of a lot better than the alternative.” Dennis consoled him.

“The hyperdrive would have exploded with enough force to level Theed,” Windu stated. “We would never have survived.”

“I had to keep freezing it,” Dennis said. “Over and over and over again. Non-stop.”

“For how long?” Vicky asked, horrified.

Dennis shrugged. “Dunno… Days, at least.”

I winced, the… agony of staying awake for so long was not a memory I relished, and my sympathy extended towards him immediately for what must’ve been one hell of an ordeal.

“Master Yoda and I assisted as best we could,” Windu nodded. “Master Yoda reached out through the Force, calling for help.”

“Why not just use-” Vicky stopped, realizing the answer to her question as she was asking it.

“Ahh… time frozen ship.” She winced.

Dennis nodded, his eyes growing a little watery. “Yeah… Can’t exactly leave the radio and emergency beacon unfrozen when you’re freezing the whole damn thing to keep it from blowing up. “

A tense silence fell over the nine of us. Finally, Windu cleared his throat. “As Master Yoda was calling for help, I did my best to aid Kronos himself. Amplifying his stamina, helping him remain awake.”

“Even then, difficult it was. Reaching their limits by the end, they were.” Yoda admitted.

I could imagine.

They’d left Naboo almost ten days ago.

Even if you discounted a day or two, eight days of straight activity - especially without my ability to… ignore the symptoms by pushing the worst of it into my swarm - it must’ve been hell. Even with someone as powerful as Windu giving him a leg up.

“And that-” Plo Koon nodded, turning his masked eyes towards the pale Rattataki woman who’d been quiet so far. “-is where you must’ve come in, Miss Ventress?”

The pale woman squirmed, though she tried to hide the worst of her unease. “Yeah… that’s right. I…”

“Sensed us.” Yoda said. “Through the Force. Sensitive, she is. Trained, she has been.”

That was a surprise, a mild one. I did sense her Force sensitivity, but she was certainly not a Jedi that I recognized, nor did she seem to act or dress like one, and her nervousness in the Temple was patently obvious.

At Yoda’s words, Asajj’s unease grew and her displeasure was sharp and cutting, a reflex. A defensive one.

“I’m not one of your Jedi.” She spat.

“Still, using their fancy mumbo jumbo is how you sensed us so I aint looking a gift horse in the mouth.” Dennis cut into the argument before it could really get started. “She found us… the rescue was… fucking terrifying honestly.”

“How?” Vicky asked.

“Frozen ship, had to let it unfreeze to get out.” He explained.

Vicky winced. “Oh… Oh.”

He nodded. “Yeah. We got some void suits on, and the instant it was unfrozen, big man here-” He gestured to Windu. “-blasted a hole into the side of my ship.”

“Longest three seconds of my life.” He released another hollow chuckle. Then he shrugged. “That’s it.”

“Oh,” Ventress sneered. “Are we skipping the part where you blew yourself up?”

“You what!?” Vicky balked.

But Dennis rolled his eyes. “She’s just making it sound more dramatic than it actually was. We couldn’t risk my time stop having a short fuse as we were leaving, so I just stayed behind and froze my own void suit until… well…” He made an explosion gesture with both hands. “Boom. I was perfectly safe.”

“Oh, yes. Perfectly safe.” Ventress snorted, looking away. “I swear, you’re all insane.”

There seemed to be a particular inflection to the word ‘all’, but there were more important things to deal with.

“Let us focus, please.” Windu didn’t quite snap, but there was clear impatience in his tone. He looked to Master Plo. “We’ve learned much from this attack,” he said. “The Sith… if we would have died as planned, it would have been a blow to the Jedi. But we didn’t.”

“Thus, overstepped he has.” Yoda nodded, his face grim. No, not grim. Angry.

Windu nodded. “There are very few people who could have orchestrated that attack as it was done.” He said.

“You suspect someone?” Plo Koon’s own voice took on an eager edge.

“There’s only two groups that could have moved so quickly and acted so comprehensively.” Windu explained. “Master Yoda and I, while we were trapped, discussed it at length.”

“A member of the Jedi, it could be.” Yoda said.

“Jorus C’baoth is an Acolyte of the Sith.” Yaddle said.

“Hmmm,” Yoda’s clawed hand cupped at his cheek. “Troubling. But an Acolyte, you say, not the Sith Master.”

“If it’s not a member of the Jedi, then there’s only one group that would have had such access.” Windu nodded with certainty.

“A Senator.”

It wasn’t the two returned Masters who said it, but rather Plo Koon, deducing it for himself as he laced his fingers together, leaning back in his seat.

“The Sith have infiltrated the highest levels of the Republic.” He breathed, as though the admission was itself a physical blow.

“It’s the only explanation.” Windu concluded.

“Send the Shadows, will we?” Yaddle questioned.

That was a question I hadn’t heard in a while, and never from Yaddle.

I knew of the Jedi Shadows, the Jedi’s most clandestine branch of spies, saboteurs, informants and protectors.

But I’d never heard anyone on the Council propose deploying them “internally”, let alone Yaddle.

Even so, neither Yoda nor Windu balked, both of them nodding. “We have no other choice, I feel.” The Korun answered.

“This is all well and good,” I cut in before looking at Yoda. “But that doesn’t explain why you called us here, specifically.”

But it wasn’t Yoda who answered.

“They called you here because of me.”

My eyes turned towards Ventress.

The woman shrugged. “Wanted to make sure about something. It’s easier if I just see you all at once, rather than go hunting you down individually.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Make sure about what?”

The woman’s lips quirked upwards into something akin to a smile.

Her answer was irritatingly cryptic.

“How similar you are.”

—

Sidious

“We have learned much.”

Tann’s voice was calm, her holo-image showing a woman confident in her accomplishment, a cup of tea at her side where she sat, with one leg crossed over the other.

“Is that what you call that failure?” C’baoth sneered. “Even your Mandalorian mongrels are rebelling from what I’ve heard.”

“They growl and snap, but Satine’s positions have made it impossible for them to back down now.” She shrugged carelessly. “They will win at our side, or burn on our pyre. They have no other options. They’ll remain in line.”

That was true. Even so-

“The attack was a success,” he finally deigned to speak. “But not as great of a success as it should have been. Many of the Jedi survived…” He turned his attention towards the silently kneeling Komari.

She cringed.

He smiled.

Ironically, perhaps she was the one to have the most success in her assignment on Corellia.

Several Masters had fallen by her hand, Masters that could have taken up roles on the Council in the coming years of open warfare.

She hardly decapitated the Order, but she had weakened their leadership cadre significantly.

And she survived.

A surprise to be sure.

But perhaps a welcome one.

She could still be useful.

“They did have weapons and capabilities we weren’t expecting,” Tann conceded. Her features fell into a frown. “What were those Jedi?”

“Abominations,” C’baoth sneered. “Things that should have been killed long ago.”

“That isn’t an answer.” She noted.

“I don’t owe you one.”

“You will tell us what you know of them,” he demanded. “And we will adjust our tactics… they will be dealt with.” He assured.

One way… or another.

“In the meantime,” he continued. “Continue making your preparations, Tann. You can expect an attack soon into the Confederacy’s territory.”

“Of course.”

“Jorus,” he demanded. “Return to Dathomir.”

The Jedi sneered. “You would have me deal with those witches?”

“Their arts of necromancy will still be needed,” he said. “They will allow us to engage the… aberrations, until we are ready to end them.”

He pushed the slightest sliver of persuasion into his words. Lacing and threading his power into the letters and decibels in equal measure. So subtly, so insidiously, it slipped the arrogant fool’s notice.

Sidious did not need his pride getting him killed too early.

Not now. Not yet. Not when he needed more catspaws than ever before.

Especially if his instincts regarding the disturbance he sensed in the Force being what he thought it was.

“Our triumvirate is strong,” he lied. “Our goals… will be achieved, if each of you fulfills your tasks.”

“I will handle my end,” Tann assured. “Just get me the information on those two Jedi… and the rest will fall into place.”

She bowed, her holo fading away a second later.

He looked at Jorus.

“I will speak with the witches.” He sneered.

Sidious could see the wheels of the treacherous fool’s mind turning, a plan forming there, something to undermine Sidious and advance his own goals.

His reach would exceed his grasp… unless Talzin wished to undermine Sidious as well and aided him.

He would have to watch them… closely.

The holo flickered off.

Komari stared at him, her red eyes burning even through the blue glow. Her hatred was implacable, undeniable.

It made him smile thinly.

“There is much work to be done, my Assassin,” he said. “You’ve proven worthy perhaps… of greater power, still.’

There was a hunger in her gaze, a burning hatred that wished to be sated.

Hoping he would teach her enough, that she’d learn enough… to finally be free of him.

He could have laughed.

Foolish, worthless, hope.

(X)(X)(X)

And we're done.

We're officially going on break friends :)

Now, for those of you who don't know over on SB and AO3 since the early days of this fic, there's been a side story

Vista of the Stars.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/49745467/chapters/125564110

I've hesitated to make this side story canon up til now but we've finally reached a point where I'm comfortable acknowledging it as canon. There will be exactly ONE chapter (an optional interlude) that both stories share but outside of that I will be very careful to keep them both seperate in case readers don't want to engage with that particular side story.

Either way for those of you that DO wish to enjoy it, the link above will take you straight there.

As a reminder, there is a link here for our Discord if you'd like to join us there:
https://discord.gg/M6JGsJBE

And here's the link for the TV tropes page for those of you that have an account and wish to contribute some trope pages there. I feel like it can really use a Characters tab since there are so many :)
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheWeavingForce

Now as a final message; I'd like to give you all a sincere thank you. This has been an *amazing* year and its mostly thanks to all of you, your suport has truly been overwhelming and when I started this Patreon little over a year ago I *never* expected it to take off this much. And this level of support and love from you guys has genuinely made this amazing and overwhelming. So I happily give you all a heartfelt thank you and wish you the happiest of holidays and the best new years. May it be as good to you as you guys made this last year good for me. 

I appreciate every single one of you and I'll catch you all in the next one. Good bye for now my friends!