Chapter 133
Taylor:
They told me later that it took nearly three hours of surgery to pull the iron stake from my side.
It had missed my lung by centimeters. It broke my two lowermost ribs on my right, and perforated my stomach and one kidney.
Three hours didn’t sound like a lot, but given the level of medical tech that this galaxy had, they might as well have been amazed I’d survived at all.
Vicky was at my side practically from the moment I was out of the surgery room.
Noble team hovered at my door, shooing away unwelcome guests. Karla read my favorite book as I slipped in and out of consciousness inside the Bacta tank,. Aras came by, specifically to tell me that he was glad I wasn’t dead. Cause Hannah would be sad.
That made me smile
Iskt was brought in, laying beside me, recovering from his own injuries.
I got the impression he stayed in bed more for my sake than his after a while. So I wouldn’t feel alone in my convalescence.
He should have recovered long before I did
After all, Trandoshans regenerate. I certainly did not.
Still… I was grateful for all of it, and every day it became less and less of a struggle to peel open my eyes. The scent of bacta baths didn’t quite permeate the air around me and soon enough, I could spare Vicky the literal pain in the neck that was sleeping on the guest chair next to my bed.
The Venator’s med bay wasn’t like the Jedi Temple’s med bay. The beds were smaller, and she wouldn’t let me share.
So, when I was finally cleared by the Resolute’s head medic, Bonesaw -yeah, not touching that name with a ten foot pole- I was greeted by the… honestly heart warming sight of Vicky, Iskt and Karla waiting for me with, a chocolate cupcake.
I was half tempted to ask them who they had to murder for the ingredients, but at the very last second thought better of it, recent events on the Glory… likely wouldn’t make the joke go over well.
Instead I smiled. “Didn’t know it was my birthday, I said, mentally fumbling for something ‘witty’ and coming up with that instead as I reached over, taking the offered cupcake from the smiling Karla.
“Depends.” Vicky smirked, in that way that told me exactly what she was thinking. “Do I get a present?”
My brow crinkled. “It would be my birthday. Why would you get the present?”
She winked. “It could be fun for both of us.”
I rolled my eyes.
Iskt’s voice was as dry as the deserts of Tatooine “My Master-” He drawled. “-the perfect Jedi.”
Vicky had the good grace to blush, likely realizing for the first time, similar to me right now, that Yes. Iskt, and likely Karla too were old enough to… understand. And the little thrill we’d once gotten of little innuendo and jokes while they were still ten or nine and didn’t catch on…
In hindsight that had probably given us a bit of a bad habit…
She smiled, reaching one arm to offer the taller Trandoshan an affectionate, side hug. “Damn right I am.”
“How much longer before we make it to Coruscant?’ I asked. Time got funny in a hospital.
“Half hour or so Master.” Karla answered.
“You really think they found him?” Vicky half asked, half whispered. “Like… really him? It’s not a mistake or fake out, or red herring or some bullshit?”
I wish I could answer her. That I could say with certainty that they had. And the two of us could find the bastard and kill him.
But all I can do is shrug. “We can hope.”
She put on a smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Instead, I saw a forlorn longing. A wish that this war could finally be over.
That she could finally go back to being… Vicky.
Not the Republic’s ‘Perfect Jedi’.
—
By the time we arrived to Coruscant… we could feel the change in the air almost instantly.
Not just in the force, but almost physically see it as we descended down to the temple.
The Temple, had become a military training yard and logistics hub over the years. With Clones living in, training, drilling, convalescing and otherwise occupying their time between campaigns along the temple’s adjacent grounds and empty wings.
But I’d never seen Clones on guard in the temple itself. Manning posts, weapons teams moving gun platforms into defensive positions, Jedi with weapons and armor on their person patrolling with squads of Clones.
Something was very, very wrong.
As we drew lower the temple came into the envelope of my insect range, and the level of noise within it was also unusually quiet. Of course there were plenty of people talking, it was hardly sepulchral, but many people I recognized as high ranking Masters or even senior knights carried themselves with a tension that bespoke of their sudden, very notable unease.
Their feeling began to affect us in turn, and the relief we might have once felt at being back ‘home’ so to speak was all but gone as we began our final approach to the temple grounds, Ahsoka piloting the shuttle in utter silence.
—
As soon as we touched down, we all knew what we were here for.
The Council was waiting for us.
Yoda, Windu, Yaddle, Billaba, K’Kruhk, Galia, Fisto even Shaak Tii had seemingly been recalled from Kamino,
Windu bowed his head, hands folded into his sleeves. “Master Hebert- I’m pleased to see you well and returned to us.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Master Windu.”
The Korrun Jedi Master nodded. “The matter is urgent, so I’m afraid though you are likely tired from your journey we cannot give you more than an hour before the Council convenes.”
“We understand Master. Obi-Wan said, there was a note of… almost eagerness in his voice. Something that wanted finally to know who we were fighting.
I agreed.
“Sooner the better.” Apparently Vicky agreed too.
Windu turned to me. “Miss Hebert, you are not a member of the Council, but you and several other masters will be invited to address… logistics.”
Logistics? Was he worried we were being spied on even here.
“I understand.” I answered, revealing nothing of my concerns in my voice or my expression. “What will we do with the night sisters and brothers?”
“Crechemasters, Beq and
The hour couldn’t be done fast enough.
—
One hour on the dot, the Council convened as did several other invited Masters.
There was myself, of course, Eno Cordova, a Master I knew by reputation if not contact known as Baylan Skoll, the former members Koth, Mundi and Halcyon made themselves known, and, much to my surprise-
“Siri? You’re here too?”
The woman that had been a shadow and then my assistant in creche duties nodded. “Hello Master Hebert.
There was barely enough room in the Council chambers for everyone, let alone there being seats. So we stood, the various members, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Victoria included, took their seats.
Vicky looked my way, offering a small, barely there shake of her head. They hadn’t told her yet either.
The last person to enter however, was Master Poof, and alongside him a… Republic Commando?
The Clone was clad head to toe in his armor, a white with an off white base handprint paint job over his helmet the color of dried blood. Shoulders and other armor parts following a similar palette. I didn’t recognize him.
Master Poof offered the man a nod, the movement still even after all these years, looked silly on his long neck.
The Clone nodded back and the Jedi Master joined his fellows, taking his seat.
“You all know why you’re here.” Windu said. “The Tython protocol was enacted. The code demanding all Jedi contacted return to Coruscant in the event of the Sith’s discovery.”
No one moved. No one made a sound. It was like everyone was afraid that interrupting them might make them fall silent, or that the knowledge would simply slip from their minds.
Windu seemed to chew on the words before he said them.
“The Sith lord… is none other than Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of Naboo.
I felt the shock cut through the room; sheer disbelief was the immediate… reflex. It wasn’t even a question in some people’s minds.
“That cannot be true.”
It was Ki Adi Mundi who spoke up, his eyes wide staring at the council before he looked around the room. “We have, all of us, been in his presence. Spoken with him for hours at a time.”
“He has supported us frequently in the senate.” Anakin pointed out, his voice neutral.
“Yeah, in bills that typically fail.” Vicky answered, her eyes calculating, and uncharacteristically cold.
Looking back on it though, she was right. A lot of the bills Palpatine backed that would help the Jedi typically did fail.
“How was this determined?” Baylan Skoll asked, he stood beside Master Koth, his face carved from granite.
Windu’s gaze turned to Poof offering the Quermian a nod, granting him permission.
The master of the shadows clasped his hands together over his chest, forming a cage with his long spindly fingers as he spoke.
“As some of you are no doubt aware, it has long been known that the Sith is operating within the senate; as the War progressed, so too did our war in silence, with our shadows tracking him down as best they could, with a recent mission that was undertaken in the Yavin system our breakthrough finally came. Though the specifics are classified, we knew that the Sith would show great interest in the events of said mission. As such, under my authority as the master of Shadows, I authorized a total communications surveillance operation. To monitor all communications leaving coruscant."
Many Jedi, even some Council members eyes went wide at the admission. Even Anakin and Obi-Wan looked taken aback, and they made a career on crossing legal lines.
“That’s-” Obi-Wan began carefully and I wondered what he might say. Illegal? Immoral? Unethical?
I almost barked out a laugh when he diplomatically answered with- “Ludicrously expensive.”
“It would not have been possible without the assistance of several quietly commissioned Clone teams and tech specialists. But we arranged for a hub of out system droids to monitor and catalogue all outgoing calls from coruscant, particularly minding those that were forwarded through the comm buoys as those headed for the Yavin system.
“That sounds much more manageable-” I mumbled, Siri’s ears twitching beside me.
Of course, Yavin was one system. More than that, it was One system that was a rarity in the galaxy. Completely abandoned and devoid of intelligent life.
Any calls made to that system would be… what. Severn billion times fewer than any other system like say, Coronet, Corellia or coruscant itself?
But a sith, one lone sith calling Grievous to check and see if his loose end had been trimmed in the form of Maul…
He got desperate, sloppy.
I felt the faintest hint of a vicious smile beginning to tug on my lip, something dark deep inside letting out a hiss of anticipation.
I wanted him dead too.
Poof continued. “The signal was encrypted, and bounced through several nexi, but no system is fool proof. We tracked it.”
A holo bloomed in the center of the room.
“This is the LiMerge Building” Poof said I don’t know where exactly they got off calling the thing a building it looked more like a massive compound. Various towers, extensive, adjacent structures. Taking a quick glance at the scale indicator at the base of the holo it was almost twice the size of the temple itself in terms of square feet.
Regardless, Poof continued. “It’s located in the depths of the lower Works. I assigned several of my best Shadows and four Republic Commando squads to accompany them.”
My eyes darted over to the still silent Commando standing off to the side. That explained his presence at least.
“Accompany them for what?” Koth asked.
The answer was simple. “A raid. This is where the transmission originated. We couldn’t be certain if it wasn’t a decoy, or even trapped. As such, Council members were not sent.”
“And a raid on private property without the consent of the senate is illegal.” Vicky mused, almost thinking aloud really”
“Which commando squads were assigned?” Siri, much to my surprise, asked. I knew she was close with the clones herself, being in the temple and assisting those stationed or resting here in their recovery, but perhaps I hadn’t realized how close if she was willing to ask.
“Omega, Foxtrot, Triton and Delta squad.” Poof turned towards the commando. “Corporal Sev. Could you testify as to the events of the mission.”
“Yes sir.” The clone’s voice was like gravel stones grinding together. He took one step forward and stood at parade rest. Behind his helmet I couldn’t see if he was looking at anyone in particular.
“We entered the facility at o-three hundred A team consisting of myself, Jedi Masters Volvif Monn and Jedi Master T’un were in command. The shadows identities I don’t know.
He reached towards an arm mounted computer, adding his information and data to the holo, four yellow dots appearing on the blue. ‘Each team entered their designated entry point at the assigned time. No outward interference, no signs of anything amiss. Much of the facility was derelict. Abandoned.” He said. When we checked system computers, internal logs indicated that everything was being deleted from the system via an automatic algorithm, every hour of every day. Fixer…” I felt the sudden feeling in his mind, if not his voice. “He got to work anyway. Pulled every single bit of scrap code and torn up records he could find in the software.“And?” Anakin asked. “What did you find?”
“We can say for certain that the Sith has been using it as a base of operations. There are comm logs that go from there to various places, places that, when lined up with our campaign records, line up near perfectly.”
“That isn’t enough on its own.” Vicky cut in, leaning forward in her seat, much like Windu, when he was interested, now that I noticed. “The war’s been going on for years. There’s no way even our own calls wouldn’t ‘line up’ to paint a pretty damning picture with enough twisting.”
Sev nodded. “We knew, so… we pressed on.”
The holo shifted again, now ‘The building extending downwards. Down down down deep underground, into…
Obi Wan squinted. “A tunnel?”
“Yes.” Sev intoned. “The material it was made of prevented our scans from picking it up, above ground. Inside of it however-”
The tunnel expanded, straight and true like an arrow.
“It was like echo location was turned on for the probes.” He said. “Our scans tell us they led to two places. The Senate- and Five Hundred Republica.
“A place Palpatine works and a place where he lives.” Skoll’s features tightened.
“Hundreds of Senators call Five Hundred Republica home. And we’ve known the Sith is in the Senate for some time.” Master Cordova said carefully. “I’m afraid… I don’t see the connection to the Chancellor himself yet.”
“This.” Sev answered.
The image of the building shifted and I had to squint for a second before I realized what exactly I was looking at.
“A… foot print?” Siri questioned beside me.
“We scanned them, in the dust at the lowest levels we reached.” The Clone said. “Someone used the tunnels often. Someone coming and going. The image shifted, showing an image of Palpatine, entering the Senate building, his feet, encased in delicate slippers oh so barely visible under the folds of his long chancellor robes as he passed by the security check point on his way to work.
Just enough for the droid security scanner to catch him
“Size, Width, even weight.” Sev continued. “The droids say it's a near exact match. 84.33%”
Obi-Wan frowned. “That’s… still a nearly one in seven or so chance we’re wrong.”
“Did you find anything else?” Koth asked Still skeptical from what I could glean from him.
Sev’s emotions grew dark, mournful. But still, I didn’t hear it in his voice when he spoke. “We didn’t have the chance to. Scorch noticed it first. The tunnels were rigged. Either by a signal, or just a timer once it detected our presence… There was hardly any time. Only reason I’m alive was because Fixer needed a second man up top to maintain an uplink signal to the Holo-net.”
Poof lowered his head, apparently giving the men he’d lost to this assignment a moment of respect, and Sev a chance to reign in his feeling. “The Tunnels and the Facility, were destroyed, utterly. However, Master Obi-Wan. We know that the Sith is operating from the Chancellor’s office. And in that office, there are none who fit the physical requirements it would take to make a footprint of this size.”
“He was absent from Coruscant during Dathomir.”
It took a second to realize that I was the one who spoke, all eyes turning to me.
I shrugged. “Think about it. Dathomir took place, recently and recently, Palpatine was off world for the first time in forever.”
“On a diplomatic mission that was entirely recorded and extremely Public,” Mundi protested.
“Senators are known to use Body doubles.” Anakin whispered quietly, eyes staring straight ahead at nothing at all, fixed on the far wall. “Security measures. Droids with holo tech, programing… you can make a convincing mimic for a few hours or days.”
“Depending on the ship… it’d be hard but the time table for Dathomir is possible.” Obi-Wan mumbled his hand cupping his mouth, beard crinkled in frowning consideration. I didn’t know enough about ships to say wether he was right or not.
Apparently neither did he. “Master Skywalker-” He called. “Is it possible that one could… modify a Starship to fly from Kamino to Dathomir and return within…” He shrugged. “Two or three days?”
“It's certainly not impossible if money isn’t an issue.” Anakin answered, now hunching over, looking at the floor. “With the person we’re discussing… no, money wouldn’t be an issue.”
“There is one last thing.” It was Windu who cut in this time. “The building. The… facility. There are no records of it. But the building materials had to be aid for by someone.”
“Scouring the tax records of several construction firms going back… years. We found that a great deal of money was funneled, into the lower Works, in that exact district… from an anonymous purchaser in the Chommel sector.”
Anakin stiffened.
I, had no idea how that was significant but I imagine someone would say something soon.
“Naboo is in the Chommel sector.” Baylan Skoll said.
“The company who did the project has since become defunct.” Windu declared. “Every single one of its workers, owners, foremen and related affiliates… killed. Systematically, over the span of months. Within one year of receiving that payment from the Chommel sector- they were all dead.”
A grave silence fell over the Council room.
Vicky broke it. Taking a deep breath. “Okay… Okay…” She breathed. “If we know it's him… why aren’t we going after him?”
“Everything presented here is circumstantial.” Obi-Wan mumbled, head bowed.
“Its enough for me.” She declared, her voice beginning to heat up with the early flares of anger. She looked to Windu. “What? Did you want all of us to go over there and kick his ass? Cause I’m ready.”
“Not so easy… it is.” Yoda finally said, sending Vicky a saddened look.
“How many Clones do you have available, Master Dallon?”
Vicky startled, confused by the segway. “Just under two hundred thou-” She stopped, eyes wide and features going pale.
That’s when I caught on too.
My mouth opened and I had to force myself to answer the question.
Cause I already had something of an idea on what the answer would be.
. “How many chipped Clones are on Coruscant?”
Coruscant was an ecumenopolis. Estimates put the number of people living on this world, in the trillions. Some even said Quadrillion, if you counted those not being counted by the census, living in the city’s literal underworld beneath the spires, people who never even saw the sun beneath the tons and tons of metal.
The Coruscanti defense force, was meant to defend Coruscant and the Senate as a whole.
The number of men needed to do that… would be high.
Windu’s grave face already answered my question before he ever opened his mouth.
“Between space, and the planet ground force itself-” He took a deep breath. “Thirty seven million Clones, are currently on coruscant. Not belonging to a Legion, they are every single one of them, chipped.”
That sent a shock of cold through the whole room.
“All together-” Billaba picked up, pulling up our every reserve force not committed to a front. We can perhaps, pull together twenty million Clones.”
“But-” Siri shook her head. “I- The clones and their… control orders aren’t under the Chancellor’s command, after Geonosis they were entrusted to-”
“Senator Amidala of Naboo.” Master Halcyon almost spat out the word, his features pained.
“Now- Hold on a minute!” Anakin suddenly snapped, standing up. “Senator Amidala has been a friend to the Jedi for years! She is no danger to us!”
“We said the same of Palpatine once.” Billaba pointed out.”She initiated the Vote of no confidence that ousted Valorum and placed Sidious on the Chancellor’s seat in the first place, Senator Binks, a close friend of hers, initiated the Vote that granted Palpatine emergency powers.” Billaba shook her head. “We cannot operate under the assumption that she is on our side.”
Anakin floundered, wide eyed and paralyzed with an indecision almost visibly shaking him.
Hell… even knowing Anakin was involved with or married to Amidala, I couldn’t say I had the same faith in her that Anakin did with all this pointed out infront of me. Sleeping with someone to have them let down their guard was a… tried and true tactic.
What better way to listen to the secrets of the Jedi Council, than by having your cooperator sleep with the youngest member of said council?
I hoped, for Anakin’s sake… that wasn’t the case.
He looked truly happy with her.
Slowly, the indecision warred within, until finally, slowly, Anakin sat back down, fingers pressed to the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.
Baylan Skoll spoke up then. “What is to be done?”
Several of the Council members, at least the ones who hadn’t been on Yavin and had been talking about this for days shared a glance between eachother.
“An evacuation.” Windu answered. “The Padawans. Younglings, Crechelings. They must be moved, discretely, off world. We have consulted the satellite temples and newly established enclaves. All are willing to take them in.”
“It would have to be done slowly.” Siri muttered, gnawing on her thumbnail, a nervous tic. “There are thousands of crechelings, moving them all at once, nevermind the Padawans. It’ll be noticed.”
Windu nodded, having overheard her. “Agreed.”
“Our Investigations will continue.” Poof declared. “Most of what we’ve gathered so far as some of you have pointed out, is largely circumstantial. We need better, or if not better more evidence.”
“And how long will that take!?” Vicky demanded. “Its been years already!”
“Know our enemy, we do now.” Yaddle soothed. “Much more focused, our efforts and thus, faster it will be.”
“Would it even matter?” Skoll asked.
Adi Gallia’s answer was swift. “Of course it does.” She said, but even I could tell she didn’t quite believe it. That is to say, she was forcing herself to believe it. “The only body that can legally remove him from power is the senate and the judiciary. If enough evidence can be gathered, A volume overwhelming enough that they can’t turn a blind eye… If Maul would have successfully been captured, it would have gone a long way”
“I doubt he would have been cooperative.” Obi-Wan answered her drily, but he was glaring at me a look I valiantly pretended to not notice.
Galia shook her head. “It wouldn’t have mattered. DNA evidence, corroborative testimony from other sources like captured separatist leadership. We could have made use of him. I’m not… blaming any of you-” She amended quickly. “Merely-” She sighed, trailing off as she shook her head. “The only other alternative is assassination.”
“He controls the senate and the courts.”
She narrowed her eyes “He cannot control all of them!”
No he cant.
“Alexandria.”
The name slipped out. And it took me a second, again, to realize I’d said it out loud.
“Alexandria.” I repeated, more firmly the second time.
“You believe we can trust her?” Yaddle asked.
Trust… was a loaded term between me and her.
But in this instance…
I nodded.
Windu stared me down for a second. Then, he nodded.
“We will pull other forces that we can spare from the front, discretely. Call in other clones to form new legions from Kamino. Assign them to new Masters-” Billaba continued. “We’ll report that its to expedite the wars conclusion. Places like Felucia, Mygeeto and others have been stubborn holdouts that have required more troops.”
“Won’t that tip our hand?” Obi=Wan asked.
Billaba nodded. “It might… but we are severely outnumbered. And if Palpatine controls the chipped clones. The level of damage he can do is… catastrophic. We need more men.”
I had a sudden realization.
And I think, by his next words, delivered in a breathless gasp, Master Cordova had it as well.
“You’re afraid.”
All eyes snapped towards the aging archeologist, who swallowed thickly before pressing on.
“I… all of these plans and steps… They’re necessary and good yes- but… none of us-” He gestured towards himself and the assembled crowd of non council members. “Are necessary for any of them. No.” He paused. “We’re… a contingency. Members who can take on council positions should… should you fail.”
I saw Vicky startle, eyes widening for a moment before… she seemed to deflate, sagging in her seat, as the weight of the words fell on her.
Seeing her, seeing them in that moment… I felt my heart break just a little.
Moreso when the Council remained silent… as damning a confirmation as any.
Finally, Yoda spoke.
“Fail a great deal. This Council has. I have, already.” He answered Cordova gravely, meeting the man’s eyes. “Impossible… his victory is not.” The little green master’s grip tightened on his walking stick, lips curling downward. “Fail again, we must not. Fail again, and Darkness, prevails.”
Silence descended on the Council room. Something so still and quiet it was almost suffocating.
Finally. Windu nodded.
“We have a lot of work to do.”
(X)(X)(X)
And so now we see where the Jedi Council sits on things :)
Next chapter we bring the... political sphere into the fold.
Now, I can't say how many chapters are left in this story. I know its very few, but it could be anywhere from 10-20. I know that AFTER next chapter I will take a bit of a break to properly 'plan things out' in so far as I ever plan things out, make sure I have my check list of loose ends and plot threads ready before I continue. It'll be my typical 1 month break, that way I don't burn myself out with the fairly massive chapters that are gonna be coming down the pipe now that we're at the final arc.So its a bit short notice, but that's the immediate next steps in the future. Hope you all enjoyed, hope to see you all in the 'impromptu season finale' next week :)