Chapter 26 — Fallen Order — No Confidence
Yoda
He had been angry…but hadn’t let himself
feel angry.
Betrayed…but hadn’t let himself
feel betrayed.
And now after Myrkr humiliated…there was no other word for what happened there and the retreat back to Coruscant afterwards…but had not let himself feel the shame and regret of that humiliation.
He was too busy being Grand Master, thinking himself above such petty emotions younger Jedi struggled with. The fear he had admitted to himself but not the anger.
He stood in a disused storage area deep in the central plant areas of the Temple, away from prying eyes.
The Anger — “WHY” He yelled,
“For what gain these Jedi kill did you?”
The question wasn’t just directed at the Aetherians…but at Kimar for his assassinations, of the Mak’Tor as well – and most importantly at himself for being a bystander and then leading others to their deaths.
“What use their sacrifice, no victories won, no ideals defended!”
His left foot clawed at the dust….
“Dust they are now, dust all this has achieved…”
The Betrayal – “This your thanks for training, supporting, guiding you…This how you repay those who accept and fought for your place here?”
It was hardly as simple as that…still….
“Even if a Jedi you did not wish to be…our beliefs disagree…why hide…why remain?”
He couldn’t comprehend it…no answer would ever suffice,
“And you Kimar…your own vows your own Order turn against to save it…what greater treason…destroy that which you seek to save…kill the body to cure imagined disease…”
And himself – “Repeat their mistakes would you, betray your own ideals, refuse offer for truce, use the Order as an army!” shaking his head “Repeating not only, adding to indeed, destroying hope, hiding behind words of justice…”
The humiliation – “Grand Master, pah, Master Pah, Great Jedi, pah…none of these things Am I…a foolish child…”
He giggled…actually giggled to spite of himself
“Jedi, a race of true warriors seeking to defeat…pah…of the highest order this foolishness was…”
He took out his sabre and threw it across the room in comic parody of how Valens had disarmed him
“A great warrior to destroy Aetherian one must be…so great a warrior who loses his weapon?”
He finally flopped onto the floor
“Failed as a warrior to be so defeated – Yet failed more deeply as a Jedi I have to
seek to be a warrior. Shamed am I…my own actions shame…”
Staring up at the ceiling he reflected
“Knew I should have…knew I should have…thought I did not…From your failure…”
He shook his head as though he were berating an apprentice
“…much to learn have you…much to learn,”
<<<<>>>>
Tnbu
Once more the council met in a temporary room beneath the shadow of defeat.
Three new Masters had been appointed to replace Kimar, Yoren and Gurrlum, apart from that the only difference was instead of Yshrrk, still recovering from his wounds, the Second Sentinel Oma stood behind a chair placed for her, a pillar of armoured iron against the wilting robes of uncertainty.
“Call this meeting to commence I do,” the Acting-Grand Master began as Usura began typing minutes.
“First order of business…” he swept the room with his eyes
“Resigning from my position as acting-Grand Master am I.” Normally such a thing should be met with gasps of shock.
Not a sound was heard.
“Appointed by default not merit was I, my actions on Myrkr proven beyond all doubt inability to fulfil the duties and responsibilities required.”
Tnbu listened intently for any ripple in the air – all his Sullustan hearing picked up was the static flicker of Nagasa’s holo-projection before he spoke.
“Very well…in that case we need to appoint another until the conclave can be arranged…” the master on Dantooine again separated by space seemed to be in better control of his emotions.
“Would anyone like to nominate?”
As everyone stayed as still as they would during an Oaken Still meditation. Valens still on the loose, the defeat at Myrkr and now the Ubese openly attacking the Order – who would want Yoda had only made the poison within the chalice more potent by his failure on Myrkr.
After such promise the disappointment that followed the realization Yoda was as flawed as anyone else kept them all reticent – save one.
<<<<>>>>
Oma
Deep breathing through her diaphragm she resolved to do what no one else would.
“We need leadership now more than ever,” her voice boomed as she took control of the situation straightening her already rigid posture.
“These terrorists must be stopped, Master Yoda was correct to pursue them, even if his strategy was ill suited,” she paused deciding not to press any potential division
“Swift decisive action is needed to deal with our emboldened enemies in the Ubese and their Aetharaian allies – if no one is going to nominate, then as acting High Sentinel I will take on the role until Yshrrk recovers or the conclave meets.”
<<<<>>>>
Tnbu
Finally someone else realised the danger they were in.
“Correct Sentinel, we can no longer remain passive, the danger to the Republic is too great.” He straightened his posture
“I support Sentinel Oma taking on the position until Yshrrk recovers – war is upon us, the Sentinels are best placed to lead,”
<<<<>>>>
Soryu
He watched on as the Order voted itself into endless war.
“I second that,” Yoruuba agreed, “The Sentinels must take charge,”
Oma, a woman for whom the Order was the nascent military arm of the Republic, less Jedi than soldier would only charge them in one direction..
Torfun nodded, “Agreed…”
Usura uncomfortably butted in “So that is three votes for Sentinel Yshrrk…”
“Correct Knight Usura…” Nagasa noted “This is not an easy choice, however given the repeated attacks and the increasing spread…I concur.”
Soryu knew that would not have been an easy choice for Nagasa, still it disappointed Soryu he took it.
“My vote if for Oma as well,” one of the new masters Osoris added “if we do not seize the initiative and show we are still a force to be reckoned with things will only get worse.”
“Agreed…” the more contemplative Master Genoris voiced in slippery tones of an Aleenan
“Yoda’s efforts failed, but his intent was correct, weakness encourages predation, that the Ubese felt bold enough to attack us directly shows just how far our mystique has fallen – if it is not restored soon Jedi on a thousand worlds will be harassed by the desperate and malcontent. “
“That is a majority…” Usura noted.
Yoda simply sat silently as the Order passed from his hands into Oma’s. His position had been untenable, Soryu knew that, yet…
All this politics should
not be part of the Jedi in the first place.
“This is not the way…” Soryu finally spoke up
“What is not the way?” Master Kedbas queried his four arms folded sternly across his chest.
“This…is simply repeating the mistakes made a fortnight ago…and a week before that – we chose to respond to violence with violence – feared appearing weak.”
He looked around to each Council member in turn
“Where in the code are we called upon to appear strong? And how does martial prowess equate to strength? This is the path of retaliatory violence, not the path of the Jedi – compassion and forgiveness these are the strengths we should be cultivat…”
“This is not some meditation retreat!” Oma snapped as the room turned upon him once more – their approval didn’t matter only speaking Truth.
“This is the real merciless galaxy, the Ubese, Black Sun, Valens and his monsters won’t be stopped or see the light because we start handing out blossom wine and fey dancing!”
“And so we let them dictate our actions? Follow their path of violence rather than setting our own, seeking every possible alternative first – that is true weakness,”
Oma could only shake her head
“If you wish to become a pacifist hermit go to Dantooine build a farm and stop wasting our time,” her fist balled in rage so consumed in the fires of war was her soul she could not see any alternatives.
“People are dying, it is our Duty, our Oath to stop it, we cannot negotiate with terrorists, we cannot reason with psychopaths – if the Jedi appear weak the criminality that is already out of control will double overnight – these scum only respect power, and we are dangerously close to losing it,”
She gazed down any possible challenge her presence looming as large as her height over them all as she remained standing.
“The Order is on the precipice of falling, and the Republic with it, one more loss like Myrkr…one more scandal like Kimar…I may not be the leader you want, but I’m the leader the Order needs,”
Only a Sith deals in absolutes Soryu didn’t say as the silence once more overtook the room.
As Usura tallied the votes and made the pronouncements Soryu felt none calling upon the living force for guidance, and only one other master listening to his words.
<<<<>>>>
Oma
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Kimar had the right concept but the wrong execution.
For 15 years Oma had been a Sentinel, seeing firsthand what 400 years of demilitarization had done to the Republic.
Hutt Cartels and the Black Sun nibbled at the underbelly, a cancer spreading day by day. System by System law enforcement was incapable of dealing with cross jurisdiction crimes, large corporations developed private armies to secure their interests, in response the Engineers Guild, and Industrial Workers Union also supported para-military wings.
Every Senator was in the pocket of some corporation or cartel, often multiple. System defence fleets were weak, fragile and unco-ordinated - incapable of dealing with piracy and smuggling as Kuati Drive Yards and Seinar Systems happily sold ships to individuals with the same or better specification than they did to planetary governments.
The Republic needed an army and navy. But Oma had no confidence that the Chancellor sitting across from her had the guts to do it.
“I have no confidence left in the ability of the Council to get results,” the Duro bitched
Oma had read Kimars file on him before meeting – ironically compiled by Valens himself upon the Chancellors election to give Kimar the upper hand in negotiations - Chancellor Ovrith, the man was in debt to at least three different factions in the Senate, family members owned numerous shares in various shipping companies that stood to benefit from a free trade agreement he was overseeing the negotiations for…and he liked to dress as a Hapan Queen and be whipped with a leather paddle by Rodian teenagers in his private time.
“Not after your paltry effort on Myrkr...you’re what 78 to 0 now Acting Grand Sentinel or whatever you call yourself while the Temple burns around you?”
“I assure you I won’t make the same mistakes as my predecessors, just give me the power I need and you’ll get your results, we already have the Ubese traced, once we find them the rest of the Night of Madness conspirators won’t be far,”
His hand hovered over his stylus…his signature would expand the remit of the Jedi Order to allow active pursuit of identified threats without reference to the Chancellor or Cabinet, but more importantly allow her to take on official auxiliaries to support Jedi operations.
Ovriths finger lifted and pointed at her,
“I want results, I want front pages and picts of the scum you pick up, and I want your media releases to refer to me as being the catalyst each and every success…and if you fail I want nothing to do with it,”
Oma could feel him counting the seconds until the next election in that statement – he wanted to be tough on crime but if the Jedi failed he would not be held responsible.
“Full deniability, this is a Jedi operation, if it fails I fall on my sword like Yoda, if it succeeds it was your pen slicing the red tape holding us back that did it,”
Seemingly satisfied his hand made quick precise lines over the flimsi, an attendant rapidly moved into take the sheet and proffer the second and third copies, before toddling off to file them.
She repressed a grin, this was the first step. The Jedi were too few to become an army directly - but they could be the core of one.
Kimar had understood this but made the mistake of linking militarization to strict obedience to the Code and Republic. Soldiers needed latitude to deal with the stresses of war, not dogmatism. That was the mistake Oma would learn from, she would set the wheels in motion to begin the transition from Jedi, to Order to Army.
“Thank You Chancellor,” she bowed formally despite herself….Once they had an army they could do something about these petty politicians.
She had never imagined becoming Grand Master but with Tnbu and the others support she could manage it if she made a strong successful start with Yshrrk out of action and Yoda discredited…this wasn’t ambition, or some ego driven power trip – this was the burden of duty to the heart of their oaths that had lain forgotten for too long.
As she stood Oma knew she was the only one strong enough to carry it.
<<<<>>>>
Meeda Ordo
Her hand grasped the other woman’s firmly –Meeda might not like dealing with the witches and wizards of the Jedi, but after the last disaster she had little choice – at any rate their credits were good and they paid on time.
With the deposit she’d be able to get the
Mythosaur up and running in no time.
“We’ll get started straight away, should only take three days to assemble the clans and get them to wherever you need them to be,” she assured her new employer Sentinel Oma.
“Fine, have them congregate anywhere along the Metellos Trade Route, targets are Ubese mercenaries operating around the Expansion region up to Yaga Minor mostly, we have intelligence they are currently working with for the Black Sun….”
Ubese…Black Sun Meeda was glad her helmet obscured her frown, that could be trouble…but at least this time she was on the side of the sorcerers.
Tnbu
“Their financial situation is precarious – like most such mercenary bands, their recent losses during an operation in the deep core were substantial - a reliable flow of credits will keep them loyal,” He completed his briefing on the Clan Ordo Mercenaries
“Good…and the Ubese,” Oma queried standing stone still before the holo-projector
“Toush-Uba Clan of the Northern Rad-wastes of Uba IV, led by this man…Goush…mid-range mercenary his relative Juosh operated in Hutt Space and the corporate sector on Bounties…” he paused readjusting the translator on his throat that turned his sing-song voice from sullastese to basic
“It is possible the Ubese were not in fact working with Valens – they may have been following his tail for the bounty and called in support…”
Oma stared with a countenance dark as the depths of Sullusts tunnels
“That would only make their attack on us the more galling…they looked on us with contempt not fear….”
Fear the word took him aback for a moment…but as he considered he began to agree…such violent beings could only be dissuaded from random acts of cruelty by force or fear…
“....ah further,” he recovered “our agents sighted their destroyer –
Blood Remembers at an Orbital facility in the Expansion region known to be used by the Black Sun for repairs…which is not overtly surprising…. from there the trail cools somewhat…”
Her voice had a growl to it like the rumble of magma in the mines beneath Inyusu Tor.
“We need that ship found, the longer this Ubese escapes justice the more of his xenophobic brethren will hear his inflated tails about escaping a Jedi fleet…”
The intensity of her gaze fell on him as though the entirety of the Order future hung on his next words
“Our agents are doing all they can…but…there may be a more direct option to obtaining what we need…”
<<<<>>>>
Yoda
He watched on as the first squads prepared for deployment. Two Sentinels and eight knights in each.
He saw the logic, the Order had taken so many hits recently they needed to be seen to be strong.
Yet was martial prowess as indicator of strength really the example they should be setting? The words of Soryu continued to conflict him.
He had no confidence in his ability to resolve the balance between the Orders reality and Jedi ideal.
Perhaps Oma was right - this was the time for a more forceful approach, the revolution the Order needed in the wake of Kimar and Valens desolation – and his own failure.
Perhaps Soryu was right, the time had come to move away from the use of force and the escalation of violence it brought – yet it was surely naïve to imagine someone like Valens would be moved with pity to follow their example.
This was the conflict, the tension that itched at the heart of the Jedi Order never quite scratched – from the warrior Lord of the New Sith wars, to the ascetics of Osssus - to find a balance between the competing ideals…
Was a task for a wiser being than he…
For now Yoda needed to reflect on his own actions, understand and address his own emotions.
Soryu had tried to tell him, warned him repeatedly, he had not wanted to listen. He wished he could find him, his wisdom was sorely needed – for both himself and the Order – but after the last Council meeting he seemed to have all but vanished.
“Squad 4 move to docking station dorn!” the voice shook him out of his complacency he was assigned to one of the squads, a concession so he did not feel sidelined.
Yoda was of two minds, at once he desired solitude to truly seek out the failures within himself as a Jedi should. On the other he knew the Order needed him even if not as a leader, but as a presence to show they were not divided and not defeated.
And he had to admit there was a certain freedom in the simplicity of following orders rather than making decisions. Shifting off the crate he wandered over to the assembling party so much like soldiers lined up for inspection.
As he waited for the ramp to descend to his utter amazement he saw Soryu hurried along to stand beside them, fully equipped to enter the fray.
“Soryu?”
His old friend glanced down at him
“I serve the living force Yoda…seeking to preserve ALL life…”
The ramp descended to reveal three armoured Mandolorian Mercenaries with what Yoda vaguely recognised as clan Ordo insignia.
“I must go where it is most at risk,”
<<<<>>>>
