The Force Wills - Chapter 136

The Nubian J-Type Star skiff Veruna decelerated out of hyperspace.

Padme breathed out a sigh of relief that only the emptiness of interstellar space surrounded her after conducting as thorough a scan as possible.

Paranoia was an ever constant companion in her emotions these days. The current events of the war and the politics of the Senate had been especially nasty in the last few months. The shifting fronts had pulled back a number of worlds that had seceded in the beginning. Now the question on the table was what to do with their Senatorial seats - Umbara being the prime example.

One faction wanted to outright strip the seat and demote such reconquered worlds into mere representative status, giving the actual seat to another loyal world in the same sector. Another faction wanted the seat to remain as is and simply return Umbara to the Senate with a new, vetted senator - arguing that it would encourage a smooth return to status quo in the future for other worlds.

It was a debate between reconciliation and punishment, and it had been going on for weeks.

Then Palpatine delivered a report to the Senate from the Jedi Order on the state of Onderon.

The seceded world, essentially trapped behind ‘enemy lines’, had fallen into a localized war, with the locals resisting their Separatist aligned king.

It threw an entirely new dynamic into the debate and split the Senatorial factions even further - some now worried about the precedent the Jedi and GAR strategy would set. Obviously being concerned about the same thing being used against their own governments in secret or the mere example of Onderon would cause their own marginalized or minorities to follow suit.

When Ahsoka’s call came through the Bond, Padme didn’t hesitate jumping at the chance just to escape from the Senate and organize a two-week break. Letting Jar-Jar take over the seat, whilst she would coordinate him and see the rest of her duties through with holo presence.

Now here she was, two days of hyper later waiting at a rendezvous point a few hours outside of the Zel system along the Trellen route.

She gave a look to the ship chrono, double checked her own and performed another scan.

“Late Ahsoka?” she mumbled, idly sending a mental poke along the Bond.

Sure enough, her scanner suddenly blurted a warning and not twenty meters in front of the Veruna an angular, aggressive looking military shuttle decloaked. Its transponder handshake with her computer resolved and her heart calmed somewhat when it showed it as the GAR shuttle Skyfang.

She rolled her eyes at Ahsoka’s antics as the comlink lit up.

“Was that necessary?”

“The bad guys have cloaks too, Padme,” Ahsoka’s small holo rendered above the cockpit console, her finger tilting back and forth in a teasing gesture of remonstration, which had an undercurrent of seriousness. “Now ready your ventral docking port, I need to send the Skyfang back.”

A few minutes later, she was on the lowest deck of the Veruna and let the computer mostly handle the details of the rarely used airlock in the fore area of the star skiff.

The hatch at her feet opened and she was treated to the sight of pointy montrals that were more prominent than their last meeting, and a dark brown patterning on them instead of the usual purple.

Ahsoka’s usual shade of light orange skin was also more vibrant and given what she remembered about her species, meant she had spent more time in the sun lately. In this respect, Onderon had definitely agreed with her. Her facial pattern had also changed, with two large white circles surrounding her blue eyes and two diamonds on either cheek. It was yet another disguise and Padme reflected on how easy it was for togruta in general to change their appearance because everyone knew them by their usually complex facial patterning when describing them.  

“Padme.”

The smile was brilliant, warm and they shared a brief hug.

“Ahsoka, glad to see you safe.”

“Glad to be safe, let’s get the Skyfang going.”

She removed a large backpack from her shoulders, sealed the airlock again and with a few gestured manipulations of a holocontrol that appeared above her arm. The Veruna shuddered as the other ship removed the docking collar and would speed off into hyper moments later.

“There we go,” she shouldered the strap of the backpack. “So, ready for some training?”

Padme nodded, though she was still somewhat reluctant and still not entirely convinced of its necessity. Only her trust in Ahsoka was really what had made her agree to use precious leave time for this and the fact that Anakin was very busy on the Resolute with training other Jedi Knights. 

“Excellent, I’ll take the Navigator’s bunk.”

She was off down the small engineering deck and climbing the ladder.

Padme was left with the distinct impression that Ahsoka had just shut a metaphorical door. She shook her head to dispel the thought and headed back towards the cockpit.

She had barely sat down in the pilot’s chair, when Ahsoka poked her head in; her facial patterning a bizarre mess and a makeup stylus in her other hand, clearly going through a transition to another style.

“Oh, just go ahead and set us on a course straight ahead to Zel, might as well.”

She retreated a moment later, not saying a further word.

“All right,” she said with a hint of fond exasperation. Quick commands to the navicomputer and a few minutes to recompute the course for safety’s sake, the Veruna plunged itself into hyper.

When Ahsoka reappeared in cockpit almost an hour later and flung herself into the co-pilot’s chair with a huff, her montral and lekku pattern colour was back to her normal dark purple, whilst the cheek pattern had changed to an elaborately white Thesh symbol with a string of diamonds crowning over her forehead and white brows over her eyes. She was even wearing her single akul tooth headdress today, a rare sight.

“At last,” she sighed deeply and Padme watched as the Jedi just relaxed, even closing her eyes as if to nap. As if she had just cast off the weight of a planet from her shoulders. An observation that was quite accurate given recent events.

Padme didn’t even want to comment, lest she remind her close friend of the ordeals she had just lived through. She had read enough details in the classified report for the Loyalist Committee.

“So, training?”

Ahsoka poked open a single eye, which twinkled with mischief. “Yes, I can sense you’ve diligently kept up with the lessons I gave you. Now we move on to the next step. I’ve found the Matukai.”

Padme blinked with slight astonishment, “You did?”

“Indeed.” She said with a deep, mysterious tone, in contrast to her twinkling eyes.

“Where? Will they actually teach me?”

Ever since Ahsoka had raised the possibility, Padme had done more research of her own and she couldn’t lie to herself - it was very intriguing. The idea that with training, she could actually cultivate an overt Force sensitivity and bring herself to a level of perception that Anakin, Ahsoka or any Jedi had…

“The where? You’ll just have to wait and see. As for the latter question, that depends entirely on you Padme.”

“Me?”

“The Matukai are an ancient order that whilst not as old as the Jedi, are even more elusive and by nature, relatively small in number. I’d be surprised if there are two hundred in the entire galaxy. The fact that they can cultivate the Force in any living being is not something they advertise and even amongst those who do know, it’s understood that the process can be extremely arduous. Not life threatening, but painful and taxing. You’ve improved yourself physically according to my instruction, but know that Matukai fitness is an order of magnitude above what we Jedi consider as fit. The Master we meet, will give us a fair hearing, that much I can ensure, but it will be his call at the end of the day whether to train you in the limited time you have available.”

“Can anything actually be achieved in such a limited time, even if he does agree?”

“Enough that you can be put on the path at least.”

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Three hours later the Veruna emerged in the Zel system at the very busy waypoint and Ahsoka took primary control, inputting a course to intercept the orbit of Zeltron itself.

Padme gave her friend a flat look. “The Matukai are here? In the pleasure capital of the galaxy?”

Ahsoka chuckled and gave a big smile, “Amazing isn’t it? Well, a master and his three adepts are here.”

She gave her friend a look to gauge her sincerity, but it wasn’t easy. Ahsoka was… being Ahsoka. “Are you certain? This isn’t just an excuse to get me-” Padme stopped her uncharitable and definitely unworthy thought.

“No,” said Ahsoka with a mild smile, thankfully brushing aside Padme’s assumption. “If you were an order of Force practitioners that wanted to generally hide from the galaxy, an order everyone can’t help but model as just another flavor of Jedi. Where better to hide than in the one place that most Jedi would never be caught dead. It is also an environment that naturally forces them to gain better bodily control of themselves.”

“That… makes sense I suppose, but how did you find them or know they are here now?”

“CSO has been here on the Holonet for just under a year by now. The zeltrons love it, though we’ve had to place filters and limit the content to only spread to Zeltron and their direct colonies. The hedonism is not meant for the young or every eye out in the galaxy. Suffice it to say, that one of the search algorithms I put in place, spotted someone in a holo post with a very distinctive weapon that the Matukai wield, a wan-shen polearm. That gave the starting point, with more discrete research locally and Master Ha’s own investigation, we have a firm location and confirmation. You will not be wasting your time here, Padme.”

“Now we just have to avoid getting sucked into a constant planetwide party.” 

If there was one thing that the Zeltrons shouted from the rooftops, it was that they considered their entire civilization to be a giant, non-stop party. Anything and anyone that got in the way of it, impeded it or brought the mood down, was in general, not welcome. It made her wonder how the Matukai managed to remain on the planet.

The local hyperspace points during this time of year meant that it was another ninety minutes of real space travel to make Zeltros orbit. A time that Padme used to generally catch up with everything Ahsoka had been doing beyond the war. It quickly became rather depressing and apparent that there wasn’t much that either of them could say that didn’t involve it in some fashion.

About the only neutral subject they could talk on was Ahsoka’s Naboo property and how the farm she had begun there was nearing its first harvest season.

“Any success I have there, is solely due to Mr. Vahl.”

“But it’s you who gave him the second chance with the credit bailout of his original farm and recognized his talent for what it was, when no one else would.”

Ahsoka shrugged, “He had a bad season, it could happen to anyone.”

“What are you even growing there?”

“Let’s just say that I have hope a certain barley plant can grow on Naboo, which when processed may yield a specific beverage that I hope to make compatible with a togruta metabolism.”

“A beer?”

“Not just any beer, Padme,” Ahsoka said, her eyes distant into the void of space and brimming with a nostalgia that even she recognized at once.

When they finally entered orbit into a designated space given by a droid aerospace controller, it was to regard a very busy terrestrial garden planet. It had less ocean percentage relative to land than most such worlds, but the locals just considered that more space to easily party on. The weather control system was also one of the best in the galaxy, considering that no zeltron wanted to have their civilizational party impeded by something as mundane as a bad rain storm.

Rain only happened elsewhere, most assuredly where no one was living and was done only because a drought would be even more depressing.

Padme looked down onto the planet and felt… it was difficult to put into words and she wasn’t sure if it was just her own mind imagining things in anticipation for what she would see down there.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, visibly steeling herself. “Just remember the old adage when we get down there. When on a world, do as the locals do. Zeltrons want everyone to feel good and will do nothing that pushes you into the other direction. They’re empathic and one in every thousand will be mildly telepathic. You can keep your defenses up in general, but we have to leave the war and our emotions related to it, up here in orbit. Understand?”

Padme nodded, she had no desire to be kicked off the planet, nor did she want to be assailed with a dozen zeltron offers ‘to raise her mood.’

Their descent clearance came through and Ahsoka expertly pushed the Veruna into a smooth atmospheric entry.     

Padme had seen images of the planet’s capital, but it did nothing for its impact when she truly saw it with her own eyes.

It nearly robbed the breath straight out of her lungs.

Theed was a beautiful jewel on the Naboo plains.

The rather unimaginatively named Zeltros City, capital of the Zeltron, made her own capital look positively ordinary.

Zeltros City was an artwork.

An artwork done by a master that Padme felt like her eyes couldn’t look away from. The buildings, the roads, the tallest plants visible from high altitude and even the air lanes for speeders all came together in a constantly weaving tapestry of pleasure for the eyes.    

She had to tear her eyes away and look down into the cockpit controls, feeling that she had robbed herself of the experience.

A glance to her right showed that even Ahsoka was not immune, her eyes wide and pupils dilated, appreciation visible on her face, yet somehow keeping her concentration .

The spaceport continued the theme and when the Veruna finally landed in a bay, it was not to regard an ordinary boring circular structure that snugly fit around the ship, but instead a huge holographic dome that showed a pristine natural scene of grassland that Padme could swear had come straight from Naboo.

“Well, they really want to make you feel at home already, tailoring the holodome to you.”

“So you booked our stay? They know it’s me?”

“I did book, but used an alias that will stand up to considerable scrutiny. The Naboo scene is mostly a local computer system at work, reacting to the origins of the star skiff. Now, time to get changed into appropriate attire.”

Padme blinked as the realization of that little cultural wrinkle came to the forefront of her mind, “Ahsoka, I don’t exactly have anything to wear that would fit here. The best I have is a one piece swimsuit that would be considered overdressed and all my body suits have the same problem, not skin tight enough.”

“You could always go without,” she joked and Padme did not imagine the slightly hopeful tone in Ahsoka’s voice.

“No.”

“Awww, but relax, Padme. I came prepared.”

They emerged a few minutes later from the Veruna and Padme had to admit that she was quite relaxed, if slightly uncomfortable.

Her hair was hanging loose at her shoulders and she was wearing her preferred white at least, but this was not a body suit.

Ahsoka called it instead a skin suit, and it was so clingy yet so soft against the skin that if she closed her eyes, it felt like she wasn’t wearing anything at all. It had built in support for the places that needed it as well. The pair of matching rugged soled slippers was an afterthought.

Her companion’s outfit was a variation of a Hapan bikini she’d seen her wear. It was somehow, even more revealing - near invisible thin strings, the smallest patches of blue fabric covering the necessary areas. It looked practically painted on and as was custom for togruta, didn’t bother with any shoes.

The only concession to practicality was that they both wore a small pouch strapped to the left thigh that carried their comlinks and physical credit tokens.

“No lightsaber?” she asked as they walked towards the edge of the holodome and passed through it.

“Not necessary,” Ahsoka shook her head, paying the ever patient droid dockmaster their landing fee.

The spaceport corridor beyond was filled with holographic art and advertisement, meant to entice, intrigue and tempt, seemingly catering for every flavor of pleasure and entertainment that had been conceived by sentients.

It was filled with a cosmopolitan spread of most major species in the galaxy and Padme couldn’t help but observe that things were rather more crowded than what she had imagined. Protocol droids mostly did the heavy lifting of ushering and directing the flow of sentients, but there were a few zeltrons as well, either overseeing things or helping people to ‘find the party’. As with everything they did, it was with great enthusiasm.

“Careful now, we’re leaving the spaceport and passing into the pheromone miasma, focus on the moment, the flame of the candle that is you, let it remain still and serene,” Ahsoka said, putting a comforting hand of support on her shoulder as they walked through the huge front doors and into the brilliant mid-morning sunlight of Zeltros.

The combined natural pheromone emission of three million zeltron having the times of their lives constantly hit her in the nose like someone had slapped her.

I am me. I am the stillness in the eye of the storm. I am not this crude matter trying to rob my mind of its faculty.  

She repeated the mantra, over and over, only aware of the warm bright presence of Ahsoka standing by her side. 

Finally, her body's responses to the induced arousal faded and she felt safe opening her eyes.

“Excellent. Now let’s go rent a speeder.”

An explosion of sound and cheer sent her heart racing and Ahsoka grabbed her by the arm to drag her out of the way of what looked like an impromptu mass dance to rhythmic drum music that was emerging from the spaceport doors.

By the time they had arrived at the speeder rental, they had already managed to fend off getting pulled into the party on four different occasions by different people who were very excited. 

It was a relief when Ahsoka managed to finally pilot them into an air lane and leave the spaceport behind.

“Things should calm down a little bit from here, the port is where most of the spontaneous parties happen!”

“Yes, but now we’re going into the real party!” Padme declared over the rushing air of the open-top speeder.

To prove her point, their speeder passed a slower floating party platform. That housed hundreds of zeltron in various states; laughing, drinking with abandon, dancing, wearing highly decorative and colorful skinsuits, bikinis or nothing at all. 

Ahsoka gunned the acceleration and they left the flying party behind.

“Where specifically is this Matukai master?!”

“Patience, Padme! Just twenty minutes at this speed, near the coast.”

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The city was coastal and Ahsoka brought the speeder to land in a designated zone, within sight of a pristine white sand beach. The lulling sound of waves constantly crashing onto the shore and being pulled back filled the air, along with the pleasant tang of saltwater.

The majority of zeltron here mostly sunning themselves in peace, playing beach ball, drinking at a nearby bar - which was actually hovering a foot above the sand and could relocate itself anywhere - swimming in the ocean or hover surfing along the waves. The amount of red, magenta and pink skin on display was excessive and she couldn’t see a single zeltron who was out of shape. It was a distinct feast for the eyes and Padme had to tear her gaze away from a passing male zeltron who actually had…

“Eight pack, good grief,” Ahsoka mumbled, giving the zeltron an appreciative look before grabbing Padme by the arm and rushing them onto the soft beach sand.

This did not really improve things.

It took nearly six minutes of walking before they turned a bend of the coastline and didn’t see a packed beach filled with utterly attractive and beautiful zeltron.

Yet even here they passed those who found pleasure in just taking a relaxing walk.

Look Padme, don’t avert your eyes, she thought strongly. Feeling guilty, shame or associated emotions would quickly attract attention from the zeltron, who would seek to quickly remedy those negative emotions.

If not for Ahsoka’s training, she’d have been floundering.

So she let herself gaze appreciatively at male zeltron only wearing his skin as he passed them going in the other direction. He in turn did the same and went about his day.

Another two kilometers of walking and a pristine forest park was now rising on their right and Ahsoka guided the way up a very long set of stone stairs, built up a high embankment.

Here at last, they were finally afforded some relative solitude and not a single zeltron was in immediate sight.

The trees stretched over their heads at nearly twelve meters, with a canopy that let the sunlight through in a constantly shifting majestic scene. The air was alive with the smell of plantlife, dew and a hundred other scents that Padme wanted to bottle and make a perfume with. She felt like she could stay a lifetime here and it would not be enough to catalogue how she felt.

“Come, off the beaten path now,” Ahsoka smiled at her with a palpable radiance, seemingly also content with her beautiful surroundings.

They left the path straight into the dense trees, weaving and dodging through the moss covered boughs, occasionally having to climb over large roots.

“Nice morning for a walk, ladies.”

Padme was startled at the sudden voice that came from right behind her.

Ahsoka chuckled as they turned around, shaking her head.

Leaning against the tree they had just passed by, was a nearly two meter tall mirialan with deep green skin and intricate black geometric tattoos across his face and arms. He wore only lightweight loose leggings in soft green and brown, leaving a lean muscular torso visible that was clearly trained and sculpted to perfection. His recognizable wan-shen polearm was extended to its full length and planted in the ground next to him.

His purple eyes set in a youthful, moderately handsome face with a pointed, severe jawline, did not show the naivety of youth at all, as he critically examined them both.

Ahsoka bowed, but in a manner unlike the usual Jedi form, first slapping her hands together and only bending her neck. “Master Kohl.”

Kohl looked at her for a few moments longer before standing properly and returning the same greeting. “Padawan Tano. You are everything Master Ha said you’d be.”

“And you doubted her?”

“Not as such, but it’s nice to get confirmation,” said Kohl, his voice was a rather harsh deep thrum on the ear. “She had much to say and I’ve done some careful corroboration with the rest of our Order.”

“I hope they were discrete,” Ahsoka said pleasantly, but her eyes were sharp.

“Obviously,” Kohl drawled. “We’ve always kept ourselves to the Outer Rim, but just like you Jedi, we have our ways. Unlike you though, we never thought that the Sith were extinct after the Battle of Ruusan.”

“There is no defense I can generally give the Jedi Order in that respect, so I won’t.”

“Wise of you,” Kohl picked up his wan-shen and with deft, fluid movements from his hands, it collapsed and folded into a compact form no larger than half a meter, the blade protected by the main structure of the weapon. A thin rope extended from it, he bound and secured it around his torso. “Now we have no choice but to pick up the pieces and I have another matter I must bring to your attention eventually, but let’s not leave the very purpose of your visit waiting. Senator Amidala, a pleasure.” He clapped his hands and bowed in Matukai fashion.

She quickly rallied her thoughts, “Master Kohl, an honor to meet you.”

He nodded, “You are known to the Matukai for your tireless voice of peace and justice in the galaxy. The horrors that you steered your world through in the face of the impossible. You come to seek training from us to face the new embodiment of the old enemy. I know of you, have heard others speak of you and now have seen you.”

He stepped forward and Padme felt like she was utterly held hostage by his eyes, which seemed to act like a singularity, drawing her in and to look away would be impossible.

His purple eyes actually glowed…

She blinked and the moment was gone.

She was left with a burning sensation in her lungs and belatedly realized that she had utterly forgotten to even breathe.

“Very well, I will train you. Come.”

She was left totally off-balance as he walked past her. “Wait… that’s it?”

“Yes, did you expect some interrogation or mysterious wise man act, with our heads lost in the concerns of the infinite future?” He harumphed in annoyance, waving his hand dismissively. “We leave that to the Jedi. We are Matukai. We act in the moment, judging the present and remembering the past. We acknowledge the reality of our physical being and the impact it can have on the universe around us. We hone it like our wan-shen.”

He disappeared, she felt a light wind across her face, then felt a very callused hard hand on her shoulder.

“If I am to be your master, for what little time we have, you will obey. Now come.”

Padme turned on her heel, not even giving a single thought to Ahsoka, her safety… or anything really and followed.

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Anakin stared at the distant star of the Chagri system.

It was barely a pin prick of light from the extreme edge of the system’s Oort cloud but was rendered much clearer by holo systems of Briefing One. 

He raised his hand and with a few gestures and swipes, the entire view zoomed in to show current orbitals of every planet, moon, asteroid and anything with significant mass in the system.

It was a vast mess, which he reduced with a few more commands and filters, showing anything that massed at least as much as a frigate.

“Why are we out here, Skywalker?”

He shot a brief look at Skoll, who had entered the room, whilst his hand continued refining the search parameters.

“Waiting,” he answered his fellow Jedi.

“Waiting? Champala is wide open to attack whilst we sit with our formation out here,” Skoll’s blue eyes flashed in anger, but his voice didn’t raise at all.

“We hunt very elusive prey, Skoll. This Separatist fleet has remained hidden for months, ever since our lines had been breached through Shili, striking in the rear when we least expect it, at randomized targets all over the Northern Hydian way and its branches.”

“And now you think they’ll be targeting Champala, yes, but-”

Anakin interrupted him with a raised hand, “If it is what I think, my fellow knight, then the last thing we want to do is show our ships ready to intercept them. They will then know that we have ‘cracked the code’ of their movements and will avoid attacking the world entirely. Why do you think I ordered the 42nd Fleet into full com blackout and even isolated our fleet intelligence divisions?”

Skoll frowned, his strong, chiseled face twisting and he scratched his squared jawline in contemplation. “You think the Separatists have compromised our own fleet’s movements. They’ve restored some measure of their intelligence apparatus on Coruscant perhaps?”

“Highly likely,” Anakin acknowledged, feeling the familiar old inward bitterness that the actual leak was straight from Palpatine. Who wanted this CIS shadow fleet within the belly of the Republic to continue fomenting the war and accomplish a dozen other objectives as well.

‘Cracking the code’ was a very apt analogy. As where others only saw chaotic randomized attacks all over the Republic north, he knew that there was no such thing as a true randomizer from a machine’s perspective. It was all based on math and algorithms that someone, somewhere had sat down and programmed into the tactical droids supporting this shadow fleet, along with a target list given by Dooku and Palpatine.

He had worked for days with R2 and the Resolute’s main computer, analyzing all known targets that had been hit. Brute forced his own targeting algorithm to unravel and eventually mimic the one the enemy was using. Add in his own touch of prescience and he was now more than sure that Champala would be the next target.

Now why would Palpatine attack the homeworld of one of his closest supporters?

It only made sense when you knew that Mas Amedda, Vice Chancellor of the Republic, was also the only non-Force sensitive who generally knew that Palpatine was actually Darth Sidious.

Clearly Amedda had done something to earn the ire of Sidious and whether this was punishment or served some other purpose, Anakin had no idea and only Ahsoka might have some clue or theory.

A quick check on the chrono confirmed it was almost time.

He keyed the comlink, “Scout Desh, are you ready?”

“We’re ready and standing by for target acquisition, General.”

Cloaked scouts were positioned at key observation points throughout the system, whilst the 42nd Fleet orbited in hyper, keeping themselves nice and hidden without worrying about sensor emissions or enemy scans to give the entire game away. One scout in particular was waiting in orbit of Champala with a simple yet special mission.

Skoll began, “This feels-”

Anakin raised a hand to interrupt, “Personal feelings have no place in military decisions, Knight Skoll. Do you object to my strategy?”

“We are allowing a world to be attacked when we can clearly stop it.”

“Yes.”

“People, innocent people, Republic citizens are going to die.”

“Yes.”

Skoll almost glared at Anakin, “Our duty, our oath-”

“-is to protect the Republic and that is precisely what we are going to do.”

A visible alert flashed in Briefing One, as an emergence signature registered beyond the mass shadow of Champala. Three Munificent star frigates decelerated into real space in a delta formation and began burning hard for an orbit that would bring it over Tidros - the planetary capital.

Anakin switched Briefing One’s perspective to a scout in high polar orbit and zoomed in to watch the enemy closely.

The CIS frigates made a three and half minute burn, in which he sensed Skoll’s agitation over their inaction increasing with every second.

Hyena bombers and Vultures were launched, a dozen squadrons, along with only a single droid carrier.

The local Chagrian militia’s response also finally emerged, a single squadron of frankly outdated fighters that weren’t even climbing into space to confront the attackers. The capital city also had static anti-air defenses, which in contrast to their fighters, were modern and recently installed in response to the war.

The battle was joined in the skies over the capital city - the heavier and longer reaching concussion missiles of the Chagrians streaking upward first.

The warfare shifted into the EM spectrum as jamming and chaff emerged from the CIS squadrons.

Missiles were thrown off course, lost locks and Anakin was rather surprised at the success rate the enemy was achieving in their own defense.

In the first volley, the computer tabulated only 37 kills, despite the Chagrian militia throwing hundreds of missiles at the enemy.

Anakin switched channels, “Scout Grek, are you getting good data?”

“Confirmed General, computers are logging every clanker EM emission across the board.”

The CIS response came next as every Vulture and Hyena dropped two missiles from an extra external hardpoint.

“Well, they were bound to follow our example eventually,” Anakin grumbled.

The three hundred missiles made short work of the militia fighters, with only a single fighter surviving the onslaught due to desperate evasive maneuvers.

The static defenses filled the sky over the city with bright green streams of blaster fire, cutting down the incoming missiles, desperately trying to protect the missile emplacements.

Sixty made it through, sending huge plumes of debris and fire into the sky, as the static missile emplacements detonated from secondary explosions. 

Hyena droids were now close enough to begin bombing runs and began dropping ordnance onto the city.

The AA emplacements swept the sky and killed many Hyenas, but the damage was done and inevitable.

When all was said and done, five squadrons of droids made it out of the city’s airspace and began climbing for space and to return to the Munificents.

They left a city reeling in the wake of the bombings and burning.

Anakin felt his fists clench as the computer displayed damage assessment and estimates in cold hard numbers.

Eighteen percent of the city was in ruins, most of the static missile defenses were also gone. The majority of the AA flak survived because they were spread evenly over the city, but as a consequence, they were unable to create dense anti-air denial zones.

Try to defend everything and you defend nothing.

A gesture and the view shifted to the three Munificents just sitting in orbit and awaiting the return of all their fighters.

A task they completed a mere six minutes later.

The droid carrier in the meantime had landed, disgorging numerous companies of battle droids that began marching through the city streets. It was only here the Chagrian militia had parity, deploying organized, well trained if inexperienced troops to fight the enemy with GAR weapons and equipment.

Back in orbit, the Munificents flipped and began burning for the edge of the planet’s mass shadow, leaving the droids on the ground to fight to the last.

A few minutes later, they stretched and vanished into hyperspace.

“Scout Desh, status?”

“Mission accomplished, General. We snuck beyond their shield perimeter just as they lowered it to retrieve fighters. No indication we were detected.”

“Good work. Return to hyper as soon as you are able. All scouts return except for Orenth and Shen, who will commence long term observation.”

“Roger, General.”

“We should’ve done something,” Skoll closed his eyes, striving to find balance amidst the turmoil in his spirit.

“We did, we successfully placed a stealth beacon on one of the shadow fleet. We will now be able to eventually track them down and end this once and for all. Saving the lives of all the future targets that fleet would’ve been given.”

“At the cost of many thousands here.”

“Yes, because this is war and here you must learn to be a General first and a Jedi second.”

“And… you can just make such a decision? So easily?”

“It only seems easy to you, because you’ve never sat in my chair, Skoll. I have to consider the lives of hundreds of worlds along the northern Hydian, who have even less defenses than what Champala had. Our fleet is the only line of defense that they have and if I squander this singular chance that we’ve worked so hard for, then they are lost as well.”

Skoll stepped forward and used the holo controls to shift the view back to the burning city and just stared at it, as if fixing the image permanently into memory.

“How does one reconcile this with the Code?”

“Knowledge, Skoll. To save the few before us now, consigns the many to the danger and death we are bound to protect them from. I know this and therefore act upon it. To save the few in short-sightedness, is to be willfully ignorant of the larger picture. No doubt the traditionalists will have a different interpretation and I’ll be brought before the Council, where they will try to expel me for this.”

Skoll sighed, “I’ve only truly interacted with the Council twice in my entire life. Are they that…” His face twisted, unable to find the words.

Anakin snorted a humorless laugh, “If you take up the mantle of General, be prepared to be called in on a regular basis. Thankfully, the true traditionalists are in a relative minority in the Council. The realities of the war will only whittle their numbers down further as they begin to see the truth or become one with the Force due to their own battlefield idiocy.”

“I’ve read so many war reports, seen the news, the speeches that the politicians and the chancellor make, but it never prepares you for facing the harsh reality of it all.”

“No, it doesn’t. Decisions like this will be yours to make one day. You hold the fate of worlds in your hands and must decide where your own limited strength is best deployed to save the most lives or to fulfill an objective. By our composition of forces, we are always outnumbered by the enemy and only through innovation, grit and the willingness to retreat have we remained competitive.”

Anakin carefully guarded his feelings of bitterness about the final and primary reason why the GAR hadn’t truly been defeated already.

Skoll nodded, taking his words to heart even though it was clearly difficult to reconcile with his instincts, feelings and the dogmatic Jedi teachings.

“General, we’ve received the first encrypted data burst from the beacon. We have an initial search vector.”

“Thank you, Admiral. Alter the fleet’s course to match and send scouts ahead of us.”

“At once, General,” Yularen confirmed.

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Seeing the master of an entirely different Force tradition at work was fascinating.

Of course, Padme didn’t feel that way.

She was being subjected to a training regimen that had elements of the Jedi calisthenics class that was given to most species at the human equivalent of 13 years old, when the body was physically and developmentally ready for it, and wholly different novel elements. This was not really a surprise to me, as in the ancient past, the Matukai and Jedi had openly collaborated to combat the old Sith Empire.   

I suspected that the new forms Master Kohl was teaching had evolved out of the thousands of years of instruction passing from master to apprentice and constant refinement.

The other clear difference was the sheer grueling nature of the Matukai approach.

Their focus was on using the body as the primary element in channeling the Force, the body therefore had to be constantly strengthened to allow for that. In that respect, the wan-shen was actually a weapon that a Matukai practitioner would use less and less, until it became a mere decorative symbol. If any enemy thought removing the weapon would neutralize a Matukai or even make them slightly less dangerous, they were sorely mistaken.

On day one, he had her constantly do a single form with constant focus and concentration - a flowing series of strikes, kicks, steps and seemingly nonsensical movements. The only thing she would be eating for the next two weeks would be water and a handful of high calorie fruits every day.

Naturally, I was right there next to her, also doing the training as well.

“Might as well, since you’ll sense it all anyway,” Kohl had grumbled.

There was no cabin or any bed, we slept on the loamy earth beside a particularly large tree and only for three hours.

Before the sun had even risen on the second day, Master Kohl woke us and we simply continued.

Padme was already approaching her shatterpoint by the second hour of the new form.

As much as her stubbornness, spirit and supreme will wanted to continue, as much as she had trained her mind and body with my remote instruction, her day job and upbringing didn’t allow her to go further.

Her legs gave out from under her as she gasped for air harshly. Her entire body was just a stiff mass that didn’t want to cooperate anymore.

Far from being disappointed or angry, Master Kohl seized on the moment.

He knelt right next to her prone form and spoke with soft urgency,  “Focus apprentice, look inward, further, inward, more… no, ignore the pain, it’s transitory, what you will discover now will last a lifetime, yes… there we go. Right there…”

I watched with even more fascination - Kohl was using the Force and then in an application that was both entirely new and definitely had a ‘structural’ pattern to it - he literally coaxed Padme’s spirit…

The Force gave the tiniest of ripples in front of me and then an eager joy suffused me.    

“Well done, apprentice,” Kohl smiled with a proud satisfaction at Padme, who was still a twitchy bundle of curled limbs on the ground. “You set a new record. That’s the quickest awakening I’ve ever heard of, though more than likely it’s also your prior training from Padawan Tano that helped.”

He scooted closer on his knees then began poking her body at the joints and certain key muscle groups, focusing the Force through his fingers.

Moments later, Padme was left lying on her back, now a completely relaxed puddle with limbs and just staring with wonder at the forest canopy above her, totally lost in her first true experience of the Force in her own right.

Master Kohl insistently guided me away, “Let’s give her some space and time. Her grasp on the Force is very fragile, as I’m sure you remember from your own time in the beginning.”

I could only nod.

This entire ordeal would just be the first step. Now the next hurdle was to summon the Force without being pushed to such extremes, calling it up at will. How the Matukai handled that and how Padme would manage it was another open question.

Kohl stopped us out of Padme’s hearing, “Padawan, I just wish to know. Master Ha indicated-”

“Yes, the Sith Lord will hunt down the Matukai, once his plan comes to fruition. The Jedi are his main targets, but all other Force traditions will be exterminated as well, if he has his way.”

Kohl’s eyes widened as I so accurately anticipated his entire question, then he openly scowled. “May the winds scour his black soul to ash.” He took a deep breath, the Force pulling inward and bending around him as if he was a living singularity, regaining his equilibrium. “How long do we have?”

“To be on the safe side, I suggest you and the Matukai begin a withdrawal into the deep Outer Rim no less than eight to ten months from now, and go off-grid completely. Then use the hiding technique within the Force she showed you. The actual crisis event is constantly fluctuating because of my actions, so I can’t give you more clarity. When you see the Republic nearing victory or hear of Dooku being killed - that is when you know.”

He nodded in understanding. “The war has already caused our Order to begin a general migration away from the major conflict zones. Your foresight will just speed things up and has at least warned us of the true danger we face. An actual Sith Lord…  The worst we imagined them returning, would be as fallen Jedi who had found an ancient holocron.”

“The sheer cunning of Darth Bane and his successors at work including the passage of time. Do remember that the enemy has foresight-”

“Yes Padawan, do remember who you’re talking to,” the master chided me gently. “Much like you have the Jedi Archives, we also have a method of recordkeeping. One which I suspect has secrets that have been lost from your archives. Who knows at this point what the enemy has managed to secretly delete or at least remove from the Jedi Temple over the last thousand years.”

“I would like to think that only Dooku’s access allowed that to happen recently, but…”

I looked down into the earth, letting my toes play idly with a few leaves.

Kohl placed a hand on my shoulder, “One day, when all this is over. I would very much like for the Matukai to return to a period of open collaboration with the Jedi.”

“As would I, the only question would be, in what form will you find us in.”

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A/N: The Matukai at last. I wish I had more 'screentime' for some story elements. Perhaps an interlude written alongside the main story track...hmmm. Writing Zeltron was also fun, in that their whole shtick reminds me of a pre-Slaneesh Eldar without the horrific badness. It's not just about the horizontal mambo, but everything that brings a good mood and is enjoyable to people.

Hope you enjoyed and have a great weekend. Stay awesome!