A New Jedi in an Old Republic

Jedi Temple

Master Paloh finished speaking with the droid responsible for cleaning the quarters of the missing Teepo Knights. It was both good news and bad. The good news was that the droid remembered encountering them recently, within the past year. The bad news was that they hadn't actually resided in their quarters in some time.

He left a message for the Teepo Knights and the Grey Paladins with the droid, and hoped that it would be enough for now. He needed to report back to Master Nejaa, and form there decide what to do.

His apprentice followed behind him, then spoke the question that he was asking without speaking. "Master, is it alright to leave it like this?"

Paloh sighed. "No, it is not. What we have here is a serious problem. A sect of Jedi cannot just vanish like they have without leaving some sign. That they have, and from the Grand Temple itself speaks of planning, forethought and deliberate action. We cannot just expect everything to fall into our laps simply because we asked nicely."

"Perhaps asking nicely is what is needed, Master?"

"What do you mean?"

"If we cannot find them, perhaps a public announcement on Coruscant may be of help? A request for the Grey Paladins and their fellows to return home?"

Paloh paused. "You think that would work?"

"No, Master. But it is something we could try. There are two of us, and Coruscant is a crowded world. We cannot assume we can find them ourselves. Having them come to us while we make our search open and public could benefit us."

"I see your reasoning, my Padawan." Paloh considered this. "However, we must also be mindful of the responses by the public to the actions of the Jedi. They are on poor ground at the moment."

"Would not a show of humility be productive then?"

"On any other day, I would agree with you, but the Jedi need to present a focus of gathering... strength...." Paloh realized how they could phrase the plea for aid. "We will need to speak to the Council about this before we commit to an action. But I have an idea."

Bespin

The two Jedi landed on one of the common platforms of the refinery-city. They had not used a Jedi ship, but rather paid for transport on one of the passenger liners that passed through the system to and from other populated places.

Master Rahjmart and Padawan Cylot disembarked last, letting the civilians go first as a matter of politeness. They were here for the Altisian Jedi, and on their journey had decided that being seen as in a rush would not help their cause. Taking their actions as measured and precise, they could project the idea that while they were certainly looking for help, they were not about to be pleading for it either.

Stepping off, they took in the orange sky of the gas giant, Cloud City certainly living up to its name as every view was picturesque.

"Masters Jedi?"

Cylot was quicker on her feet as she stepped around to face their speaker. It was another Jedi by their clothes and the Force in them.

"I am no Master," Cylot said. "I am a Padawan. This is my Master, Rahjmart." For his part, Rahjmart smiled and bowed in greeting."

"I am Knight Ferrus," the Jedi said. "Thank you for coming to Cloud City. We have been expecting you."

"You have?" Rahjmart said, keeping the curiosity in his voice to a minimum.

"Yes, Master. We expected a message from the Jedi Order, not messengers. We have been preparing our people and our ships for the conflict now that it has begun, and are ready to serve."

The two Corellians shared a glance. This was easy. Almost too much so.

Dweem

"We're lost."

"No, we're not. We still know where the ship is."

"That doesn't help the fact that we are lost."

Corsuscant

Office of the Chancellor

Palpatine rose to greet Master Mace Windu and Master Ki-Adi-Mundi as they entered his office. The two members of the High Council had agreed to this meeting, which Palpatine hoped would be a regular occurrence. "Masters!" He greeted them warmly, though his practiced eye watched to see if they reacted to any of the Sith artefacts in the room. They hadn't, as had happened every time before.

"Chancellor, thank you for this meeting." Windu said as they took the offered seats across from the Chancellor.

"I always have time for the Jedi!" Palpatine replied. "Now, I know that I asked for this meeting, and while I do have something I wish to talk about," there was no hiding that particular subject, "I was wondering what you wished to bring to me in this time."

Windu took the lead. "I believe we should talk about how the Jedi can help in the war," he stated gravely. "There is no sense in avoiding that subject."

"Very well," Palpatine put on a dour face. "I have heard many rumblings from the Senate about your actions. They are quite angry!"

"They are reacting emotionally," Ki-Adi-Mundi said. "Though we have heard certain Senators spoke in our favor."

"Yes, Senator Amidala for one," Palpatine naturally mentioned his fellow citizen of Naboo first. "She was quite persuasive."

"For that, we thank her." Windu replied. "But to answer the demands of the Senate a bit more directly, the High Council has been in discussions for some time. We have concluded that there are two, possibly three aspects to the War that we can help with immediately. That should placate our objectors in the Senate until we can bring ourselves to the level we must be."

Palpatine let an honest smile cross his face. "That is wonderful!" But for many reasons, including his more insidious plans. "What are they?"

"First is that the Jedi will improve our efforts to act as Diplomats for the Republic," Ki-Adi-Mundi said, pleased with the direction of the High Council, and the Chancellor's willingness to go along with it. "Many worlds are trying to stay out of the conflict, including Corellia."

"And Mandalore, and many others," Palpatine filled in.

"Correct. We Jedi can act as negotiators to secure their neutrality in this war, for even if they do not join us, as long as they are no allied with, or members of the Seperatists, they are not something we need to worry about."

"I know some Senators were thinking along the same lines," Palpatine mused aloud. It would be a good thing to promote in order to secure his position in the Republic, and at the same time isolate Jedi to have unfortunate accidents, or outright assassination by CIS forces. Neutral systems were not to his benefit at this time. "I will see about getting that to the right ears. A Diplomatic Tour, to... er... show the flag? Is that the right phrase? No matter. It is something that we can do! I will see to it!"

Windu nodded. "We have several Jedi who wish to participate in such a program, and have the skills for it. Once the Senate is ready, we can dispatch them."

"Of course! What else?" Palpatine took on the eagerness of one who was grateful for open help, rather than political maneuvering.

"There are many Jedi with some skill at navigation," Ki-Adi-Mundi moved on to the next subject. "You may not be aware, but the Jedi have an Exploration Corps, who serve the Republic through examining Hyperspace Routes and finding paths into new regions or faster and safer Hyperspace routes. The many lanes that cross the Republic, used by millions of ships each day were first scouted by Jedi. As Republican Naval assets deploy, Jedi can be at the helm, guiding them far better than any nav-comp or Astromech Droid could."

Palpatine saw a golden opportunity there, to get the Jedi into situations where they could be dealt with one way or the other after becoming complacent. But that would take time, and tweaking the details of a few of his plans. "That would require gaining commissions in the Grand Army," he said. "I thought you rejected that?"

"We rejected leadership," Windu pointed out for the Chancellor. "However, service is not something we object to."

And with that, Palpatine could easily manipulate things to his favor. "I see! Yes, that will go over well with some of our more military minds." And having a Jedi on the ship that Tarkin would be assigned to would keep the loyal man out of too much danger, though the risks of him developing an appreciation for the skills of the Jedi were something to watch out for. "And you mentioned the possibility of a third?"

It was something the two members of the High Council were uncomfortable with, and Palaptine didn't need the Force to sense it. "It has been... suggested," Windu said carefully, "that the Jedi act as commandos or special forces for the Republic. Acting alone or in small groups, they could strike at targets on Separatist worlds to disrupt their ability to wage war without major military action or threatening civilians in the process." The idea of going on the offensive like that irked the Grand Master, something which was plainly obvious to everyone.

"Hrm, I'm not sure..." Palpatine played to the opinions of the Jedi, and finding something he could be perceived as thinking over, rather than agreeing to would make all his actions look more realistic. "That is something I would have to consult with my advisers on."

Windu nodded in understanding. "Of course, Chancellor."

"I do have a question though," Palpatine moved on.

"We will do the best to answer, Chancellor." Ki-Adi-Mundi replied. "What is it?"

He had thought long and hard about how to broach this subject, and went with the simple question to help maintain his Palpatine persona. "It has come to my attention that the deliberations of the High Council were affected by a Jedi who is not a Jedi. These are strange words to me, and I am hoping you could clear them up."

Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi shared a glance. "Knight-Errant Kyle Katarn," Windu spoke formally. "He is from an order of Jedi not normally affiliated with the Grand Temple."

"Kyle Katarn..." With a name to work with, his agents could do much. And there was something else, the memory of a nightmare that he clamped down on instantly. Were the two related? "What did he say?"

"He pointed out the truth," Windu admitted. "He told us that the Jedi were unable to lead, gave examples and logical arguments that swayed the Council."

"You do not sound like you approve?" Division in the enemy was always useful.

"I... may not agree with many things about Katarn," Windu said stoically, "but his rhetoric was well designed, and quite persuasive. I would not let my personal opinion of the man color my acceptance of his points."

Palpatine thought that interesting, then remembered something. "Ah! I remember now! That was the name of the Jedi who talked to Senator Amidala recently. She informed me of his eloquence, and spoke highly of his diplomatic skills, which coming from her is not faint praise." He smiled inwardly and out. "Perhaps a meeting between him and I could be arranged?"

Office of Senator Mon Mothma

"Hello Ors," the Senator didn't bother to stand to greet Jan as she came in. "I presume this means everything is going well?"

For a woman who had just been tossed into the deep end of the intelligence spectrum, she was doing well, Jan mused. But then again, this was Mon Mothma they were talking about. One of the three founders of the Rebellion along Gram Iblis and Bail Organna.

"It is. We're setting up the details that will find our mole," Jan said instead of what she was thinking. "Garamost was a good choice."

"Thank you," Mon Mothma said. "The residents of that world were quite happy to have a factory established there once we made it clear that it was going to be nowhere near their civilian populations." That was one of the conditions she had set on the location of the EMP weapon facility, and it took surprisingly little to convince Isard and Ors of that.

She supposed that they had their own reasons for agreeing, but hers was the driving factor to prevent unnecessary casualties. "When will we be ready to progress?"

"We will distribute the trap by tomorrow evening," Jan stated, having worked hard on bringing the old sting operation to working condition. "From there, we'll need to wait for the Separatists to take the bait."

"And the Jedi?"

"Kyle has agreed to take care of that end of things. He's not going to ask any of the others to go into danger like that unless he's willing to go as well."

"It's an admirable sentiment," the Senator noted. "The Jedi have enough to handle right now as it is."

Jan nodded, hearing about the Jedi's actions from within and without. "I agree. Which is partly why Kyle is going through with this. To give a demonstration of what the Jedi can do to help."

"I suspect," Mon Mothma said with a sigh, "that what you two are planning will be something that normal Jedi would not consider."

"All the better to show it off then," Jan stated. "Get them out of their complacent zone where they know what they can do and seek no further." It was well established in the time her and Kyle came from that this was a major problem with the old Order, which is why Luke encouraged his students to actually go out and do things, rather than hand around Yavin and meditate all day.

"I will trust your discretion in that regard," Mon Mothma said as she shuffled some papers before her. "Is that all?"

For a moment, Jan considered asking the Senator in an oblique way about Senator Amidala's relationships, to see what she knew of the actions of the resident of Naboo before deciding against it. If she didn't she would likely pry, and that meant things would go wrong, very quickly. "No, Senator. Not right now."

Jedi Temple

Droid Maintenance Room

Paradus tinkered with the machines in front of him without actually paying attention to what he was doing. Keeping his hands moving was a way for him to keep calm while thinking about things. He had informed the Council of his decision to work on analyzing the droids used by the Separatists, and working with the Republic on that front, and they had accepted his explanations without concern.

Indeed, it seemed they appreciated his sentiment, as it enforced what they had already decided.

Returning to his own work, he pondered what to do. The destroyed and salvaged droids, the so-called B-1's, the B-2's and the Droidekas were all within his understanding and he soon had prepared a small report detailing the strengths and weaknessess of each. He had no doubt that there were Republican Engineers doing the same thing, but providing this showed that the Jedi were not resting on their reputation.

"Master Paradus," Anakin greeted the keeper of the Droids as he walked past. "How are you?"

"Well, Skywalker." He knew the Padawan well, as the boy had a talent for mechanical work. Had Obi-wan not taken him as his student, Paradus was tempted to do so himself. "What brings you down here? Your Astromech droid acting up again?"

"Not this time, Master Paradus." Anakin looked at the pile of new arrivals with distaste. "I see you've been working on those things."

"I'm done with them, if you want to help me break them down for parts." Paradus tapped a droid with one of his artificial limbs. "Except for these Mark-1's. They are little more than a a walking gun rack. I suppose the metal involved can be smelted and reused."

"They are quite effective in massive numbers," Anakin said, remembering Geonosis. "Quantity has a quality of its own."

"Oh, I don't doubt that one bit, Skywalker!" Paradus helped him to start moving the droid bodies onto a conveyor to take them to be reprocessed. "I heard you have had some experience with our Knight-Errant."

"Master Katarn? Yes. Why?" Anakin hefted the larger droids with the Force. "Did he ever apologize for shooting your training droids?" He took a guess as to the reason why Paradus wanted to talk about Kyle.

"No, he hasn't." Kazdan shook his head grumpily. "But I do not fault him. After thinking about it, I realized he was quite correct in his actions, and we are the fools for not seeing what he did."

"Master?" Anakin prodded the Aleena some more to get a proper response from him.

"He showed us war, young Padawan," he turned to look at Anakin's prosthetic hand and arm. "A lesson you have already learned."

Anakin rubbed it, self-conscious of the results of his failure. "I am not sure I know, Master. My would was in a duel with Dooku."

"Yes, and many of our brothers and sisters fell not to the blades of the Sith, but to blasters wielded by Droids!" He kicked the conveyor into motion. "I've started working on droids to better train us in defending ourselves from that sort of attack."

"I heard you mention something along those lines to Obi-Wan."

"I did," Paradus admitted, then came to an epiphany of sorts. "How about you? Would you like to help? Turn your technical skill to making everything better?"

Jedi Temple

Conference Room

The room was like many scattered across the Temple, set aside for places where groups could meet and discuss things in relative quiet and comfort.

Yoda sat at the head of the table, eyes closed in quiet contemplation. Beside him, Obi-wan was also thinking. Around the table, many Jedi who had some experience in dealing with large groups of people all held their own thoughts while waiting for Yoda to begin.

"You're treating this far more more seriously than it should be," Nejaa Halcyon said, not out of disrespect, but because it needed to be done. "On Corellia, we could walk among the people and not be seen as strangers, as something strange and foreign. We worked hand in hand with the police, the government and the people to make sure that not only were we recognizable, but could be trusted." That he had invited himself was not lost on anyone present.

"While that may work on Corellia," Obi-wan pointed out, "the Republic was far too large for that. Even our Sector Watchmen can not be everywhere at once."

"Isolated, the Order is." Yoda mused. "Not just from the people, but from the Republic we are."

"It's a bit too late to start with public works to raise awareness." Someone spoke up from the back of the room, but Nejaa didn't see who.

"I'm not saying you can fix that now," Nejaa defended himself, the outsider in the room. "Rather, even after Master Yoda's masterful display in the hall, your entire Order has no functional means of interacting with the general population."

"What do you mean?" Obi-wan asked, running his hand through his beard to help him focus a bit.

"Who is responsible for talking to the press? The Media?" Nejaa asked, looking around for an answer.

"Through the Senate, we speak." Yoda admitted, seeing again the folly of the Order. "No longer the case must that be." He raised his head to look around the room. "Speak to the people, we must. Hear them, we must. Within the order, who can we find to do this?"

There was a bout of silence. "I cannot," Obi-wan said sadly. "I am far too used to speaking to the Senate. I know from my travels as well how it is far too easy for the common sentient in the Galaxy to mistake our formality for insulting behavior. Our... traditional ways cannot serve us in good stead without the public getting used to it."

"Perhaps some of the younger Padawans or Knights, who are more... flexible in their ways would be a good thing?" This time, it was a Gran Jedi that spoke.

"Idea, yes. Good." Yoda said. "But no ways to know how they will act. Wisdom, still needed."

"Perhaps," a Duros spoke up, "we need to look outside the Order for help?"

This point caused a wave of discomfort to roll around the room. To suggest that the Jedi Order was incapable of acting without outside guidance was something that could never have happened in lesser circumstances. Yet here they were, pondering the impossible in search of unexplored territory.

"A suggestion, have you?" Yoda asked without recrimination.

"In a way, yes." The Duros said after a moment. "The Order is not adverse to hiring specialists when the need arises, and as such, how could this be any different? We know that this is something which others are well versed in. Could we not seek them out and place them on retainer for their services, much as any other?"

This was met with a smattering of discussion. Yoda let it advance for a while before restoring order. "Your proposal, I accept. Are there any others?"

There were none.

"Very well then. Seek these people out. Seek their aid. Improve, the Jedi must, and may the Force be with us all."