After dropping Ranma off, Dooku had directed Michael to fly the ship deeper into the gorge towards the Consular-class cruiser that had landed there. After all, the Yinchorri hadn't just been coming down the gorge. Hundreds of them had attacked from the mountains as well.
Once there, Dooku dropped from the side of the Kaiseki while it rained down covering fire. That covering fire wasn't very accurate, none of the crewmen were trained gunners, but there was a lot of it.
Dooku smiled slightly as he descended, remembering a conversation he and Ranma had shared about why Ranma really preferred the Aerial style. He does have a point, feeling the wind like this is indeed amazing. As he fell Dooku continued to smile for a moment while he allowed his perceptions to expand through the Force, allowing his joy at the experience to color his emotions.
He frowned however seeing a Jedi below him, a green-scaled Anx whose name he did not know be cut off and surrounded while Master Tsui Choi tried desperately to get to his side. Reaching through the force Dooku grabbed the youth hurling him up towards his ship and away, using the youth's own weight as a counterbalance to hasten Dooku's descent.
As the youth ascended he let go of his lightsaber, which Dooku Force-grabbed and used in midair to block some of the bolts trying to track him from below. A second later Dooku landed his own lightsaber activating as he raced forward.
Giving himself to the Force entirely, the Jedi Master Dooku smiled grimly, his lightsaber flashing faster than the Yinchorri could track. With every strike it left a blazing trail, cutting here there and everywhere. He noted which Yinchorri had cortosis armor, avoiding those shields with ease, cutting them into pieces with an artistry and speed that would have astonished anyone but another Jedi. Indeed, it was well beyond even what Dooku could have done before training with Ranma these past few weeks.
Steeling himself for a moment Dooku let his lightsaber fall waving his hand,. In a massive swirl of Force power, hundreds of Yinchorri were hurled away from him and the other embattled Masters. Above him Kaiseki began to hammer the now disorganized Yinchorri with concentrated laser fire. This broke the Yinchorri's assault and they retreated for now retreating into the mountain crevasses or away down the gorge towards the main battle.
"Master Dooku," said Master Adi Gallia nodding her head wearily at him, gasping in exhaustion. "Your timing is impeccable but I must ask…"
"The Gran Protectorate is nearby, and I was one of the first to hear the news of the Yinchorri's militaristic expansion. I assumed that the Council would send someone Adi Gallia, and I decided to poke my nose in."
"Master Dooku," Master Choi came up, bowing his head formally. "I thank you for the life of my padawan. If not for you, he would be dead."
"No thanks are necessary, we are all Jedi here, and to defend others is our duty." Dooku said, waving his hand towards their ship. "I suggest you all get aboard, I can feel Master Windu and the others coming along. And none of you are in any condition to continue this battle."
Adi Gallia made to protest, but even as she did so her body sagged wearily. The battle had been going on for about 45 minutes of constant combat, and before that they had fought throughout the evening on their own missions, and none of them had gotten much rest since this expedition began. Even with her Force assisted endurance the constant combat was beginning to take a toll. "Thank you master, I think that's an excellent idea."
OOOOOOO
Elsewhere in the battle, Tiin and Ranma had finished destroying the last tanks, falling back quickly to the others while Ranma continued to toss or smash aside the Yinchorri between them as if they weighed nothing. But then Ranma grimaced as he took a few shots from behind. Turning quickly Ranma brought out his ki shield that he had made up on the spot during his first battle with Dooku, blocking the crew served weapon that had just opened up on him as the demon-looking Jedi master began to block some of the blaster bolts with his lightsaber.
Ranma did the same with his hands, smacking them aside and frowning as he noted that his shield had dropped slightly after the first few scattered bolts. Note to self, blasters come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them can be dangerous, can wear down my shield and probably get through my endurance training. Interesting, and I really don't want to know what most ship-based weapons would do. Ouch... And, come ta think of it, any sort of continual beam weapon would be bad too. If a lightsaber can wear down my ki shield as quickly as Dooku's can, that kind of weapon would do the same.
The youth's show of strength was incredible to the Tiin, who prided himself on his own physical strength. "Tell me," he said somewhat jokingly, "do you have a rancor in your ancestry somewhere?"
"Don't know what that is." Ranma said cheerfully, slamming his foot hard into one Yinchorri, pulping the Yinchorri's shoulder and hurling him back into several others as he grabbed a sword-spear thing that was aimed at his head. "'Scuse me!"
Flipping himself upwards, Ranma kicked out, catching that Yinchorri in the head and using that kick to throw himself in an entirely different direction landing among other Yinchorri who were trying to set up something that looked like a crew served blaster of some kind to attack the flank of the Jedi who were falling backwards through the gorge.
A few kicks and punches late the three Yinchorri that had tried to set it up were broken and unconscious. Ranma hefted the SAW himself, putting it to his shoulder and blasting away on what he thought of as full auto at the Yinchorri still trying to attack the Jedi Masters.
The Yinchorri, now without any tanks and having taking too many casualties to sustain the assault, finally began to pull back.
"They'll be back." Said Mace as Tiin and Ranma moved to join them. "I've never seen a species before that was so set on violence!"
Ranma scoffed, spitting to one side. "Have you looked in a mirror lately? Humans can be just as violent sometimes."
Windu frowned but nodded since that was occasionally true. "Who are you young man?"
"Ranma, I'm a friend of Dooku's but for now can we get going? This is fun and all, but I don't think it much fun for you lot."
"Violence should never be fun young man." Said Qui-Gon, while his padawan Obi-Wan stiffened at the disrespectful tone the younger man was using to the masters. "Even in the pursuit of justice."
Ranma shrugged. "If you don't like a good fight, why are you here?" He asked bluntly. "You're all Guardians at least right, that's the Class that deals with combat missions and such?"
Actually they weren't, though Windu should have insisted that only Guardians be sent on this mission, possibly with one or two Sentinels along to bring their particular skills to bear. But they weren't, indeed most of them aside from the padawans were Consulars save for Tiin and Giiett, a Guardian and Sentinel respectively. This of course was a problem throughout the order, since the numbers of Guardians and Sentinels had been dropping for decades. Still, Mace was chagrined to realize that he should've realized even at a Master's level specialties like that, the difference mattered.
High above them there was loud whistling sound, and Ranma stared upwards frowning before bringing his hands up and thrusting them forward. A bright cerulean sphere of pure force power shot from his hands up into the air. Seconds later it intercepted a mortar round that was coming down towards them, causing it to explode prematurely.
The Jedi had all looked up as well at the noise, and while none of them had reacted as fast as Ranma, many of them raised their hands, thrusting away the shrapnel from the explosion with the Force. "Mace is right." Said Plo Koon. "We have outstayed our welcome my friends, and the Yinchorri seem the type to demand repayment for their hospitality.."
"Was that a joke, that sounded like a joke, but it was actually somewhat funny!" Said another one of the Jedi, who Ranma was interested to note used two lightsabers. "Will wonders never cease!"
"Joke on the run please." Ranma said, but he smiled at as he said it.
Windu moved next to the youngster, looking at him thoughtfully, studying him intently with both his eyes and Force sense. "When this is over young man, I think we are going to have a long talk."
Ranma shrugged. "Dooku said something like that too, but we'll do it in person not over Hypercom."
So this is indeed the secret that master Yoda felt Dooku was keeping. It's interesting, as much as he has seemed to enjoy this battle, I haven't felt a single flicker of anger or fury or hate from him. If anything it's the exact opposite, he radiates the Light side of the Living Force so strongly it's like he's a beacon! His emotions are so powerful, it's worrying yet at the same time, it doesn't seem to affect him. Very odd. Even while he thought this however, Mace was already racing back down the gorge with his fellow Jedi.
Back at the downed ship Michael and his crew were still laying down some covering fire into the size of the gorge where many of the Yinchorri had gone to ground, trying to sleep at the Jedi and the ship. Its shields were flickering badly by this point, but its guns were still firing down into the slopes around the gorge, killing several Yinchorri while the Jedi retreated into the ship.
Dooku was the only one remaining outside by this point, with master Gallia guarding the entrance to the ship. He nodded cordially to the Masters and Ranma as they came up. "Master Windu" he said addressing the only one among them who he felt was truly his equal in rank and skill. "I suggest you get a move on."
With that he raised his hand, lifting a giant boulder from the ground. He held it as a shield in midair to block several blaster rounds from one side of the gorge before hurling it in that direction causing some of the snipers to scatter.
"Jedi never run," said Master Giiett, "Unless we really, really have to."
Ranma laughed, reaching down to grab up a few of the blasters and exchanging fire with the snipers smashing several of them back with pinpoint shots to shoulders, arms or weapons. "A sense of humor from a Jedi, didn't think that was possible given your oaths about emotions."
"We try not to advertise it young man, and unfortunately it is alas a rare trait among us. Master Dooku," said the long-haired man, bowing from the waist with both of his hands together, a faint but warm smile on his face as he turned to face the regal looking Jedi Master. "It has been some time."
"It has indeed, I am happy to see you well Qui-Gon." Dooku smiled, nodding at the man then looking over at the youngster who stood beside him, his padawan braid prominent alongside one side of his face. "And who is this?"
"This is my padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, master. I believe he will be ready for the trials in another few years." Qui-Gon favored his padawan with a smile, while Obi-Wan bowed his head deeply to one of the most famed duelists in the Jedi Order, flushing slightly at his master's praise.
"Excellent, though you brought a padawan on a mission like this?" Dooku asked cocking one wintry eyebrow, causing Qui-Gon to twitch in response. Dooku had always looked like that right before imparting some painfully obvious lesson.
Dooku however turned to address Mace. "Three padawans I note. Now, this is not a mark against you three or your teachers but I would have thought after recent events, most particularly the Mandalore Debacle and the mission which cost my own most recent padawan her life, that taking padawans into missions which held the certainty of high levels of violence would have been… contra-indicated. Or are we so cavalier with our own lives we do not flinch in sending those young and less prepared than we into battle?"
His voice was mild, but his eyes were flashing dangerously, something more than one of the masters there noticed. Still many winced at the reminder of what happened to Dooku's padawan a bare two months ago.
"Haste was of the essence, so I took only those among the Jedi who volunteered which I thought could handle the mission." Mace said shaking his head, taking it upon himself as leader of this expedition to answer his fellow Blade-masters not-quite accusation. "In hindsight, that was an error, though my choice for pilots at least was well-founded. Still, it is one I will make certain does not occur in the future."
"That's nice and all," Ranma said. "But could we get on the ship now? Not want to compound that error, yeah?"
"You are impertinent, young man." said Obi-wan, shaking his head admonishingly. "You should not speak to Jedi Masters so."
"I speak as I find." Ranma said smirking at the young man, who he thought was somewhere in his twenties or so, though he spoke either like an old man or a lawyer, Ranma wasn't certain which. "Respect is earned, not given freely."
"Ouch." Giiett shook his head. "Remind me never to let this young man near any of the Senate. That would be very, very bad."
"Definitely." Ranma said with a laugh, before he grunted as a blaster bolt got through into his shoulder making him wince a little but that was all, causing many of the master's eyes to widen in surprise. "Think politicians a waste of space back home, here it's even worse."
A few moments later the last of the Jedi were aboard their ship, and the ship lifted off, putting its own shields between its savior and the attackers down below.
"Captain Michael, follow us up out of the atmosphere, try to keep us between you and the ground, your shields seem to be failing badly." said Master Tiin, while Plo Koon slid into the co-pilot's chair.
"Aye-aye master." Said Michael over the comm. "Everyone aboard?"
"Everyone is aboard," said Lilit via the intercom. Even now she had a small, wondering smile on her face from her rescue from certain death. "Thanks to your arrival and that of Master Dooku, everyone is aboard."
OOOOOOO
At the same time the two Consular-class frigates were making for space, on Coruscant Sidious was snarling, his lips a rictus of rage. His ability to read the future was perhaps the area where his ability in analyzing the Force was better than his teacher's. He had known, known that Jedi would die on this mission. He had felt it, seen it in the eddies of the Force, but now that was gone, and with it the ripples Dooku was causing were spreading.
No… not Dooku. In that brief moment, when the future changed abruptly to include the lives of the Jedi who should have died, there had been a brief moment. A very brief moment before the ripples had begun again where Sidious had been able to use his senses almost without anything obscuring his sight. In that moment he had seen that it wasn't Dooku who was the center of the, the maelstrom of chaos that was spreading from around his actions.
Instead it was someone else, a young human man, who literally blazed in the Living Force do his senses. It is him, him the one who causes such change, such disorder. I need to know more, much more about him, about who he is, where he came from, everything! He has already affected the Grand Plan tremendously, luring Dooku away from where he could have become my apprentice, and thus my public face. While I will be able to turn his actions to my advantage, Dooku's loss still hurts badly. If this young man cannot be turned to our advantage in such a way as to make up for that, he must be disposed of quickly!
OOOOOOO
Back in the seating area, Ranma was staring around at all the alien Jedi masters, trying and failing to place them in his limited knowledge of the species to be found in this dimension. Their prisoner's a Devaronian like a few of the spacers I saw on Malastare, and that one is a Zabrak, like that chick at the bar with the boyfriend who hit on me. But other than that... damn this really forces ya to realize how many species there are in this universe! Cannot… wait… to… explore it! So many styles, so much time!
On the other hand, why the heck is it so damp in here? I gotta wonder how that's gonna impact the computers and other stuff? I guess I should be glad whatever it is didn't impact this ship's ability ta fly.
Yet even among the humans there were differences. There was the odd headdress the darker-skinned woman wore, which made her look rather silly in his opinion. Then there was the younger human male who seemed to have a problem with Ranma judging by his glances in Ranma's direction. The other two humans, the black man and the older looking man with long hair, reminded Ranma of the first time Dooku and he met, calm and serene, radiating a certain tried strength, though in his opinion not as much as Dooku did.
Yet that was not the most important thing he noticed looking at them all. The blonde-haired woman Ranma had saved initially was actually shorter than his female form! Holy shit, I thought it was just because she was standing next to the big guy, but she really is that short! I won't be the shortest girl in the room anymore, awesome!
As he looked around Ranma was almost ignored in turn as Master Choi explained that he had come upon their prisoner trying to send out a message. That message had subsequently been traced to a small hidden planetoid deeper into the star system well out of the life bearing zone of the system.
"We think he was on Yitheeth to provide some technical assistance to the Yinchorri, but there might be something more going on. He has not talked yet, but he will. He is a mercenary, and such will always sell their employers out to save their skins given the alternatives."
Mace nodded, and was about to turn his attention back to the youth with the strange Force powers when Koon spoke up from where he was manning the sensors up in the cockpit. "My friends, I think you should all come and see this."
From where he Dooku smiled faintly, knowing they had just left the atmosphere. A second later the central hologram in the sitting area lit up, showing a tactical screen of the system.
When the Jedi had jumped into the system, there had been around forty-four enemy signals showing capital ships and fighter platforms, with seven defensive installations scattered around the three planets, two, two, three respectively. Now those installations were gone. And the remaining mobile units of the Yinchorri were in full retreat towards the area of space where Choi had already estimated the signal was going towards. They also only numbered fifteen red blips of various sizes.
Pursuing them were two fleets of green icons. Many of those blips were harrying the Yinchorri back towards their previously hitting command center. Others were above the planet's, slowly pulling away from them to join their fellows. Above Yinchorr, the four ships apparently assigned to that planet were even now moving out of their orbit towards the Jedi's cruisers.
"Those ships are reading as Battle Tide and Proud Explorer of the Dac Defense Fleet, and Quickstrike and Pointed Argument of the Sluis Sector Defense Fleet. In fact all of the friendly ships are reading as Sluisi or Mon Calamari ships." Plo Koon reported from where he was seated next to Obi-Wan.
"What exactly is going on here Master Dooku?" asked master Tiin looking at the other man. "This is not the Republic fleet; these are portions of the defense fleets of those two sectors."
"I was reminded recently that we Jedi alone cannot shoulder the burden of defending the peace of the Republic. The various species that make it up need to do the same, and I was able to convince the Governor of Dac and the Khedive of the Congregate to aid us here." Dooku replied, smiling faintly.
Adi Gallia frowned. "What did you promise them?" She was a Consular, and was very aware of the factions in the Senate, so she understood these two races were not normally allied. They were alike in many ways, but their systems were not in direct trade or competition so their interests rarely dovetailed, save on a very few issues.
"My personal backing along with the Chancellor's in the Senate to give their trade fleets the same rights that the Trade Federation recently won a few months ago: the ability to arm their merchant ships against pirate attacks. Before anyone objects I'll note that neither of them has evidenced any desire to build up the massive droid army that the Federation has since begun building, nor are they known for, or indeed have any need to be, expansionistic. They simply wish to defend their own ships as they go about their business."
"Interesting…" said Windu, now looking at Ranma, who was talking quietly to K'kruhk. Unlike Gallia, who now looked aghast, he didn't particularly care about the politics of the matter. The Padawan was bowing his head slightly to the shorter human, possibly thanking him for saving his master's life. "But not what I was asking about, at least not the entirety."
Ranma turned, nodding his head at the larger alien, glad he'd agreed to answer Ranma's questions about his species later. He stared at the bald black man who strangely enough reminded him of some American actor. Can't remember his name but definitely some kind of likeness there. Parallel evolution or something? "You talking about me?"
"I am indeed young man." said Mace, nodding his head, while nearby Obi-wan frowned again at Ranma's tone. "You said your name is Ranma, but I have heard nothing about where you came from, or where you learned that strange technique you used, or how you somehow took the Force Warrior training well beyond what should be physically possible. I've never heard the like that before, and your combat skills and physical strength are astonishing."
"Ranma's tale is one that I would wish to tell to master Yoda and the Council in person and only once, when we are certain it cannot be overheard." Dooku said firmly. "For now, he is an ally of ours, correct Ranma?"
"You Jedi are a force for good, your Code is in one I can respect. Too narrow minded, stupid and arrogant for me, but at least you try to do good." Ranma nodded.
"What's stupid about the oaths?" said Adi Gallia, trying hard not to be offended by the almost dismissive tone Ranma used, while Mater Koth and Obi-wan did the same. The Oath of the Jedi was one of the main pillars of the Order. To have it so easily dismissed was like dismissing the entire Order.
"Any more discussion on this will not be occurring in the presence of a prisoner, no matter the fact his ears are covered." Said Master Giiett firmly. He was a Sentinel, one of the Jedi who were trained far more than the norm in espionage tactics and making do without the Force, and knew precisely why Dooku wanted to keep Ranma's abilities secret. "Indeed, let us leave this discussion for now and concentrate on the main issue. Or do you really think that we should simply be standing around here and letting others do our work for us?"
"Not your work, though that's a nice sentiment, its everyone's work." Ranma replied with a smile. "Told it to Dooku, tell it to you. For evil to win, good people must do nothing. Those ships out there, they doing something."
"A remarkably simplistic yet imminently suitable way to look at the universe." Said Plo Koon, nodding his head towards Ranma. "For my part young man, I will thank you and Master Dooku both for your intervention on our behalf. You saved many lives today, at least three of our own and I noticed you also saved many of the Yinchorri as well."
There were some raised eyebrows at that as Ranma looked a little sheepish pulling at his pigtail. Plo Koon looked around, his body language showing his amusement to those who knew him. "None of you noticed? Young Ranma might've been throwing the Yinchorri around like they were small children, but I think he only killed about one out of every five he struck. With our insistence on using lightsabers we would've been forced to kill far more."
The reactions to that bit of news were mixed but Ranma tried to wave it off. "If you injure someone, you tie up him and at least two others to take care of him."
"Possibly if the Yinchorri were a normal military that would be true." Giiett stared at him thoughtfully then over at Dooku who was simply smiling benignly as he moved over to a refresher station to pick up a bottle of tea. "But not the Yinchorri. They care nothing for losses so long as they win. Why did you not kill them? It was in your power to do so."
"That's a trick question." Ranma said narrowing his eyes at the short, somewhat overweight-seeming man.
"I am sorry I have been remiss." Dooku said smiling blandly. "Ranma, be known to Mace Windu, Swordmaster of the Jedi Order. These are Masters Choi, Master Giiett and Adi Gallia of the council, and Master Koon who is not part of the council. Master Tiin is up in the cockpit, the rather short…haired… woman is Lilit Twoseas whose padawan you have already met. Master Choi, his padawan whose name I am sorry I don't know, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his young Padawan Obi-Wan round out this gathering."
Ranma nodded at them all, smirking a little as Lillit huffed at the allusion to her size but Mace continued to stare at him commandingly. "I would like an answer to Master Giiett's question please."
Ranma rolled his eyes, not intimidated by the older man. "Killing is never a good thing, never something to be embraced without reservation. If you can get by without killing, should do that instead. I am a martial artist. My Code is that the strong, that martial artists, should defend the weak. If we face an enemy, if that enemy is prepared take lives, he is prepared to lose his own. But even that should not be embraced if there is an alternative. In a fight like that, taking them out of the action was just as easy as killing them. It cost me nothing, but let me retain my honor."
"Are you sure you're not a Jedi?" said master Giiett, smiling over at K'kruhk and the other padawans, who were looking very thoughtful now, thoughtful and guilty along with Lilit and Gallia, neither of whom had been on combat missions for some time. It was all too easy to forget that taking life should never be easy, even to Jedi. "That was a remarkably Jedi-like moment there."
Ranma smiled at him, but shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not a eunuch, and I want to own things. At least my own ship eventually, maybe some other stuff."
More than one of his listeners frowned or chuckled at what he said. Obi Wan and Mace in particular looked affronted by the 'eunuch' comment, while Qui-Gon looked strangely wistful, and Gallia and Lilit looked nonplussed. Koon and Choi smiled however, knowing the allure of owning your own ship was a powerful one. K'kruhk and his fellow non-human padawan both looked confused, not understanding the reference.
Ranma went on, his voice becoming grimmer. "And I refuse to be tied into serving a corrupt government."
Koth, Gallia and Choi all looked like they were going to take umbrage for that, but Tiin came in from the cockpit just then. "My fellow masters, there is a call coming in over the Hypercom from the Temple. I've routed it back to the hologram desk here."
Ranma moved out of the way of the pickup, and Mace and Dooku looked at one another before nodding. Yes, the strange Force powers the youth showed was something they needed to keep secret for now. His ethics seemed to be in line with that of the Jedi, at least so far. But he was also too anti-authoritarian for Mace's taste and maybe even the rest of the Council would be unwilling to look the other way around him.
His embracing his emotions and the desire to form attachments were also worrisome, as well as his general attitude toward the Jedi. But Mace was willing to withhold judgment for now, until this current crisis ended. Or until I discern what the youth represents a shatterpoint for.
A second after Plo Koon entered, the council room back on Coruscant popped into view. Yoda and the other master relayed what had occurred, causing many of the masters to close their eyes in sorrow at the loss of life, and for Ranma, unseen by the pickup to start to punch the wall of the sitting room so hard he left a dent. After that master Yaddle came on, informing them of the discovery of a fourth planet, a small one that was so near the sun it was almost invisible to most scanners unless you knew it was there to look for in the first place. Inside of which would be the perfect place to put a hidden command center
A moment later the call cut off, and more than one master was rubbing their foreheads irritably. "If we had waited before heading in, we could've found where it was simply by going through the records?" Giiett said, shaking his head. "This should teach us all, my fellow masters, to look before jumping into something. We could be mourning deaths among our brethren now rather than feeling simply foolish if not for Master Dooku and young Ranma's aid."
"Hindsight is 20-20." Ranma said, rallying them once more and nodding his head at the hologram, which had reverted to showing the system again. "We have two fleets ready to finish this, what are you going to do now?"
Dooku looked over at Mace and nodded his head. "This was your mission before I poked my nose in, would you like to address to the admirals?"
OOOOOOO
While Mace talked to the two admirals and the prisoner was taken to the maintenance room, Ranma quickly became bored. He sighed, stood up from the circular sofa, moving to an area right behind it before going into a kata. He closed his eyes, smiling slightly as he moved into a Saotome-Ryu special kata which was built for speed and body control. He ducked, weaved, punched kicked, each move going faster until he was a blur even to a Jedi's enhanced senses.
Yet there was an amazing level of control in the kata, almost a beauty in it to those watching. Slowly the conversation among the masters sitting around faded as they turned to look at Ranma. But with his eyes closed Ranma didn't even notice.
Dooku smirked a little, looking up from a game of holochess he had begun with his former apprentice to watch as the padawans and other masters stopped speaking to one another about the adventures they'd run into in this system to stare at Ranma.
Adi frowned faintly, looking over at Master Koon. "Are my senses deceiving me, or is he slipping into some kind of meditation trance?"
"The answer is of a sort yes, Master Gallia." Dooku supplied, leaning back. "I suppose you could say so, but he is not, as we would do, sending out his senses into the Force. Rather Ranma concentrates inward, and brings out his inner energy, what we call the Living Force."
"He's… he's sending out little flashes of the Living Force into the Unifying Force. I've never heard the like." Qui-Gon murmured, now looking at Ranma with far more interest. Could he be the Chosen One?
Qui-Gon was one of many Jedi who had felt the Unifying Force of the universe slowly turning away from the Light for several years now, and he felt that this tendency would be turned around only by finding the Chosen one, a Jedi who would be able to restore balance to the Force. Although, Qui-Gon thought Ranma was rather old for such and certainly was no Jedi. But he's so alive with the Living Force, how was he not found when he was younger?
"Young Ranma is a man of many mysteries, many of which he and I have not even discussed yet." Dooku replied.
"He's a rather opinionated young man, I know that much." Gallia said, trying to keep her voice even, and failing. Ranma's denigration of the Jedi Order's code and his disrespectful way of addressing the Jedi rankled despite his aid in the battle and her own self-control.
"Perhaps, but does that mean he is wrong?" Dooku smiled, watching as the other masters turned to him in shock. "I am simply saying that perhaps it is time we Jedi rethink things. The universe is changing, and we must change in some fashion to meet it."
"Master Dooku, that sounds almost disloyal! The Order has survived for thousands of years because of the Oath!" Master Choi said, shaking his lizard-like head.
"And those Oaths, the aloof nature they demand of us, mean we are out of touch with the rest of the universe. We are seen as outsiders, as meddlers, regardless of what we do. If we were more open, more connected to the common man perhaps we would have more support from them rather than scorn and distrust." Dooku countered, noticing that Plo Koon and Giiett were not taking part of the debate but watching Ranma. Perhaps this wasn't the moment to start his assault on the status quo, but Gallia had given him an opening.
"We do not need to be part of the universal community or populace to do our duty." Replied Master Koth, shaking his head. "Indeed, our duty to the Republic is best served by not having attachments."
"Is it? Because as far as I can tell we have an attachment to the Senate." Dooku replied calmly, his voice a scalpel taken to Koth's response. "It is the Senate and the Council who decide where we go. And far too often we Jedi have simply decided in favor of the Senate without looking at all the facts or worse. I can remember several dozen times off the top of my head just from this past year and a half where Jedi Knights and Masters were sent to aid diplomatic talks only to back the Senate in what turned out to be an unjust or unlawful decision."
"And before you say that we could perform our duties better if we spent more time on practicing law, let me remind you that all Jedi already have to master at least a rudimentary understanding of the Republic laws, regardless of their specific School. Because we are doing the Senate's dirty work for it, we are becoming seen as their hatchet men."
"We are the stewards of the Republic, we are not outside its laws and can best aid in keeping order by making certain others keep its laws, however distasteful that action may be at times to others. Our Oaths have allowed us to keep the peace for a thousand years, have allowed us to survive and to keep the dark side in check not only within the Order but within the universe." Gallia replied firmly. "Attachment to the universe can lead to love, greed or jealousy and a lust for power, which inevitably leads to the Dark Side."
"You make it sound so simple, so automatic." Dooku said wonderingly. "As if the moment we become attached to someone we are destined to become angry or frightened if that something or someone is injured in some fashion, and if by the barest blip of anger we are doomed to fall to the Dark Side. And yet we are attached to one another, are we not? The Order has never stopped Jedi from making friends within the order, and those are not seen as dangerous."
"There is a difference between friendship and love. Love is far less controllable than friendship. There are limits to how far someone will go for friendship, not so with love." said Koth. He frowned, glancing over at the other two masters who were not taking part of the discussion.
Instead both of them were watching Ranma still, their faces thoughtful. Why are they not taking part? They are part of the Council as master Gallia and I are. Shouldn't they be working with us against this assault on the Jedi code?
In actuality, the two masters were not taking part because they chose not to. Both of them had their own questions about the Jedi and their Oaths, though they came at it from different directions.
Master Koon felt that the Jedi should be more independent of the Senate, and should concentrate more on doing good deeds for those who needed their aid, like in the Outer Rim. He also was concerned about the fact that the Order sequestered and forbid knowledge, and had done so too quickly at times in the past, with those decisions not rescinded later on.
Giiett came at it from the other direction. He had served with those Jedi Knights and Masters whose task it was to bring in new youngling's to the Temple at times, and had seen the faces of the parents as their children were taken away. Sometimes they were proud, happy to have a Jedi in the family, or simply happy that someone else understood how to address their children's strange powers.
But other times, other times it did not go as smoothly. It sometimes took all of a Jedi Master's diplomacy to talk parents into letting their child go without violence. Worse, there were rumors that violence had been occasionally used, and that did nothing for the Order's reputation. Surely therefore, if parents and children wanted to remain in contact, those attachments were positive ones, and should be encouraged?
He was also a student of human psychology, and knew that for humans and similar species the Oath forced a mindset on them that came too close to being untenable, and frankly damaging for his state of mind. It was why he went out of his way to foster a sense of humor, to show his emotions at times and insist others do the same including his own former padawans.
Across from Dooku Obi-Wan leaned close to whisper into his master's ear. "Master, why are you not taking part of this debate?"
"Why are you not my young padawan?"
"I am a padawan." said Obi-Wan, bowing his head slightly. "It would be disrespectful of me to join a debate in which masters are taking part."
"You need to get over that humility of yours." Qui-Gon replied sternly. "At times it serves a Jedi well but at others humility can be its own kind of arrogance." He watched Obi-Wan's eyes widen, and he shook his head. "We'll speak more of that later, some time in the Temple will do us both good I think. As to why I am not taking part in the debate, it is because I am uncertain were my own opinion would fall."
That admission caused all three of the padawans to look at him in surprise, while master Choi cocked his head thoughtfully.
"I will hear no more of this." said Koth, bringing everyone's attention back to the debate. "Master Dooku, you are very close to a dangerous line."
"Since when is debate and questioning a bad thing?" Dooku asked smoothly, though his eyes flashed dangerously at the other master's almost dismissive tone. "The moment you decide to shut down all discussion, you have already lost the debate. The Jedi way is one of thoughtful debate, not a mental dictatorship!"
"Your order is built on sophistry." said Ranma suddenly, coming out of his semi-meditation and stopping his exercise. He ran his hands through his hair for a moment as he looked around at the Jedi Masters.
"Explain that young man." said Koth, turning to him sharply.
"I have looked at your history, what Dooku could share with me, what I could see on the Holonet." Ranma said slowly, making certain that each word came out correctly. Speaking in Basic was still not automatic for him, but he was getting there. "There is a pattern there. Every time your opponents, the Sith, come back, you grow to match them in some fashion, then restrict yourselves, cutting off bits and pieces of knowledge. You say fear, anger, hate is the way to the Dark Side, but your entire order reacts fearfully in times like that."
"There were good reasons for every moment you describe." Said Koth shaking his head and smiling slightly at what he saw as ignorance or perhaps Master Dooku trying to put his own slant on things. "Nor are the Sith alone the sole enemy we Jedi have faced. Far too often the threat has come from within our own ranks, brothers fallen into darkness, led astray by false teachings. At other times it was the public perception of things that forced us to change, such as after the Last Sith War. With the Sith banished for all time, we had to give up military and political strength into the hands of the Senate, which whatever Dooku has told you is a duly elected body that is trusted to lead the Republic."
"But we are not weaker for that. And at others, it was a threat rising from within the order, such as Revan or other Jedi falling into the Dark Side due to the lenient nature of the oath at the time. The Ruusan Reformation changed both those things, cutting us off from attachments to wealth and power, and to families which would inevitably lead to divided loyalties and favoritism."
"So instead of thinking of ways to teach better self-control, you started to teach abstinence instead. Hate to tell you, but humans, we cannot simply shut off our emotions. There's a word for people who don't have emotions like that, who can't see other people's opinions might matter, who are not empathic or understanding that emotions are important, it's called sociopath. Generally speaking it's not a good thing."
To one side Giiett raised a hand to cover his slight smile, as he heard Ranma use some of the arguments he had already brought to Master Yoda's attention several times. Admittedly, he was more respectful and had never actually openly challenged the Oaths of the order, but Yoda at least was aware of his concerns there. Dismissive of those concerns yes, but aware of them.
"The Jedi Order is made of far more species than just humanity, or even those who are mentally and emotionally similar to humanity. We have to think of what is good for all, the greater good is more important than trying to make all sentients happy."
Ranma shook his head. "One size cannot fit all. Worse, because you think it can, you're not growing! What can't grow stagnates! I am living proof that there is more to ki, the Living Force as you call it, then you think." Ranma held up a hand, and it glowed with blue gold fire for a moment, the Living Force given form in a way that none of the Masters there had ever seen or even heard of before Ranma showed up on the battlefield today.
"This is nothing compared to some of the tricks I can do. Where I come from, there are masters who understand and know that there is no stopping point when you are learning about ki. But you Jedi have stopped learning! You've been around for thousands upon thousands of years, far longer than humanity on my world has ever existed, but we know how to do things that you would find impossible."
Ranma sighed angrily, shaking his head. "Worse, you Jedi are too caught up in Light and Dark rather than right and wrong. Dooku is right about that, too often you think you know what is right, when you really don't, when you cannot understand the consequences of your own actions. And you willingly turn a blind eye to evil at the same time. Why, if you are an order devoted to order and law, is there still a slave trade? You Jedi do good, but you could do so much more!"
Koth stared at the boy shaking his head. "You speak in ignorance." He said kindly. "When we return to the Temple, I am certain that Master Yoda will be able to talk you around to the real answer. The Order is always right, that is why we have survived as long we have, and our knowledge is far deeper than the parlor tricks you have exhibited so far. Just because we cannot use all our powers in combat as you can, do not think us weak or uninformed."
Dooku winced at that, shaking his head at Koth's own ignorance. But he hadn't seen Ranma in action from up close like Tiin or Koon had, and that colored his interaction with him.
"If by real answer, you mean indoctrinated, he's welcome to try." Ranma growled angrily. "I've already been indoctrinated once by my father, and that didn't take for long! Problem with indoctrination is, once you're out in the real world it always starts to fail!"
"Master Koth is correct about one thing at least, the time for this debate has not yet come. I think Ranma that you need to cool off for now." said Dooku, sensing Mace was nearly finished with his discussion with the admirals, and deciding to end things here for now." He smirked, and with the Force turned on one of the little training balls in a nearby alcove, which Tune and the Verpine had redesigned. Instead of a small burst of low powered blaster fire it was equipped with water gun.
Ranma turned quickly, but not quickly enough to dodge the glass of water, which caught him/her right in the face. She growled, wiping at her wet face as the Jedi, both masters and padawans, gaped in astonishment. They had felt the surge of joyful humor as the change occurred through the Force and had wondered about it, until they saw the change in Ranma's body.
"How?" said Qui-Gon, speaking for them all. "How did that just happen!? Actually, what just happened?"
"Magic." Ranma said, shaking her head again. "Though Dooku says that it's something to do with the Force, don't know about that really. I don't use the Unifying Force or whatever you call chi. And Dooku," she growled looking over at the man as she pulled off her shirt for a moment wringing it out. "You know that I can't change my shirt! The washers got no power remember?"
Ranma's sheets and clothing had been in the wash (again…) when the news about the Yinchorri had come in. After that, the ship's washer and dryer had been disconnected from the ship's energy grid as one of the many alterations the crew had made to save enough energy so they could power the weapons systems.
She glared angrily at the male masters all of whom were gaping at her, in particular Obi-Wan who was blushing brightly. Holding her hand over her chest she pointed at them angrily. "Close your eyes or lose them!"
"But," said Qui-Gon, said shaking his head again. "How in the…" Then he was forced to hold up a hand quickly using the Force to block several small toothpicks that had been aimed at his eyes, wondering idly where they had come from in the first place. Giiett, who had turned away, reached out a hand as well, redirecting two more that had been going for Obi-Wan's eyes.
They instead smacked into his forehead with punishing force and he howled in pain for a moment. "OWW! Why!?"
"That was a perfectly appropriate response for being ogled." Said Lilit, and Gallia nodded in agreement. "Though simply saying 'magic' doesn't really explain how …er…" she floundered to a halt.
"That another problem with your Order." Ranma grumbled, before repeating herself more slowly as she pulled her shirt back on, still growling angrily at Dooku, who was ignoring her, smiling faintly at the responses the curse had gotten.
She turned away, starting up a small hot water dispenser in the corner. "You Jedi have no ability to roll with the punches. I told you, it's magic. I was cursed a few years ago. I was knocked into a pool of drowned girl, came out like this. I was born a guy, no my mind doesn't change, yes it is a massive irritant! And yes…" she said staring at Lilith and Gallia master. "It is a full body change."
Both of them seemed to get it at once, exchanging a glance of wide-eyed surprise. "Does that mean you get a… monthly visit?" asked Lilit.
"Yes, though it's only when my time in this form accumulates rather than every normal month. I could also be raped in this form. Something, something which I've had some nightmares about."
Ranma was looking for understanding there since he'd had those nightmares several times since undoing the damage Genma had done to his mind and body. He had hoped to talk to a woman about them, assuming that they would understand such fears better than any man. But he didn't get any sympathy or understanding. Both female Masters blanched, frowning and looking away, but that was all.
"Fear leads to the Dark Side." said master Koth, who had never even heard the word rape before, insulated within the Order as he had been his entire life, something that made the more worldly masters shaking their heads. "You should face your fears."
Ranma snarled, her hands clenching and unclenching. She was about to go for the Zabrak but the beeping of the heater told her the water had finished heating and she turned back counting to 10 for a moment. She poured the hot water over her head, changing back to a male and grimacing a little. "We'll have to agree to disagree on that one, you insensitive fuck."
The master stiffened at her response, and more than one of the other Masters also frowned, though the two female Masters did not. Nor did the long-haired one, who was busy remonstrating with his padawan at the moment for his inappropriate staring.
While Obi-wan had been desensitized somewhat to the female form during certain missions with his master, that didn't mean he was entirely dead to the attraction of such. And the redhead was a very attractive example of a female form.
"I apologize in advance." Lilit said, moving over to Ranma and taking a cup of water that Choi had been drinking from. "But I'm not certain I believe what I just saw."
Ranma sighed then nodded. "Get it out of your system now." He said in a sort of singsong voice, plopping herself down next to the extremely short blonde woman.
With a smile on her face Gallia moved behind Ranma towards the water heater, heating up some more water while the blonde haired master poured cold water over Ranma, staring at him as the change began, all of her senses open to the Force at the same time.
The Force is laughing! She thought to herself. It's the only explanation for the feeling I'm getting, a sort of snickering. The Force has a sense of humor, that is the most utterly bizarre yet profound statement I have ever heard of.
She was not the only one coming to the conclusion though more than one master was frowning at it. They saw it as a very strange and unusual distortion of the Force rather than something to be amused by.
The two female Masters continued to change Ranma back and forth, and Ranma sighed as he remembered the first time Ukyo had seen his curse in action. He smiled faintly at the memory shaking his head at how easy, yet how limited his life had been then.
Obi-wan looked away blushing brightly for a moment, shaking his head slightly while Qui-Gon smirked at him. "Obi-Wan you and I have been on missions where we've gone into dens of iniquity, were the most amazing bodies were on display. Why exactly is this young redhead affecting you so?"
"I don't know master…" He said slightly, still looking away and rubbing at of his forehead where the toothpicks had impacted. He did not want to lose an eyeball, as he probably would have if not for master Giiett's intervention. "I think it's because she isn't trying to display herself, it's just an accidental thing? Does that even make sense?"
"Somewhat I suppose…" Said the older man, frowning heavily. "It's not exactly an area that I've ever delved into of course."
Dooku smiled, seeing that his attempt to derail the serious conversation had gone appropriately. He turned back to his chest game, motioning with his hand to his former student who nodded, and turned back as well. Around the conversations continued on, with the two female Masters simply stared again at Ranma's change.
Around twelve minutes later Mace came in from the cockpit. "The fleets are ready to move in." He said, looking around, an eyebrow rising in surprise at how wet Ranma seemed to be. "Did I miss something?"
"Oh yes." said Gallia, getting to her feet. "But I'm afraid I'm not even going to try to explain it. You really do have to see it for yourself."
Mace's other eyebrow rose to join the first, but he shrugged. "The fleet is ready to move in, but we have our own part to play. I suggest we all prepare ourselves."
About fifteen minutes later the fleets regrouped directly outside the defensive cordon of the hidden asteroid base, taking the time to both regroup and get a reading on the defenses. The Jedi also had hoped that the Council of Elders would sue for peace now that they had lost control of their planet's orbitals. That did not happen, and so Admiral Sitoris led the combined Sluisi/Mon Calamari fleet in.
They drove forward in a wedge, with the Mon Cal ships in front. Since they had better shielding and armor, they took the defensive fire on their shields while opening up a hole in the defense. With that done, and with some of their frigates and cruisers trailing atmosphere they fell back to either side, letting the Sluisi into the breach. The Sluisi spread behind the orbital stations taking out several more while the starfighters of both fleets zoomed on engaging the few remaining Yinchorri capital ships with their own hoarded concussion missiles and proton torpedoes.
Behind the fighters the Kaiseki surged into hyperspace. While the two fleets continued to hammer their opposing numbers, the Jedi with Tiin at the controls did a micro jump, jumping forwards towards the base, deep into its defensive envelope.
Yet even so, the defenders were quick to respond to the ship suddenly appearing in their firing arcs. Turbolasers blasted out, and more than one missile lanced out, only to be spoofed away from the ship by its electronic defenses, handled by Tune and Master Choi.
"Shields failing!" Tiin growled, looking over at Plo Koon who was trying to divert energy from the top shields to the bottom ones, and then from there to the front, trying to stay ahead of where the heaviest fire hit them. "Find us a target quickly, or we won't be able to find one at all!"
"I found one," said Choi. "It's an entrance to an inner hangar bay! Large enough for this ship and several dozen more! Left and down, then forward!"
As the fleets of the combined fleet broke through the defensive cordon around the planetoid the Jedi's ship flew into the hangar. "Nice of them to leave the door unlocked, if not unguarded!" Tiin shouted, moving the craft this way and that dodging laser fire from below and above from weapons emplaced on the ceiling of the massive hangar.
"Man, I have got to learn how to do this." Ranma grumbled from the entrance to the cockpit, having come up to watch the action, though this had more to feeling somewhat helpless in the space battle than anything else. "Being a passenger isn't for me."
Dooku didn't reply, having remained behind in the sitting area with most of the others. The pilots however smiled slightly while searching the ground beneath them for someplace to put down.
"We'll be an easy target if we hover out here. I can only see one alternative. Master Windu?" Asked Tiin, smiling thinly.
"Take it!"
Ranma grinned, grabbing the frame of the bulkhead. "Incoming!"
Moving forward at speed the ship slammed into what looked like an observation deck at the far back of the massive hangar bay. Its front armor crumbling, it burst through the glass and the rock around it.
Ranma shook his head from the impact a little having smashed his head. Turning he raced away, moving quickly through the ship towards the hatch. There he found a few of the masters and K'kruhk trying to open it. "The machine's still working, but there's some rubble in the way, we'll have to cut our way out somewhere else."
By the time they got back to the sitting area, Master Windu and Dooku had already done so out of the top of the ship. For a brief second they stood there surveying the area before leaping out and attacking the guards who'd rushed to try and defend their Masters.
Ranma was the first of the others out of the ship, bounding over the two Masters grabbing a small metal pipe that was sticking out from one of the damaged walls. He pushed himself back down, slamming into a crowd of guards that had just barreled out of a tunnel.
Several of them flew backwards from the impact, and he grabbed two of them, slamming their heads together and slinging them aside before selecting taking another with such force that he was propelled back down the tunnel with no way out of the pen.
"Stop! Stop don't kill us, we surrender!" Said a voice from behind him.
Ranma turned incredulously. "What? But, huh?" These guys are the leaders of these assholes right, so, wouldn't that make them the strongest? What the hell, man, talk about anti-climactic!
Mace shook his head, motioning Ranma to join them as he stared at the leaders of the Yinchorri, who were huddling together at the beck of the observation area. "What was it that master Ranisicis said about the philosophy of might makes right?"
"That it is often recanted upon meeting a more powerful adversary." Master Gallia replied, smiling thinly.
"Master Dooku," said Windu, turning away. "If you could please get on the communications device and tell Admirals Sitoris and Arikkakon that the battle seems to be over. As for you," he said turning back to the leaders of the Yinchorri. "You will be sending out a broadcast to your people to surrender, then we will be talking about the Devaronians, and what they gave you, and how they required it..."
End chapter
Author's Thoughts
So, yeah this chapter was meant to show the timeline, start the ball rolling in the changes to come, get Ranma a droid for his own use (everyone needs an astromech, and trust me, Tune isn't going to be defenseless by a long shot) though he might get another droid later on, we'll see. The crewmen are OC's obviously, and won't be used again in this story.
To my mind, Palpatine is at his most dangerous right now, when he can't act openly, and when he can move without anyone really knowing it's him. I think he became power-hungry once he actually declared himself emperor. But right now he is the worst sort of enemy for the Jedi and Ranma. He'll be able to roll with the punches and make events go his way regardless.
I… I honestly am not pleased with the Jedi discussions in this chapter. I found myself unable to really debate from the Council's position about the Oaths, my own opinion colored my thinking too much, and unfortunately, while my reviewers all had some good ideas, they didn't quite fit the scenes as they came out.
Let me state right now, Ranma will not be reforming the order or anything like that. He will show them they don't know anything, kick them in the ass a few times, and generally rub their noses into the fact that the Force is far bigger than they think. It will be up to the order to change itself after that.
Next chapter Ranma meets the rest of the Jedi council, gets freaked out by Coruscant, argues with Yoda and meets Shaak Ti!