A Young Girl's War Between the Stars [Youjo Senki/Star Wars]

83

A Young Girl’s War Between the Stars83

Jedha. 35 BBY/965 GSC.

Taria stared at the holo projectors in what passed for the office the Shadows used here on Jedha, tucked away in a back corner of the library. Sipping at her tea, she considered the footage flickering before her.

On one, Tanya’s fight with Master Krell played out. On another, Tanya’s recorded footage of her encounter with the Sith. A third, the Sith’s actions in the Senate chamber. A fourth, a recording that had come out of Mandalorian space, of Tanya’s ascendance to Mand’alor. A fifth, a recording of the High Council’s last meeting, concerning the actions of Master Krell and Tanya.

The last was a compilation of news reels—some from Republic space, some that had been broadcast only in Confederate space. An attempted assassination of the Countess of Serenno, the sister of the newly elected leader of the Confederacy. Master Dooku’s coronation. A recording of a private conversation between Tanya and Senator Bonteri. A broadcast of Master Krell menacing Tanya’s students, Tanya ending it, and the aftermath. An announcement from Master Dooku about the unprovoked attack and attempted unlawful arrest by Master Krell, while painting his actions as those of a rogue Jedi acting on his own and not the actions of the Order as a whole.

“Well? What do you think, Apprentice?”

Taria glanced over to the older woman sitting in an overstuffed chair, sipping at her own tea. Master Jocasta Nu waited, wearing her usual patient expression. Eventually, Taria sighed and slumped back in her own chair. “Well, I guess we should start with the obvious.”

She selected the projection of the fight between Tanya and Krell and the rest grew smaller. An audio log played quietly—taken from Master Krell’s quarters after his death—along with a text transcription projected into the air beside the fight video.

“

Taria reached out and muted the audio as Master Krell went on, detailing what he remembered of his vision. The next entries were after speaking with Mundi before the incident on Jedha, and then right before he left with Master Plo. Apparently, Mundi had convinced Krell that Master Dooku and Tanya were at or near the center of the coming conflict. Which, to be fair, Taria knew they were—just not how Mundi painted it.

Shaking the thought off, she nodded to the fight. “It’s a classic example of and a lesson on not underestimating your opponent. She played him from minute one. Exploited his weaknesses and then took him by surprise at the end.” Frowning, she muttered, “Not to speak ill of the dead, but for someone who boasted about his martial prowess, he got put down in under three minutes by someone a third of his age.”

Master Nu nodded. “We’ll need to ensure that this is mandatory viewing for every new Shadow going forward.”

Taria hummed an affirmative. “Moving on… Being frank, Mundi screwed us. Krell bought into his paranoia, went against the mission leader and senior Jedi’s orders, and paid the price for it. They’ve left us holding the bag and it does look good.”

“Let’s hear your assessment, then. How bad do you believe it is?” Master Nu asked, before taking a sip of her tea.

Sighing, Taria began counting off points on her fingers. “Well, let’s start with the biggest misstep first. He threatened Tanya’s Padawans and an uninvolved civilian. All of whom are children. One of which is the son of a former Republic, now Confederate senator. The other being . And oh yeah, and one of them is her daughter by law! The optics on this…”

Taria shook her head, switching over to the appropriate hologram and the corresponding video clips, aired galaxy-wide. “It’s everything anyone could want, to discredit the Jedi as a whole. It’s a small miracle that Master Dooku didn’t use that advantage to discredit the Order and instead painted it as the actions of a single, misguided Jedi. Politically, it’s the right move for them. It paints him as reasonable and understanding, and the Order as incompetent and incapable of controlling our people. Even if that’s not how he intended it, it’s how people are going to interpret it. And it puts the Order on the back foot and will put our actions concerning the Confederacy under a microscope going forward.”

Standing, she began to pace as she thought out loud, knowing her Master wouldn’t be satisfied if she wasn’t thorough in her analysis. “Of course, we should probably see this as a good sign that Master Dooku shares Tanya’s sentiments and they don’t see the Order as an enemy. That they haven’t turned against the teachings of the Order itself. They just don’t agree with the decisions made post-Reformation and would prefer it if the Jedi weren’t involved in politics at all. because we’re sworn to the Republic then they feel that they must represent the Confederacy to balance the scales and act as a direct counter to the rest of the Jedi Order if—or more like when—the Senate decides to send us in again.”

Master Nu studied her for a few moments before nodding. “Passable. Continue.”

Taria turned away and rolled her eyes, but did so. “Master Krell’s second big misstep was attempting to arrest the sovereign leader of a planet belonging to a political body other than the Republic. That’s only an arrest when they’re your citizens, and you win. If they’re not your citizens or you lose, that’s a.Once it gets out that she’s the Mand’alor, , it’s going to be a nightmare. I’m not sure why neither Master Dooku nor Tanya mentioned that, but if I had to hazard a guess, it was for the same reason that Master Dooku laid the blame on Master Krell as an individual and not on the Order itself. Aside from the public response to that, there’s the legal issue.

“Since the Reformation, we’ve been an extension of the enforcement arm of Republic law. If they had succeeded, the Republic could spin it as something along the lines of, ‘Jedi arrest Separatist leaders on charges of treason and sedition’ and decapitated the Separatist movement right there. . No, Master Krell made the attempt which changes the Senate’s position from, ‘we sent the Jedi there to ’ to ‘we sent the Jedi there to quash a rebellion, and they failed,’ because he went and got himself killed in a duel to the death. So instead of just sending a few people there to talk, it looks like an attempted , a successful defense, and subsequent ‘retreat’ of our people from Confederate space. So now, Master Krell’s actions have accidentally legitimized them in the eyes of the public and the law. And since has already been attempted, that really only leaves the Senate with two ways to respond. Either they acknowledge the Confederacy is legitimate, which would mean ,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “Or they declare war and send forces to pacify the Separatists.”

“And with the Trade Federation causing problems…” Master Nu murmured, and Taria nodded.

“We’re going to have a war on two fronts, yes,” she agreed, before selecting the hologram for the attempted assassination, along with a few clips of things Master Dooku had said, and the one of Tanya speaking with Senator Bonteri. “Which brings me to this. The Separatists are going to war against the TradeFed, and the Tradies know it. The best thing the Order can do, if we want to limit casualties, is convince the Republic Senate to wait. Wait and build up our forces. Let those two duke it out, then step in with a fresh, superior force once there’s a winner. Use that as leverage to try to come to some sort of agreement with whoever is left standing.”

Master Nu hummed, nodding once. “And the Shadows?”

Taria considered for a moment before shaking her head. “The war isn’t our concern. Nor is the schism Master Yoda is worried about. We’ll keep doing as we always have and focus on locating, securing, and containing dark artifacts and knowledge. Our focus should be the Sith. Investigating them and then quietly removing them if we can, and cleaning up after them to make sure they didn’t leave anything nasty behind, as they always do.”

“Good. Our mission is too important to allow ourselves to be dragged into a war,” Master Nu agreed. “Now, tell me about this Sith.”

Taria brought up the relevant footage. “Female. Unknown species, but suspected to be a human offshoot due to the body morphology, proportions, and the helmet. Approximate height between 1.6 and 1.8 meters. Hasn’t shown any inclination towards any specific lightsaber form. You could say it uses the principles of Form I and Form III—simplicity, conservation of movement, same target zones, emphasis on more subtle dodging and positioning than blocking or parrying. But the strikes, parries, blocks, and stances themselves are all basic to the point that they would work with any bladed weapon. Master Windu commented to Master Yoda that it felt like it mocks Jedi for over-complicating things, and I have to agree, it kind of feels that way—especially in that fight in the Senate chamber.”

“Force powers?”

“Very few actually demonstrated,” Taria shook her head. “Bursts of strength and speed one would expect in combat and movement. Precognition. Telekinesis. Lightning. If she’s using anything else, it’s not obvious from the footage. What she did with Knight Ping, catching him with telekinesis mid-leap and taking him out in one blow, lends credence to Master Windu’s assessment.”

Pausing to pick up her tea cup and wet her throat, Taria continued after a moment, pulling up a list of names beside the hologram of the Sith. “These are the people confirmed dead in the attack so far. Casualties were limited, considering a Sith was involved. Honestly, she could have locked the chamber doors and filled the room with poison gas and it would’ve been more effective as a terror attack. But of the casualties, all of them were either senators we’ve suspected or confirmed were corrupt for years and have done nothing about, or we tried but charges were dropped and nothing was done about it. As for the two Jedi involved, Knight Ping and Knight Darak were both in Mundi’s camp. Officially, there were some minor disciplinary infractions that were then forgiven after they made amends. Unofficially, they were under investigation for suspected graft and favor trading with certain senators.”

She hesitated and Master Nu raised an eyebrow. Looking away, Taria continued, “If you were to put together a list of the Senate’s worst, this would be it. Master Yoda, Master Windu, and the rest of the High Council, they’re looking at this and just seeing that the Senate was attacked openly by a Sith. They aren’t looking too closely at who it was that was targeted. Either because they know the truth and are ashamed of it, because acknowledging it would mean that the Order failed—that failed. Or they know and approve, and have written it off as a matter of. Or they don’t believe it matters and are focused on the fact that it happened at all. Even the two Knights that were killed? Everyone knows who they are. Who they were friends with and who they answered to. If anyone on the High Council is bothered, it’s because Jedi were killed, not because were the ones who died. In other words… our Sith chose only what most would consider .”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on NovelFire. Report any occurrences.

A small smile pulled at Master Nu’s lips. “And why do you think that is?”

Taris sighed, grabbing the tea pot and pouring herself another cup. She took a few moments to sip and organize her thoughts before answering. “There are a few possibilities. The first: they’re a revolutionary or some sort of true believer, who sees the rot within the Senate and the Republic itself and thinks the only way to fix it is to cut it out like the cancer it is. This is the most dangerous option in my opinion, because when it turns out that killing a few senators didn’t work because the problem is deeper than the Senate, they’ll start looking for more people to kill to solve the problem. The second: it’s someone who is aware of public sentiment and seeks to use it, a ‘man of the people’ sort. Either the Sith themselves will claim credit and say they did it for the citizens of the Republic in order to gain their support, or they have a puppet on the Senate who will play to that angle—likely calling this a chance to right the wrongs done by the old Senate or something along those lines.

“Third: it really is just an attack on the Republic, but they chose their targets carefully, picking people that the citizenry wouldn’t miss when they hear the list of their crimes. It shows they can strike anywhere in the Republic. Senators, the High Chancellor, generals, admirals—no one is safe. It stokes fear and paranoia in those in power—because they could be next. Perhaps they’re connected to one of the opposing sides in the coming war, or maybe they’re an outside party looking to take advantage. There’s no way to say without more information. And fourth, but probably not finally: it’s a false flag of some sort. In which case, it’s difficult to guess who actually did it or why. Maybe someone looking to stir up more pro-war sentiment and point the blame at the most likely parties. Maybe someone looking to discredit the Jedi. Could be both.”

Putting her teacup down, Master Nu laced her fingers in her lap. “And the part you don’t want to say?” Taria winced. “Could this be the work of your friend?”

Collapsing into her seat, Taria brought up one of the holograms of Tanya, putting it side by side with the mystery Sith. “It’s… . As I said, everyone killed was an acceptable target—both from a moral and a military standpoint. Tactically, it works to unsettle the Republic and put us on the back foot. That’s exactly the kind of reasoning she would use to justify such a strike. Using explosives is unconventional for a Jedi, but it’s something she’s done before. She didn’t have to get involved personally—she could’ve just let the explosives do the work. But she did. Highly visibly, at that. Either to make a statement or, more likely .

“We know she can use a Force technique to create illusions and another to visibly cloak herself, so it’s not out of the question that she could have staged the entire first encounter with the Sith and deceived the girls who witnessed it. And even if she wasn’t on Coruscant at the time it happened, she has a for a familiar. We don’t know the limits on how far it can travel in one jump, so the worst case scenario is to assume that making a hop from Mandalore to Coruscant is within its capabilities. Meaning she could appear in public on Mandalore, hop to Coruscant to do the deed, then use her cat to get back within the hour. It’s a security nightmare and Do you have any idea how useful that would be for us?! We need to start breeding and training those things immediately and making sure everyone we’re inducting has mastered the Force techniques to bond with an animal companion—”

Master Nu cleared her throat and Taria forced herself back on topic. “. Sorry. Anyway. Tanya discovers a Senator is likely a Sith. She and Master Dooku report it. The High Council sits on their hands for years because there’s not enough evidence to convince the Senate, it’s politically radioactive, and if they’re wrong it’s going to make the Order look incompetent. Or worse, like we’re making some kind of power grab. Now a mysterious new Sith shows up, visibly attacks the Senate, kills a bunch of senators, and those people are all corrupt assholes? Oh, and it also gives the High Council undeniable proof of Sith activity and forces them to act, because now the remainder of the Senate will demand they do something about . That it distracts the Senate from the brewing war and makes them check under their beds at night for Sith is just a bonus. It has written all over it.”

Looking up, she met Master Nu’s gaze. “But if it Tanya, I don’t think she’s fallen. Or sees the Order as enemies.”

“Mm.” Nodding, the old librarian closed her eyes for a moment, considering it. Finally, she asked, “What do you think we should do?”

“Honestly?” Taria asked, and Master Nu nodded. “I think we should use it to our advantage. If it Tanya, we go along with it. When it’s all said and done, that Sith will probably either disappear into the ether, die somewhere inconvenient to look for a body, or die in some manner that would presumably destroy the body. Flying into a star or something. If it’s not Tanya, then we have an entirely different problem, but we can still use it to our advantage here—but that’s something to deal with later. For now, we should be embedding people in the Confederacy. It’s too good an opportunity to pass up.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Master Nu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Taria grinned. “Easy. We ask.”

“Not going to try to slip someone in secretly?”

The girl shook her head. “Nope! She’s already a Shadow. If we explain the situation, avoid asking uncomfortable questions, and be up front about what we want I’m willing to bet she would agree and convince Master Dooku of the necessity. Word has already begun spreading among the rank and file and a number of them are considering leaving the main Order to defect to the Confederate side. We can join their ranks so we don’t stand out.”

The older woman stood and smoothed down her robes. “Very well. Then I’ll leave that to you, Taria. You will be in charge of our Confederate branch. You’ll need to establish a Council of First Knowledge as its Caretaker, a new library, and a vault for forbidden artifacts.”

“Me? But I’m not even a Knight—”

Master Nu sent her an amused look. “I am aware. Being able to blend into the background, to appear to be no one of importance, is an important trait for a Shadow. Let other Jedi concern themselves with rank and Order politics. Besides,” she chuckled, “there are ways of bypassing the normal Knighthood trials. Being appointed a Master directly by your own Master is one of them.”

“So, nepotism,” Taria grinned, and Master Nu nodded.

“Of course. It’s always been that way. Now, off with you. And remember to stop by Coruscant on the way to acquire the full security footage from the Senate chamber. She stopped to look at someone. I want to know who and why.”

Taria blinked, looking back to the footage as Master Nu quietly left the room. “Did I miss something?” she murmured, sighing as she brought up the footage and backed it up to watch again. It only took a few minutes to confirm that the older Master was correct. “She’s right. Looks like I’m making a detour. But first…”

She shut off the holograms and used her personal holocom to place a call, transferring the feed over to the larger one. A few moments later, the call answered and she was greeted by the sight of Tanya, sitting in a chair on what looked like the bridge of a ship, idly petting a cat sitting in her lap. A handsome man stood on her immediate right, his rank insignia marking him as a Mando captain.

“Taria,” she nodded, giving a small, brief smile. “How can I help you?”

Taria sent her a grin. “Now what makes you think I want something? Maybe I just called to say hello and see how you were doing.”

Tanya raised an eyebrow. “Did you?”

“No, I actually do need something,” Taria admitted with a laugh. “Is this channel secure?”

The Zeltron glanced at the captain for a moment, who moved out of the camera’s field of view. There was a brief burst of static and the screen went black, before coming back. The captain did not return, but Tanya nodded. “It is now. What did you need?”

“Well, I need a place to stay for myself and some others.”

The white haired girl frowned. “Taria, I’m not part of the Order anymore.”

“I know,” she nodded.

“I’m not part of the anymore,” Tanya clarified.

“Yep. It’s a great cover,” Taria grinned, nodding.

The younger girl’s eye twitched, making Taria grin just a bit wider. “I am very likely soon to be on the opposing side of a three-way war with the Republic and the Trade Federation. I may have to fight other Jedi, if it comes to it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Taria waved her concerns off. “We’re not there for the war, one way or another. We’re there for . Trust me, most of us are going to be super busy. You won’t even notice us. , Master Dooku is looking to start his own faction of the Order, right? You’re going to need people who know what they’re doing for that. Not just that, but resources. If you agree, my Master has tasked me with setting up a Council of First Knowledge and a library. Obviously we can’t copy from the Great Library, some of that stuff is on holocrons that just can’t really be moved. But we can get most of it.”

That caught Tanya’s interest. The younger girl considered it for a few moments before eventually nodding. “I’ll contact Master Dooku and—”

“Let him know we’re coming with the rest of the rank and file.”

Tanya blinked. “There are more?”

Taria sent her an amused look. “Tanya, you’re not the only one fed up with the Republic’s blatant corruption and constantly taking advantage of everyone who isn’t in the Core. There are a lot of Jedi who feel that the Republic government has violated their oaths. Then there are others who feel that the Order itself is sick and want to leave—and they were just waiting for a better option. Those who saw what happened with Mundi and can’t stand any more. I’d put it at around two hundred Jedi of various ranks wanting to defect.”

The girl on the other side of the hologram looked surprised, before nodding slowly. “I see. That’s good news, then,” she murmured. “I’ll let him know to expect them.”

“Good,” Taria smiled. “Of course, it could be better.”

“How so?” the other girl asked, curious.

“Well, if you’re looking to start a new offshoot of the Order, you’re going to need . Force sensitives. And ~.”

Tanya’s lips pulled into an amused smirk. “Our new Caretaker of First Knowledge, I take it?”

“Got it in one!” Taria nodded. “You see, every year there are lots of prospective Jedi brought into the Order as younglings. Initiates. Where they’re then trained and educated for a few years, all while being tested for aptitude and other factors. A lot of people fail in that stage, before they even get to make a lightsaber. Then, there’s the Gathering ceremony. Not everyone passes that stage. And of those that do and go on to continue their training, not all of them are chosen to become a Padawan. The Council of Reassignment shunts those off to the Service Corps—either the Agricultural Corps, Medical, Educational, or Exploration. I’m actually part of the EduCorps, as an archivist.”

“Yes, I’m aware of the Service Corps,” Tanya nodded. “What about it?”

“…Tanya, do you have any idea how many prospective Jedi wind up in the Service Corps? The AgriCorps is full of Force sensitive kids who were sent off to agri-worlds to farm. Most of them are sent there to be forgotten, specifically to stunt their use of the Force. It’s a bit like a muscle, in that if they’re not actively training and learning with it, they’ll lose the ability to use it over time. . The Order can’t have of Force sensitives with just enough training to hurt themselves and others running around, causing problems. So they get sent to agri-worlds where they can’t cause problems. And it’s not like all of them lack talent. Some didn’t have what whichever Master was evaluating them felt was the right attitude. Or there just weren’t going to be enough spaces available for Padawans so they were cut preemptively.”

The Zeltron girl’s lips pulled into a frown at that. “I see. And I take it that if offered a chance to actually learn and become a as opposed to, they would jump at the chance.”

“Probably.”

“Fine,” Tanya agreed. “I’ll pass that along to Master Dooku as well and let him know to expect you.”

“Thanks, Tanya,” Taria smiled. “Serenno, right?” she asked, and Tanya nodded. “Are you going to be there to greet me?”

The younger girl shook her head. “No, I have a task I need to complete off-world, and then a mission. I’ll stop by to see how you’re settling in when I’m finished.”

“Alright. Be safe.”

With that Taria disconnected the call and sighed. “One thing down, a hundred others to do before I can leave.”

She stretched, then left the room to start planning and packing.