Chapter 119: It Isn’t Easy, Being Green

Chapter 119: It Isn’t Easy, Being Green

– Ossus – 23.9 BBY –

Izuku had to admit to a slight bit of tension as they were ushered into a meditation/meeting room at the Ossus Academy. They’d had a tour first, with only Shaak Ti having really had the time to check out the Academy since it went operational. He had been impressed, as had Aayla, though Zavra had seemed a bit more ambivalent. Then again, this wasn’t even close to the first ‘Academy’ for Force Sensitives that she’d been too. It wasn’t Aayla’s either, if you counted the Jedi Temple, but Aayla at least knew just how little of what they’d seen had been here just a few years ago.

Ood Bnar had done a fantastic job of not only building up the physical academy, but doing it in such a way that it felt like a natural extension of the world. The entire canyon that had previously only held the Great Jedi Library now held a sprawling compound of buildings, ones that were carefully positioned and designed to fit in with the revived greenery that the Neti had been encouraging to grow. An attempt rebuild Ossus’s ecosystem which seemed to be going well.

The main library building, unadorned stone with four great towers, had also been carefully and respectfully restored. The library remained exactly that, a library, with archives, reading rooms and vaults. Meanwhile the newer buildings housed classrooms, open-air meeting halls, and residential facilities for the population of the planet. There were over four hundred students here, now, and far more support staff.

Add in a League garrison ‘just in case,’ and the population of the world now rested at over ten thousand, despite the success at keeping the place largely secret. A population that got significantly larger, admittedly, if you included the Ysanna, survivors of the supernova that had destroyed the Cron Drift and pushed Ossus out of its original star system. At least a dozen students were now from those tribes of Force Sensitive descendants, though finding those that were of the right attitude for training was apparently not easy. The primitive nature of the tribes and their belief of the Force being magic made it a bit difficult. As did their comparatively weak connections to the Force, though that part was less an issue for this Academy than for the Jedi or Sith. They had both examples of ‘normal’ people waking to Force Sensitivity…and a couple of groups present that knew a bit about how to enhance such connections naturally.

Still, massive progress was being made here, and quite a few teachers Izuku hadn’t known about had turned up. A few were Jedi that had joined the Crusade, called to teach here by the Force once the Crusade started to drift towards a conclusion. Others were more unexpected, being from different Force traditions entirely. Master Fay had, apparently, been collecting Force Users without anyone bothering to report that fact. Which was fair enough since, while the League was supporting and protecting the Academy, Izuku had been determined to avoid the mistakes of the Jedi and kept the Academy separated from the League’s political structure. He’d been a bit annoyed to discover he was technically listed as a senior instructor here, actually, as it went somewhat against that idea. Somewhat irritatingly, Ood Bnar had shook off his protest, claiming he still believed Izuku had a role to play, just as each of the others that had first met here and woken him from hibernation did.

As for Master Fay’s recruiting efforts, Izuku had to admit he was impressed by how she’d managed to drag members of a dozen different Force organization here, with a goal more similar to the ancient Je'daii than the modern Jedi Order. They were here to study and understand the Force, not to become warriors. Combat abilities were taught to those who felt called toward making a different in that way, but it was not universal the way it was for the Jedi Order. Instead, many studied other aspects of the Force.

The Luka Sene, in particular, had been on board with helping make that true. Master Fay had convinced a dozen or so of that Miralukan Force faction to help structure the Academy, the Luka Sene having already treated study of the Force much like a university course. A very academic approach to the Force, but one which was also firmly rooted in the Light Side.

In addition to the Luka Sene and the Jedi, there were others offering teachings. Somehow, Master Fay had brought members of the Disciples of Twilight, Guardians of the Whills, Jal Shey, Witches of Dahtomir, Wardens of the Sky, Matukai, Baran Do, and even a single Voss Mystic. It was a ridiculously diverse set of Force traditions, who were all learning from each other, and somehow the whole thing hadn’t imploded, exploded, or had its existence leaked yet. Izuku figured that was down to Master Fay and Master Bnar somehow, but wasn’t about to try and sort out how.

Particularly not right now, since he was rather busy trying not to worry as he entered a room he knew held the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, with a lot to talk to him about. Doing his best to center himself, he led the way into the room with Aayla, Shaak Ti, and Zavra following behind. Asajj was on planet with them, but had declined to be a part of the meeting, instead having been drawn to a demonstration being put on by one of the Matukai. Shaak Ti, thankfully, took the lead once she entered, a smile in her voice as she greeted the head of her Order.

“Master Yoda, it is good to see you have escaped the Temple for a time. Have you been enjoying your visit to Ossus?”

The Grand Master, who had been studying Izuku intently since before he opened the door, turned a genuine smile on Shaak.

“Enlightening it has been, Master Ti. Many new perspectives on the Force, refreshing they are. Learn new tricks, even an old dog can.”

There was humor and a certain lightness in the ancient Master’s voice, as if the idea of that was akin to putting down a heavy burden. Perhaps it was, though Izuku still had trouble wrapping his head around individuals as old as Master Fay, Master Bnar, and Master Yoda were. Shaak Ti took it in stride, even as Izuku felt a twitch of surprise from Aayla over their bond.

“I found something of that sort out myself, when I first visited. There weren’t quite so many different groups here, yet. But even just speaking to Master Bnar led to quite a few changes in my own mindset.”

Yoda peered at her, seeming to scrutinize more than just her appearance, nodding as he did.

“Sense as much, I do. Connected to the Force, stronger than ever you are. Even if rules you have been breaking.”

There was too much humor in the waggle of Yoda’s gimer stick for that to be a proper accusation, and Shaak Ti’s response was equally unbothered.

“Yes. After much mediation and speaking with Master Bnar, I discovered I could no longer agree with the way the code has often been interpreted in modern times. Nor with all the changes the Ruusan Reformation left the Order struggling under.”

There was no hint of recrimination in Shaak’s voice, but Yoda sagged a little anyway. Whatever lightening of his burdens from being here he had felt, clearly they were not gone entirely.

“Learned, I have as well. Certain that many mistakes have been made. Imperfect beings are we, and grave have been some of those mistakes. Corrected, they must be.”

Before anyone could comment farther, the ancient Master’s gaze returned to Izuku, a focused intent that silenced casual conversation.

“Agent of chaos that has stirred these changes, are you. For good or ill we have yet to see.”

Izuku found all the polite nothings and pointless introductions fleeing his head under that gaze, yet he didn’t wilt or falter at all.

“Sometimes, chaos is terrible. Other times it is merely the rightful enemy of stagnation. The Force is life. It will not be stagnant, nor will the future remain the same as the past, no matter who desires it to be so or how hard they wish and strive to prevent the currents from shifting course. Our only true choice is to attempt to make the most of the inevitable change as it comes. Always forward, always seeking to improve, rather than trying to hold back the very tide out of fear.”

Yoda held his gaze locked with Izuku’s for long moments, before nodding and smiling again.

“Rough, your metaphors are. Wrong, they are not. Work on your inscrutability, you should.”

A twinkle of the eye as Izuku blinked, trying to process that comment, turned to a serious expression as the aged Master panned his gaze over all of them.

“Sense I do, that pleasant debate is not your purpose here. Brought troubles to me, you have.”

Shaak Ti sighed, even as they all finally took seats on various cushions around the meditation chamber. As the most familiar with the Grand Master, she took point as they finally got to the crux of the matter.

“Yes, Master Yoda. We’ve had some disturbing breakthroughs on the matter of the Sith. First on the moon of Dxun, where we learned something of their past. More recently and critically, however, we ended up on the ancient Sith world of Dromund Kaas…”

… … …

Their meeting with the Grand Master had gone surprisingly well. At least as well as it could go, given the nature of the intelligence they’d had to share. Not that they had stuck entirely to that. Yoda had, to Izuku’s surprise but no one else’s, shifted from extremely serious to equally curious once the news about the Sith was over. He’d prodded not just Izuku, but Zavra as well, somehow doing it in a way that didn’t come off as prying but had them both sharing more than they’d expected to. The Jedi Master had been utterly fascinated by Izuku’s unique connection to the Force, and very nearly as interested in what Zavra could tell him about both the Sith and the Jedi of the ancient past.

Actually, Yoda and Zavra had gotten on almost disturbingly well, the irreverent cheerful personality of Zavra drawing out a startling mischievous streak from the aged Jedi. Aayla and Shaak hadn’t seemed overly phased by that, admitting later that the only reason they were surprised at all was the Yoda mostly showed that side of his personality to Initiates, Younglings, and younger Padawans. Apparently, he was well known to have a lively sense of play and humor with the younger generations, but it was much rarer to see it in more than fits and starts with adults.

To Izuku, it actually made sense that he’d clicked so well with Zavra after they’d explained that. Zavra wasn’t childish, but she was happy-go-lucky. Not just in personality, but even in her approach to the Force itself. In point of fact, she had an odd effect of her own on the Living Force in particular, with it occasionally seeming to race playfully around her like an eager puppy. It was, in fact, a characteristic that had helped a great deal in defusing tension with various Jedi about her race and past. Zavra was just so genuinely likeable and friendly that, in combination with how the Force responded to her, it was genuinely difficult to associate her with the Sith stereotype.

In the end, the meeting had stretched over nearly four hours, and two of those had been discussion completely unrelated to the Banite Sith or the brewing conflicts within the galaxy. Which wasn’t to say that Yoda hadn’t taken them at their word, or promised action. He’d done both. He’d just also proven to be far more…flexible…than Izuku had honestly expected of him, given what he knew of the Jedi Order as a whole. He’d asked Aayla and Shaak about it afterward, and the pair had admitted that, while Master Yoda had always been one of the more adaptable and reasonable Jedi, even they were surprised how flexible he seemed to be prepared to be.

Shaak, who knew him a bit better than Aayla, suggested that it was probably a result of him adjusting to the various revelations that had hit the Order in the last few years. Along with, possibly, the effect of visiting Ossus and getting some perspective. That much, at least, Izuku could believe. It was pretty obvious from a few of his comments that Master Yoda greatly respected Ood Bnar, and Izuku knew the Neti’s opinions on how the Jedi had changed since his time weren’t exactly wholly positive. Or even mostly positive. If one were to be brutally honest about it, it could even be said they were more negative than not.

Whatever the cause was, that flexibility had led to what was, perhaps, the best possible introduction and first interaction he could have imagined between him and the Jedi Order’s leadership. With a bonus of Zavra not seeming to bother Yoda at all. Now, to take a few days to properly see just what Ossus had to offer. He had to admit that he was intrigued by the demonstrations of a few Force Powers he hadn’t even realized were possible…

… … …

“You want to…what?”

Izuku knew he sounded unhappy, which was a bit unfair of him. On the other hand, he wasn’t overly pleased any time he and Aayla were forced to separate for longer than a day or two. Not that he would stop her from doing what she felt she needed to, but he had to admit that he was struggling to figure out why it needed to be her this time. Nor was it what he’d expected to discover she’d talked about with Yoda after he left, with both her and Shaak Ti having stayed behind to talk ‘Jedi Business’ when he and Zavra had left.

“Izu, we both know I’m not really best fitted for running wars, politics, or logistics. I can and do help, sure, but we both know my training was far more focused on being a spy, undercover agent, or a dozen other kinds of underworld specialist. Between Master Vos and Master Tholme, who both specialize or specialized in that sort of thing, it was inevitable that my skillset would lean that direction. For that matter, I was taken as a Padawan by Master Vos precisely because I was a good fit.”

Of course Izuku knew that. He could also, at least somewhat legitimately, claim that he wasn’t predisposed toward any of those things either. He got by in such a broad range of fields due to the trick he’d learned back on Earth, that allowed him to use his extremely-developed telepathy to outright copy knowledge and understanding from experts. Not the rote skill of someone who had engrained a skillset into instinct, and certainly not the talent for the skills either. But the knowledge and understanding, at least. Which was enough to let him properly manage those like Shill Tervo and Esa Rotsino who did have genuine talents in various fields. He could, essentially, act as the ultimate facilitator and let that carry him forward on the larger galactic stage.

In truth, natively he was a front-line combatant. A hero who, minus that being an actual profession, would probably better be compared to an elite commando. He’d grown far past that role by now, of course. Things like strategy and tactics had been relatively seamless additions, while politics and business had not been anything of the sort, and logistics and leadership were somewhere in the middle. Aayla was also underselling the amount she’d adapted herself, he knew, having gained quite a bit of skill in several of those areas herself. If pressed, however, he would reluctantly admit that she functioned closer to the level of a capable aide to him, rather than being good at covering most areas beyond her original skillset entirely on her own.

That did not mean he really enjoyed the idea of her taking what might be a prolonged set of espionage or outreach missions. Ones that would take her away from him for at least several months. Possibly longer. Clearly, she recognized that. Given how calm she was about it, though, she also clearly felt strongly about the topic.

“Izuku…I know, even as bad as you are at letting the Force guide you, I know you haven’t missed the fact that something big is coming. Even aside from the Force, just our various intelligence reports are looking ugly. Worse, now we’re properly aware that the Sith have been actively seeding the conflict we can all see coming. Pruning and directing events to their liking with groups like the Prophets. That they have, in fact, likely been doing so for a minimum of decades. With centuries being more likely.”

Izuku scowled at that, knowing she was right. As much as he’d been trying to focus on getting the Crusade finished up, in pursuit of his original goal of tackling galactic slavery, as the ultimate person in charge of the League, he was increasingly aware of the threat building. A threat that, as that leader, he was now obligated to protect his people from. It wasn’t the Hutt Remnant that he’d authorized the Miruko-class to be built against. Nor was a battleship truly an effective tool for chasing down the remaining galactic slaver groups. No, he’d authorized its development because a war was coming, probably a galactic-scale war, and he now had something like a hundred and seventy-five billion people under his protection. Still…

“And it needs to be you, why? We have an entire intelligence service. Not to mention that the Jedi likely have hundreds of their own looking into it. Even Master Tholme is likely focused as much on the upcoming conflict as he is finding the Sith, if only because the two are almost certainly connected.”

Aayla sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath to center herself.

“You already know the answer to that, love. When I got the chance to meditate here on Ossus, focusing on how I can best make an impact, I saw visions of me infiltrating several worlds and retrieving information. I’ve already identified two of those worlds. One is the Fondor System, where some disaster apparently needs to be averted. Another is, I think, the Wild Space world of Kalee. Though I’m less sure what it is I need to discover there. At least two other worlds I have yet to identify.”

Izuku groaned. Despite several years to adjust at this point, including a few adventures where he and Aayla had been led by the Force to major discoveries like the Infinite Engine Seeds, he still wasn’t quite used to ‘I had a vision’ being a valid reason to do things. Unfortunately, he did have those experiences. Which meant he could hardly say it wasn’t, in fact, a completely reasonable reason. He also knew that the Jedi had been struggling more and more to get such coherent visions, even with the recent damage done to the Veil that was blinding them. For Aayla, getting such clear insight wasn’t something she could ignore.

“Alright. You said that you wouldn’t be going alone, at least?”

Aayla smiled, understanding that he’d accepted her choice, and nodded.

“Shaak and Asajj are going with me. Since they are still officially part of the Jedi Order, while I am sort of in limbo, it might help if we need to play the authority card. Shaak also wants to get Asajj some training on the less straightforward sort of missions, which I can help provide, since it’s not really Shaak’s specialty. With them arriving ‘officially’ and me sneaking it, it also provides a neat bit of slight-of-hand at Fondor, at least.”

Izuku’s lips pursed, but he nodded. It meant that Shaak would also be leaving, but such was honestly more expected than Aayla doing the same. Despite her getting involved with them, including Yoda mentioning the possibility of naming her as an official liaison in the future, Shaak was in a position somewhat more like Padmé’s. A position which meant her duties were just as likely to call her away as keep her near. Doubly so, since she still had Asajj’s training to finish, and what her Padawan needed was mostly practical experience in various non-combat roles.

“Well, at least you’ll look out for each other. Just try not to keep her poor Padawan up at night with your enthusiasm at getting some alone time with Shaak.”

Grinning, not embarrassed at all by the fact she most certainly was looking forward to that, Aayla retorted.

“Asajj’s a big girl, she can do with less sleep if she needs to! Don’t worry, though! I’ll make sure to record some videos you and Zavra can watch of us having fun~.”

Izuku snorted at Aayla’s complete lack of denial and upping of the ante. On the other hand, he also caught the pointed hint that he really should spend more time with Zavra while he could. Probably with Mei, too, come to think of it. Just because they were both incredibly low-maintenance, didn’t mean he shouldn’t make a point to spend time with them. Especially Zavra, who he was still somewhat getting to know, despite how easily she’d slipped into the more intimate part of their lives. He was going to miss Aayla for however long she was gone, but it hardly meant he’d be left entirely alone and sulking…

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A/N 1: No, I couldn't resist the Kermit reference. Yoda and he are both green frog muppets :-p.

A/N 2: A small peek in at what Ossus is turning into. A place where a gathering of different Force traditions is coming together to create something new...