Chapter 40: Secrets and Promotions

Summary: Build up for everyone begins to escalate toward the Clone Wars...

Chapter 40: Secrets and Promotions

-Mid 28 BBY – Rothana System-

Aayla missed Izuku's warmth, along with other things about him. Despite that, she had to admit that her current occupation was far more to her taste than the organizational hell that Izuku had gotten embroiled in. Her poor lover had been all but dragged back to Tythe kicking and screaming by his own sense of duty, their growing faction's buildup on and around that world simply requiring the presence of the person who was effectively their leader. Not only had Mei introduced the idea of Arcologies to the planet, giving them a way to rapidly expand their population and workforce without threatening the fragile and recovering ecosystem, but the space industry of said system was beginning to take off in a serious way.

No one, not even Mei, had anticipated just how fast Nubia Stardrives was capable of turning out spaceframe designs. In less than six months, they'd produced a prototype of Mei's ship-sized construction drones. A prototype that they'd renegotiated their entire deal over, specifically because they wanted it too. For all that Nubia was known for starship manufacturing, it wasn't known for having much in the way of orbital shipyards. It was, however, the home of Industrial Automation, a major droid manufacture, along with Nubia Stardrives Inc.

When NSI realized what they had on their hands, they'd renegotiated the exclusivity of the design. They still wouldn't sell it to anyone else. But they would make their own versions of the ships as a way to finally get some orbital infrastructure projects of their own going. Something they'd long wanted, but hadn't quite had the capacity to build. For all that Nubia was technically a Core World, it only had a population of around 1.2 billion, and had only been colonized relatively recently in galactic terms. They saw the new design as a way to finally push themselves into competition with the larger shipbuilding worlds out there, or at least a way to get started in that direction.

All of which meant that Mei suddenly had a major production boost to her ability to build in space, and had taken off running on building a shipyard complex, orbital defense network, and a large transshipping station for the mass of components the world was beginning to build. Add in the fact that this was producing a hell of a boom economy that could soak up every person that could be thrown at it, and Tythe was having all the growing pains. They were good growing pains, that were going to be an incredible boost for them a year or two down the line, but it meant that Izuku was thoroughly pinned in place by responsibility.

Franky, Aayla was grateful that Master Tholme had turned up and decided to do some actual Mastering. As in, he'd pulled her away from Izuku to run a clandestine operation that had taken them months to get to their current point. Specifically, the Rothana System, which was where Kuat Drive Yards did all of their black project R&D testing. Such was the security of the system that even most of KDY's own ships didn't actually have Rothana on their maps, requiring specialized escorts that guided ships in from hidden hyperlane jump points out past Molavar. KDY was serious about the security of Rothana, and it was honestly a bit surprising to Aayla that it had only taken them three and a half months to finally reach the system.

To be honest, if they weren't Jedi, it would have taken a lot longer, if it had been possible at all. Kriff, even for regular Jedi, it would have been a nightmare. It was only because Tholme and Aayla both effectively specialized in infiltration that they'd pulled it off in so little time. And it was only because of the combination of Tholme's contacts and the Yuei Conglomerate's links to the Allanteen VI shipyards that they'd thought to go looking in the first place. Tholme, ever looking for oddities and looking for possible sources of a capital ship for them, had poked his nose into the secret project that their original contact with the Allanteen yards had gotten involved with. That had turned into a much larger investigation as he'd discovered a new class of Star Destroyer under construction.

Those ships, the Venator-class, were technically compliant with Russan Reformation regulations. Barely. If you squinted just right and only if they were sold to the Judiciary Forces. In theory, that could have been what they were for. Certainly, there were plenty of people who were aware that Judiciary Forces were massively underpowered for the shitstorm that was going to happen in the Outer Rim as the Trade Defense Fleet disarmed. The issue was that Tholme had found indications that the Allanteen VI shipyards were handing overflow from Kuat's own production, and there was no way in all the Corellian hells that the Judiciary had the funding to order so many ships.

The Jedi Master had, of course, immediately began trying to follow the trail of financial breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, all he'd managed to really discover was that whoever was behind the buildup, they were fiendishly good at hiding who they were. He'd hit several dead ends when he ran into signs of black project funding from within the Republic Senate, something that the Jedi couldn't touch without alerting quite a few Powers that Be that they were doing so. Eventually, his only lead had come from indications that one of KDY's subsidiaries was working on related projects. That, in its own turn, had led to the need to penetrate the Rothana system to investigate what Rothana Heavy Engineering was up to.

Which, from what Aayla was seeing as she perched in a tree, watching through a set of macro binoculars as a new walker design was tested, seemed to be 'building a ground army.' Or, at least, the hardware for one. The walker was only a portion of that assessment, with Aayla having spent the last several days under Force Stealth, sneaking around to various testing sights. Mobile artillery platforms, a Low Altitude Assault drop ship, and now the walker. All of them appeared to be still undergoing design trials, but it was a fairly comprehensive assortment of new designs. Still, this was the last site, and as she let her macro binoculars stop recording, she dropped out of the tree. Time to meet up with her Master, to see what he'd found in his own investigation.

... ...

Tholme rubbed his brow in a sign of irritation that he only rarely let her see. He was staring at the miniature holo projections of the various new designs they'd discovered, all of them projecting into the empty space of the cargo container they'd been hiding in since arrival.

"So, you found all the indications of a new generation of military ground vehicles. While I found a new assault ship clearly meant to deploy them. The trouble, of course, is that technically none of that is all that out of character."

Aayla frowned, but nodded a moment later as she considered the bigger picture.

"Rothana Heavy Engineering is already known for walker designs, and the new drop ships are really just an updated variant of their extremely popular VAAT/e design. The only really odd one out is that ship, the Acclamator-class you called it?"

Tholme nodded, then grimaced.

"Exactly. Even the ship isn't that odd. Even if RHE has never focused on ship designs, they are still a Kuat Drive Yards subsidiary. The only real oddity is that they have the hulls for so many of them already laid down and paid for. That is a bit concerning, when added to the number of Venators I think are in production. But it's not actionable. Rothana Heavy Engineering provides military hardware for half the defense forces in the Core, after all."

Aayla nodded. Those militaries were supposed to be self-defense forces. But many of them had multiple worlds to protect, and you had to move the hardware somehow. A dedicate assault ship was a bit…extreme, but there would be a market for it. Might already be a market for it, since apparently someone had paid for plenty of them already. Though, this time, Tholme hadn't been able to get deep enough into the security here to confirm it was for the Republic. If he had, it might be suspicious enough to raise a few flags and get more eyes on this. With only supposition that the order might be from the same group that ordered the Venators, though…

"We'll never get authorization to investigate farther from the Senate. KDY and RHE do business with too many powerful Core Worlds that would rather we not poke too deeply into their supplier. Not without a lot more proof that something actually outright illegal is going on."

Tholme nodded, his frown deepening.

"No. Not official authorization, at least. We'll bring this up to the Council and they can quietly use a few Jedi investigators to try backtracking the money trails. I'm afraid we've hit a dead end here, even if…"

He trailed off, and Aayla knew exactly what he was worried about.

"Even if the Force feels darker here."

Another sigh and nod from her Master.

"Yes, even with that. The Force knows, with this being KDY's black project site, it's probably hosted any number of illegal superweapon tests. So we can't even say for sure the darkness of the Force here is recent."

Aayla thought it was. She was pretty sure Tholme did, too. But the Force was far too nebulous a thing for even the Jedi Council to take their word entirely on that. Not without getting another Master or two out here to assess the same thing. Even then, it was hardly actionable outside the Jedi order. 'The Force told me so,' wasn't a very good legal angle.

"Well. We got what we came for anyway. Even if it's not as useful as we'd hoped. Now we just need to wait for our exfiltration window and report to the Council."

Aayla nodded. Another twenty days before that could happen. There weren't very many flights too or from Rothana for obvious reasons. So, even sneaking aboard a ship leaving as they ultimately had in coming, they'd just have to wait until the next scheduled trip. Even if that meant cooling their heels without much hope of finding out more…

... ...

Aayla was thoroughly confused. She and Master Tholme had only just completed giving their report, but then Master Tholme had requested she wait outside while he discussed something else with the High Council. A tiny part of her was worried that Tholme might out her…intimate…connection with Izuku. Yet that didn't make sense at all, particularly given his own relationship with Master T'ra Saa. Nor did she feel it was very likely that he'd out their operations in the Outer Rim to the Council. She'd long since realized that Master Tholme had plenty of his own non-council-approved operations strewn all over Republic Space. Nothing on the sheer scale of what Izuku was building, maybe, but Tholme had only been supportive of that effort at every step. Indeed, he seemed rather impressed that the two of them had managed to make it work to a greater extent, so far, than he'd originally expected to be possible.

All of that, plus Master Tholme largely seeming to be pleased with her as they trained during this last mission, soothed Aayla's nerves about being left out of whatever conversation her Master was having with the council. It was, she supposed, far more likely that he simply needed to report something to them that was unrelated to their recent mission. Master Tholme was one of the only modern Jedi Shadows, or the closest thing they had to them anymore, at least. After meeting Master Morne, Aayla admitted any Shadow calling themselves such in the modern era was a pale imitation. At best. Still, Tholme was still among the two or three Jedi that were the closest thing the modern Order had to the old school Shadows. So perhaps he'd come across something that needed reported?

Though…that didn't quite track either. After all, if that were the case, why had he asked for Aayla to remain nearby? They'd had only too much time together the last few weeks, to discuss next steps or possible follow-up missions. It seemed unlikely that he'd abruptly thought of something time critical enough to speak with her about that he'd asked her to wait. That made it more likely that she did have something to do with the talk. But what could—

The Council chamber's door popped open with a whisper of the Force, and she felt a second tendril of gentle, attention-gathering Force float toward her. It felt like Master Yoda, and she instantly realized he was summoning her back inside. Centering herself in the Force, she obeyed the suggestion and returned to the chamber, shunting her renewed confusion about why she was being summoned back after already having been dismissed. Disconcertingly, Master Tholme had stepped to one side and the central point where someone normally stood to address the High Council was empty. A quick glance at Tholme indicated she should take it, which was nerve-wracking, even if Tholme was smiling? She pushed her confusion aside again as she took the position as smoothly as she could. For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Master Yoda spoke.

"Believe you ready for the Trials, Master Tholme does. Agree with him, do you?"

For a long moment, it completely failed to register what the Grandmaster of the Order was asking. Partly, she had to parse his odd speech, which was something she'd grown less used to doing in the last few years. Mostly, it was the sheer unexpectedness of the topic. The Trials? He could only mean the Knight Trials. As in, the Trials to elevate her to a Jedi Knight! But Aayla was only 21? That was extremely young to be considered, with even the younger knights usually not getting the offer for another year or two beyond that. It was doubly odd given how little time she'd spent actually around Jedi since first becoming Quinlan Voss's Padawan. Let alone in the last three years, since first encountering Izuku.

The Council clearly felt her surprise as it processed, more than one face twitching with amusement. Thankfully, Aayla was a past master of emotional control. As a full-blown empath among Jedi who often preached emotional detachment a bit too hard, that had been a simple necessity. She ruthlessly crushed the surprise, centered herself in the Force, and took several moments to carefully consider the question. Did she actually feel ready? The answer to her own internal question surprised her.

"I…believe I am ready, Masters. Though I had not even thought to ask myself that question until you asked it. I know I have grown greatly since the death of Master Voss, both in my understanding of the Force, and in my understanding of myself." She hesitated, unsure if she should say it, but took the plunge anyway. "I admit to some surprise at the Council asking, however. I am a bit younger than usual, as I understand things."

There were a few approving nods at the first part of her answer, then a mix of both approval and disapproval on a number of faces at her indirect question. It was Master Windu who addressed her statement, with a surprisingly positive appraisal.

"You are. Yet age is not truly a good indication of if someone is ready or not, and more things forge us or break us than mere time. Many who have gone through similar events to yours, the loss of a Master or the damage to your memories, are shattered by their experiences. Those who are not often come out stronger for them. All of us here can feel how much more deeply connected to the Force you are now, and your lightsaber skills are top notch. Added to Master Tholme's assessment, the majority of this Council believes you are ready to face the Trials."

That meant that not everyone had agreed. But Aayla was hardly shocked by that. Her former master had been a polarizing figure, and Aayla wasn't exactly the very model of a traditional Jedi, either. No doubt the more traditionalist members of the Council were the ones that had fought the decision. Still, that was always going to have been the case. Probably even if she'd had to wait two or three more years.

"I am honored, Masters. I am ready to begin."

... ...

Given her previous assessment by Battlemaster Drallig, whose discovery of Aayla's improved skills had led to the order knowing her current level with the saber in the first place, Aayla's Trial of Skill had been waved. The Trials of Courage and Flesh had also been waved, in light of her coming through Master Quinlan's death, and the temporary loss of her own memory, without losing herself. The Trial of Spirit was never waved, and she'd needed to face the Trial of Insight as well. After so much exposure to the likes of Master Fay and Master Bnar, not to mention her own slightly altered connection to the Force from her bond with Izuku, the Trial of Insight had proven laughably easy. She had pierced the illusions offered up by the Masters that oversaw the Trial quite easily.

The Trial of Spirit had been another matter entirely.

Sometimes also called Facing the Mirror, the Trial of Spirit always pit a Padawan against their emotional weaknesses. Against their own darkness, more often than not. It had not been pleasant for Aayla, who had been faced by a twisted and warped version of Izuku. One who had proven to have manipulated her all along, planting compulsions in her head and warping her perception of reality. It had been horrifying, and a bit mind-bending to experience, but Aayla had seen through it for what it was. She had already known that there was a lingering fear that her attachment to Izuku was either a weakness, or simply unhealthy, forged as it was under unusual circumstances.

But in this, her long talks with Master Fay, Master Bnar, Master Morne, and even Master Tholme and Master T'ra Saa, had armed her to face that fear. She had turned from the twisted images of herself at Izuku's feet…even added humor to her defense by admitting that the outfit that version of her was wearing was sexy as fuck and she wanted one. Even without actually being able to see what she experienced, something about that thought had apparently leaked through to those administering the test. Not the specifics, but the general emotions. Which had resulted in some odd looks as Aayla broke herself free from her dark mirror.

In the end, she'd come out of it less affected than most, or so she was told. Even if she had needed a few hours of meditation afterward to truly recenter herself properly, that was apparently perfectly normal. Even a good sign, really, that she hadn't needed to be told to do so.

It was thus two days later than she knelt in the knighting circle and Master Tholme symbolically cut the beads that served her as a 'Padawan braid.' The training bond between them snapped at the same time, but it had been extremely weak in the first place. For all that he'd technically been her Master, he'd never truly taken the role the same way Master Quinlan had, in no small part because of the other Jedi who'd had a hand in her training since her former Master's death.

In the end, as Aayla walked out the chamber, newly christened as a Jedi Knight, she felt good. Now she just had to deal with telling the Council that she wasn't actually going to take missions from them. Not regularly, at least. Doing so would get in the way of her work with Izuku, after all. Not to mention her time to spend with him as well. Thankfully, it at least wasn't too unusual for a Knight to take a few months getting used to their new position and greater access to the deeper archives. So she could put off the Council discovering she had no intention of really answering much to them for half a year or so, at least…

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

Author's Note 1: So, right now even knowing what RHE and KDY are up to is only of limited help to the Jedi. Construction on the initial wave of Venators for the Clone Wars has started, but without knowing who ordered them or why, there's too many possibly legitimate reasons for them to exist. It's even worse for the RHE equipment, as they aren't as far along. Mass manufacturing ground hardware is much faster than capital ships, so I assumed here that those projects had less priority to Sidious than the Venators would have.

Author's Note 2: Curiously, I actually DIDN'T change the date of Aayla's promotion to Knighthood. That apparently did happen in 28 BBY. Which, given that I actually AGED Aayla UP by a year, means she would have only been 20 originally. That seems...really contradictory to all the lore that goes on and on about how young Anakin was when he was promoted. He was 19, I think. So...only a year of difference? I mean, less training years, I suppose. But still a little weird. Obi-wan, in comparison, was something like 24. And the average was supposed to be between 22-24, supposedly?