Chapter 96: Good Decisions

A/N: Reminder that Chapter 97 will be the last chapter of this story! Just one more chapter!

Everything works out in the end~

-x-X-x-

“Right, Master Secura is.”

The silence builds as all eyes fixate on the diminutive Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.

“Failed the Jedi Order, I have.”

… What? Even Aayla wasn’t expecting that. Nor had she said it out loud either. But when she opens her mouth to refute his words, Yoda holds up a single gnarled hand and she maintains her silence out of respect for the ancient, wizened Jedi Master.

No one seems to want to break that silence. Everyone sits absolutely still as Master Yoda’s eyes swoop over them all. Even the remaining members of the High Council don’t seem to know what to do in this moment. It’s like they’re all younglings again, back in their very first classes learning at the Grandmaster’s feet like generations upon generations of Jedi have.

“Under my watch, terrible things have occurred. Under my watch, did the Dark Side pervade the fabric of the Force, the Sith almost ascendant.”

Yoda’s melancholy, along with his shame and self-loathing, suddenly fills the room as his Force Presence unfolds. Normally, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order is far more restrained. If he were to go down into a Creche and do this for instance, he would probably cause irreparable harm to the younglings.

Even now, in a room filled with the greatest that the Jedi Order has remaining to it, the sensation is damn near overwhelming. Bodies stiffens, shoulders slump, and despair along with sorrow for all they’ve lost fills the air. Aayla’s eyes widen and her knees buckle. As the only one standing in the Council Chambers, she’s in very real danger of collapsing to the floor under the weight of Yoda’s heartache.

But more than that, for a moment she fears. She fears viscerally, because this much emotion is far beyond what such a powerful Jedi should be capable of experiencing without falling to the Dark Side.

And yet, in what feels like an eternity later but is really almost as soon as it begins, it ends. Yoda’s emotions, dark and weighty and raw… flow out of the room and into the Force. A moment of meditation that puts all of them and their efforts to let go of their feelings to shame.

The Council Room doesn’t just lighten up enormously, it brightens. The Light Side has never felt more powerful to Aayla’s senses, and judging by the looks of wonder on the faces of the others in the room, Guest Masters and High Council Members alike, it’s not just her.

And yet, even as his Force Presence blankets them all in its comforting rays, like a breath of fresh air on a warm, sunny day… Yoda is as weary as ever, his eyes closing and his face tightening as he grips at the gnarled head of his walking stick and sighs.

“Shroud our vision, the Sith were allowed to. Never again. Paranoia. Mistrust. Jealousy. Tools of the Dark Side are these. Pride. Superiority. Authority. Claim these, we must not. Guardians, we are meant to be. Not arbiters. Nor judges.”

Aayla licks her lips as the truth of Master Yoda’s words resonates through the Force. However, truth does not always beget clarity. So far, his speech could go either way, and she can tell the others are just as uncertain of the meaning behind his words as she is. Is he about to declare Tylo Vondin a rogue Jedi who must be stopped because Tylo took control of the Mandalorians? Or…

“No longer a Knight of the Order, Mister Vondin is. Released himself of his bonds to the Jedi, he has. Our enemy, he is not.”

Oh… oh! Aayla tries not to be too smug about it as a grin spreads across her face. Given the twinkle she sees in Master Yoda’s eyes, she’s pretty sure she fails.

“Agree with Master Secura’s recommendation, this Council does. A diplomatic team, she will spear. In freeing the clones from their shackles and righting the wrongs done by the Sith, able allies we will find in this… Clan Vondin.”

Well now. That was that. Aayla had to wonder if the High Council had deliberated amongst themselves ahead of time and already come to these conclusions, if there was some method of communication between them all that she and the other Guest Masters couldn’t discern… or if Master Yoda had unilaterally made a decision that nobody else had a said in at the end of the day.

If it was the last one, none of the other remaining High Council Members show their true feelings on that front. The Grandmaster of the Order goes unchallenged as he dismisses the meeting and everyone begins to file out. Aayla can hardly believe it, truth be told. It feels like a fever dream.

She’d at least expected she would have to argue her case for maybe an hour or so, if she didn’t get rejected outright. And if it had come to the latter, she had been ready to leave the Jedi Order. Mayhap Yoda had recognized that. Maybe he’d known that she was dangerously close to making the Lost Twenty into the Lost Twenty-One and that had weighed heavily in his decision making.

Truth be told, the whole end of that meeting had her head spinning. For a long time now, as far back as Aayla could remember, every time she’d found herself before the High Council, it had been Master Windu who did most of the talking. They said this was because for a long time, Master Yoda had been grooming Master Windu to be his replacement.

And yet… the dark-skinned Jedi Master hadn’t said a word this time. Master Yoda had taken control after hours of letting the Guest Masters deliberate amongst themselves, and he had made all of the relevant decisions. Aayla really wasn’t sure what it all meant. She didn’t know whether it was good or-

“Aayla!”

“Master Secura!”

Aayla blinks, turning as she finds herself being approached by two people… two members of the Jedi High Council, actually. Both of them are not entirely unexpected, though for different reasons. As Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Shaak Ti both come to a stop in front of her, they share a look with one another.

Shaak Ti’s eyes would have burned a hole in Kenobi’s head if she were capable of it, so intense is her stare. It’s obvious she expected the mild-mannered human man to apologize and step away so she could talk with Aayla first. And yet… Obi-Wan doesn’t back down. He stands his ground, as placid and calm as ever, but also clearly not willing to budge a single inch.

Aayla watches as this incenses the Togruta Jedi Master, Shaak Ti’s eyes narrowing dangerously. Before anything can be said however, Aayla coughs into her fist, forcing them both to reorient back onto her.

“Masters? Was there something you needed?”

Seizing the initiative, Shaak Ti nods sharply.

“Yes, I will be accompanying you, Master Secura. The Jedi High Council has decided the situation with the new Mandalore is too volatile not to have one of its own on this diplomatic mission.”

That was a load of bullshit and Aayla knew it, but of course-

“The Jedi High Council decided no such thing, Master Ti.”

Oh wow. Aayla hadn’t expected Master Kenobi to call Shaak out on that lie… not in a million years.

“… Which is why I wished to request a place on your diplomatic team, Master Secura. Not as a member of the High Council, but as another set of helping hands.”

“What?! You can’t possible be serious!”

“Oh, I very much am, Master Ti.”

… Holy shit. Staring at the two Jedi Masters, who were very nearly bickering but not quite, Aayla has an epiphany. This… this is why, at least partially, Master Yoda had agreed to Aayla’s trip. Because the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order realized that if he didn’t, it wouldn’t just become the Lost Twenty-One… it might very well become the Lost Twenty-Three. And while the Jedi Order could weather losing a Jedi Knight and possibly even the Chosen One and a Jedi Master to boot. But TWO High Council Members on top of all of that at a time like this… the Order might never truly recover.

Yoda’s contriteness was real. Aayla had felt it in the Force, as had everyone else. There was no lie in the Grandmaster’s words… he truly did feel like a failure, and that they all needed to do better. But this was a stark reminder nevertheless that the brightest Light could blind just as much as the darkest Dark. In Yoda’s sincerity and serenity, he’d hidden other motives… and then proceeded to dump this damn mess into Aayla’s lap.

Though she had to admit, she supposed she kind of had it coming, given her own duplicitous actions. They all knew she wasn’t going to Mandalore for ‘diplomacy’, but rather to be with her former Padawan. In a way, this was the true deal between her and Yoda. This was the Grandmaster effectively saying ‘figure these two out and you can have your ‘diplomatic mission’.

Because one thing was for sure… neither of them could actually come along.

“Master Kenobi… Master Ti… neither of you will be coming with me to Mandalore.”

Aayla’s voice, sharp and brooking no nonsense, draws them out of their not-quite bickering as they turn back to her. Smiling slightly, Aayla shakes her head.

“You are members of the Jedi High Council. Comport yourself as such.”

In the face of her gentle admonishment, shame fills their presences in the Force, before slowly being pushed out as they take calming breaths. And yet… neither is just willing to let this go.

“Your place is here, on Coruscant. Especially in these troubling times. The Sith might be dealt with, but the work is far from over.”

Despite actively working to push their negative emotions into the Force, as they’d all been taught all their lives, Aayla can feel a somewhat childish and mulish sort of frustration settling over both of them. Fortunately for them and Master Yoda, their resignation from the Jedi Order would not be necessary today. Not to get them both what they want.

“… However. You both have a Padawan, do you not?”

Aayla smiles serenely as Kenobi and Shaak blink in unison.

“Ahsoka Tano and Maris Brood. Both have experience with Mandalore already… both the place and the man who now holds the title. Given I expect little to no combat, despite the Mandalorians’ reputation, I would not be amiss to taking two Padawans with me as my team for this trip.”

Barely taking the time to breath, and certainly giving neither Jedi Master the time to interject, Aayla plows on ahead to get to her ultimate point.

“Given you both will be working hard here on Coruscant in your capacity as Council Members to free the Clones from their bondage and truly ferret out the corruption in the Senate left behind by Palpatine’s influence, it seems to me that Padawans Tano and Brood might not have much to do or learn from your efforts. Lots of boring meetings in your future, I would imagine.”

That doesn’t make either of them happy to hear, though Kenobi is better at hiding it than Shaak. Still… the point.

“Of course, even if things here take a while longer to settle, no one would begrudge either of you a trip here and there to Mandalore, to visit with your Padawans and check up on their progress. So long as you two made sure to alternate such trips, I’m sure nobody would bat an eye at such… diligence.”

Now understanding finally begins to dawn in their eyes as they realize what Aayla is offering them. A way to have their cake and eat it to. All that was left was the proverbial cherry on top.

“Of course, I won’t deny that your Padawans have already spent much time on Mandalore at this point. They risk getting attached. And however long it takes to settle things back here… well, it’s entirely possible that by the time you finish up, they might not want to leave. You might find yourselves… forced to complete their training on Mandalore itself, however many years that might take.”

So very convoluted. So… political. And yet, for all Master Yoda’s words about the Jedi’s purported role in the galaxy… they were all just sentient at the end of the day. Fallible beings made of crude, corporeal matter. Treachery and deception were supposed to be the tools of the Sith… but some deception sometimes was necessary. Even self-deception.

“… Yes, I think that would be a good idea. I’m sure my Padawan can avoid growing… attached.”

Shaak Ti is the first to agree to Aayla’s little plan. But Obi-Wan isn’t far behind.

“I suppose if nothing else, Ahsoka and Annie will have each other to look after. If I cannot be there for either of them just yet… then I’d like for them to be there for one another.”

It’s obvious neither of them is completely satisfied with this solution. But at the same time, they ARE Jedi Masters and members of the High Council besides. They understand well the weight of duty, of responsibility. That weight had very nearly been about to break them both, but Aayla… Aayla has given them a way to relieve the pressure.

Resisting the urge to pat herself on the back, Aayla bows to the other two Jedi Masters, hiding her smile as she does so.

“Then if it pleases you, go and tell your Padawans the news, Masters. I shall prepare accommodations for the three of us to leave for Mandalore post-haste.”

-x-X-x-

Tylo didn’t know how she’d done it, but she’d done it. Waiting in a private hangar, he watches as Aayla’s ship comes in for a landing. There’s a grin on his face that won’t go away, even as his former Jedi Master walks down the ramp, two familiar Padawans trailing behind her.

He only has eyes for Aayla right now though, even as she only has eyes for him.

Tylo… my beloved. I hope you didn’t think you could rid yourself of me that easily.

As her words ring in his mind, Aayla races across the hangar, not bothering to hide her true feelings in either Ahsoka or Maris’ presence as she flings herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, the Twi’lek Jedi Master kisses him deeply.

It wasn’t a lie to say that their Master-Padawan bond had been destroyed when Tylo made the choice to leave the Order. Annie would have known if he’d tried to hold onto any connection to the Jedi. However, that wasn’t a problem anymore… so when a bond snaps right back into place between them then and there, Tylo welcomes it.

He welcomes the bond and he welcomes his old Master, holding her tightly as they eventually break the lip lock just long enough for Tylo to whisper to her.

“Welcome home.”

Needless to say, Aayla only kisses him harder after that.

[X] Epilogue with Tylo, Aayla, Shaak Ti, and Padawans later on - 64%

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