“How is your research going?”
I lifted my head wearily from the datapad in my hands, the same pad that I’d been reading almost constantly for the last two days, as Dooku stepped into the cabin the Lokella had assigned me during my stay on Mtael’s Gift. The cabin was more akin to a private suite, one I used regularly now whenever I was on the station as it had a spare bedroom for Anakin to rest in along with a large cupboard that doubled as a charging station for my droids.
As often happened, Fenrir had claimed the large rug at the base of my bed as his and was currently resting there while I focused on the datapad. A datapad Dooku had given me that had captivated me ever since I’d read the title of the contents, and had caused me to allow Anakin the last two days to do as he chose, which was usually spending time with his sister Lia, catching up with Lena – one of the other children who had been captured by the Trandoshan hunters about a year and a half ago and then ended up with the Lokella, or training with the station’s personnel or the Mando’ade here to instruct them.
That Gar was still here, or as I had discovered from Rook on my first night, back here again, training the same people his father had been killed trying to enslave was both amusing and honourable. As if he was working to remove the stain on Clan Saxon’s reputation by correcting a mistake of Girk’s. I hadn’t spoken with the pair or the other Mando’ade much, as the datapad had taken my attention fully. Still, it was good to enjoy a few drinks with friends.
The datapad had come from Dooku, and as I pushed it back a little and stretched in the chair I’d spent the night sitting in – though I only realised that now as I saw the time – I looked at my former Master. “This wasn’t how I was expecting this… operation to go,” I replied with a smirk.
Dooku eased himself into another chair at the table, my nose picking up the smell of fresh kaffa from the cup he carried, making me a little thirsty and hungry. “Did you think we would launch some form of audacious, and potentially harrowing, nighttime assault on the Temple to liberate a handful of holocrons and other items for the secure vaults?” There was no smile on his face, but his amusement was, for him, rolling off him in waves within the Force. Amusement that I suspected had been present ever since he had given me the datapad that I’d been engrossed in for going on forty-six hours straight. “Or that we would be left with no choice but to fight our way out of the Temple with our prizes?”
“Maybe,” I replied as I rolled my neck, trying to hide any lingering embarrassment at how I thought this plan was going to go. I didn’t need to roll my neck, nor stretch out tiredness, thanks to Player’s Body, but I did so anyway to put others at ease. “I won’t deny that I thought we’d have to find some elaborate method to get me into the secure vaults, perhaps via an external distraction, and then sneak out the figurative backdoor.” I gestured at the datapad. “Yet it seems all we’re doing is going shopping.”
Dooku grunted. “It is far from as easy as you make it sound,” he retorted as I turned the datapad to him, a few holocrons and other restricted items on it having caught my attention. “This will be complicated, in both execution and making a selection of which items you feel drawn to.”
I chuckled as I tapped the datapad and once more marvelled that it was as simple as going to the Archives and downloading a list, with an overview of every item, of what was locked away in the secure vaults. Well, it was simple for Dooku as he was a Jedi Master, while I – like Anakin just before the fall of the Republic in the other timeline – was but a Knight and thus denied access to the most sensitive items the Order stored.
I was still struggling with the insanity that any Master could walk into those vaults, pick up any holocron, lightsaber, or any other artefact there, and without even being questioned by Temple security, walk out again. It was a security flaw that was rife for exploitation, though given how only nineteen – soon to be twenty – Jedi Masters had left the order in several thousand years, I could see why the Order didn’t feel it was a major issue. Still, the fact this flaw existed was going to make getting our hands on holocrons far easier than I had expected. Though with Dooku having free access to come and go as he wished, I knew even before he’d told me that there was a limit to the number of items he could repurpose without someone growing suspicious.
Eventually, the missing items would be noticed. When exactly would depend on the exact security the items were under and how often a Librarian checked they were all where they should be. However, in essence, Dooku could simply walk into the Temple, put a pile of holocrons and other artefacts in a sack, and then walk out with them.
Now, most of the items in the secure vaults were, at least to me and possibly Dooku, of little use. I was interested in the holocrons, lightsabers, and other items linked to former High Council members, Grandmasters, Masters of the Order, and other influential Jedi over the millennia, but few felt that important to me, or drew a reaction from the Force as I read the description the datapad Dooku had provided me with about the items. One of the few that jumped out at me, though there was little reaction from the Force to suggest it might be useful, was a holocron from Bastila Shan.
Yet with Dooku likely only able to make two or three trips into the secure vaults without drawing attention or running the risk of triggering any security measures once someone noticed an item was gone, even my great-grandmother’s holocron wasn’t high on my list. Certainly, high enough to make the five-item shortlist I had to give to Dooku before he headed to Coruscant in a few weeks to carry out the first shopping trip.
Currently, my list was composed entirely of Sith artefacts and holocrons. A few years ago, such a list would’ve concerned me, but after learning to accept who I was, and how I would do whatever it took to not only fight against the Banite Sith but emerge victorious, I was committed to the path I was taking. The Dark Side was a faster path to power, yes, but not one that offered less potential than the way the Jedi called upon the Force, nor one to be ignored simply because they considered it heretical.
The top of my list, and possibly the only object that was certain to stay high on the list was a holocron that was created by Darth Malgus. He had been a Sith Lord during the time of my (many, many times removed great grandniece) Satele Shan, only to, according to the records, leave the Sith Empire and move against them while still waging war on the Jedi. The reports from that time state he had led several major battles, including the attack on Alderaan and the taking of Coruscant, which included the sacking of the Jedi Temple.
I had learnt about him, and others during that time, as a Padawan, though it wasn’t until I’d gone to the Celebratus Archives that I’d gotten much detail on the matter. Like most topics that dealt with ancient Jedi and Sith, I had avoided learning about them while at the Temple, but at the Celebratus Archives, I had happily downloaded everything I could on galactic history that caught my attention, with the events centred around Revan and Satele Shan first and foremost in that regard.
That the Order had Malgus’ holocron, and stated in the synopsis on the datapad, that it was either made or finished after he had left the Sith Empire, only made it more appealing. He was one of the few Sith to ever leave a Sith Order, and learning about why he had done that, along with potentially discovering any caches of knowledge or technology, no matter how ancient or outdated, was something I wanted to understand. Potentially even learn from.
There were other items on my list, such as holocrons belonging to Darth Rivan and Naga Sadow, and the lightsaber of Exar Kun. However, nothing was entirely set and even after nearly two days of non-stop reading the datapad, I still had about thirty per cent of it still to read the descriptions of the items in the secure vaults. Yes, many were Jedi artefacts, but everything would be given its due consideration.
“Won’t the Order suspect something when you return to the Temple twice in quick succession, and then depart with the items we wish for?” I asked, pushing aside thoughts on what I hoped Dooku could get for me, and focusing on the details of the operation.
"As I have already explained, any Jedi Master can enter a secure vault in the Archives at any time. Yes, the entry and exit are logged, but nothing inside is tracked as being taken. Between my work since Naboo with Komari, who is developing into something of potential use, I have made semi-regular returns to the Temple. Even going so far as to borrow for over a month in some cases, the occasional restricted holocron. At no point have I been questioned on this, not even for one holocron I have held in my possession, but held no interest in, for over a year. The list you are pursuing was acquired not long after your last visit to Coruscant; a spectacle that some in the Order asked me about." He raised a hand before I could say anything. "None believe you were there as anything more than a guest of the Co-Chancellors. It is known to the Council and others that you have connections to both Palpatine and Damask after all."
“Ah, that’s good to know. As for the list, I assume you already have some items you wish to take as departure gifts?”
Dooku’s lip twitched slightly in amusement. “I do, and I already have one such holocron stored in my cabin.” I felt my curiosity spike at learning that. “The challenge, particularly with anything linked to the Dark Side, is dulling their presence so that others are unaware of what I am carrying. Thanks to studying how you were masking your presence in the Force, specifically your tendency to draw upon the Dark Side when you were last here, I have created methods to hide such Force signatures. They have already been tested and worked well enough that Master Nu was unaware I was in possession of a minor Sith Holocron when I spoke to her the last time I was in the Temple.”
“The challenge that exists is projecting this masking technique to more than a handful of items that have strong signatures in the Force. Ideally, the possession of something aligned with the Order would help enforce the masking of anything connected to the Dark Side, however, I cannot be sure of that which is why your list is required to be so limited.”
He reached into his robes and pulled out a familiar holocron; one I’d not even realised he was carrying when he entered my cabin. I extended my hand and took back King Adas’ holocron, having lent it to Dooku when he’d given me the datapad so he could examine the source of where some of my more recent training had come from. “Judging from your surprise, it seems the masking extends even to those who hold a connection to the holocron. That said, the holocron must remain inactive for me to be able to mask it.”
“Good to know,” I say as I place Adas’ holocron on the table. I intended to speak with him about some of the options as while the names would’ve come long after him, he might know of a few – either from directly teaching them or having them mentioned in passing by others he had interacted with – that could be of interest to me. “Did the gatekeeper deign to speak to you?”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“He did. However, he was unwilling to tell me what he had taught you or offer up any secrets to me. All I did learn was that he was impressed with my teaching of you with a lightsaber. While King Adas came from a time before lightsabers were invented, he was a warrior and respects skill regardless of who has it.”
I nodded, relieved that Adas hadn’t blurted out anything about what I’d been learning from him to Dooku. Oh, I hadn’t expected him to do so, nor teach Dooku as, for all his commitment to leave the Order, my former Master wasn’t ready to learn from the Dark Side. Or at least I didn’t get the impression he was.
“Have you made much progress on what items interest you?”
“Some,” I replied with a chuckle, gesturing at the datapad. “There is a lot to go through, and while I am certain that nothing linked to the Order holds much interest for me, save perhaps the holocron of my great-grandmother and one or two others – deciding on a final list is… time-consuming.”
“As it should be, Cameron. We are not, as you so dryly put it when I entered, going to a local store for weekly shopping. The difference that exists is that I have had many months to consider my options whereas you have two days before I make the first of at most, three trips to Coruscant and the Temple to acquire anything of interest.”
“Yes, Master.” Time was a constraint as Master Saa would eventually realise that I had used the Dark Side to destroy Karkko. I didn’t sense anything from the Force to suggest my time was running out, but I didn’t want to either as it would risk us trying to leave the Order around the time the Council became aware of the path I had taken. “How have your examinations of Quinlan and Aayla gone?” I asked, changing the subject.
Dooku’s brow creased slightly. “Slowly. It has, after all, only been two days since you and they arrived on the station.” He paused and I swore his thoughts drifted to another matter or person for a moment. “I am having to restrain my dissatisfaction with Master Tholme for allowing Vos to focus on Ataru as his base. While not as technically proficient with Makashi as you, he was regarded as one of the finer practitioners in the Order, and I would have expected him to ensure his Padawan had a firm grasp of the duelling form. Sadly, that is not the case.” I bit my tongue as Quin-Gon had used Ataru as a base and he had been Dooku’s Padawan at one time. “Secura using the form is less concerning. Twi’lek’s are generally a species that leans towards rapid movements and quick reactions, particularly their females. Such behaviour leans towards one of the more… active lightsaber forms.”
“From the spars I had with Quinlan while we searched for Aayla, even though he retains the instinctual reaction for Ataru, he is essentially a blank slate and as such, I tried to have him adapt more efficient techniques. As for Aayla, she recalls her memories better due to her physiology, but you are right in saying Ataru is suitable for her.”
Dooku offered a single nod before falling into silence. I assumed he was considering the training for the pair, and allowed him the time to do so while pondering my words. Even if Quinlan were taught Makashi, I didn’t think it would be a suitable base for him. Djem So felt better if we could shift him from relying on Ataru. “Have you given any thought to what is to happen to them once we have left the Order?”
I shook my head before replying to his question. “Not really. I mean, they’re both powerful Force users and Quinlan, from what I can recall, always appeared as one who wasn’t entirely aligned with the direction the Council has taken the Order, while Aayla is a friend. However, the choice of what they do must be theirs. I won’t force them into following me if they aren’t comfortable with doing so.”
Dooku gazed at me for a few moments before sighing. “Cameron, when you leave the Order what exactly are your plans? Are you to continue your wandering with your Padawan, training in secret for the war that is to come? Or do you plan to start becoming more proactive in preparing for what is to come, along with building forces so that when the war the Sith of Darth Bane’s line has planned for comes to pass, you aren’t just looking to survive but win?”
“The latter,” I answered with a faint smile. “And yes, I can see what you are implying, master. Quinlan and Aayla would be particularly useful allies for the war to come. However, I remain uncertain about forcing them to follow me if they don’t wish to. Aayla is a friend, but with her remembering much of her time in the Order, she might decide to return to them. If she does, Quinlan will follow, even if I feel steering clear of the Order is the better path for him to travel.”
“It is good that you understand that you will need assets to use against the dangers that loom in your future. That said, you must remember that those you consider friends, or even lovers, can turn against you if you do not ensure their loyalty. You must seek to convert them to your side so that they do not become forces your enemies can use against you.” He stood before continuing. “I will not ask directly about your plans for after we depart the Order; that is something that should not be had until we are clear of any member of the Order sensing them in our minds. What I will request is that while they remain on this station, that you train them with the intent that they are not returning to the Order, but instead will be among the first to gather under your banner.”
“Yes, Master,” I replied, lowering my head. The A Change in Path quest was, as always, fresh in my mind when I considered Quinlan and Aayla. There was a potential there for what Dooku was suggesting, and I would admit that ever since rescuing Aayla, the objective of them learning from and following me was the one that gained appeal daily. Dooku was right that I would need allies for what was coming. Not just soldiers like those I hoped to gain from the Mando’ade, but Force users to counter whatever the Jedi and Banite Sith threw at me. A single Force user, if trained properly, was beyond anything even the best Mando’ade could do. Even in a group with an ambush laid and activated, I didn’t believe any Mando’ade group could take out most Jedi Masters, to say nothing of those like Windu and Yoda who were the very apex of what the Order was capable of.
For the longest time, I had expected Serra to be one of, if not the first Jedi to follow me regardless of what path I chose. However, since Naboo, and with Windu taking over her training, I hadn’t managed to speak with her, and I was beginning to feel that our paths were diverging. Potentially fatally. I prayed that wasn’t the case, but I had to prepare as if it would happen.
Currently, outside of Dooku who was more of an ally than a potential follower, the only Force user I knew would stand with me was Anakin. Even once he got close to his peak, the pair of us alone wouldn’t be enough to alter the destiny of the galaxy. For that, I needed more than just armies and navies, I needed Force users who would do whatever it took to win, and Quinlan and Aayla had the potential to be the first of those forces.
Yes, it was callous to think of them and others in such blunt, almost dismissive, terms. However, it was a simple fact that outside of Anakin, I felt I might have to sacrifice anyone for victory.
… …
… …
“WOOHOO!”
The excited, perhaps overly so if my eardrums were anything to go by, shout had come from Anakin as he sat beside in the co-pilot’s seat in Raven’s cockpit. What drew it on was me guiding my ship past another vessel with only a metre or so to spare as we raced around the final beacon on one section of the stellar racecourse we were traversing.
While it might seem odd at first that, with Dooku currently on his way or at the Temple to acquire some holocrons and I was taking part in a galactic race, there was logic to it. Not only did it give me clear deniability to be involved in the thefts – as some in the Order would blame me even if I couldn’t access the secure vaults – I had also promised Anakin that we’d take part in such a race while I had been on Kiffex trying to first find Aayla, and then when I’d gone to kill Karkko, and he had been confined to Raven. The fact the race was broadcast on the Holonet meant I had proof that I was nowhere near the Temple whenever it was discovered that holocrons and other restricted items were missing, and would allow Anakin to later, once I downloaded the recording of the race, watch it again at his leisure.
Currently, Dooku had two holocrons that I wanted, that of Darth Malgus and Darth Desolous, as while there were others that I was interested in and that Adas had suggested, those two were the ones I felt the most drawn to. From both a curiosity perspective, and through the Force.
Most of Adas’ suggestions had centred around Sith who had shown a focus towards Sith alchemy or sorcery. I was unsure if I would ever head down those roads – Adas made clear that one had to commit fully to the Dark Side and forgo almost every positive connection one might have with others to learn them – but the fact such knowledge was there to potentially be taken, and that they might hold some unexpected discovery, meant they remained on the list I had for Dooku’s next trip to the Temple. A list that was, even though I’d tried to trim it down, was still nearly twenty items long.
“Power levels?” I asked Anakin simply to distract him from distracting me as I piloted Raven. We’d finished this particular section of the course, one that focused on manoeuvrability, and were now in a straight drag towards the next set of beacons.
I already knew the power levels as Raven was relaying everything to me through our bond, but the more Anakin focused on the systems, the less of a nuisance he was, and as we were approaching the next ship in the race – a modified YT-1200 freighter that had impressive afterburners – I wanted my attention to be fully on overtaking them before the next beacon was reached.
The race had started with a hundred ships and while we’d made a good start, I’d held back. I wanted an idea of what the other vessels were capable of and thus as we’d reached the first set of beacons to be navigated around – ones that had us dropping into the atmosphere of a semi-habitable moon – we’d been sitting in about sixty-first. Since then, we’d been climbing slowly, already up in the thirties and barely a tenth of the course had been completed.
I already knew we’d be hard-pressed to catch the frontrunners. While fast, Raven wasn’t built for outright acceleration like some of the other ships were, but it was apparent after the last set of beacons – the second series of quick, sharp turns we’d had to navigate – that she had better turning than almost every vessel in the race. And that was before I used the bond I shared with her to its maximum potential.
“Steady, but with room to push more,” Anakin replied, and I could sense how much he was enjoying this. The radiant thrill he was emanating into the Force was like a beacon that, for those who could sense it, could be used to steer themselves by. Even if they were a whole sector away from us. He wasn’t doing it intentionally, instead simply revelling in the experience. It was one of the few times I’d seen him not hold back – be that consciously or subconsciously – his Force signature.
“Should we do so now?” I shot back, deciding as the YT-1200 came ever closer while Raven ran it down, to test him a little.
“No. Not yet,” He answered. “Save it for when we leave the next set of beacons.”
I nodded even as the YT-1200 reached the first of those beacons; Raven was close enough that I could see flickers of colour in the freighter’s engine plumes. My fingers flew over the controls, sending instructions to Raven, though she was already moving before I finished, her ability to sense my needs growing stronger with each passing day.
Power was shifted from the main sublight engines to the shields as Raven pulled alongside the YT-1200. Sparks of colour danced where the shields brushed against each other, though by the time both vessels banked around the next beacon, Raven had already pulled half a length ahead as we rounded the beacon. That lead was confirmed as the freighter, like every other vessel we’d hunted down, fell away behind us.
As we neared the third beacon for this section, it shifted. The course moved slightly to challenge the pilots. Before I could even alter our path, Raven was moving, adapting to the challenge. As we emerged around that beacon, my smile grew as I saw we’d closed several ship lengths on the next vessel we had to hunt and overtake.
I understood that while I had impressive skill with piloting, I wasn’t a natural at it like some, nor anything close to being a pilot like Saesee Tiin was, or Anakin would be. However, I had my bond with Raven, and that along with my connection to the Force being more natural than it had once been, meant I could match any pilot in the field, and if we got lucky, secure a top ten finish. Perhaps even make the top five.
As we slipped from the last of this section of beacons designed to test a ship and pilot’s ability to make quick, powered turns and adapt to shifting vectors, the extra power Anakin had told me to hold back was pushed into Raven’s sublight engines, and we’d overtaken two more vessels, slipping into the top thirty. Ahead of us were the next five ships, all of them racing towards the beacon at the edge of the system. Once there everyone would jump to hyperspace and head to a nearby system for the next section of the race, and then return to repeat the course in this system before finishing where we’d started.
Raven rushed forward, the distance to the group of five ships ahead of us closing rapidly. We’d not overtake them before jumping, but I knew we’d pass them as Raven danced through the exotic matter of hyperspace. Like Anakin and myself, she was rejoicing in the experience of testing herself against other vessels. She was built for flying and while she enjoyed any form of flying, she was over the freaking moon about taking part in this race; potentially even more excited for it to begin than Anakin had been once she understood what was going on.
We caught the last of the five vessels just as we reached the jump beacon, and Raven had the power shifting to the hyperdrive even before I reached for the switches to do so. My smile grew, possibly now matching Anakin’s at how naturally and instinctively Raven knew what I wanted when we were flying. She was a part of me in a way few could ever understand, and no matter what happened with the Order when I resigned, I knew she would stay mine.
Technically, she was the property of the Order, however, unless they wished to intentionally punish me, and hurt Raven, they wouldn’t attempt to separate us. Not when the bond we shared uniquely radiated within the Force. Hells, even if they did decide to deny me access to Raven, I had no concerns. The moment they tried to lock her down, she’d break free and escape from the Temple; something that I couldn’t deny I almost wanted to happen simply to see the reactions of the Council members and others in the Order. Even if they took her somewhere and attempted to hide her from me, blocking our connection, I knew they couldn’t keep us apart. Raven was, in a sense that many might not ever truly understand, my child and like with Anakin, I’d burn down the galaxy to keep my family safe.
As the exotic energies of hyperspace washed over Raven’s hull and she almost squealed into the Force at experiencing them in a race, I let such concerns slip from my thoughts. Today was about having fun with my family and nothing else.
… …
