( BBY 29 )
With a cup of tea in hand, Yoda was relaxing in his private chambers when he felt Obi-Wan hurrying to see him. The orthodox Padawan had become an orthodox knight, and Yoda knew Kenobi wouldn't have been so impatient if the situation wasn't important.
"Master Yoda!" He let himself inside, and then paused with a slightly guilty expression at the realisation that he was clearly interrupting. "I apologise, but this is urgent."
"Go ahead, young Kenobi." Yoda assured him.
"I just received a call from an old friend, Guerra Derida, and he wanted to know why he and the rest of the Council of Phindar were being taken into custody by a Jedi Knight!" Obi-Wan raised his voice in astonishment. "Master, Dooku has led an invasion of the Phindar sector! He's sent Knight Ventress to round up the planet's leadership!"
A small, tired and selfish part of Yoda didn't want to hear about this at all. It simply wanted to go to bed, and pretend it knew nothing. With a grunt of exertion, Yoda pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his cane and wincing as his ancient bones ground together.
"Go inform Master Windu." Yoda ordered. "An emergency meeting of the Council will be convened."
Whatever temptations Yoda might have felt for his bed were put far from his mind when he climbed onto his repulsorlift chair, and rode it up to the Council Chambers. It wasn't long at all until the rest of the Council joined him there, Master Windu striding into the room first with a dark scowl on his face. The man had his mind shielded as firmly as any Yoda had ever known, but he knew Windu regretted his decision all those years ago. He had voted to establish the New Temple along with several other masters after being made promises by Dooku, and clearly felt betrayed now more than ever.
As the other Masters began to arrive, Windu leaned over in his seat to Yoda. "Do you think this is connected to the Sith?"
Yoda wished he could say that he thought it wasn't. He wished that he still trusted his former padawan, but to do so would be naive. The Sith had returned, that much was certain. The arm and lightsaber Kenobi had taken confirmed he was a Nightbrother of Dathomir, and where there was one there was likely others. It seemed that Dathomir had become the recruiting ground for a new generation of Sith, explaining why the Jedi had never been able to locate powerful Force Sensitives on that world, despite the frequent appearance of weaker ones.
This new sect of Sith, whoever they were, would see the breaking away of the New Temple as an opportunity. Whatever Dooku's hopes for the New Temple, and his plans to pacify the Outer Rim, basic tactics were to divide and conquer your enemy.
To make matters worse, Dooku refused to reduce the age at which he recruited new Jedi. It left his order vulnerable to infiltration. That boy had always been ambitious and determined to see things done his way, Yoda thought. How resilient would Dooku be to the whispered promises of a Sith? It was all too easy to imagine a scenario where Dooku, long embittered against the Republic, was turned into a pawn in a dark game. Even the boy's growing rivalry with the Trade Federation was fraught with the potential to turn into a confrontation with the Republic, and that was even when assuming no Sith involvement.
Even so, it was simply possible that Dooku had made his move on Phindar simply out of feudal ambitions. During the Dark Age, Jedi Lords were perfectly willing to go to war with each other or neutral systems if they felt they had to. At the end of the day, whatever his Jedi training, the man was a Count now. It would be foolish to believe he wouldn't act like it, even without Sith involvement.
All these thoughts passed through Yoda's mind as Windu watched him.
In the end, whatever his speculations, Yoda couldn't answer. He just didn't know.
"Clouded, the matter is." He rumpled, leaning back into his chair, and Windu did the same as the rest of the Jedi Council sat down.
With everyone assembled, the meeting began. Windu explained the situation, and the rest of the Council received the news calmly. After that, just as they began to discuss responses, the holoprojector in the centre of the room chimed.
Windu quickly glanced at who was calling, his scowl deepening. "Master Dooku is trying to reach us."
Ki Adi Mundi was the first to respond. "Most likely, he realises he's gotten himself in trouble with the Senate, and is trying to persuade us to go along with his annexation."
Yaddle said, "Please. We all know Dooku wouldn't do something so drastic without good reason."
"We did know him once." Ki Adi countered. "But he's changed."
That got everyone nodding, though Yaddle frowned with unspoken disagreement.
"Whatever he's calling for, to speak to him at this time might suggest that we support his current actions." Windu said. "We've made concession after concession for him, and I fear we've only taught him that he can demand what he wants from us. We must remember that our role is to mediate an end to conflict. Whatever Dooku's issues with Phindar, we can't be trusted to be peacemakers if we treat him with favor. We cannot afford the appearance of collusion."
There was a round of nods, and Yoda saw that the Council were already in agreement. "Very well." He said.
After muting the call, the Council let Dooku try to call a few more times as they resolved a course of action. The first thing to do was to send a Jedi team to Phindar to assess what exactly was happening there, and what could be done about it. Once they had determined who the aggrieved parties were, and what the cause of the fighting was, they would attempt to negotiate a settlement.
Yoda went to bed that night, and considered calling Dooku personally, but held himself back from doing so. Windu was right. The Jedi must remain apart from the cut and thrust of local politics. They couldn't be dragged down by personal connections. He meditated before bed, casting his mind out to find Dooku stressed and worried as he rushed back to Serenno, but Yoda had expected as much and withdrew himself before he was noticed.
When he did go to sleep, he dreamed of a blazing fire, slowly drawing him towards it. No matter how much he struggled, he knew it would consume him. He was starving, too weak to resist. He didn't fear his own death, but with growing horror he realised he wasn't the only one being drawn in. Behind him was every youngling he'd ever raised watching fearfully with gaunt faces, as they drew closer and closer to the blaze. Their fear surrounded him, their wails deafened him, and as the blazing flame finally reached his toes, he realised his own voice was joining them.
Yoda awoke in a cold sweat, his throat strained from overuse. Staring at the sun rising over the edge of the Coruscant skyline, he wondered if that dream was one of prophecy, or just the mind of an old man, overworked and struggling with stress.
...
Anakin thought that in some ways Coruscant was almost the same as Tatooine. There were big differences too, like it was never quite as warm, though the nights were just as cold. Even just a normal city street made the noisiest festival in Mos Esper seem like nothing. No dune songs, but always the woosh of passing traffic.
The people were the same though, the way they thought. A lot of people were miserable, struggling to make it through the hour or the day, and they did that by not thinking about anyone else. They shut down that little voice inside themselves that told them they were being rude, or hiding the truth. There was no need for right or wrong when you were caught in a sandstorm. Anakin didn't blame them, he did the same thing.
When he was grown he wouldn't have to turn a blind eye. When he was older, and stronger, he wouldn't look away from the unhappy people, he'd just do something about it. No one would be able to stop him.
"Anakin." Master Yoda's voice rang out sharply. "Clear your mind."
Right, meditation. Anakin breathed out, trying again to focus his thoughts. Or unfocus them.
Whatever.
...
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