Power stone Goal: 220/300
Hey guys, hope you all are having a great day. I thought I'd make a chapter today and hopefully continue my streak of cool chapters. As recompense, if you all could make sure to comment and interact, it would be much appreciated; I love interacting with you all.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy, have a good day/night!
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As the Sith were being heavily escorted towards their guest chambers, Obi Wan was half way between speed walking and running away. The man, a Jedi master, had experienced a multitude of situations in his past... From defeating Darth Maul after he had slain his master to carving a path through an entire army upon Geonosis, this one took the cake for how unexpected and downright harrowing it was.
Three Sith Lords had just emerged, spoken to him as if they were old friends and then all but requested to be taken to the Jedi Council on Coruscant. More than just that though, they were requesting an exchange of information that was antithetical to everything the Jedi had been taught about Sith and how they operate.
His face twisted into a grimace as his mind screamed at him to request aid from the council to capture these Sith. His heart however, had other considerations that weighed upon it. One of these considerations was the knowledge that these men had neither attacked or threatened him or the Republic in any way. It was the opposite of what Dooku and Ventress herself had done, both of them instead choosing to openly oppose the Jedi and the Republic.
'I need Anakin and Ashoka here... Then I will contact the council, Master Yoda will know what is to be done.' His thoughts clarified after an intense five minute sprint through the ship towards the command deck.
The door to the bridge whizzed open with a soft mechanical movement as the chaos of the bridge slid into focus once more. He ignored it all though, instead narrowing his attention on the private chambers off to the side that he could use to contact Republic High Command or the Jedi Council.
"General, I heard we are entertaining... 'guests'... Am I to assume that they are subdued and under lock and key?" Yularen haughtily questioned as Obi Wan briskly stepped around him, heading towards the private room.
Obi Wan didn't even falter in his steps as he answered, "Your assumptions could be dangerous admiral. I personally choose to investigate before believing I understand what is happening... Now, I need to speak to the council, if you don't mind?" He didn't wait for the admiral to answer and instead opened the blast doors to the chamber, stepping through and shutting them behind him.
The man exhaled his exhaustion into the cold air of the chamber, his eyes gluing themselves to the communication console in the middle of the darkened grey room. The dimensions of the space were neither grand in scope nor congested in comfortability. It was the perfect size for a private discussion. 'The lighting could do with an upgrade however...' He thought as he observed the timid white-blue light that softly curled at the corners of the room and along the perimeter of his vision.
Briskly, he walked up to the console and began the operating procedures for contacting Anakin and Ashoka. Each Jedi had an emergency contact code that was assigned to them in each engagement, fleet-wise or army-wise, that they could be contacted on in emergencies, he was going to use their codes to get a quick response.
A soft beep echoed inside the room followed by a prompt for the code details.
"Code: 11AZA-BETA-225" He stated blandly.
Another beep confirmed the code and the hologram display started flickering on and off in short cycles, preparing for a response from a transponder on the other side. Obi Wan softly began tapping his fingers along his arms as he stood with his arms folded, his brow furrowed and expression introspective.
A minute passed in dead silence before the line was finally answered, a shower of battlefield noises blaring into the room like a charging swarm of Bantha. "Master, you called?" His past Padawan, now Jedi Knight, Anakin, wheezed out as a Separatist Hover-tank detonated behind him.
Obi Wan blinked a few times before breaking out of his pouty disposition, his hands gripping the edges of the console in front of him as he leaned forwards. "Anakin, there had been a change in plans. I'm calling you and Ashoka back up to the Negotiator." His former Padawan immediately frowned, his lightsaber sparking upwards to deflect an errant blaster bolt.
"Why? We've just begun the campaign down here and have recently secured a corridor through the capital..." Obi Wan tried not to cringe at the bitterness in the young man's voice. He knew that his Padawan, his son in all but name, disliked being pulled away from a job or conflict before he had time to ensure it would be a success for whoever followed upon his work.
"There have been complications Anakin. Currently, I am playing host to three Sith Lords and a 'Sith Acolyte'." The young man's face twisted in disgust and betrayal just as Obi Wan internally winced at how that would sound to any Jedi, let alone Anakin.
"SITH!? And you're breaking bread with them!?!?" He swiped his lightsaber downwards and cut a battle droid in half as it charged towards him.
"They have neither threatened me or the Republic, they have not attacked me or even decried me for being a Jedi. I cannot just attack them for using the opposite side of the force to us, I would be stooping down to the level of the Sith myself If I did that." Anakin scrunched his face in distaste before nodding.
"What would you have us do?" Obi Wan internally sighed whilst outwardly displaying a thoughtful expression.
"You and your Padawan are to transit to the Negotiator to serve as an escort for the Sith alongside myself whilst I contact the Jedi Council." Anakin nodded solemnly, looking past the holoprojector in his hands.
"Okay Master, we will be there soon. Who is to take command in our stead?" A soft exhale followed the question.
"Put Rex in charge for now, Cody and him should be more than enough to take the capital city. By the time they have achieved that the council will have most likely found a Jedi to replace us in this conflict." The Jedi Master intoned softly, his mind already working on a way to get away from the interdiction field.
"And the graviton field?" Both turned silent for a time before Obi Wan responded.
"We will work on the dilemma together, once you and Ashoka are on board." The young man nodded and quickly shut off the holoprojector, the room emptying of all noise and becoming as silent as the void of space.
'Now, to contact the council...' He started fiddling with the buttons on the console once more, his mind thumping in exhaustion as he made the attempt to straighten his thoughts out on the topic of the Sith Lords.
~~~
It was good to be a Sith. That's what Harry had come to believe and accept. The majority of Sith, whilst prone towards acts of evil and hunger for power, were true to themselves. None of them allowed the shackles of the past to tie them down, to stifle who they are and what they are. Harry, when he had first been exposed to the teachings of the Sith, had decried their power and their unnecessary violence. He continued on this train of thought until his Master, Apocrypha, sat before him and discussed with him the tennets of True Sith and the fakes he had witnessed.
Being a True Sith wasn't about violence, anger or any other mixture of negative emotions... Those were symptoms of being tied down by the world around them. An illness caused by their lacking ability to find clarity of their own mind, powers and understanding.
During all the time within those Holocrons he learned true freedom. The ability to think for himself, to choose what emotions he wanted to use and tap into at a moments notice... The solace in the ability to ignore outward expectations from people, society and the universe itself. His past made him who he was, but it no longer controlled him. The future was his to pave, to create, to manifest... Through understanding, through clarity, through power of will, he had broken the chains that bound him and bind most people. He was no longer a slave to the Dursleys, to the 'Light', to Dumbledore. He was Harry, Darth Revenant and whoever else he wished to be.
He opened his eyes as the door to his room opened. It had been a long time since he had had time to simply sit and contemplate his existence and the scope of everything going on around him.
"Why do you follow that Darth Nexis...?" Harry cocked his head to the side in curiosity as he watched the grey-skinned woman that they had captured pace back and forth in front of his bed.
"Hmmm, we aren't followers of his. I would say that we're friends, seeing as how he saved my godfather's life and has helped us in reaching civilisation again." The woman stopped her pacing, her upper lip working into a snarl before it quivered and dropped against her lower lip once again.
"You are Sith... Aren't you supposed to hate the Jedi!?" Harry frowned before shaking his head, his muscular arms pressing onto the bed in an effort to break his meditative posture.
"Why?" She froze for a second time. She didn't responded so Harry continued.
"What is the purpose in using my hate at this moment? It achieves nothing. We wouldn't get to go to this Coruscant place, meet the Jedi council and possibly find a way back home. How does hate help us at this moment?" She was rapidly blinking her eyes, her mouth working open and closed until she closed her jaw and stared the young man down.
Knowing he wouldn't get an answer from her, Harry continued his impromptu speech. "It doesn't. That's why we are being kind, compassionate, understanding... Only from a position of clarity can you truly understand what is occurring around you, only from clarity can you gain power and from power can you break the shackles around you."
Ventress simply stared at the young man, the cogs inside her mind working like a maintenance droid who had been recently repaired to comprehend what he was trying to teach her.
Harry sighed at her obliviousness. "Let me put it this way... How can you get what you want from someone if you are constantly lashing out against them, striking them, hating them?" He paused as she considered.
"You do not show that you want something from them and steal it whilst they are distracted." Her solution was simple, elegant and very 'Sith'.
"True, that could work. But tell me, what happens when they find out? What if there is evidence left that can be traced back to you? What if your allies betray you and sell you out for some coin? There is no honour amongst thieves, I know that and I know that you understand that." Her right eye twitched in frustration.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!?" She yelled in frustration.
"You can get something from someone, usually, by asking for it and offering an exchange. Why do we need to become mindless animals of emotion, killing, stealing, maiming, just to get something that someone would willingly give us should we just approach them in the right way?"
She flinched as if physically struck by the logic.
"This doesn't always work, but it is the most efficient and Sith-like way of doing things... After all, I would not be impeding on their freedoms by asking or exchanging something for what I want... They would benefit and possibly gain power or something they were passionate about whilst I get something that does something similar to me..."
Ventress was wide eyed and stunned. Her previous 'master' had never taught her the code of the Sith. She had just thought that they hated the Jedi and disliked them for past mistakes made by the pompous council that ruled over them.
Harry continued despite her internal conflict. "Despite saying that, we are all capable of killing and torture. We could gain power through mass slaughter and power displays. We are just as Sith as all the others, if we choose to be... And that is the difference between your former Master and us. He is controlled by his emotions, like a slave. We control our emotions and how they effect us, we are free men."
The woman stood there in perfect silence for a minute, just staring at him, before she abruptly turned and left, her voice softly echoing as she left.
"I need to think..."
Harry slumped backwards onto his bed, staring at the matte-grey ceiling and remembering his friends back home. Hermione, who was possibly the love of his life. Ron, his best friend who was a bit of a turd but was also always there when it mattered. Luna, a girl who was truly unique and was more of a sister to him than any other girl in Gryffindor. Neville, his second best friend who always did the right thing, not the easy thing...
He missed them. He wanted to get back to them.
~~~
Back With Obi Wan...
"I'm sorry, what did you say Obi Wan?" Mace Windu asked incredulously.
"There are three Sith Lords on my ship who wish to meet with the Jedi Council and... 'Exchange knowledge'..." The entire council went quiet at the man's statement, his tone turning tired as he quoted Darth Nexis.
"Mmmmh... Mmmha... Mhahahahahahahaha!" And now Yoda was laughing...
The entire council shifted uncomfortably in their cushy seats, except for Obi Wan who nervously shuffled a little bit.
"Bring them you must! Exchange, there will be, yes! Mmmhahaha!" Mace Windu looked as if he has swallowed some of those annoying bugs from Felucia that Obi Wan had read about as a youngling.
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