Chapter 19: The Testimony
POV: Kael Vorn
The Council Chamber at dawn felt different from his previous visits—charged with tension that made the ancient stones seem to hum with anticipation. Kael and Ventress stood at the chamber's center, both bruised and exhausted from their ordeal, bracing themselves for the resistance they knew would come.
The twelve Council members watched with expressions that ranged across the spectrum of Jedi emotion: Yoda's ancient eyes bright with curiosity, Mace Windu's face carved from stone and openly hostile, Plo Koon's respirator wheezing with what might have been sympathy, Obi-Wan maintaining diplomatic neutrality despite his obvious concern.
In the corner, Ahsoka stood with her arms crossed, having insisted on attending despite not being summoned. The relief written across her features when she saw Kael alive was so profound it made his chest tighten with guilt.
"I put her through hell. She thought I was dead."
Mace Windu's voice cut through the morning air like a blade. "Explain why we shouldn't arrest this Sith assassin immediately."
Kael stepped forward, the data crystal from the facility heavy in his palm. "Because she helped us uncover something that threatens the entire Republic. Something that makes the war itself look like a distraction."
He activated the holographic projector, and the Council Chamber filled with the horrors they had witnessed. Images of the dead children appeared in translucent blue light—their faces peaceful in death but marked by the surgical scars of neural experimentation. Laboratory notes scrolled past describing "Force-extraction protocols" and "sensitivity enhancement procedures."
And threaded through it all, those seventeen coordinates scattered across Republic and Separatist space, all connected to a single designation that made Kael's blood run cold every time he saw it: Order 66.
The Council's reaction was immediate and visceral. Even Mace's stern façade cracked as he witnessed the scope of the atrocity. Ki-Adi-Mundi leaned forward, his Cerean features tight with concentration.
"These encryption codes... they're Republic military standard. How is this possible?"
Ventress spoke with controlled fury, her voice cutting through the chamber like a lightsaber through silk. "Because whoever authorized this has access to Republic systems. High-level access."
"The highest level. Palpatine himself is orchestrating this, using both sides of the war to cover his experiments."
Kael tried to voice his suspicions, tried to explain that the conspiracy reached to the very pinnacle of Republic leadership. But the moment he attempted to name the Chancellor directly, the curse activated with cruel precision.
"The grandfatherly cookie baker of ultimate doom controls the toaster protocols!"
Awkward silence crashed over the chamber like a wave. Mace pinched the bridge of his nose, his patience clearly strained beyond its limits.
"Your... condition makes coherent testimony difficult."
[META-KNOWLEDGE COMMUNICATION BLOCKED]
[TIMELINE INTEGRITY PROTECTION ACTIVE]
[FRUSTRATION LEVELS: CRITICAL]
Plo Koon's respirator wheezed thoughtfully as he processed the evidence. "This requires immediate investigation. We must dispatch teams to verify these coordinates before more innocents suffer."
But Ki-Adi-Mundi raised a cautionary hand. "We're spread thin across the galaxy. Diverting resources based on unverified data from a Sith assassin—"
"Unverified?" Ventress cut him off, her yellow eyes blazing with indignation. "Did you not see the corpses? The children they experimented on? I can take you back there if you need more proof!"
Mace turned toward her with glacial coldness. "We don't require lectures on morality from Sith."
The tension in the chamber spiked dangerously. Kael stepped between them before the situation could escalate into violence.
"Enough. We're bringing you evidence of a conspiracy that spans both sides of this war. If you won't investigate, what was the point of this testimony?"
Obi-Wan interjected with diplomatic precision, his voice carrying the weight of someone accustomed to navigating impossible situations. "We will investigate. Carefully. But Ventress's freedom remains... problematic."
Ahsoka's voice cut through the debate, startling everyone with its unexpected intervention. "Master Kael vouches for her. She risked her life to get this information. That should count for something."
"Snips defending Ventress. I never thought I'd see the day."
Yoda deliberated in the silence that followed, his ancient eyes distant as he contemplated possibilities that stretched across decades of experience. When he finally spoke, his words carried the authority of nine centuries.
"Place Asajj Ventress in Kael Vorn's custody, we will. Responsible for her actions, he becomes. Monitor her, he must. But freedom, she has earned. For now."
Mace objected strenuously, his presence in the Force radiating disapproval. "Master Yoda, this is highly irregular. The woman is dangerous—"
"Dangerous, yes," Yoda acknowledged. "But sensed in her, I do, conflict. Pull toward Light, there is. Perhaps guide her back to balance, Kael Vorn can."
Ventress looked genuinely surprised, her composure cracking for the first time since they'd entered the chamber. She had clearly expected execution or imprisonment, not conditional freedom under supervision.
"Why?" she demanded, turning to face Yoda directly.
The ancient Master smiled with something that might have been hope. "Because choose your path, you still can. Dark or Light, matter it does not. Only that choose for yourself, you do."
[VENTRESS STATUS: OFFICIALLY ALLIED]
[COMPANION BOND: PERMANENT]
[TRUST LEVEL: 5/10]
[COUNCIL FACTIONS REVEALED: PROGRESSIVE VS. CONSERVATIVE]
After the formal dismissal, Mace cornered Kael in the corridor outside the chamber. His words carried the weight of absolute certainty and barely controlled frustration.
"If she kills anyone—anyone at all—their blood is on your hands. Do not make me regret the Council's mercy."
Kael nodded, understanding the full weight of what he had just accepted. Ventress wasn't just his ally anymore; she was his responsibility. Her actions would reflect on him, her choices would determine his fate as much as her own.
"I understand, Master Windu."
"See that you do."
As Mace stalked away, his presence in the Force still radiating displeasure, Kael found himself suddenly tackled by Ahsoka's enthusiastic embrace.
"Don't ever do that again!" she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "I thought—when I felt you in pain through the Force—"
She pulled back, and Kael saw tears glistening in her eyes. The depth of her concern hit him like a physical blow, reminding him that his choices affected more than just himself.
"I'm sorry, Snips. I didn't mean to worry you."
Then Ahsoka noticed Ventress watching their reunion with obvious amusement, and her entire demeanor shifted. She straightened, her hand moving instinctively toward her lightsaber.
"I'm watching you, Ventress. If you hurt him—"
Ventress raised an eyebrow, her expression somewhere between contempt and genuine curiosity. "Protective. How sweet. Your gray one survived worse than me, little Jedi."
The tension was palpable, two powerful Force-users sizing each other up like predators establishing territorial boundaries. For a moment, Kael wondered if he would have to physically separate them.
Then he laughed—a sound of pure, exhausted absurdity that broke the spell completely.
"Can we not do this? I've had enough near-death experiences this week."
Ventress smirked, clearly amused by the entire situation. Ahsoka glared but didn't draw her weapon. Neither attacked the other.
It was progress. Barely.
[AHSOKA-VENTRESS RELATIONSHIP: HOSTILE BUT STABLE]
[THREE-WAY COMPANION DYNAMIC: ESTABLISHED]
[TIMELINE INTEGRITY: 83%]
As they left the Council Chamber together—an unlikely trio bound by circumstances none of them could have predicted—Kael reflected on how far they had all come from their original roles in the canonical timeline.
Ahsoka was questioning Jedi doctrine earlier than she should have. Ventress was actively seeking redemption instead of falling deeper into darkness. And he was building something that had never existed in any version of the Star Wars universe he remembered—a genuine gray path that offered alternatives to the binary choices that had doomed so many others.
The Project Shadowfeed investigation would proceed at the Council's typically cautious pace. The war would continue its inexorable march toward Order 66. And somewhere in the shadows, forces beyond his ability to predict were taking notice of the changes he had wrought.
But for now, in this moment, he had something he'd never dared hope for: allies who trusted him, a purpose that mattered, and the beginning of a path that might lead somewhere better than the darkness he remembered.
It wasn't much. But it was a start.
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