Chương 27: Chapter 21: Suppositions & Sparring

To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose. Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. -Yoda ~*~*~*~ Rann spent the next several days barely able to leave his room and leaving a disgusting, tumultuous presence in the Force wherever he went. His Master, worried by her normally self-sufficient and even-tempered apprentice suddenly spiraling, had tried to get him to meditate with her. He begged off claiming his head hurt.

Eventually Rann pulled himself out of his funk precipitated by discovering that things weren't going according to either timeline he knew and instead by a third. He began by meticulously researching what had and hadn't changed with the Sith as best he could using open-source intelligence like news, press briefings, paparazzi, and company's quarterly reports.

From this, he was able to reconstruct that Darths Tenebrous and Plagueis had likely gone to Bal'demnic because the board of directors for the company which had set them up to be killed in a "mining accident," Subtext Mining, had all died under mysterious circumstances. Classic Sith behavior, and consistent with what he knew. But, Plagueis hadn't taken the opportunity to kill Tenebrous.

There were too many variables for Rann to be able to guess why he hadn't, but subsequent actions pointed to major shifts in the Banite Sith's modus operandi. Plagueis, under the guise of Hego Damask, had still become involved in Naboo's affairs and led Palpatine down the path that resulted in him massacring his family, indicating that he was likely a Sith apprentice.

Bane's Order of the Sith Lords' Rule of Two was an operating principle that just about every Sith Lord in the millennia since Bane's death had violated. But to openly train another apprentice, which Plagueis appeared to be doing, simply wasn't done. This implied that something had happened which shook Tenebrous and Plagueis to such an extent that they were willing to discard one of their order's most sacred tenets.

Rann had wracked his brain and scoured the holonet and recent histories, looking for anything that he didn't line up with what he remembered from his old lifetime, but found nothing. But the absence of evidence wasn't evidence of absence. The books, movies, and other media from his past gave brief glimpses into what was ultimately a galaxy of trillions of beings and couldn't cover everything.

Some corner of the galaxy that hadn't made it into the media of his lifetime, or something he hadn't seen before, could have changed and through the Butterfly Effect had the Sith acting entirely differently from what he expected. Plus, Rann had already noted that there were several, smaller differences in this universe from what he remembered in either the Legends or Canon timelines. The other option, of course, is that his existence had somehow altered the Sith's behavior.

There was just no way for him to know, or even how they knew. Darth Tenebrous was known for his exceptionally powerful precognitive abilities, but this was portrayed as being relatively short in timespan, minutes or maybe hours, not the years or decades he would need to predict the effects of Rann's existence. Maybe his birth had created some kind of ripple in the Force?

Ironically, the Sith of this era were much better at detecting these kinds of things than the Jedi, as Coruscant's trillions of beings and the Temple's own strength as a vergence in the Force tended to drown out the wider galaxy. The other option, of course, is that some other sect of farseeing beings had reached out to them or otherwise altered their activities. Rann really only knew of a few options, as there really weren't that many Dark Side cults left in the galaxy.

The Jedi of the High and Late Republic eras might be losing their grip on the galaxy's pulse write large, but they had used the peace to quite thoroughly extinguish Dark Side sects throughout the galaxy. The only contenders, outside of the Banite Sith, were the Nightsisters, the Sorcerers of Rhand, the Bando Gora, and the Prophets of the Dark Side. The Nightsisters and the Sorcerers were both unlikely suspects, as they were recluses and rarely interacted with the wider galaxy unprompted.

The Bando Gora weren't known for their knowledge or abilities in foresight, so they were a possible but unlikely source. The most likely by far were the Prophets of the Dark Side, a splinter faction of the Order of the Sith founded nearly a millennia ago by Darth Millennial after he rejected Bane's Rule of Two. In canon, they had assisted Palpatine's rise to power. And, he couldn't entirely discard the idea that a random Iktochi or some other Force-sensitive with foresight had tipped the Sith off.

The more Rann thought about, the more certain he became that the possibility he needed to plan around was that the Prophets had reached out to their fellow Sith Order for some unknown reason, and what they had to say had been shocking enough for Tenebrous and Plagueis to cast off the Rule of Two. Where did that leave Rann? He wrote down what he knew and what the worst-case scenario would be: -There were now at least three Banite Sith in the Galaxy: Tenebrous, Plagueis, and Sidious.

The Rule of Two is no longer in effect. [Fact] -The first major change in Sith actions he knew about occurred 8 years ago [Fact] -Tenebrous had trained up a challenger to Plagueis, Venamis. Rann could find no evidence to confirm or deny his existence or death. [Conjecture] -Did any of them potentially take another apprentice, or train up lesser Dark Siders as fodder for the Grand Plan? [Conjecture] -The Prophets of the Dark Side were potentially providing Force-based prophetic intelligence to the Banite Sith.

[Conjecture] -They were not likely to be fighters, as their Order had largely evolved away from practicing combat skills to that degree. [Fact] -They had trained Dark Siders for Sidious' purposes in other timelines. Potential source of Sith Assassins and Acolytes? [Conjecture] -They Foresaw Rann directly, and the Sith were now aware of his actions, potentially who he was.

[Conjecture] In short, there were an unknown number of Sith active in the galaxy, their actions were now much less predictable because they had changed too much from what he knew, and his entire second section of beliefs about the Prophets was entirely guesswork, as he couldfind no evidence of their movements or involvement with the Banites. He had two facts and a mountain of speculation. Wonderful. With all this in mind, what could he do?

He was still a kid living in a very constricted environment, currently banned from leaving the Temple. Train and learn. In spite of everything, everything in the galaxy going so poorly, he had no other viable options if he wanted to save the galaxy. Leaving the Order as a half-trained Padawan was likely to get him killed. Well, there was one other thing he could do, but had been kicking down the line: pushing for reform. The Jedi Order was incredibly slow to change in the best of circumstances.

Generally, it took a crisis of epic proportions for the Order to reform itself, often involving membership being reduced down to a mere handful, often at the hands of a murderous Sith. Rann was hoping to avoid that. Get off your ass and out of your head, Rann, he thought to himself. Nothing will be done if you just sit here thinking about it. With that he made his way to the Salles to work off some steam. ~*~*~ Rann had forgotten that Mace was getting back to the Temple up until he was staring at him.

He hadn't cared to look at himself in the mirror, but he could guess that he looked terrible. In the last week, he'd only left his room for the essentials. Even before coming here to the Salles, he'd only finger-combed his hair and thrown on his cleanest set of dirty robes. He probably should have shaved and showered, cleaned up before leaving his quarters. But he'd been in them too long and just needed to move. Mace was, as always, perfectly within regulations.

His hair was neat and orderly, just like his fresh-pressed robes. He was wrapped up in what looked to be a serious and potentially fraught dialogue with the older Weequay padawan who had beaten him at the initiate tournament, Sora Bulq. But Rann knew Mace. He could see the intensity in his eyes that meant he was paying attention to what the other apprentice was saying, not replying by rote like he was prone to doing with most of his peers. Mace was serious, yes – he always was – but it wasn't out of frustration.

No, he was enjoying himself. He realized that this was the first time, really, that he'd seen Mace actually engage and enjoy himself with someone their age. They'd always been off in their own little world, apart from the rest of the Creche. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. It wasn't like that now. A hand clapped him on the shoulder, startling him out of his reverie.

"Ahh, Rann! It's been a while since I've seen you," rumbled a deep voice behind him. Rann spun to see a familiar, towering figure behind him, with a new and somewhat scruffy beard.

"Hey Qui-Gon," mumbled Rann, casting one last glance at Mace and Sora before turning fully to look at his friend.

"How've you been?"

"Good. A bit tired. It's been a while since Master Dooku and I have been able to go on missions due to his responsibilities as a Councilor, so the last one took more out of me than normal," the gentle giant admitted easily.

"And of course we come back to news of you and your Master causing some havoc."

"Yeah. What about it?" Qui-Gon huffed with amusement as Rann scowled.

"Oh, nothing. First missions are always a little exciting," said Qui-Gon, his face twisting into a smirk behind the still-growing beard.

"Besides, what's a little Council reprimand? Dooku and I've gotten a few ourselves. It's practically a badge of honor."

"You certainly act like it's one, though plenty of Jedi manage to go their whole careers with none, and certainly not as many as you've gotten as a mere Padawan," said a new voice. Rann turned to see a woman, probably around Qui-Gon's age, walking up to them.

"And who is this? You haven't introduced us."

"My apologies." Qui-Gon didn't look flustered in the slightest, though he rarely did.

"Jang, this is Junior Padawan Rann Crys. Rann, this is Senior Padawan Jang Li-Li." Rann bowed politely at Jang. The Human woman replied by cooing and said, "aren't you just adorable!" He scowled and opened his mouth, but Qui-Gon clapped him on the shoulder and said, "you should join us for some sparring. As Dooku's apprentice, I should see just how well you're coming along." Rann saw annoyance flash across Jang's face, but she quickly shifted and said, "so, you've trained with Master Dooku as well?"

"Yeah." He knew he was being rude, but he didn't feel like making new friends today.

"Oh, that's not the full story my friend." Qui-Gon turned to Jang, still smirking, and began to regale her with a very dramatic rendition of Rann's first meeting with Dooku. Jang laughed at all the appropriate moments, throwing back her long black hair, and even found the opportunity to reach out and grab Qui-Gon's arm.

So that's what she's annoyed about, he thought as he watched the immovable object of Qui-Gon's immutable cluelessness clash against Jang's determined flirting for a few more minutes until the two seemed to remember he was there.

"Jang, why don't you spar against Rann first?" Qui-Gon's tone light and innocent. He almost believed it, but he knew the look in Dooku's padawan's eye.

"You're unfamiliar with each other's styles and it would be good practice." Jang looked at him like he was a baby, a look he'd gotten familiar with over the course of his existence in this new galaxy. It still annoyed him, but he figured he might as well make use of it.

"B-but she's a Senior Padawan! You'll take it easy on me, won't you?" She melted, like he expected.

"Of course I will! Let's just have fun, okay" Qui-Gon rolled his eyes as Rann and Jang made their way to the practice circle, reducing their blades to their lowest settings before igniting them. Rann raised his into the basic Shii-Cho guard, blade perfectly vertical and held two-handed, knees slightly bent and left leg slightly forward. Exactly what every youngling was taught in their first classes, the infamous "Jedi Ready."

Jang, on the other hand, kept her feet spaced evenly and her blade held horizontally, in the "Offensive Neutral" stance. So probably Makashi or Niman, though it's hard to tell, he thought. Using an unorthodox stance was a common way for duelists unfamiliar with each other to try and promote bad guesses as to their preferred Form. They naturally fell into a clockwise circling pattern, eyeing each other.

After almost a full rotation, Rann let his lead foot cross over his centerline, watching for the tell-tale flick of Jang's eyes – there. She darted forward, jabbing with her saber. Rann stumbled backwards, making sure to let his flicking away of her blade look harried and almost accidental even as he got his feet back under himself. She pressed off her back foot, jabbing again. Another, far more forceful parry saw her blade go up and over him as he struck her leg.

"Kark-uh-ouch!" She hopped away, clutching her leg.

"What the Corellian He- heck was that!" He grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, my saber's crystal is Adegan, so it's a little overpowered even at its lowest setting." A stormy look crossed her face, but before she could say anything Qui-Gon's rumbling laugh drew their attention.

"That sword certainly does sting, I can attest. And you certainly don't play fair do you, little Rann?" He was walking towards them with a smug smile.

"Not when I can help it, big Qui." Rann deactivated his saber and bowed to Jang.

"Solah."

"Solah. You've trained with Qui-Gon a lot haven't you?" Her stormy look had been replaced with a contemplative one.

"You crossing your legs – that was intentional, wasn't it?"

"Shien's my preferred form," he easily admitted.

"You cannot call me 'big Qui,'" said aforementioned padawan as he stopped next to them, an insistent look crossing his normally impassive face.

"Well, I certainly can't call you little Qui. How about The Big Jinn?" Rann wore his best poodoo-eating grin. Qui-Gon, in spite of his easy-going nature in some ways, took himself surprisingly seriously in others. And after three years of friendship, Rann knew exactly what buttons to press.

"The Big Jinn," guffawed Jang. Qui-Gon closed his eyes, searching for balance in the Force.

"Let's focus on the dueling," he said, trying to redirect topics.

"Of course, The Big Jinn," said Rann before addressing Jang.

"Anyway, yes I intentionally crossed my centerline to provoke an attack."

"Stop it," insisted Qui-Gon a bit more desperately.

"No, The Big Jinn, you stop it," He crossed his arms, straight-faced and humorless.

"I'm trying to discuss the duel and you're getting in the way." Qui-Gon pinched his brow and muttered something about how he felt more sympathetic to Dooku.

"You two are adorable, you know that?" Both of them turned to squawk at Jang, who was looking at them with a soft smile.

"And really, Qui-Gon, we are trying to go over the duel. Any advice?"

"Don't fall for your enemies' gambits so easily," grumbled Qui-Gon, still sensitive after their teasing.

"Well that doesn't tell me anything!" She exclaimed, huffing in frustration.

"I saw an opening and I took it."

"Your mistake was made before you entered into the dueling ring," continued Qui-Gon, either ignoring or not quite understanding Jang's mounting frustration. She opened her mouth to reply, but Rann beat her to the punch.

"The Big Jinn is right, even if he's not being particularly helpful about it. Even before the match had begun, you had decided that I was a little kid. I played it up once I realized you weren't going to take me seriously, but all the clues were there. Do you think someone trained under Master Dooku would have such poor footwork? You must look underneath the underneath."

"Rann is right, even if I wish he would stop calling me silly names." Qui-Gon cast him a sidelong glance at that he resolutely ignored.

"You must… look underneath the underneath, even before you face your opponent. Otherwise, you might underestimate them."

"Huh." Jang had once again grown contemplative.

"Okay, I hear it. Rann, want to go again?" They sparred a few more rounds, all of which Rann lost despite a few close calls. He wasn't too surprised. Jang was a skilled duelist and fully grown, while he was 13 years old. It took a lot of talent to make up that difference or like he had already proven, trickery. Once the tricks were used up, she wiped the floor with him. After his hair was plastered to his head and he was panting for breath, he called it and stepped out of the ring to watch Qui-Gon and Jang duel.

Just as he was sitting down, he heard a voice call out.

"Rann!" He scrambled up and turned to greet the speaker.

"Hey, Mace."

"Hello Rann. I haven't seen you since I got back to the Temple." Mace looked him up and down.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Mace stared him down.

"No, really! I was… not fine for a bit, but I'm doing better. It was my headaches, you know?" Mace's brows unfurled somewhat as some of his concern faded.

'Headache' had long been what they called his visions.

"You should tell your Master."

"She knows." Mace stared at him again.

"Okay, maybe she doesn't know everything, but I promise she knows the highlights." Mace kept staring as they engaged in a silent conversation and battle of will. Rann sighed.

"I'll tell her."

"Mace. Rann." greeted Sora Bulq as he walked up to them.

"You know him?" asked Mace.

"Not really," Sora's braids swayed as he shook his head.

"We faced off in the initiate's tournament. He made his way through two age brackets and gave me a good welt. Not too surprising if he's your friend, I suppose."

"Rann's a very good duelist," said Mace with an unchanged expression.

"Though I haven't seen him in the Salles for a while."

"I've been slacking," he admitted.

"Between all the classes I'm in and some of my other projects, it's not been a priority."

"I would think that with your restriction to the Temple, it would be easy to find the time," retorted Mace.

"Yeah, well, some of us have other priorities than swinging swords around," he snapped.

"With that attitude you won't be cleared for field missions for quite a while," said Mace, stepping forward.

"My last mission-" and first, he thought, "-didn't require me even touching my saber even once. I fail to see how merely having 'adequate' saber skills will be what gets me back on active mission duty."

"It is a reflection of yourself, Rann, to not push to do the best you can." Mace's dark eyes contained a barely restrained storm as they stood nose-to-nose, scant inches from each other.

"It is also a reflection of your lack of discipline, which got you in this situation!"

"Let's calm down!" said Qui-Gon, forcing Rann back with a massive hand on his chest. Sora was doing the same for Mace. Qui-Gon bent down and whispered in Rann's ear.

"No need to get worked up over this, eh? You did admit you could stand to practice a little more. And what's a little suspension from active duty? Happens to the best of us. No need to lose your cool." Rann and Mace ignored what their friends were whispering in their ears, opting instead to stare at each other, jaws clenched.

"You should learn to listen to others, Rann. Listen to the Council." They all stilled for a moment, even as the distant clash of sabers continued in the distance. And then Rann replied.

"You and I will be Knighted Mace, I've Seen it. But I will be my own Jedi. Can you say the same? Or will you be the picture-perfect kind that others want you to be? Can you even do that, be your own Jedi? Or will the Council have to tell you what to be? Rann didn't bother waiting for a reply, stomping past Jang to retrieve his discarded cloak before leaving the Salles. They all just watched him leave quietly. ~*~*~ Hours later, Rann could admit to himself that he probably hadn't been practicing enough.

Not that he'd admit it to Mace.