Return of A Jedi
A few days after I was knighted, I got a call to my ship from my Matukai Master Jansen.
"A dear friend of mine, someone I've trained in the past, is leading a group going to Ossus interested in contacting the Ysanna to learn from them. Given your recent ascension to Jedi Knight, it was felt that there might be a benefit to your assistance. Do you have the time free?"
I knew what that meant. There was a Watcher diplomacy team going there and this was an official request. It was an official request that didn't involve combat. Throw in that I already had the translation module on my datapad for anything in the Library at Ossus I might come across, and this could be a lot of fun.
I sent Jedi Master Rogan a short message.
"Master Rogan-
I'm going off-planet for a bit. My Matukai master asked me to help a friend's archaeology expedition to an old Jedi heritage site. I'll make sure you guys get a copy of anything I find.
-Knight Althean"
I told Darra what Veskasa told me; that a friend of my old master was going to Ossus and she wanted my help.
"Riphath, you have got to be the strangest Jedi to ever make Knight. No training until you were already an adult, born with no real power to speak of, seek out the Jedi yourself rather than them finding you...but a Jedi Knight you definitely are. I'm doing a little investigating of my own, so I might not be here when you get back," she said, giving me a brief kiss. "We'll be together again soon," she promised.
I got in the
Nuffin Doin' and headed for Ossus. It wasn't as long a trip as I was expecting. The Perlemian Trade Route would take me there easily, and I'd have plenty of time to study up on the history of Ossus, the history of the Jedi Order in connection with Ossus, and how history has a tendency to rhyme.
I passed the planet Castell, where I knew the Commerce Guild would be changing leadership soon. I hoped the Watchers would put their weight behind Public Cola. The droid was sorting and filtering all the information from numerous specialists and likely wouldn't find it too hard to add "providing order to multiple galaxy-spanning corporations" to that list.
I passed the planet Roche, where I had heard Space Curling had gotten its start due to the Roche Asteroids.
It wasn't long after that before I reached Lianna, the rendezvous point where I would meet up with the diplomat team. I'd been informed that I'd go to the Surprising Discovery Cantina and order an Emerald Fogblaster.
Lianna being a big city-planet wasn't that off-putting to me. I'd spent years on Byblos, so big cities weren't that weird to me. It didn't take me long to get to the cantina in question, though what I would find there was a mystery. I took hold of the handle and opened the door.
It was what I'd heard of in my college days as a "quiet bar", the sort of place you could sit and talk without being overheard but while still being able to have a conversation.
I got my Emerald Fogblaster and met the diplomatic corps. They were excited to meet and work with a Jedi Knight. "I'm probably the strangest Jedi Knight you'll ever meet. I got named a Jedi because they felt I was what they wanted, and then they more or less rushed my knighting because my betrothed is a Jedi Knight and they didn't want her to outrank me," I joked. "Tython Jedi. Ever since the Temple Bombing, some Jedi left Coruscant because they wanted to not be associated with the War. Which is a good thing, as I understand it. It'll let the Jedi determine how they want to define themselves as Jedi, in relation to the Force and the people of the Republic, instead of in relation to a war or a Senate. The data files and images from Tython...yeah, I sent those. We get anything good from them?"
The conversation went back and forth. That stuff isn't important. The people...look, they told me not to give their names or descriptions. That their work was enough.
So we went to Ossus on board their ship. "Four thousand years ago," I began in the crew quarters over caff, "the Cron Supernova seared, irradiated, and otherwise seriously messed up the planet. It was during the Great Sith War, the series of battles just before the Mandalorian Wars. The Jedi knew it was coming and managed to evacuate a lot of important artifacts and information, but not all of it. Legend has it that Exar Kun attempted to steal treasures from the temple, and a Neti Jedi Master by the name of Ood Bnar stopped him, becoming a tree and taking root over a number of ancient lightsabers. After the disaster, some of the Jedi survived, but with the radiation nobody would come to evacuate them. Eventually their descendants became more tribal, protecting the Great Jedi Library and calling themselves the Ysanna. They use the Force and call it their magics, and they largely stand for Jedi philosophies."
"When did you become an expert in ancient Jedi history, Ossus, and the Ysanna?" the leader of the diplomatic corps asked.
"Well, it isn't exactly a short trip here from Tython, and I had a lot of quiet on my ship with not much else to do. I thought it might be a good thing to learn a thing or two, and I have a knack for remembering things I'm pretty sure is the Force," I answered.
"That trip is less than a week, and you summarized the briefing packet that took me the better part of the past month to pick up to the point where I can talk about this stuff like I know what I'm talking about," the leader replied.
I blew out a breath. "I cheat. I use the Force to remember things. It's...not something I would recommend, because it came with a world of scary things that have been very good at almost killing me, but it's worked out for me thus far. Right, Jedi Philosophy. That's the thing you brought me here to actually be an expert in, although I imagine actually knowing the history of Ossus and the Ysanna won't hurt."
"Well, no," one of them said. "Might even help. So, Jedi Philosophy."
I cleared my throat. "The Old Code might help, the one before there was a well-meaning oversimplification that led the Jedi down a path of impossible absolutes for mortal and finite beings. Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force. To have feelings but not let them rule you is the way of the Jedi. To acknowledge that you do not know all things yet but constantly strive to learn is the way of the Jedi. To have deeply-held convictions about the way things should be and urge the world towards them in a calm and peaceful way as much as possible is the way of the Jedi. To have a unique perspective, understanding, and voice while acknowledging the value of shared goals and efforts and contributing to a united task in the way one can is the way of the Jedi. To acknowledge mortality but be connected to all life through a supernatural energy field that sustains everyone is the way of the Jedi. At least, that's my understanding of the Old Code. There are some other things. Little bits I've heard in training or heard students reciting to themselves."
I knit my brow in thought, remembering. "Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy. Jedi use their powers to defend and protect. Jedi respect all life, in any form. Jedi serve others, rather than rule over them, for the good of the galaxy. Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training. I'm not sure how much of this will have been maintained by the Ysanna, but it's at least a window into the mindset they're going to carry with them."
The leader of the group smiled. "So we tell them we're looking for an end to the war currently tearing the galaxy apart, that we do not seek to rule but to serve the people caught in the middle and we think that the knowledge in the Jedi Library might help us. To that end, we brought with us a Jedi. You. You're here to arrange for our Force teachers to learn their Force styles, to learn their insights on the Force. To be an acceptable visitor to the Jedi Library and pave the way for the archaeology teams."
"So, no pressure, right," I laughed.
"Arrogance, overconfidence, defeatism, stubbornness, recklessness, aggression. These are the enemy of Jedi discipline. Treat people well and acknowledge that they have a right to privacy greater than my desire to invade their minds and acquire their secrets. Be honest. Keep your word. Respect your students, your teachers, and your authorities. Value life, and follow just laws. Assist others, defend the weak, and do what you can to ensure things will not become worse once your ship hits vacuum again. You are already so good at these things, but some of them will be a challenge for you your entire life. How do I know this? I have my own challenges, and I acknowledge that I am mortal. Limited. The Force is infinite, and as we listen to it we join our voices in harmony with its melody and create a song that will echo through time and space." The voice of Master Rogan resonated in my memory. He'd spent a lot of time teaching me the ways of the Jedi, while we were healing their war-wounded and weary. It all seemed solid and sensible, when approached as a set of maxims and guidelines for living.
I'd told him that the whole "will of the Force" thing was something I was still working on, something I might struggle with a while. I still remember his response.
You will know, when you are calm. At peace. When you ask what the next obvious thing is to the benefit of other living beings. It's been all I've been doing for the last thirty years. Keep my calm and ask what the next obvious thing to do is. Sometimes that next obvious task is for me to submit to sleep so I can be capable of handling things tomorrow.
The group of diplomats approached a village near the Jedi Library. I walked among them, wearing my green Matukai robe in the manner similar to the Jedi, with my lightsaber at the ready, on its belt clip with my hand near it. We'd just gotten out of some dense woods and reached a clearing. Every fiber of my being screamed "trap". The killing ground, the seeming ease of travel, the fact that I know Grievous would let someone get in close enough to smell what they were looking for before closing the net around them and never letting them out until they were demolished.
"DOWN!" I called, my lightsaber going to life as I bounded across the open space between me and the first tribal-rifle-wielder, whose projectile launcher I severed. Another weapon spoke, sending an arrow at one of the diplomats. I waved my hand at the arrow, sending it harmlessly into the ground. "I am a Jedi, and these people are under my protection. I have injured none of your people and come in peace." I extinguished my lightsaber, gesturing to the diplomatic corps leader. "Go ahead, man."
The exact phrasing I don't recall, mostly because I was only partially paying attention. It was, as advised, something about seeking their wisdom to stop a galaxy-spanning war. Most of my attention was on the other slugthrowers wielded by several different ambush parties. A closer look and I started to put together what they were. Imagine a cross between a bowcaster and Grievous' favored Outland Rifle. Rather than shooting bullets, they shot a vicious-looking bolt. Arrow. Whatever. A big enough thing that the shooter could track it, and thus affect it with the Force more easily. Exactly the sort of thing I could see Grievous getting excited about. By the Force, I had to make sure he never discovered these things.
I pored over everything. Recorded everything I could get my hands on. Another approach to Blazing Chains, and an approach to creating Force Ghosts. More ships started coming to Ossus. Trainers, archaeologists, the Watchers were coming in earnest, and the initial uncertainty of the meeting was over. My part in this was done, and the call came that they should take me back to my ship.
The Disciples of Twilight were teaching their skills and as a Walker I was on the short list of people who the organization felt needed to learn them.
A/N: Being able to legitimately present the Ysanna a Jedi like out of their mythology and know the philosophy they live might help give the diplomacy team a strong bargaining position and get a lot from the Ysanna.
