daredoll | Reading

Going early with this because of the holiday. 2018, how many (few) did I see?

SEVEN?! Okay, 3 of these were son's fault.

~ Love, Simon - I wound up unironically loving the way this played out. May have teared up a bit.
~ Solo: A Star Wars Story - Had been on the fence, fell for both Val and L3-37, GO ME FOR PICKING THE DOOMED ONES.
~ Venom - I had not kept up with comics, but I swear this version is almost like if every time The Maxx had been talking to himself, he'd been two people. I really did enjoy the film.

~ Bumblebee - LOL, I only just watched this in the past year. Twice. I really wish I had not waited but GO CHARLIE!
~ Aquaman - So I saw the reunion scene between Tom and Atlanna, and it hit my RexSoka buttons, so I watched it. Liked it a lot more than I had Wonder Woman!
~ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - OMG, so freaking awesome! I LOVE THIS FILM.

and my fave:
~ Black Panther - So this is where I fell back in love with some of the MCU again. There's not a Wakandan I don't love, even the antagonists. This made me give a damn about the BP property in ways I had not thought possible, and proves that you have to have the right creative effort leaders!

senmut

Kastagir's Hotel Américain (3102 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Highlander: The Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Amanda Darieux/Rebecca Horne
Characters: Amanda Darieux, Rebecca Horne, Rachel Ellenstein, Sunda Kastagir
Additional Tags: Fun, Adventure, Thievery, Humor
Summary:

Rebecca visits Kastagir at his fancy new hotel. Then Amanda shows up. Antics ensue.

senmut

Yesterday was eaten alive by yuletide pinch hits, so day late with these.

~ Samson and Delilah gifs - young Angela Lansbury the Hottie

~ Smokin' MoTown - Temptations, Miracles, Stevie, Smokey, Vandellas, and Supremes in one photo

~ Art of Dorian Pavus and the Iron Bull in a bath

~ Trans Art for Maevaris Tilani

~ Beowulf Essay titles? - anecdote from a professor

~ Xuanji Tu - A mathematical art of poetry

senmut

2017, will I even have THREE? Maybe. My son might have gotten me to watch movies.

huh, five total, only one of which was fully his fault.

~Wonder Woman - This is where I admit I was more in it for Nielson and Wright than anything else. Decent movie.

~Thor: Ragnarok - Son's fault, Cate might have drawn me in. Fun enough, and Tessa wowed me.

~Coco - Possibly second favorite film of the year. I really appreciated getting to see this concept come to life. Dear movie makers, give me MORE cultural fests!

~The Shape of Water - All my choice, so glad I did, yes I read the book, I think the movie lands better.

~Star Wars: The Last Jedi - And this is when my, at the time, 40 year streak of watching SW in the theater ended completely. I'd seen things from people I trusted that this was not a movie I wished to spend that much money on. Did eventually get the DVD and watch it, and ... well. I still haven't bought the next one in the trilogy or watched more than a few excerpts.

senmut

AO3 Link | Leverage the Past to Make a Future (24109 words) by Merfilly, Ilyena_Sylph
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Other Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Ensemble Cast, Post-Episode: s02e21-22 Twilight of the Apprentice, Movie: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Kriffing Sith Pans, Implied Character Death
Summary:

In the Way Between Worlds, a strategist is preparing very carefully.

On Naboo, a Dathomiri warrior has not yet separated Master and Padawan.

Chapter One

In the Way Between the Worlds, a lone Force User stood guard — and planned. She weighed the history that had led to this point, and waited for that moment when the one she guarded against was too embroiled in his plans outside this plane of existence. She touched the nexus points, those moments where one choice or action could leverage all of history.

She was the Fulcrum, and she had cut her teeth on strategy, made certain to learn as much of the history she had lived a part of to understand more of how it had come to be. When the enemy was tied down, renewing his life with his Sith-stealing ways, she was ready.

She had the point upon which to rest the lever to make it better for all.

32 BBY

Even shunting as much of the displacement back into the Way, Fulcrum knew her appearance had rippled in the Force. The hum of energy generators, laser shields, and … lightsabers — yes, she had placed herself correctly. She took in the full surroundings, her tall montrals accenting and showing her the space in which three men fought. The harsh thump of one falling hard on one of the catwalks was followed by a solid blow of flesh on flesh.

She stepped out, controlling herself but allowing her Force signature to truly be felt.

"Maul!" she snapped at the Zabrak, idly taking in his appearance in his prime. Were it not for the things she suspected he'd already done, were it possible to forget the suffering he inflicted in her lifetime, could she put aside the fight that for her had been so recent… she'd account him as a solid example of his race. Her language shifted, as he was taking her in, noting the pair of hilts, the armor… and just how strong she pulsed in the Force itself. ["Why do you live as a slave to that one, when you could be freeing your brothers? All you have learned, as strong as you are, Talzin should be your enemy!"]

Her Dathomiri was flawless, and she'd chosen to speak with the male inflections, keeping this peer-to-peer instead of the superior-to-inferior that most Dathomiri women used.

He hissed, even looked as if he would come for her, before throwing a Force-shove toward the younger Jedi below him and running.

Qui-Gon had felt the Force twist and shift, tangle and knot, and then... then the world had changed all in an instant, as a tall Togruta in pale armor with broad, full montrals and lekku appeared from nowhere. She was much less disoriented than he, it seemed, as she instantly snapped at the warrior before them, 'Maul' -- which might be a name, or something else, given the rest of the sharp, sibilant language she spoke to their opponent in.

The tall, yellow-eyed warrior hissed at her, threw a shove of the Force that threatened Obi-Wan -- Qui-Gon threw the Force himself to catch and brace his padawan -- before... running? Winds and sands, no, they needed to catch him, question him, keep him from further interference, but he could not go without Obi-Wan.

"That actually worked," Fulcrum said, surprised, before taking stock of the pair — oh kriffing haran she had not really prepared herself to see her grandmaster looking like a cadet! — and noting the need for action coursing in the elder.

Qui-Gon Jinn, looking much as he had in the last holo Plo Koon had taken of him, that Fulcrum had seen when she lived on Dorin to train in the ways of Baran Do. Having chosen this time, she found her mind ill-equipped to actually face the reality of the people.

"While he may turn up again, Master Jedi, he is not your concern at this point. Hopefully he heeds me, and realizes I know far too much about him and his place in the galaxy."

"You have the advantage of us, my Lady," Qui-Gon said, giving her a polite half-bow, while he uneasily waited for his padawan to manage to get back to them, "and I have more than a little concern about allowing a warrior that strong in the Dark Side to escape."

"You, and the Jedi Order, have more pressing concerns," she said firmly. "His Master is likely to hunt him down for failure, but we will see. I have seen too many deaths to summarily kill him without giving him a chance to go home.

"As to who I am, you may call me Fulcrum, as my true name is long-since given up to my duty to the Force." Her eyes flicked to the man's side as Obi-Wan did manage the jump. She did not smile, but wanted to, as she decided he'd probably grown the beard in self-defense against how young he appeared.

"It is always better not to kill, if possible," Qui-Gon had to agree with those words, with the 'giving him a chance', but it was very, very concerning. Then again, if this woman knew who the warrior's Master was, they had other avenues. "Greetings then, Fulcrum. I am Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is my padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. If we are not to deal with that warrior, then we should make haste to rejoin the Queen of Naboo and Her party, as their defense is our primary mission.

"Will you be accompanying us?"

"I will… and I will be able to tell if Maul doubles back to us." She knew the taste of Dathomir well, and for all Maul could cloak himself in the Force, that was something separate entirely. "I will not be as lenient if so."

Queen of Naboo. At this time — kriff, but seeing Obi-Wan had been bad enough; she was going to have to see her second-favorite senator this young?!

"Master, I hope you have some instinct for finding the Queen, as I admit I've gotten a bit turned around with the sketches they showed us," Obi-Wan said, more to give himself time to appraise this woman than for anything else.

"I thought I'd follow the trail of damaged droids," Qui-Gon said, "and make for the throne room, as that was Her intended destination."

With Fulcrum's agreement to accompany them, he turned around and set off back towards the hangar to head upwards from there. That risked Anakin trying to come with them, but there would still be droids, he would have to tell Ani to stay in the cockpit. It did not take long to get back... and he froze, staring at the empty place where a Nabooian fighter should be with one small boy and an astromech. He glanced again, thinking he had simply misjudged which fighter Anakin had gone to, but no... "Oh, winds and sands..."

"What?" Fulcrum asked, a bit more sharply than she'd meant to, because she was trying to hear any further threats, physically or in the Force.

"That's where we left the boy," Obi-Wan said. "Oh dear."

"Anakin," Qui-Gon murmured, "Force protect you." He was a competent pilot, but he wasn't Plo, and by the time he could even get to space whatever was going to happen would have happened, and he must defend the Queen as best he could... but oh, he hated this...

Fulcrum sucked in a breath, and actually reached for her bond to see -- oh. Oh that felt so very wild and excited in ways she had never known from her Skyguy.

"I believe the Force will guide him well," she made herself say, delivering it as carefully as she had ever spoken to any of her operatives.

"We have to trust in it," Qui-Gon agreed, and set off again.

Fulcrum kept up easily, and one pair of rollies wound up smashed to the ceiling before they could get their shields up, proving she hadn't lost that touch. Her cadet-grandmaster took out the squad of tinnies with them, with a little help from his master.

They were almost to the throne room when the squad of B-1 droids in the hallway they'd just turned into froze in the process of drawing their blasters and, off-balance, clattered into each other, falling.

Qui-Gon blinked, looked upwards, then picked up more speed.

"They still have central controllers," Fulcrum murmured, surprised, even as she kept up with the two men.

"Still?" Obi-Wan parroted in curiosity.

"Later, maybe," Fulcrum answered him, rather than ignore him. He blazed more brightly in the Force right now than she remembered, or was that just the fact the shadows had not yet swallowed every person she had cared about.

Qui-Gon hummed intrigue under his breath, and picked up some more speed, until they reached the opened throne room and saw that the Queen and her forces appeared to have things rather well under control, with the Nemoidians quivering slightly at being in the range of so many blasters. "Your Majesty," he said, bowing deeply, "our apologies for our lateness."

"You are, of course, forgiven, Master Jedi. But I see We have... another... party who has joined Us? Is all well?"

"Apparently the Force moved our ally to be in place, possibly due to the strange warrior's presence," Obi-Wan said with smooth conviction, and Fulcrum had to force the smile down at his skill, so young, with words.

"Forgive me for not announcing my intentions in advance, your Majesty," Fulcrum said. "As Padawan Kenobi said, I was meant to come to this point to aid." She flicked her eyes to Nute Gunray. "As there are strings being pulled from private instigators."

Gunray, damn his sleemo hide managed not to flinch, but Rune Haako didn't manage such control, something noted by the ones watching him.

"We welcome any willingly-offered assistance," the Queen said with a careful, precise smile, before she returned her attention to the invaders of Her world, "and you have our thanks."

Fulcrum nodded, looking over who was where. The one in the regalia, she did not think was Padmé, wasn't sure if it was Sabé. She knew there had been several handmaidens though, and only knew of them more than actually having met most of them.

She did not react at all to Panaka; she truly hoped his corruption came later than this point in time. Her attention turned to the link with her master, and knew he had done something amazing, given his jubilation.

How much of a shock was he going to be to her?

Ob-Wan turned his attention to being an observer, focusing on the minute details, and he could tell that the junior Neimoidian was very nervous.

Qui-Gon set himself to backing the Queen as firmly as he could, leaning against the fact that the Trade Federation had tried to murder two Jedi on Senate business... but he would swear the envoys were more afraid of someone else -- perhaps the dark warrior, Maul? -- than they were of what the Senate might do. But then, the Senate had done nothing when the Queen appeared, so probably they were not wrong in that. He took a slow and measured breath, controlling himself, and kept his focus.

~Master Jedi, I do believe they have it under control. Shouldn't you go check on your foundling?~ Fulcrum managed to think at him, and he would have sworn it was almost as crisp as Plo mind-speaking at him. There was a glimpse of 'he would not know me yet' flavoring the words.

~I believe so,~ Qui-Gon agreed, and carefully extricated himself -- and his padawan -- from the situation to head back down to the hangar. "Well," he said, as they were headed down one of the staircases, "this has been a remarkably... interesting... day."

"Master," Obi-Wan began, somewhat hesitantly. "Did you actually see her arrival? What if she… is part of the problem? It is awful convenient for her to send the warrior running, after all."

"I saw empty space, and then a woman," Qui-Gon replied, "and she feels... very strongly... of the Light and Living Force. But I am also concerned, dear one. I am attempting -- as I have been entirely failing at it recently -- something resembling subtlety and patience."

"She feels overwhelming to me," Obi-Wan admitted. "I am accustomed to the wild edge of the more hunter-driven Jedi, but then there is her signature, which feels as if it is swirling with so many strands, including something darker-tinged." He then drew in a deep breath. "But. So far, her help has been appreciated. I loathed that we kept getting separated in that fight."

"She does, indeed," Qui-Gon agreed, wryly. He reached out, carefully, and laid a hand on his student's shoulder. "I was," he admitted, "being foolish, or failing at interpreting what the Force was hitting me with."

Obi-Wan reached up and covered the hand, wanting to deny it, but… not able to, not when he strove for honesty. "We made it through it. And the Queen's party is handily managing the prisoners. So. We should find the boy, try to be certain the warrior left, and then? Back to the Temple, I suppose?"

He was stubbornly focusing on the now and the immediate future, because past that, he knew he would soon be pushed from his Master's side, something that still was setting poorly in his heart.

"No," Qui-Gon said, "I don't think so. It might be better to try to locate Djinn and his ship. Our Grandmaster has made his -- remarkably foolish -- decision, but the Order on Coruscant is not the only source of teaching for a youngling as strong as Anakin. Which I should have remembered sooner."

Obi-Wan could not stop his very sharp look at his Master, or the fact he was pale as he did so. "You would leave the Order for him?"

His chest was tight, and he struggled to shove the past away, to turn his emotions into the Force, refusing to give power to all the times he had made mistakes, had failed to follow the Code, had —

"I am sorry, Master. It is, of course, your choice to make, and likely in his interests."

"No, Obi-Wan. I would give Anakin over into Djinn's care, perhaps staying a little while to be certain he is well, and return to the Order with my padawan -- who may indeed be ready to take the Trials, but I am of no particular mind to release him yet... unless he wishes it, because his Master is a damned stubborn fool who let his temper get the better of his sense again?"

Obi-Wan heard the words, felt a variety of emotions, and opted for the cautious approach. "Perhaps discussion is best saved for later. Fulcrum, after all, may give us more information to use?" he offered. If Anakin was given up, out of sight, it would weigh on his Master. Obi-Wan felt torn between his heart and his duty.

"All right, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon replied, squeezing his padawan's shoulder before letting go and continuing their trek. Well, at least he'd started trying to make amends for his incredibly callous stupidity.

They made it back to the flight hangar to find ships -- in varying levels of damaged -- discharging pilots, all of who were racing for one fighter in particular. Obi-Wan saw the droid levering itself out of the cupola and the cockpit opening... to definitely show a boy full of the Force. The other pilots were a cacophony of praise and astonishment in the boy's direction, while making sure he got down carefully enough, just to be lifted up high on one man's shoulder.

"Such a risk!" their own pilot, Ric Olié exclaimed, reaching up to tussle the boy's hair as he got closer due to his rank. "You saved us up there, young Ani!"

Qui-Gon stayed back and watched, listening, until he thought he had a sense of what had happened -- and the listening had nearly given him heart failure at the idea that his young charge had been that deep inside one of the lethal droid control ships. That deep inside, and he had had the luck, sense, or blessing of the Force to do exactly the right thing, and be able to escape.

"Well done, Anakin," he said, moving through the pilots to near Ani. "Well done. But pilots, it might be best, and safest for Anakin, if the Trade Federation were not able to fix all the blame for their failure on one small boy, yes? We will tell the Queen, of course, and her handmaidens, but beyond them..."

"You heard the Master Jedi!" Ric called out to his fighter pilots. "Not a word as to who got the shot in. Because we do have a duty to him, to keep him safe."

"Yes sir!" rippled through the pilots.

Obi-Wan caught the brief worry and other emotions beside the elation from the boy and met his eyes. "By keeping it quiet, Anakin, you can go on to surprise your future flight instructors, and them not have grand visions in place already," he offered.

Qui-Gon nodded, as Obi-Wan soothed a bit of Anakin's worry. "Indeed. Thank you, all of you, for understanding. Those of you who are most familiar with the Palace, can you assist us in finding the kitchens and getting food arranged for all of you, us, and the Queen and her party? I expect all of you are hungry, and that things are very... disarrayed... throughout the palace."

"Yes, Master Jedi," one of the young men said, "my sister was one of the cooks, but those slime sent her off to one of the camps. Some of their own people are in the kitchens, but I don't trust a one of them." He called to two of his friends, and started that way, and Qui-Gon put out a hand for Anakin.

"Will you come along, Ani?"

"Yes sir," Anakin said, and he didn't hesitate to take the hand. Nor did he mind when Obi-Wan fell in on his other side, close enough that Obi-Wan's hand could settle on his shoulder if anything happened that needed to be dealt with.

Fulcrum found her way to the suite the Jedi had been given, after having slipped away to be certain Maul was off-world. She traced him to where he'd hidden his ship, managed to slice the nearest surveillance, and decided yes, the ship had left. A detour to Panaka had dumped the ship design in his hands without explaining how she'd pulled the images, warning him who it belonged to, before finding her way here.

She tapped lightly, in case the men within were asleep. She thought the blazing Force presence of her younger self's eventual master was out, but could not tell with the more trained presences.

Granted, she was, without a doubt, finally feeling the effects of making her way back in time, even if she had not used much Force since then.

Qui-Gon had encouraged Obi-Wan to retire and rest, after the day they had experienced, but he was awake when there was a light tap at his door. A cautious check of the Force told him who it must be, and he went to open the door. He held a finger of his off hand to his lips as he did in the near-universal signal for quiet, and arched a brow to find out if she wanted to come in, or him to accompany her.

She slipped in, not having found a place to rest, and really just wanting a place of quiet so she could determine her next move. "Maul left the atmosphere, and the head of the Queen's security now has the ship specs to program his surveillance for," she said very quietly. "Is there an unoccupied couch in here?

"I didn't stick around long enough for one of the Se — Queen's ladies to see me to a room," she admitted.

"I believe," Qui-Gon said with some amusement, just as quietly, "that there are several. There is, in fact, one more bedchamber, even."

She smiled a little, then settled on one of the couches. "Oh. I'd forgotten furniture could be so soft," she murmured. "Need to figure out my next steps, but for now, sleep. I might even find food after." She looked at him for a long moment. "Your foundling should not be here when the official party arrives," she said, and this time he could almost see a back-shine to her eyes, white and flickering.

"Then we will have to acquire a ship," Qui-Gon said. "Sleep well, lady. I, as well, should rest."

"Please do. I may be asking for assistance from you, and your padawan," she said, closing her eyes. What she knew was not everything, and what she did know was now subject to change. She could not yet face the Temple, needed time to let this simmer down some, but where? Where would she find herself a refuge. It wasn't like she could go to Datho —

— Asajj! No, she could not go to the witch planet, but she could — and would! — go find her lover in this time. Such an ally, especially if her master still lived, could be invaluable. Not only that, but she'd save her men, once they faced the future being crafted from the witch's rage.

She winced, knowing the first of them would be crafted soon. There was no way she could cut that part of herself out by stopping the program. She would let it run, and hide it her knowledge for as long as needed while doing all she could to expose and stop the Sith plans for war.

Let the men take up a new role in history, she decided, if she met with success.

Chapter Two

Shockingly, Fulcrum slept until the first movement in the room skittered across her awareness. Apparently being back in the material plane, not that nexus of the Force, meant fatigue —

— and hunger. That needed dealt with, but first she opened her eyes to see which of the humans had joined her.

What she saw took her a good long minute, including wracking her memories from before everything went to haran to parse. That tiny, scrawny boy, no bigger than her memories of Caleb Dume before she left the Temple, with a mop of blond hair like her captain's… was Skyguy. Well, Skykid right now, she supposed. He had no idea what to make of her from the Force's kiss of their bond, and she very carefully made sure that was as muted as she could bear.

"Hello, Anakin Skywalker. I'm called Fulcrum, and I gave assistance to the Jedi yesterday."

"Hi," Anakin said, watching her thoughtfully. He hadn't known what to think, when there was another person in the rooms. Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had said people weren't supposed to know what he'd done, to keep him safe from the droids' masters, and they'd settled into this huge set of rooms, bigger than the whole junk shop and his and Mom's -- //Mom, are you okay? Are you safe? Is Watto taking losing me out on you? Did he have to sell you, to make up for what he lost on Sebulba?// -- hovel put together like it was normal to have this much space just sitting waiting for guests. They hadn't said to expect anyone else.

And he'd never seen anyone like her. She had horns, so she wasn't a Twi'lek, despite her lekku, and her lekku -- three! -- and their patterns meant she definitely wasn't Devaronian... what kind of person was she? She had armor, but not like a Mandalorian's, no helmet, and she had lightsabers, but didn't wear the robes he'd seen on the other Jedi. "Fulcrum? Like the balance-point of a lever?"

"Exactly that, Anakin," she said, filtering through the half-caught impressions, deciding to ask Jinn about them when she could. "I had business to deal with that meant I didn't want to bother the ladies to find out where a room for me might be.

"But now, I am hungry, and I bet you are too," she said, smiling with her teeth hidden at him. "Most children I have met usually can eat, if they have a chance."

"Normally," Anakin agreed, wryly and keeping his voice down, "and I went with Master Qui-Gon to the kitchens last night, I know how to get there!"

He could help her, and she seemed nice. If she was dangerous, surely she wouldn't be in here; Master Qui-Gon would have known.

"Thank you." Fulcrum stood up, stretching, then held a hand out to him if he would take it. Better to get the contact done now, rather than in a moment of need in a spot where it might be difficult.

Anakin moved over and took her hand, and — he knew her, he knew her like he knew Mom, he'd be able to find her in the dark, across a city, he knew her why did he know her? She was warm and bright and —

— he was so good and earnest and the shadows were not a part of him yet. She ached to make it always be like that, and would do all she could to protect that bright need to help others —

"That, Anakin, is an echo of a future that could be," she said softly as she steadied herself and her shields a little more. "I don't want to say more than I must, but the Force is full of possibilities for you."

"How can the future have echoes to now? How can I already know you, when I've never met you?" Anakin asked, frowning and not understanding. He trusted her, he knew her, but...

"Have you never seen something that has yet to pass? Heard words being said to you by voices you don't know?" she asked, knowing that her own random visions had begun when she was very young.

"...sometimes," Anakin said, thinking about the sight he'd had of Padme, older, holding him -- but only for a moment, before he pushed it aside, blushing a little. "Not so much... voices, though." He'd had a moment with Obi-Wan too, seeing him older, bearded and smiling, a smile Anakin somehow knew was supposed to be for him. "But people."

She smiled. "This between us is like that. In time, you may know more, but you have to wait, and see if the future moves towards that." She squeezed his hand. "Let's go find food, Anakin. I haven't eaten in what feels like years."

"Right," he nodded, letting go of it for later, and squeezed her hand back before he started out of the rooms towards the kitchen. That was later, food was what was important now.

Fulcrum made note of the way there, keeping her sense tuned outward. She had to protect Skyguy, even if he barely came up past her waist now.

"What would you both like?" one of the people in the kitchen's serving area asked.

"I can't have plant matter," Fulcrum said, keeping her tone neutral. The Senator had never had concerns about her dietary restrictions, unlike some worlds she'd been to.

"Gungan special it is," the person said with a smile, before looking at Anakin.

"Um... whatever's easy? I think I can eat anything you would?" Anakin said, not used to options, or choosing. Mom made what they could get amazing, but he didn't know a lot about how, yet.

"We'll make a special dish for you, then."

The person waved them to sit at one of the tables, and disappeared into the kitchen to get both of them a plate. While Anakin's role as their savior was unknown, the Handmaidens had insisted the off-worlders all be treated very well.

"Tell me a little about how you came to be with the Jedi?" Fulcrum asked in a quiet voice. "I'm very curious about a young boy being brought to a known hostility."

Anakin shrugged a little. "I think Master Qui-Gon just hasn't figured out what to do with me yet. He couldn't leave me at their Temple because the Jedi don't want me, so I had to come with them. He says I'm free, so I don't think he'll sell me," he added, thoughtfully, starting to worry about it again. "Maybe I can stay here, the pilots like me, I can help them. Captain Olié didn't seem like the gross kind of man, but he's probably got a family."

Fulcrum, wrinkling her nose at the Temple idiocy, managed — barely — to turn her horror at the rest of the words into the Force, rather than let it land on this kid.

Anakin Skywalker had been a slave. That was evident as truth in the flavor of those words, the impressions across the nascent bond. And he'd been — He'd been made to —

"One moment, Anakin," she said in the calm manner she used when negotiating between former Seppies and Republic politicians. She closed her eyes, centered herself in the memory of Rex holding her, and then opened them again. "Tatooine?" she asked, even though she didn't really need to.

Anakin nodded. "Is it that obvious? Or did Master Qui-Gon say something? They... well, it wasn't a crash, but they had to stop on Tatooine to repair their ship, and Watto was the only one that had the parts they needed. Except Master Qui-Gon didn't have enough credits to get it from him, especially after he tried to insist Republic credits would be fine -- I think maybe he was trying to use the Force? It felt kind of strange -- and made him mad."

Fulcrum snickered, latching on to the amusement as a bracer from her horror. "Must beings that live within the Huttese systems are immune to the Mind Trick, Anakin. Try to remember it better than Master Jinn?

"And no, it's not obvious. I just have a little more experience to guess well." She covered his hand. "What do you want to do? You are free, you have amazing potential with the Force, and I? I have a duty to the future, but I could easily make room for a boy that wishes to help."

"I don't know," Anakin said, shrugging. "I wanted to be a Jedi, and help people, and learn enough to go back to Tatooine and free everyone -- Mom, and Kitster, and Wald, and Ann and Tann... but they won't let let me. I guess, learn enough to be a pilot, and figure out how to get a ship? And enough to finish making the device I was working on to find the chip-bombs so I can get them out?"

At those words, Fulcrum gave up on full control of the bond, and let him feel how wanted as a friend he was, how much she believed in his ability to do anything he set himself to.

"Listen to me, Anakin. I don't think I can manage to win enough to free many, but I will go and get your mother free at the very least," she swore to him. "We need to talk to Master Jinn, but if he cannot persuade the Temple Jedi, there are other ways to learn.

"And I will not fail you in that course, I promise."

"I don't think they do podracing here," Anakin agreed, "but if you know where they do, I just won the Boonta Eve, I can win another and nobody'd believe it."

The idea that this woman who was maybe part of his future would help Mom almost sent him straight to tears, but no, he had to be brave, he had to be strong, even with the feeling of her... faith? Faith like Kittster, like Mom, that he could help...

So the picture in their apartment had been of a race he had won. That was good to know. A little horrifying in its own way, Fulcrum decided.

"Why don't we leave credit acquisition to me, and you worry about the food that is coming to us," she suggested, filing away so many questions for Jinn, and for her meditations.

The Force was warning her — that reassured Fulcrum that it still favored her plan of action — and she came away from meditation after that breakfast to look at Qui-Gon Jinn with all of her seriousness, and not a little of the eeriness that had touched her since Mortis.

"We need a ship, quickly. All of your questions need to wait for it, if I am to have any hope of protecting your Order."

"I will go and speak to the Commander," Qui-Gon agreed willingly, as his own sense of the Force jangled with unease. He rose as he spoke, and headed for the door.

"Anakin, if you have things you have been given, pack them up quickly," Fulcrum told the boy. "Padawan Kenobi, will you sketch Maul as he appeared in the fight, to leave for the Jedi who are coming with the official response team?

"You have a good eye and hand, I remember." Qui-Gon caught that as one more piece of the puzzle as he left them.

That startled the younger Jedi, and he eyed her a moment before nodding, going to the desk. "As he appeared — you knew him differently somehow?"

"On the ship," Fulcrum answered that fishing question.

"Can't blame me for trying," Obi-Wan said with a smile that came so easy that it made Fulcrum's heart ache.

Anakin giggled at the playful comment, and went to tuck the few things the pilots and handmaidens had given him into the bag he'd left his home with and make sure he had it secure on his back.

Qui-Gon quickly found Commander Olié and was rapidly given the registration and codes to a ship -- a rather less noticeable ship than the queen's yacht, he was pleased to note.

He reached out mentally for his padawan, tugging at him with the sense of the main hangar.

"I believe my master has had success. Shall we?" He indicated the door, and Fulcrum nodded.

"Lead on, Padawan," she said, with a hint of the mirth she felt to both be his elder and more advanced in her training.

Obi-Wan wondered at it, but he did, so they could put Anakin between them, all the way to the hangar. He nodded to his master and headed into the ship to familiarize himself with the controls and prep it.

"Anakin, there is a copilot seat if you wish to come learn," the young man called, and Fulcrum found herself approving — even as the Force sighed softly with approval.

Anakin whooped in delight and darted forward, following the padawan's voice and what he'd seen of the ship, while Qui-Gon looked thoughtfully at Fulcrum. "How are you at games of chance, my lady?"

"Is this about Anakin's mother?" she countered before offering a closed-lip smile. "We spoke before we had our food. It was … difficult for me."

She'd never known why he hated Tatooine. She'd never known he'd been a slave, had a mother, been a racer in that dangerous sport. It made her ache all over again for the man she had lost, and vow to never, ever let Anakin fall into the Dark.

"I learned from several gifted gamblers." Hardcase had taken to it like a fish to water. Obi-Wan had been a master of the bluff. Cree, their quartermaster, had been the only vod who willingly played for keeps against Hardcase and had instructed her further.

"It is," Qui-Gon agreed, nodding. He was a trifle surprised, but pleased, that the woman had understood so quickly. "I am sorry for the difficulty, whatever its source. We had to move quickly, to get the Queen to Coruscant -- ineffective as that was," he muttered, before making himself re-focus. "Apologies. I believe I know a place she can begin to build a free life, if there is someone that wretched Toydarian hasn't seen before to help gain that freedom."

Lia Koon would ensure Shmi was safely settled in the oxygen enclave on Dorin with more than enough resources, if he just approached her correctly.

"Togruta are rare off-world, and with my armor, I can pass as a bodyguard or bounty hunter easily enough. I'm rather practiced at keeping my Force use unnoticed," Fulcrum said, "so I should be able to keep him off guard long enough to commit to her freedom.

"After, of course, I win some smaller pools to prove I'm worth the attempt." What currency she had was from Rimward systems anyway, nothing that would be out of place on a Huttese world. It was not as if she had been able to be Coreward in a very long time. She then looked at him, letting one eye mark rise in an invitation to ask any questions he needed to. This would be a fairly short jump in hyperspace after all.

"Once I tell Obi-Wan, and Anakin, where we're going," Qui-Gon said, "we can talk." He headed forward, and leaned in the cockpit's doorframe, listening for a moment before Obi-Wan turned towards him.

"Fulcrum has agreed to help us free Anakin's mother, Obi-Wan, so I'm sorry, but we're heading back to the desert."

Obi-Wan had thought surely they'd be going to Bespin, but that was completely unexpected. He started to question, but felt the whirlwind of emotion in the boy beside him, and held that one back.

"I don't suppose I can stay on the ship again?" he asked instead, not wanting to dim the boy, and very curious at the path the stranger would lead them on.

"I don't see why you should need to leave it, at the moment," Qui-Gon replied, smiling at his student, who burned so easily.

"Thank you, Master, for the small mercies you grant," Obi-Wan said impudently. "Anakin, can you promise me something? Can you do your best to keep him out of trouble?"

Qui-Gon snorted in affectionate amusement at his padawan and rolled his eyes affectionately.

"I'll do my best," Anakin said solemnly.

Obi-Wan reached over to tussle the mop of hair, before beginning to plot the course, walking through the steps out loud so Anakin could follow.

Anakin leaned happily into the ruffle of his hair, then stayed leaned close to listen and watch.

Qui-Gon smiled, pleased to see that easy interplay between them, then left to go and sit down with Fulcrum in a small lounge. "...'a good eye and hand, I remember'," he quoted, mildly, "yet I would say neither of us have seen a woman quite like you before."

"No, you haven't. You… I do not consciously remember at all." Her eyes caught his and held them. "In the history I knew, you died, and Kenobi was the first Jedi to slay a Sith in millennia."

Qui-Gon nodded calmly, smiling with quiet pride in his student. "I am not terribly surprised, though I am remarkably proud of Obi-Wan. But winds and sand, if I had died then... oh, my padawan. What happened to Anakin?"

There was a ripple in the Force, one centered on her, a storm that was fully under her control. "Many failures. He did become one of the greatest Jedi to live. The failures, I must stop. We've headed off one by living before the official response arrived on Naboo, and if the people can keep quiet on his part, we may have breathing room for a time."

It was not his death, her words implied, but something else that had failed the boy in the aftermath.

"But the Council did remove its head from its collective backside," Qui-Gon said, relaxing just a little, "though things went badly after. I am relieved to hear the first, and very distressed at the latter. Well, you kept me from dying -- and I thank you for that, for Obi-Wan's sake, and for my last clanmate's, angry as we are with each other at the moment."

"It's how I recognized you," she admitted. "I was allowed to remain in his quarters during my training there, and his holos filled in so many pictures of tales I grew up with.

"I am from a future. One I have no wish to see come to pass. I am not confident that I can beat the Sith Master, though I can hold him to a draw within the plane where the Force touches all of time. And no, I will not yet name him. I must keep him blind to my presence here-now."

She waited to see if Jinn took it as Plo Koon's death or merely a clan tie that excused her living in those quarters.

"Are you another one of his foundlings, then? Or did Bultar or Lissarkh start taking after him? I don't think it would have been Jaunre..."

"I like Jaunre, but no; Master Koon was my Finder. I should be… either just arrived, or very soon," she admitted. "Everything about this is a move in a dejarik game to destabilize the galaxy, discredit the Jedi Order and other traditions, as well as to ultimately put the Sith in charge.

"I vaguely remember a discussion about a previous war possibly having been a testing point, within human living memory." She tipped her head to the side. "I will honestly tell you the Order is on a bad course. But they do have the numbers and ability to turn the tide, if they will just be careful. Which is the only reason I am willing to work with them again."

Qui-Gon hummed thoughtfully, studying her. "...are you willing to tell me what you think the 'bad course' the Order is on is?" he asked, curious. "I have my own complaints, but you -- obviously -- have a quite different perspective."

Fulcrum's emotional answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she fell back to Kix's measured arguments on why he felt the Jedi were more at risk from the war's effects.

"First point: the Jedi Order has become an official arm of the Republic's Senate, to the point that most missions have to be checked off by a committee first. Second one: the Jedi Order adheres almost entirely to the Republic's borders, only stepping outside when on Senate-driven missions, instead of serving the Force as a whole.

"Third: the rigidity of interpretation of the code has become such an absolute that to even whisper of questioning why faces censure. Fourth, related to that, the Jedi Order has ceased to understand how to embrace the diversity of its membership by forcing them into rigid pathways. Fifth, because of four and three, a member who finds themselves questioning is allowed to become lost, or pushed out, rather than engaged with to determine the correctness of the Force's guidance."

She sat back, pleased she'd never brought the word 'attachment' into it, and blessing the memory of their medic.

"Little niece," Qui-Gon said in utter and complete delight, "do you mind if I steal some of those arguments?"

She let both eye marks go up, then smiled, the one that was all pleasurable surprise, showing a hint of teeth as she accepted him a little more.

"I borrowed them from a very wise medic. I wish I'd been more experienced, and able to push on any of them, but… what is a padawan to do?" she asked with a shrug. "You are welcome the arguments. His name will be Kix, and he was the best damn medic I ever met."

"Those who heal without the blessing of the Force often have much to teach us," Qui-Gon said, then smiled a little more. "I am honored to count Cha -- former Chancellor -- Valorum as a friend, and to be trusted by him to investigate problems, but you are entirely correct. We are too tied to the Senate, to its corruption, and they respect us too little. Winds take it, they just ignored the Chancellor's own chosen Jedi ambassadors' attempted murder! And the situation of the peoples of the Rims are where we could actually make a difference, could actually be useful, but we keep being tied down in petty internal politics that should be none of our concern!"

Her smile had only grown, to the point where he could see she was far younger than her seriousness allowed to come through, comparing her to his memories of Shaak Ti.

"I really wasn't certain what to expect of you, Master Jinn, but I think I will enjoy getting to know you." She then got a gleam in her eye. "Once we have Anakin's mother, I have one other mission to accomplish before I can think about facing the Temple.

"A slaving system has another potential ally, as well as one of your youngling clan." She waited, already delighted by his use of 'niece' for her, but this would be one more way to tell how solidly clan Jinn was.

"Of my youn -- KY? You know where Ky is?! He's alive?"

Oh, he was definitely aliit!

Fulcrum nodded. "I believe he is," she cautioned. "But piecing together calenders through at least three systems is difficult," she added, just to try and contain him. "He has a padawan, that … I'm going to leave it at complicated as far as I am concerned.

"I'd like to save them both, and avert a little Darkness."

"I certainly agree with saving Ky, if he can be, and if he has a padawan, then they are both in need of help," Qui-Gon said. "I don't suppose wherever Ky is, Dorin might be on the way? I thought Lia might be willing to help shelter a woman who has nothing, and help her find dignity and purpose."

"Oh Lia would, even for a poison-breather," Fulcrum said, softening further. "She put her heart into helping those of us she could." Tatooine and Naboo were close, traverse along the outer hyperlanes to the other side of the spiral, save Asajj, then up along the outer arm to the expansion region for a stop at Dorin before going Coreward? They'd need to fuel up completely when they got Anakin's mom, but it could be done.

"If your padawan will relinquish piloting to me, I think I have the jumps needed; now let's see if we can convert enough space to manage seven of us aboard." She stood, ready to be active, now the beginning steps were in place. "I suggest reporting in to Master Billaba, when we make Tatooine, as she is more apt to understand Force-driven investigation of the danger. Or… oh, you could even talk to Master Yaddle."

She remembered the woman from her crèche days, recalled something had happened that had killed her… but she'd always been a little more open to requests than Master Yoda, who could talk you out of things and make you think it was your own idea.

"Hmm... yes," Qui-Gon agreed, "one of those two, certainly. And Obi-Wan will not object, once we have rescued Madam Shmi. ... oh that might be a bit of difficulty, yes, let's be about it."

Chapter Three

Obi-Wan was in the co-pilot seat, hands on the weapon controls, on the off-chance they were needed. Tatooine had gone smoothly enough, so at least Anakin was distracted with his mother. That Fulcrum was deep in the Force as she piloted made Obi-Wan curious about her training; even Master Tiin had not piloted quite like this during Obi-Wan's training.

Not a single ship or satellite noted their intrusion into the system, or the rather steep re-entry near mountains. Now Fulcrum was flying within meters of the surface of those mountains, almost skimming their trees, until she killed all momentum and came down on repulsors-only near what looked to be a primitive fortification.

"Master Jinn, it's your turn; I do sense two lives in the keep," Fulcrum called over comms to the man waiting at the hatch.

Qui-Gon stretched out deep into and through the Force, pushing his thought and will down the old clan-tie Plo had built for them all, even as he opened the hatch. ~Ky, get up here, NOW!~

Inside the keep, Ky Narec felt hope explode in the presence of Qui's deep resonance on that bond. "My child, grab your 'sabers and come with me. The rescue has arrived at last!"

Asajj wanted to point out that she was far from a child, knew it as an inane reaction to the impossible, and snapped a hand out for the pair of cylinders to come to her with their belt. They'd been eating, but the food was left in place as the pair rushed for the exit. She noted it was the way out that opened on the meadow…

…and then she could see the ship, of a design she did not know at all, and felt the deep wellspring of the Force within that ship.

Qui-Gon stood halfway down the ramp of the boarding hatch, watching the building, waiting, and his heart surged as he saw Ky and a young woman come racing out. Thank the Force, he thought, and waited, eyes and ears alert for any danger that had been waiting for his clanmate.

"About damned time," Ky called, even as he ran harder, the woman with him only matching his pace. They made it to the ramp, and Ky clasped Qui-Gon's hands for a brief moment. "Qui-Gon Jinn; my padawan. I hope we get out of here as unstrafed as you seem to have made it down!" he added as they got off the ramp.

Asajj didn't say anything, fixing this man's presence in her mind against the stories.

Qui-Gon started the ramp closing, "I'll have to trust to our pilot for that, dear one, but I certainly agree with you on the desirability. Greetings, Padawan Ventress. A pleasure to meet you."

Then he pulled Ky into a hard embrace, jaw locking over his shoulder as he held on tight.

Ky answered it with a fierce grip and his eyes closing. "I'd decided that I might just have to risk taking over the world, just to get my padawan off this rock," he said softly. "But you came. And now… of that was a hell of a maneuver," he added when the ship's inertial dampeners almost failed. Let's get settled somewhere?"

"Before we crash into a bulkhead?" Asajj said with a sniff, not sure she liked her this flight anymore than the last, save it meant hope for her Master being free.

Qui-Gon laughed and led them to the nearest safe place to sit, "Yes, do come. Obi-Wan is managing the guns in case we are assaulted, while the most unusual young woman I think I've met is doing the piloting. She's a niece, one of Plo's, though a bit displaced from her proper 'when' -- no, don't look at me like that, I watched her step out of empty air while the Force rang like a bell."

"Fascinating," Ky offered to that, while Asajj tipped her head, considering it. It didn't feel like anything in her ancestral memories, but the Force had many ways.

"Obi-Wan? That little red-headed scamp you were both frantic over and dismayed by?" Ky followed up.

"Not so little any more, but yes, the very same," Qui-Gon agreed, "he's going to make a fine knight, one day. I've recently been a colossal idiot to him and he's rightfully giving me a bit of a cold shoulder, but hopefully I can finish convincing him I'm sorry by the time we get to Dorin, or Lia may skin me."

"Dorin, hmm? Qui-Gon, have you or the others gone and gotten yourselves kicked out of the Order? Are we Altisians now?" Ky asked, amused, but half-serious.

"Those are the ones who believe in accepting Force-bonds, Master?" Asajj asked, just to make sure she had placed the splinter group.

"Yes, and where we will go if the Order is a snit at us, my dear girl," Ky promised her.

"I have not yet officially gotten myself, or my padawan, thrown from the Order," Qui-Gon replied, "and I am fairly certain Obi-Wan will not leave, but I am angry enough with the Council that I am contemplating it for myself, once Obi-Wan is a Knight. But we're going to Dorin to see if Lia will help a former slave we rescued make a life for herself. I can't just abandon her with nothing, and Lia is the gentlest soul I know and am sure will help her without taking advantage."

Asajj had looked over sharply at the former slave mention, but Ky just reached with the Force and petted her hair, reassuring her. Of course Qui-Gon would take care with a former slave.

"From all I remember, I have to agree."

Asajj flinched as the ship did some interesting maneuvers, accompanied by laser fire, before the blessed silence of hyperspace settled around them.

"Your pilot must be very certain of her calculations to jump that close to the planet," Ky said, knowing they could not have been far from atmosphere when the ship translated over.

"Fulcrum -- as she has ceded her birth-name to the child-her -- appears to be remarkably confident about many things," Qui-Gon agreed, "but I also have yet to see her be wrong."

"I think I will enjoy meeting her then," Ky said.

"I know I shall," Asajj told them. "Confident women have been rather lacking in my life."

That set Ky to laughing a moment before he shook his head. "Yes, but had you remained among your people, I would have feared for my life to meet you, dearest."

"This is quite true, and I cannot imagine life without you," she conceded.

Qui-Gon hummed a curious note, raising a brow.

"Matriarchal, Force-steeped people," Ky said to that. "We've had a lot of discussions about gender and perceptions versus reality of many peoples."

"I'm still not convinced men can be rational enough on the whole to be in charge of so many planets," Asajj muttered, getting a snort from Ky. "No matter how good an example you are, my teacher."

Qui-Gon laughed in amusement and said wryly, "Given the amount of conflict in the galaxy caused by the egos of foolish men, I am not entirely certain that you are wrong, padawan. Though foolish women also cause a fair amount of it, in our defense."

"Hmm."

"You won't change her mind, my friend," Ky said affectionately. "It's a genetic disposition, which honestly has led to some fascinating discoveries of the Force for me, as we managed lessons." He tipped his head to his padawan to see if she felt like sharing.

"Basic techniques of my people are embedded in ancestral memory," she did offer, as this man was her master's family of choice. "He would teach something, I would tell him it was wrong, and then we shared techniques. I think we've blended a few of those."

"So we have," Ky said with pride for her being forthcoming.

"How fascinating," Qui-Gon said, before he looked at Ky, amused, "what made you think I was trying, rather than agreeing with her? I'm more interested in the idea of what new techniques you've come up with, while you were... gone. Speaking of being gone, how did you wind up in exactly the opposite direction from where you told Plo you were going? He's been going out yearly to call for you and getting nothing, you wretch; you've frightened him badly."

"Is that where we were?" Ky asked. "No, I came out to make a new jump, and unfortunately for me there was a battle. I can only presume the last hit I took coincide with my jump. Damned lucky I came out at all, then."

"For both of us, my master," Asajj said fervently.

Qui-Gon sucked air in through his teeth and reached out to catch Ky's hand tightly with his own. "Luck indeed," he murmured, shaken. "And yes." He gave Ky the coordinates they had just left, raising a brow.

"Almost exactly opposite my destination," Ky breathed out, before squeezing that hand in his. "It is past, and we are rescued. The Force has granted me an exceptional padawan and companion in my exile, one I look forward to showing more of the galaxy."

Asajj could feel that he was holding back questions, ones he was not yet ready for the answers to, but at least this man did seem to understand how special Ky was. When Ky learned all of whatever had been missed, Asajj would be ready to support him.

While Obi-Wan had joined the others not long after they settled in their second hyperspace jump — the first having been a very short range one calculated on the fly — Fulcrum had not come back until after the others were settled around the meal that Shmi had cobbled together to celebrate freedom for herself, her son, and the two newcomers. After all, they had not been slaves when rescued, but they had been trapped.

Fulcrum slipped through the door and just watched in the moments that she was unnoticed. Anakin looked so peaceful to know his mother was free. Ky Narec looked much as Asajj had described him and shared in a meditation. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan actually looked mostly peaceful for once.

And Asajj — oh this was going to take getting used to. No tattoos, all of her hair still, not quite as fulsome as she would be? All of it reinforced to Fulcrum the changes she was making. This woman could hone all of her skills and truly be a challenge to the leadership of the Nightsisters in time, but for now, she was safe from the Darkness that had begun with Narec's murder.

Fulcrum accepted that, pledging to defend the person Asajj could be with the same level of intent she had on protecting Anakin from the Darkness ahead.

Anakin felt a tiny ripple in the Force and looked up, breaking into a grin. "Fulcrum! Come eat! Mom's cooking is the best, and she had so much to work with! I told her you couldn't have plants, that was why there was so much straight protein, so that bowl and that one are safe for you."

Fulcrum smiled at him, coming to get food and share in the camaraderie of this strange assortment of Force users. Even the mother, Shmi, had a small connection to it, most likely used on an instinctive level. She felt the two strangers evaluating her, and waited to see how they approached it, before speaking.

"What are you?" Asajj asked, as blunt as ever, and Fulcrum gave her the careful smile with no teeth showing.

"A Togruta, from Shili," she answered her former nemesis, ally, teacher… and none of those things now. "You are Asajj Ventress, of the Clan of the Black Gorge." The younger woman's eyes went large in shock, then narrow in suspicion. Fulcrum did not address that. "You are Ky Narec, a Jedi lost not long after the Stark Hyperspace War." She inclined her head to both. "I am called Fulcrum."

"I'd say you get used to it, her dropping information," Obi-Wan told Asajj, "but not really. I just listen for any tidbits that might prove useful."

Qui-Gon chuckled softly, watching Ky's padawan interact with Fulcrum and his own student, and watching Fulcrum come to sit and taste Shmi's cooking. "I think it would be a strange thing to get used to, Obi-Wan, but I can be nothing except grateful for your knowledge, Fulcrum. Given you seem to be making a habit of saving your Finder's clanmates."

"I serve the Force, and it has not chided me for this mad gambit of undoing the Sith's plans," she demurred to that. "This is wonderful, Shmi," she added after sampling the dish. "We're en route to Dorin now. As I do not wish to cause turmoil with the Sages, I will be staying aboard when we land there.

"They do not know me yet, but Sage Tran might well pick up the Force bond if he were present, as he was my teacher when I did live among them."

"Like Anakin," Shmi observed. "Will you have many to avoid contact with to avoid causing turmoil?"

Fulcrum shook her head. "I know who not to touch," she said with a chuckle. "But the Kel Dor are telepathic, so it works a little differently with them."

"Telewhatsit?" Anakin asked, cocking his head as he looked up at her.

"Telepathic," Fulcrum repeated. "They speak to and with their minds, in addition to their voices."

"With another of their race," Ky began, "they will typically only speak with their minds. Our friend, Plo Koon, made it possible for us to speak to him that way, at very short distances."

"There is a very strong privacy taboo in place, Lady Shmi," Fulcrum told the woman. "Only the public mind may be touched without permission."

Shmi ducked her head a little, and Fulcrum remembered Anakin doing that a couple of times, usually in the Senator's presence.

"Thank you for the reassurance. I am looking forward to learning how to best help in their oxygen habitat."

Anakin leaned against his Mom and hugged her close, so glad that she had something she was really looking forward to. "Threepio will be interested in that, I think, in how everything works," he said cheerfully. Threepio was shut down for the trip -- he was afraid of space, apparently, so he'd asked to be shut down and Anakin wasn't going to tell him no.

Ky made a considering noise, then looked at both Qui-Gon and Fulcrum in turn. "I am getting the impression that your mission for the Force is quite grave, and likely needs secrecy. Are there points you are comfortable saying now, as I am pledging myself to your work. As Qui spoke for you, and I am very grateful to see my padawan safely off that planet."

"I will follow my Master's lead, as I am relieved to have him rescued," Asajj said, causing Fulcrum to hide all emotions for that expression of loyalty to this man.

"And, if I, as a piece of the puzzle hidden away on such a world as Dorin seems to be, hold the words, then if the worst happens, I can perhaps convince others to pick up the load," Shmi said. "As all of this seems to have bearing on my son's future."

Fulcrum looked to Qui-Gon, to see if he and his padawan were ready to hear more.

"Please," Qui-Gon said, "share whatever you are willing to, niece. I think we can hardly have better protection than being in hyperspace for whatever terrible truths you have to disclose."

Obi-Wan nodded his agreement, head tipped slightly to the side.

Fulcrum took several more bites, fortifying herself. "The Sith that I told to go home was an apprentice, a tool only, to the one who is maneuvering to take full control of the Republic, destroy the Jedi, and cause massive suffering through the galaxy. I have, for an unknown amount of time, been contending with the Master Sith in a place that only exists inside the Force.

"When he was actively occupied with something that would keep him away from battling me there, I chose a key point to apply leverage to, namely the one that helped cement the growth of power in this man's direction. There are Jedi who have either truly Fallen or been manipulated into putting key pieces of a very long, brutal game with a high cost in lives into place. I know where some of these pieces are, can theorize on others, but.

"I am sworn by oaths long ago made to protect a key population in the coming years, and my life is the Force's to prevent the wholesale slaughter of the Jedi Order, and other paths of Force use." She looked down to Anakin, and put a hand on his back in comfort. "All I ask of you, my friend, is to learn, and to be suspicious of anyone who offers you friendship, companionship, or praise without any immediate gain."

"What makes me so important?" Anakin asked, bewildered, looking up at her, as his nerves prickled in uneasy distress. "I mean, I'm a good pilot, but... there are lots of good pilots."

"Because there are people who believe you to be the potentially strongest user of the Force," Fulcrum answered honestly. "Regardless of if it is true or not, some people will seek to manipulate you into their good graces just to be sure you're on their side."

Obi-Wan gave Qui-Gon a sly side-eye, because while he knew his Master only wanted the best for the boy, he had pushed a little hard into that prophecy nonsense.

"Anakin knows that everything comes with a price, either now or in the future, for favors," Shmi reinforced. "The Jedi say the price of help is to help others later, which is a kind way to allow us to be free and help others in turn. You, Fulcrum, carry a heavy weight with what you know and what you cannot say outright, I think, and I choose to trust your words."

"Thank you," Fulcrum said to that.

Anakin nodded slowly and solemnly, "I'll be wary." He sighed. "I thought being free would mean I could be less afraid, especially with Mom free too. But if people are still going to want things..."

"Oh that is basic sapient nature," Asajj said. "We learned that time and again, with people we attempted to help, didn't we?"

"Yes. But, you can't not help, or you fall into darkness without even meaning to," Ky pointed out. "It takes time and experience, Anakin, but you'll learn who wants things for the wrong reasons, and who wants them for the better ones.

"It's a very hard set of lessons, some times." Ky reached and squeezed Asajj's hand, proud of her for speaking up again.

"Lady Shmi," Fulcrum began, "like your son, you can touch the Force actively. If I may be so bold… the Baran Do Sages have no age limit, and can help you learn conscious control of it, to better protect yourself as well as to open new ways of helping others. You can ask Healer Lia for an introduction, if and when you feel comfortable with such."

Shmi, a little awed by the idea, merely nodded.

"Asajj, your abilities with healing will likely get a strong workout in coming years; would you be willing to teach the basics of it to those we bring into our network of averting tragedy?" Fulcrum asked, and the pale woman again favored her with a long look of suspicion. Fulcrum switched to the sibilant language she had used in the power core. ["I knew you, in my time. You taught me. I may be very busy and unable to share."]

["You speak it the way I remember,"] Asajj replied in kind. "Yes, I will do so," she agreed in Basic.

"Healing?" Anakin asked, quick, his eyes widening. "That's a thing we can do? To help people? How?"

"Something you can learn later, Anakin. There are many lessons before we get there," Fulcrum told him. "So from here, we take Lady Shmi to Dorin, then go to the Temple, yes? I need to have a long talk with either Windu or Yoda."

"I almost," Ky said, "wish I could watch that."

Qui-Gon did not snicker, as that was unbefitting a Jedi Master of their age and experience, but he dearly wanted to. "Yes, Fulcrum. That sounds like the right course of action."

"Thank you, all of you," she said, before applying herself to the food in earnest, hoping yet again that she could do this, before too many more people suffered.

Chapter Four

They had taken long enough, in all of their travels, that the Jedi who had gone to Naboo with the official party were back in the Temple by the time they arrived. Obi-Wan was asked to keep Anakin in their shared quarters, while Ky went to find a dual apartment for himself and Asajj, leaving his interview with the Council to a later point. That let Qui-Gon and Fulcrum attend the first meeting of the Council after arriving.

Qui-Gon could all but feel the Force centering itself in the woman as they stepped into that chamber where most of the Council was present. Even Piell was not present, and Qui-Gon did wonder what had needed his skills. Adi Gallia was likely dealing with the Senate, and — more irritating — Plo Koon was not present. What was very noticeable was that Mace was consciously holding back discomfort from the minute they walked in, and all four of the truly ancient Masters were fixated on Fulcrum.

"Members of the Council," Fulcrum said, making eye contact with each one, and Qui-Gon would bet that strange almost white reflection was in hers again. "I am called Fulcrum, and Master Jinn has been kind enough to aid me so far in my duty to the Force."

Qui-Gon dipped his head in acknowledgment and a corner of his mouth quirked up at the narrow looks Master Rancisis and and Saesee were casting him. He shrugged slightly, and kept his silence until actually addressed -- and yes, knew some of the Council would be thinking 'for once' at his doing so.

"Hmm," Master Yoda said thoughtfully. "Much disruption in the Force, of late..."

"You have no idea," slipped out of Mace's mouth, a good indication that he had been suffering greatly from his particular form of Force Visions.

"Master Jinn, we had the Queen's report on events at Naboo, but there was very little in that about your presence there with your padawan," Ki-Adi began. "I was given the impression this was to protect the boy, but does it also pertain to Fulcrum?"

Inside her own head, Fulcrum blessed the discretion used by Sabé and the Queen, knowing it would have been one of the two of them to write that report up and make her people adhere to it.

"Yes, Master," Qui-Gon replied, "very much so. The Sith warrior was waiting for us in the palace. He was giving Obi-Wan and I quite a difficult time when our friend here stepped out of the Force and managed to... convince, or possibly frighten... him into fleeing before one of us died. And it was Anakin, who I had told to get into a ship to have the protection of its alloy and shields, who actually destroyed the main control ship."

Fulcrum rather enjoyed the ripple of shock through the Council, but pushed it fully into the background.

"The warrior's name is Maul. He was cultivated to be an assassin by the Sith," Fulcrum said. "I gave him incentive to remove himself from the Sith's strategies, and hope he has gone to create havoc on his home world." She looked at Eeth Koth. "He is a Nightbrother, Master Koth."

Her use of his name had made the others take note, as they had not been introduced to this stranger, but Eeth actually looked ashen.

"You are lucky to have survived your first encounter, Jinn," Eeth said firmly.

"I have been made aware," Qui-Gon replied, "and agree entirely."

"What home world did you send a being who could so distress Master Koth to, Fulcrum?" Yarael Poof questioned, carefully restraining himself to neutrality.

Qui-Gon swung his eyes to Master Yoda, waiting.

"Dathomir," Fulcrum said, wondering at Jinn's focus, looking that way… in time to see the ancient master's ears pin back, and his mouth harden in a firm line. "You were the Jedi of their legends, Master?" she asked in an almost amused tone. "The world is steeped in the darker aspects of the Force," she added to those who had not heard of the world.

"Mmm," Master Yoda said, his ears still pinned back, "to retrieve the Chu'unthor we tried. Unsuccessful, we were. Unpleasant, it was there. Legend to them, am I? Hmm."

"Trouble for the Nightsisters," Eeth Koth said, "who are all Dark Force Adepts, can only be a good thing, Yarael."

"I agree," Fulcrum said, "as right now they are mostly under the sway of one of their 'Mothers', and backing the Sith. I am here to stop him, his plans to destroy both the Republic and the Order, as well as all other Force traditions."

Mace twitched, shifting so the chair had better support for him.

"You act as if you know who he is," Oppo said in a testy voice.

"Master Rancisis, I do. And it remains for me to not say it, until I have ferreted out enough of the tendrils of his plans that I can share without him immediately knowing me for his direct enemy," Fulcrum said. "As a Battle Meditation adept, you should be able to see that angle."

The man deflated from the irritation he'd had on display, and nodded once, reluctantly.

"Anakin Skywalker and the battle droids?" Saesee prompted.

"What are you asking, Saesee?" Qui-Gon asked, raising a brow.

"One, how did the boy manage such. Two, how did anyone manage to keep such a feat quiet. Three, where is he now, if Sith are out there in all truth?"

"Master Tiin, I am glad that you brought that third point up," Fulcrum replied. "As the boy is very much what the Sith wants. There is a prophecy, after all, that he meets the criteria for, a prophecy of unknown provenance that has been whispered in ears for likely as long as this Temple has sat above the remains of the former Sith headquarters found here."

Yaddle's eyes widened, as she had never known that piece of history. In fairness, Fulcrum had only learned it after her failure to end the monster that her master had been crafted into.

"That," Qui-Gon said drily, "you had not mentioned before, and I find it most distressing. About Anakin, Saesee," he said, and gave a quick account of what Anakin had told him of the fight against the control ship. "When the pilots returned, I had gone to check on my charge, and I was able to persuade them that for his safety, none who had not been present, other than the Queen, should know. Apparently, the people of Naboo are quite good at keeping secrets," he finished with some amusement. "And he is here. The question is if you are going to reevaluate your fear of a child frightened for his still-enslaved mother, or if I'm taking him to Djinn."

Mace flinched, and cleared his throat. "He is too old for the typical youngling coming into our keeping, and there are shadows surrounding him beyond the fear," he began, holding up a hand to preempt the interruption, "but it would be wrong of us to leave him at risk.

"I respect Master Altis, but his sect of Force practitioners have less in the way of defenses than the Order does." He looked at Fulcrum, sensing this issue was part of her mission. "What do you say?"

"That he be given a chance to re-mediate his education, given a Huttese slave-holding world would not have prepared him for Core living. That he be allowed a tutor in the Force until such time as the right Knight is available to train him," Fulcrum said, confident the Force would manipulate that in the correct way. "I did some shielding work with him, and he has already expressed an interest in learning healing."

That last made Depa sit up, as she was surprised at the inclination based on the first interview… and her own personal opinions on the boy reminding her of her own master.

Qui-Gon nodded his emphatic agreement with Fulcrum's words, and Yoda peered at him. "Changed your mind, have you?"

He snorted more than a little exasperatedly. "I said I would train him because all of you were being fools and he needed -- and needs -- protection, not because I want to try to keep up with a ridiculously energetic nine-year-old, Master. I am quite happy to see Anakin wait for a better match than I could be."

Something that sounded like a chuckle came from Saesee's direction, which surprised Fulcrum. Her memories of him were as a dour man, but she also had learned he was elder to her own Finder, so would have seen Jinn growing up.

"And your needs, Fulcrum?" Eeth Koth asked.

"Investigators from among those Sentinels able to go low profile, as I find pieces we can actively move on? Patience as we may have to play a long game to protect as many as we can. A small ship to use as I answer the calls of the Force." She swept the room, looking at each of the Masters in turn. "I highly recommend asking Master Fisto to train those Knights and Masters often away in stronger shielding discipline.

"I do not know all of the Dark Acolytes, how early they came to the Sith's attention, after all." She then looked directly at Yoda. "Master, I have a small portion I would speak to you privately about."

"Then speak, we shall," Yoda replied, concern rising in him, but he controlled it, and nodded thoughtfully. "A ship, easy enough. Sentinels... on the one hand, easy. On the other, very curious are Sentinels. About you, curious they will be."

Fulcrum smiled, the full one of a Huntress. "I know how to handle Sentinel curiosity. After all, my own Finder trained, or helped train, two of the best, as I recall."

Curiosity could not be contained at that, but no one was willing to ask when the Force was threaded through with the very mystery of her presence.

"I will, as is often the way of those in privileged positions within the Force, give as much information as is needed, and enough that they remain safe in doing so."

There was only a hint of censure in those words, to Qui-Gon's ears, but they had been delivered calmly enough.

He only hoped she was right, that she could walk that balance. But if they were in a war already, had already lost people, they could not expect everyone to survive.

"Was there anything else, Master Jinn?" Mace invited, having firmly settled the mass of shatter-points in his head.

"We brought Ky Narec and his padawan home, thanks to Fulcrum's knowledge," Qui-Gon said with a bright and easy smile, "and have resettled Anakin's mother among people Fulcrum and I both consider safe for her and able to help her in adjusting to life in freedom."

"A padawan?" Yarael queried.

"It is tradition, Master," Fulcrum began, "that when a Jedi is stranded or otherwise incapable of returning to the Order, that they may teach those the Force brings to them."

"A long time since it was used, but Fulcrum speaks truly," Yaddle said, nodding. "We will welcome the padawan, and our returned Knight."

"Indeed," Saesee Tiin said, a small smile on his lips, "we shall."

"Thank you, all of you, for listening to us," Fulcrum said, and meant it. She had a better feeling for these people now, than the child's memory of them then. It would let her work them as expertly as she'd handled her Rebel cells.

She turned to leave with Jinn, thinking Rex would have been both proud of her for her bearing, and wishing she'd ripped into them for their narrow-minded ways that had actually added to the casualty rate of the war.

"I suppose I will need quarters. I got by on that couch in your quarters as a teenager when we were in Temple, but I don't want to keep abusing myself now," she said in a playful tone once they were away from the Council, while also adding a layer to the picture of who she was growing up.

"...I have slept on that couch once or twice by accident, I would not choose to do it frequently," Qui-Gon said, as lightly as she had spoken, "so yes, I expect we should."

She was missing her mate, afraid for the way this could still all go wrong, but ready to meet the challenge.

Fulcrum slipped into the GrandMaster's rooms when the door opened, going to sit silently beside him as he tended to one of his carnivorous plants. She took note of the flora that decorated the room, not thinking about how old some of them might be, given his own age. She took the time to center, to focus on necessity while also pulling compassion to the forefront. While she had issues with so many Jedi, her personal trials were not the point.

She had to tell this man that his student was either already a Sith or on the brink of a Fall.

"Given to stillness, Togruta are not, save for hunting."

She inclined her head, and gave him a small smile for his words. "One might say I have been on this hunt for a very long time, Master Yoda. I will apologize now for the conversation, as it is not without negative aspects."

"Hmm, yes, Force riled by revelations to come," he admitted, settling on his cushion to fully face her.

"The warrior Maul was not the only project in place by the Sith master," she began slowly. "No one knew when the other apprentice was chosen, if he was already in the works before Maul's supposed death, or if it came after the death of the man Maul had slain." She watched his expressive face reacting to that slew of out-of-time talk. "You grasp why I must be careful, because I am out of the timeline where we failed," she reassured him.

"Hmm, knowledge of a future already set, dangerous it is. Help with being wise, I see in you."

Fulcrum's eyes glowed whitely for a moment in confirmation, before she settled the Daughter back and kept control.

"In the final years of the Republic, the Sith inside the Republic was unknown. The one on the opposing side of the galactic war was known, had revealed himself to Kenobi first, and set into motion the entire war," she began. "Again, I do not know when he fell, but there were discussions around me as a padawan that indicated he had been out of touch with the Order for years, and had had questionable actions prior to distancing himself."

Yoda's ears had steadily drooped, and Fulcrum actually rested a hand on his.

"It is the Count of Serreno."

"Hmm, troubled, my padawan had been. Seek to know, I must."

She squeezed his hand before settling back into her own space. "I would dearly love for him to be pulled back, if he is Falling. I do not know who the Sith would turn to next, but Dooku was a very deadly opponent to face for so many."

Yoda nodded, then let the negative emotions go into the Force. "Duty, to the Force, have it, I do."

"So we both do, Master," she agreed. "Thank you for listening."

"Hard to deny, shadows lifting, they are, chased by the Light."

She breathed very slowly at his words. "May it continue," she said before rising to leave, needing time to visit the Archives now. She could have gone before, but if she had known for certain that Kamino had been erased, she would not have been able to be so hopeful for the ancient master's prospects in turning Dooku.

Sometimes, certain knowledge was a stumbling block.

Fulcrum and Qui-Gon had specifically left the change for Anakin to the next day, and while the Jedi was occupied with Ky and Plo, Fulcrum had agreed to handle it. A quick discussion with Ki-Adi Mundi and Saesee Tiin had netted her with a teacher for Anakin, the other Falleen Master by name of Xil Nottar. She had visited with him earlier in the morning, and they had agreed on a time to meet, as well as a plan on how to handle Anakin's living arrangements until he was steady enough to live with other Initiates.

She got to the door she knew so well and tapped, wondering if Anakin was alone, or if Obi-Wan was still in with him.

Anakin left the book -- in Basic -- he was studying at the sound of a tap on the door. Too quiet to reach the inner room Obi-Wan was in, but he was a lot closer. In the Temple, surely they were safe. He opened the door, looking up... and grinned to see Fulcrum. "Hi," he said cheerfully, "come on in! Master QuiGon isn't here, though, if you're looking for him?"

"No, he's helping Ky and Asajj," she agreed. "I actually came to talk to you about the future," she added, dropping on the couch — oh it was firmer at this point in time — and watching him. "Master Jinn tell you the Order has a place for you? I've been working on details of that, either way."

Anakin nodded, a little uncertainly. "He did say they'd changed their minds, which's good... except... they could always change them again, then. But... you've been part of figuring it out? That's good. What's going to happen, then?"

"I asked that you be allowed to learn the things children inside the Republic would already have been taught with a tutor, someone who can also teach you the basics of the Force that those who grow up in the Temple learn. I had … sisters, who were raised here that aided me in catching up but I didn't have as many years to make up for.

"I spoke to the suggested teacher today. His name is Xil Nottar, recently advanced to the rank of Master, and while he never takes padawans, he has a long reputation for mentoring them when they cannot accompany their masters out of the Temple."

"So he might teach me without me needing to be his padawan? So I'll be better at being a padawan, when a Knight or a Master wants me to be their padawan? Do you like him?"

"I do," Fulcrum said. "He's Falleen. I've got a soft spot for people who choose a better life than most of their people. He was very understanding, and he said he would let you stay in his apartment whenever I am away, in case these two aren't here.

"This is all a path to catching up to others of your age, and if your eventual teacher is not yet ready, then you could also try living with the Initiates, once you better understand how the Temple and its people work." She reached out to pet his hair a little, having established on their travels he didn't mind the contact with her. "Does this suit you? Because ultimately, the choice is yours."

Anakin gave her a long, uncertain look. "Master Qui-Gon said that, too. But it's... strange."

She took a deep breath. "I cannot understand from your perspective, but I do get it. My… clan, chosen by them and me, were men who never had a choice in anything except their personal relationships. When we found a way to let them have some choices, it was hard for them.

"But, in the end, if you don't embrace being able to choose? You're still living life as a captive to other peoples' whims." Had that explained it well enough for Anakin to understand? She desperately needed him to embrace freedom, to feel it now, as her meditations had shown that as one of his fracture lines leading to the monster.

"You freed them, too? Your clan?" Anakin asked, looking up at her, turning the words over slowly. They made sense, she was right, but it was going to be hard. Mom always said pretty much everything important was hard, though.

So, what did he think? Anakin thought about it, his brows furrowing. "I... I think that sounds good. It doesn't feel wrong!"

"Good." She gave him a warm smile. "I can take you to meet him today, after dinner? He would prefer to start lessons tomorrow, but wants to talk to you on what time of day you learn best, and other things to keep this good for you." She leaned back into the couch, considering. "I think you will learn fast, for whatever that matters to you.

"You've always been smart."

"That sounds good, I'd like to meet him first," Anakin agreed, smiling and relaxing for her faith in him.

"I think you're going to like him."

Lessons with Master Nottar started with some testing, as the man asked questions, or gave him puzzles to solve. The Falleen let Anakin talk about anything at length if the questions sparked something, and it didn't take long for Xil to know that book lessons needed to be mixed with activities.

This brought Anakin into contact with some of the younger children, all of whom were doing their best to not show surprise that a Big Kid hadn't learned something they were practicing. Sometimes it was with children his own age, in things where Anakin actually was a shade ahead of them, allowing him to help others learn.

As Master Qui-Gon and his padawan had left the Temple on some mission, it meant Anakin was staying with Fulcrum, who made a point of picking him up from wherever his lessons had been.

This let her see the boy she was so fond of deep in conversation with a Mon Cal — she thought it might be Master Kit's padawan — as the pair were leaving a machining class. Unfortunately, she caught only the barest warning before a gaggle of Clawmouse clan turned the corner and all but ran both boys over.

She did not, as she wanted to, actually facepalm, because of course the tiniest Clawmouse was the one that had impacted directly with Anakin.

That scamp, having collided and made skin-to-skin contact was staring with the biggest eyes at this human who felt like sun and sand, comfort and sorrow all at once for the child that barely managed to remember Basic at times.

Anakin caught the tiny youngling before it -- she -- could fall backwards, and the Force chimed with the same echo he'd felt with Fulcrum. He looked down to see who he'd caught, and met huge blue eyes, saw tiny blue-and-white nubs of montrals and lekku, and coppery skin, and he caught her a little closer, gently, bewildered. "Hi?" he offered, trying to smile even though he was so confused, "Careful..."

There was a single rising whistle, before the tiny girl shook her head, the lekku nubs wiggling a little in her vexation. "Koh — no. Basic. Hello!" she said. "Sorry," she added, while her clan was sorting themselves out. "Not my pale one. But maybe?" her face scrunched up around that, and Fulcrum would rather have been anywhere else right then. The dreams of the men had blurred to the point that she never could remember what the first one had been… but of course Rex had been an early imprint.

"Anakin," she called, so that he could extricate himself from the youngling.

"It's okay," he told the little one, "but I have to go. You okay?"

"Yep!" She gave him a broad smile, her sharp teeth tiny. She then went and found the hand of one of the elder Clawmouse children, so they could all go, more carefully, where they were supposed to be.

Fulcrum just waited for Anakin to come to her, bracing for questions.

He went to her, looking back at the tiny girl, then all the way up at her, then back. "Is -- she felt -- I don't --"

"You heard her, as you hear me, in the Force," Fulcrum said, glad that her younger self was too small to be able to chase after the sounds of their voices with her tiny montrals as they walked away from the youngling levels. "Her name is Ahsoka Tano. She has visions which many think are nightmares, and wonder if they were wrong to bring her away from her people.

"Her Finder defends her, and Master Ti will also defend her, once she returns to meet the child."

"But they're not nightmares, are they?" Anakin asked, looking up at her. "Not if she's who you were. Or you'll who she'll be."

Fulcrum stopped, and crouched down in front of him. "I do not wish her to ever become me. I want her to be the Jedi-Who-Hunts as she wishes so much for, without… what I have become. Can you help me in that, by not treating her any differently than any other child? The visions are hard enough, but they will bring her happiness, in time, if I am successful."

"You want to protect her, like you want to protect me. So the bad things that happened to you don't happen to her," Anakin said, after thinking about it for a minute. "I... yeah. I can do that."

She squeezed both his shoulders, standing so they could continue back to her quarters for both food and more lessons.

Chapter Five

31 BBY

Working so closely with the Sentinels was giving Fulcrum a new appreciation for that arm of the Order. She'd known Bultar and Lissarkh fairly well, but only as 'relatives', and had never worked with them. Tera Sinube had earned her trust long ago, and once she had worked a bit with his counterpart, Areen Jepet, she had new hope they would crack this, using her knowledge of who had enriched themselves through the Sith rise to power.

"You've said the Muun are going to be an issue," Areen began one night, not long after Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had returned from a mission in what would be Separatist space, confirming the rumors of growing agitation to separate from the Republic. One thing they had found was a tenuous link between an agitator and Muun financing.

"Yes. One of the driving forces, though they did not truly profit from it in the end. Too inhuman," Fulcrum said.

"My former padawan, Micah Giett, was trying very hard to help me break what seemed to be a conspiracy of theirs that might have linked them to the more visible Trade Federation's actions in the Stark Hyperspace war. But neither he nor I were able to crack the cyphers of their accounting. If you have any knowledge of such, it might help us make more sense of Kenobi's data retrieval."

Fulcrum sighed. "No, all of my efforts in the aftermath were focused on intelligence and breaking open populations to help our cause."

Anakin, working on one of his lessons on a padd, looked up. "Muun accounting? Mom was a Muun's slave for a while; she learned the language and how to do the accounts and stuff. Freeing her was in his will, but his heir sold her anyway."

Fulcrum, Tera, and Areen all turned to look at the boy working on his latest project. Then Fulcrum smiled, proud of him for volunteering that, and for paying some attention to their work.

"Thank you, Anakin," she said warmly before turning back to Areen.

"Of course," Anakin replied, smiling over at her, before he went back to his own work.

"I still prefer not to be the one to handle Dorin contacts, but I do trust Master Koon, if you think he would handle the contact? I know he partnered with Master Giett." Fulcrum kept the words neutral enough to be taken as 'teammates', but she knew the pair had been life-bonded, from stories in her childhood, and later events on Dorin.

She'd come a long way from her feelings of betrayal; the Council were not yet those people, and hopefully never would be.

"He's a bit overdue for going back," Tera mused aloud. "Yes, I think he would work. Areen?"

"I may go with him, for him to make introductions as needed, and to be able to speak directly with the Lady Skywalker," Areen said. "That way he will actually take time to himself. Lissarkh can do some studies with Bultar or Master Tholme."

"Right, she's not a Knight yet," Fulcrum said, shaking her head. "I've tried not to interact too much with him, because of the little one. It's just too odd."

Anakin didn't interrupt again, but he smiled at the mention of the tiny Togruta, who was so sweet any time he saw her.

"I'd hardly recognize who I was at that age," Tera said. "Areen, of course, was never that age."

That set all of them to laughing, before discussing further angles from Kenobi-and-Jinn's latest excursion.

Fulcrum looked at her stratagem map, at the key events noted. Kamino had been erased from the Archives. Komari Vosa had been slain, Jango Fett had dropped out of sight, and Sifo-Dyas had not been heard from in all the time that Fulcrum had been in this era. Little Ahsoka's visions said that the cloning project was on track.

Most importantly, Shmi Skywalker had managed to open the accounting cyphers to reveal strong connections between Muun financiers and agitators on worlds that would be Separatist by choice, if they did not head off the war. A connection to a man named Hego Damask had been found, but that Muun was dead, as best any of the Sentinels could learn.

"We have quite a file on Damask," Areen said, still studying the translated ledgers. "Should I cross-reference these payments to known associates?"

"It would be good to establish if any of them are on my list of profiteers, or if I can use those connections to flush out the real enemy," Fulcrum agreed.

Areen hummed assent, leaving Fulcrum contemplating the map. How could she force the Sith hand? Yoda had managed to disguise his meeting with Dooku as an attempt to bring the man home to the Order, so that should not have set the Sith to immediate suspicion. Yet, for all the threads she pointed the Sentinels out, she could not find the right one to pull and remove the cloak around the true enemy!

"Fulcrum, there's a tally of massive expenses just about the time the Trade Federation made their move," Areen began. "The destination account is not through any known worlds' financial systems."

That made Fulcrum close her eyes, resting her forehead against one hand, elbow propped on the table. "Military investment, the system paid sits outside Republic space altogether."

Tera Sinube's brows rose, as he turned to look at her. "Oh? Few worlds of the Rim, to my knowledge, have resources enough to make that kind of investment worthwhile..."

This was the point where everything teetered in her mind, in the Force, and pitted the woman against the agent. She knew anyone chasing those credits now would likely end up dead, or worse. She still remembered the full body shudders of her men at the idea of Kamino getting hands on a Force User for their cloning.

She had tried to keep the investigation from butting up against the Kamino issue directly, but that was no longer a possibility.

"Ever hear rumors of large-scale cloning operations not for medical banks?" she asked, opening the floor to this discussion, since these two people were utterly vital to every step of ending the Sith influence. Already, they had cut off a dozen corrupt politicians through well-timed evidence being given to the right people.

"Rumors, yes. It's said that Falleen prefer not to go through the usual channels," Areen said slowly.

Tera nodded. "As Areen says, there are always those rumors."

"They are founded in fact, my friends. There exists a world whose dominant species is produced through cloning alone, and they will custom make large orders of sentient beings to fill specific purposes." Fulcrum looked from one to the other.

"How utterly, completely vile," Areen said firmly, after a very long pause to digest that.

Tera allowed Areen's words to stand for his feelings as well, before his eyes narrowed slightly. "But the Trade Federation has its droids. Why would the Sith need clones?"

"And now I have to share the true shape of things, don't I?" Fulcrum mused aloud. "Yes, they have droids. Tinnies, rollies, tacticals, all sorts of droids. How fast do you think the Fleet would be able to pull, mobilize, and equip the militias from all of the Republic's sovereign systems?"

Areen considered, and her complexion looked very gray at the logic of that. "Too long, given how swiftly a droid army could be mobilized and deployed."

Fulcrum nodded. "So, the Sith on that side postures and sets a trap to lure in a solid pretense for aggression, and rolls out the droids, conquering everything in sight, correct? But no, that is not what the Sith in the Republic needs to happen. He needs systems worn down by constant threat and fighting. He needs people too weary to decry the full-scale slaughter of the Jedi. He needs the Jedi thoroughly weakened through war, and their moral high ground eroded.

"So the Republic, it seems, needs an army that can mobilize, is already fully integrated in its own command structure, and has plenty of armaments, for the very day the other side makes their play."

"But... would it not be utterly obvious that such an army had been the creation of our enemies? That it could not possibly be trusted?" Tera asked, after more than a minute of silent and nauseated horror, his head swinging from side to side in dismay and confusion.

"From this side of events, it is obvious. Then? There were probably suspicions. But the Army was created on the say-so of a Jedi, you see, and with the invasions happening almost the day after nearly two hundred Jedi were slain, people panicked, and were grateful, at first.

"And honestly? Those men brought out the best in most of the Jedi I knew. They were used and meant to be nothing more than tools by the Sith, much like the droids on the other side." She couldn't keep the pain out of her voice, speaking of her brothers. "I know the nature of the trap. Given facilities and trained people, it could be neutralized. I could not prevent that step of events without massively betraying that someone knew and was neutralizing Sith plans."

"The child's visions?" Areen asked, responding to the emotions Fulcrum had betrayed.

"Yes. I… don't know why or how, but I was bound to them from their very beginning."

"By a Jedi?! What? Who -- who --" Tera found himself truly unable to even fully speak the question.

"I was willing to decide that part was propaganda," Areen told her friend.

"Oh no." Fulcrum shook her head. "There is a very strong reason I asked for a report of all Jedi not known to be dead that had not been seen or heard from since before the Naboo invasion. The man that commissioned the army may possibly have been thinking he was doing the right thing.

"But I am almost certain the Visions he was heeding were fed to him from a Sith."

"Visions — of armies of droids slaughtering Republic men and women…" Areen said aloud, as pieces clicked into place.

"We never did know how he got the funds; my Grandmaster had insisted the Treasury had been audited to the tenth of a credit when it came to light."

"...I think many things of Sifo-Dyas," Tera said slowly, "but that he would cooperate with a Sith is not one of them. The funds would have had to be diverted to somewhere he would think legitimate, someone who could offer to help him against his fears...."

"I'm told that despite his aversion to even the mildest perception of Attachment, the Count was very good friends with the man," Fulcrum said neutrally. "My Grandmaster might have had words about the Count, which got back to me because I was in the right gossip chain."

After all, Cody vented to Rex, and Rex really had only had her, Anakin, and Kix to unload to.

"Master Yoda's visit to Serenno was not just to try and persuade that man back, but to judge if he had Fallen?" Areen questioned, getting a nod.

"And from his behavior since he returned," Tera said, "the answer was not to his liking in the slightest. ...that lineage has had a problem, this century."

That cut through Fulcrum to the core, her eyes closing, thankful Anakin was not in the room with them today. She took long, slow breaths, trying to push the pain away —

"Ahsoka…"

"I'm not leaving you, Master!"

"Then you will die."

— and opened her eyes when she realized Areen was actively trying to calm her by pheromone tricks.

"Sorry." She looked at Tera. "Yes. I'd like to stop it at Dooku, thank you."

"You are too late for that," Tera said, his head tilting, "which... you do not know?"

Fulcrum shook her head. "Dooku to Jinn, Jinn to Kenobi, Kenobi to his padawan, who taught me. Five links, two of which rotted to the Dark Side."

"Qui's second padawan," Areen said softly, "also Fell, though we knew nothing of the Sith still existing."

"Oh. No, I didn't know that."

"The boy was much like his Master, was his first Foundling, and Qui-Gon would hear little criticism of him," Tera said with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes for a long moment. "During their last mission before his Trial, the boy Fell. Qui-Gon told the Council he was dead, but he was not. Not until he had tried many times to kill Qui-Gon, and young Obi-Wan, and at the end of his many crimes, forced his former master to watch him kill himself. It is a bitter and terrible story."

Fulcrum stared, recounting all the little things she had catalogued as 'not the best way to handle Skyguy' from her Grandmaster, and then added that into the equation.

"Question, and this is from the medic I trusted with the lives of my men — do Jedi just not understand that trauma of the mind and spirit can and will happen? That it is a condition that needs treatment, just like physical wounds?"

She managed, barely, to keep the tone civil, but Kix's outrage at some of the things he'd learned about individual Jedi was behind it.

"This falls under the part you labeled 'reforms', doesn't it?" Areen asked wryly, while shaking her head. "We try, among ourselves, but … yes, Jedi have been badly damaged and allowed to say they gave it to the Force to keep them doing as a Jedi must."

Tera studied the carefully, carefully composed woman, hearing the anger behind her civil words, and decided that challenging her over having let this utter travesty begin could wait for another day. If it was ever wise to do so. What she had just said... "I hear both experience and wisdom in your words, huntress... but I would have to say that no, trauma of the spirit, as you put it, is not something the Order is good at recognizing as a wound."

"They had begun to, when the trap was set off," Fulcrum said softly. "After all, they had to take care of these men entrusted to their care, and the men? They refused to allow a double standard on care."

"Did you suspect the project was already in place when you emerged, or not?" Areen asked, hearing that emotional loyalty to this unseen army.

"I did not know the timeline," Fulcrum said, chin up, re-focusing. "As I knew what the Sith plan looked like with their creation, and could not think like my prey enough to determine what the contingency plan without them looked like, I left that part alone. Partly for practical purposes, and partly because I want them to know the peace I hope we bring.

"I want the men that caused my Hunt-Mother and my Finder to adopt them all as children to have a chance to live free."

Both elders took that in, decided to leave it be, for her part in it, before Areen looked at a different angle.

"We could 'discover' the project now, censure the Jedi responsible, and protect them?"

Fulcrum weighed the matter, but the Force was stifling her… and buzzing enough for the two Sentinels to notice.

"I think it tips the scales, and would trigger a different contingency effort," Fulcrum said very slowly, uncertain, because she wanted, desperately, to save those brothers that would be culled over the years. However, she had to balance against Sith machinations.

Tera frowned, but in concern, not displeasure, and tipped his head slightly. "...the Force warns you we should not? I feel it moving, but I do not understand its warning."

"I don't like it, as the suggestion really holds appeal for me to protect them better, but… I think it's too dangerous to risk, from the way the Force feels." Fulcrum's lekku twitched and faded a bit with her vexation.

"Then we wait, and see how far we have to move things before it is a viable option," Areen said briskly. "And if we get to a point where we neutralize the Sith without the discovery, that is when we will address it."

"That seems the best approach." Fulcrum sighed. "Alright, Damask's known associates, so I can determine if they trace directly enough to either Sith in play. The sooner we can unmask and discredit them, the better it will be for everyone."

28 BBY

Asajj inspected the deep wounds, scowling, already intent in her healing. Fulcrum kept her eyes shut, playing over the events once more.

["You're not going to get better answers while you are managing pain, shoving energy at the injuries, and trapped in your own head,"] Asajj snapped in Dathomiri, forcing Fulcrum to look at the — strange even now to her — younger woman.

"Is she misbehaving, dear one?" Ky asked, where he was managing Qui-Gon's impatience to learn what had been discovered that led to the injuries.

"Yes," from Asajj overlapped "No" from Fulcrum, before Fulcrum just sighed. "Alright. Leave it until I can report," she agreed, and instead opened herself to the flow of the Force between herself and the recently Knighted woman.

Four years of putting out fires in systems, hunting for clues, trying to find enough evidence to topple the Sith early — there had been several changes. Obi-Wan had taken his Trials, and answered the Force's demand to teach Anakin. Fulcrum had started traveling more with that settled, bringing back the pieces of Jedi lore she had found around the galaxy, while judiciously applying pressure on some of the Republic's bleeding wounds of society.

"Alright. No exertion for several days. I will not apply new healing if you tear them open because you do not listen to me." Asajj started putting away her tools, and Fulcrum leaned in, bringing her forehead to the pale woman's.

"I'll be good."

"You'd better."

That Asajj could still be so sharp, so fierce did make Fulcrum happy; the rescue had merely prevented the slide into murderous vengeance.

"Well?" Qui-Gon pressed once Asajj had moved away.

"Ambush. Dark Force user I did not recognize, probably one he had already discarded by the time I was involved," Fulcrum told the rest of them. "The trap was laid in such a way that once I set it in motion, the only way out was through.

"Hopefully, the Sith still doesn't know what I look like; my enemy was not prepared to truly blind a Togruta."

"And said enemy will not be reporting," Ky said, having seen the woman in combat. If the chance to surrender or flee was not taken in the very beginning, there was no mercy from the Huntress.

"Unless his Dathomiri witch is still on speaking terms with him," Fulcrum agreed, provoking a snarl from Asajj. "Yes, I know. Believe me when I say Maul's absence from the galactic scene leaves me hopeful Talzin has her hands full."

"It would leave her legacy in utter disgrace if a male project of hers successfully overthrows her," Asajj conceded.

"What now?" Qui-Gon asked, weighing it all.

"I meet with the Council, only the Council, tomorrow. I suspect the fact we sealed off the Sith shrine prompted his ability to see me or my actions and influence, even if none of you let me help with that project."

"Now I wish you'd let them stick you on it," Ky teased his friend, who made a dismissive sound.

"No, you don't," Fulcrum said. "I need to ask both of you to carry that," and she pointed at the box she had brought in, "to the Green Jedi. Master Nalcyon, I believe, is the correct member to hold it."

"Just in case?" Qui-Gon said, wryly. He knew she'd managed to convince Yoda, Master Nu, and Oppo Rancicis to make holocrons of vital traditions and techniques to disperse to various factions, against the possibility of failure. Shockingly, she had also persuaded people of those traditions to return the favor, though the shared knowledge was being kept at a location only a few people knew of.

"Just in case," she agreed, rising. "I think I will go eat, sleep, and meditate."

Asajj moved to her side. "I will insure that you do so," which provoked the men's smiling, and Fulcrum rolling her eyes, but accepting the company.

Chapter Six

Fulcrum waited until the chamber was sealed, then looked around the chamber at those present. There had been some members who gave up their seats in the time since her advent, so the Council was looking closer to the one she remembered. Master Fisto was still not here, but he was truly needed to keep lines open with his uncle anyway.

"Injured, you are," Yoda observed. "Bearing on this meeting, yes?"

"Yes, Master Yoda. A trap was set for me, as in the agent working against the Sith, without knowing exactly who, or more more precisely, what, I was. As they failed to blind me fully. The Dark Force acolyte was killed; I did not recognize the species from my travels.

"However, this does seem to indicate the Sith is actively aware of the meddling in his plans. Possibly due to our successes in cooling down tempers in the outer systems of the Republic." She inclined her head to the Council for their efforts on that, listening to her urging to not just wait for the senate to identify problems.

"Your request for a sealed session, with anti-detection methods in place — sorry, Master Ti — would indicate that you wish to share further developments," Mace said.

Shaak Ti inclined her head, unwilling to seem weak in the presence of the formidable huntress that Fulcrum was.

Fulcrum stepped back from the center, and used a control to activate the projection she had programmed. Numerous dealings between a specific Muun and his human aide scrolled slowly, along side the incidents that had seen Jedi involvement, often with deaths. She had even managed to obtain a few distinct images of the pair.

The agitation growing in the chamber, especially from Master Gallia, was both satisfying and worrisome… if they refused to see the truth in the moment.

"This Muun, who was behind a company that moved assets in support of destabilizing key regions, who was tied up in the Stark Hyperspace war, and had dealings with nearly every banking house known to shore up the Trade Federation… utilized a human aide that I believe each of you has met at least once," Fulcrum began. "The Muun, from all we can learn, is dead. The trail of evidence, and my own knowledge of the human, lead me to believe the Muun was an heir of the line of Bane."

She had not said the human's name aloud, and those few images depicted a much younger man, but the text had stated it. She looked from Master to Master, judging their reaction, hoping no one was idiotic enough to actually breathe the name aloud.

"How," Saesee Tiin murmured, "can we have been so blinded? How is he able to so utterly cloak the malice that traditionally oozes from the psyche of one so tainted?"

"Elder Fisto has confirmed that through the history of his people, they have lost adepts in their techniques," Fulcrum said, addressing Saesee directly. "I knew that Maul was capable of cloaking himself, and suspected that line of possible explanation.

"Once he had no reason to hide it, I assure you it is a vile, retched sensation to come face to face with."

"Is there a direct path of evidence that can be presented?" Master Mundi asked.

"No. The provenance of much of what we used to prove the connections is, well, sketchy," Fulcrum answered him. "What can be done, without betraying who it is, is to connect the list of people I have who were enriched in power or wealth, after the fall of the Republic, to him. Follow the credits, and find the dishonest dealing to prove he is as corrupted as the people believed of Valorum."

Plo Koon crackled slightly, studying the projection again, and took several deep, slow breaths. "That seems wise, yes. I will have to meditate deeply, and shield myself thoroughly, to avoid betraying what I now know. ...Unless... Saesee, it may be wiser to place a barrier, with a command-word to drop it, than attempt to simply rely on my self-control. Will you assist?"

"Master Tyvokka," Saesee said, softly and with sympathy for his friend. "I will aid you — and any others that need the additional reinforcement." It was more seemly, after all, to point at the loss of their revered Master of the Order, than to allow Plo's anger to be seen as a reflection of what Plo had shared with Micah Giett, who had tried so hard to bring down Damask Holdings.

"I believe that I merely need my shielding reinforced,"Adi Gallia said firmly. "I am, after all, steeped in political machinations. You will need me to bring this… treachery to an end."

"We need all of you," Fulcrum said with quiet, solid faith, opening herself to the Force, and pushing through it to each person in the chamber. Even Mace, staggered by the weight of the revelation sharpening and smashing his shatterpoints, felt a buffering wave of energy helping distance him from the pain, allowing him to see more clearly but with detachment.

Yoda's ears flicked, eyes studying the flow of the Force, knowing the woman who aided them was a conduit for something considered mythical even when he had been young.

"Hmm, helpful, that is," he said, when she returned fully to herself, realizing she had, while doing that, reinforced the Council bond to allow them to be slightly more aware of one another.

"I… well. Yes." Oppo went from puzzled to resolved as that settled into place. "We keep this to ourselves, just those of us in this room?"

"I think it best. The Force may nudge us to expand out as time goes by, but caution is needed," Fulcrum answered. "I have not even told my direct operatives, but the two elder Masters assisting me so much each made the logic leap swiftly. That is why each opted to go be a little more active for a bit last month."

"Aaah, that explains much," Adi said softly, her mouth quirking, "and it is likely well for all of us."

Fulcrum smiled, edges of her teeth visible. "Sometimes, anger can be useful, if sorted into productive works with a purpose aimed at protecting all."

A few Masters shifted uncomfortably, but neither Mace nor Shaak were going to argue. Then again, they had come to their darkness and passed through safely.

"Perhaps," Agen Kolar began, "we should brief you on each of our own threads of investigation now, and give us time to truly settle before we leave this room."

Fulcrum gestured agreement, and went to the thirteenth chair, one added for her specifically, and gave them her attention.

27 BBY

Fulcrum looked up as Anakin and Obi-Wan came into her quarters, both looking exhausted, injured, and worried. At least the injuries had bandages. She held a hand up to forestall immediate words, then gestured to her table and its chairs.

"I know you, Obi-Wan. You haven't thought to get a decent meal in your haste to tell me, but details actually are sharper without your stomach gnawing on your backbone." She set her datapad down and went into the small kitchen to start a meal.

"Does anyone ever tell you 'no' when you command them so?" Obi-Wan asked — after he was seated.

"Not anymore," she said, before looking at Anakin. "Fish, mammal, or bird?" she offered him, as she always reinforced his ability to choose things. At fourteen, gangly, and growing every time he was away from the Temple, it felt like, she thought he might have cravings.

Anakin hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "Bird, I think? Yeah."

She could feel the 'you indulge him' from Obi-Wan and ignored it. Nor did it take long to start the meal, come back and give them both their drinks, before resting a hand on each one to see to their injuries.

"Fulcrum, you shouldn't … alright," Obi-Wan said, at her glare.

Anakin hid his laugh in bringing his glass to his mouth, because he shouldn't laugh at his master, but it was funny to watch Fulcrum wrangle him.

"I need my eyes and ears on the galaxy in perfect order," she teased, but her hands squeezed with affection.

She forestalled the report until after both had eaten, sharing their meal, asking questions about lessons, not missions, to see how well they were doing together. The harmony between them made her feel so much hope, even as Anakin would argue when he thought he had the better point.

"So what happened?" she finally asked, once they were fed.

Obi-Wan took a breath, settling forward on the chair. "We went to try and speak with the Duchess of Mandalore, to warn her of the Death Watch, as you had suggested," he began. "We were attacked, while there, by their agents.

"The Duchess, of course, decided we'd brought the trouble with us at first."

"I think I preferred her being suspicious," Anakin muttered under his breath.

"An~a~kin," Obi-Wan said in his exaggerated offense, and Fulcrum had to laugh.

"I take it once the suspicions cleared up, they were flirty?" she asked Anakin, getting an emphatic nod.

Obi-Wan sighed at both of them, covering his face with one hand for a moment. "She's an old friend."

"As good a one as Bail," Fulcrum deadpanned, just to make him give her that look. "So the Sith are likely utilizing Death Watch members as spies. Not surprising… but I do need to think about our next move."

Could they turn this toward 'discovering' the boys? It didn't feel like the right moment, but she was a little ill at ease to think about the complications of Jango Fett and the Death Watch being Sith allies. Then again, if she could maybe talk to the man and make him see that they were all being used —

— no, she didn't have enough of a grasp on what the man, dead at the beginning of the war, would be thinking.

"You look entirely too thoughtful," Obi-Wan said, stroking his beard.

"Hmm, I can remember a time when you wished I would think more," she answered that absently. "I hope, now that the Duchess knows that her enemies are very much still plotting, she will be careful."

"I did give her your message that she needed to truly talk to her sister," Obi-Wan said helpfully.

"Good. Then I've done my duty to that system, and hopefully something less messy happens."

"I hope so," Anakin said, "I didn't dislike her, except when they were being all gnort-eyed at each other. And she wants things to be peaceful, for people to be safe and happy. There are a lot worse things in a ruler."

Fulcrum nodded. "Yes. Well said. Especially the gnort-eyed," she said, grinning when Obi-Wan groaned. "Go on, you two. Spend time on lessons and stay close to the Temple while we listen for anything that comes out of this."

Anakin got up to leave, but came closer and reached out, torn between wanting to seem properly grown-up, and wanting the comfort of the easy physical affection Fulcrum had always given him.

She stood up, reaching out, and dragged him into a full hug. "Thank you for keeping Obi-Wan in one piece; can't be having Alderaan upset over their favorite Jedi," she said, to keep it light. In reality, she was very concerned that he might have made too much an impression, and the Sith were going to have a name and face to hunt.

Anakin smiled, wrapping around her with a smile. "I'm not too bad at that, I think," he said, "or at least, I try not to be."

"You do fine," Obi-Wan said, having let Qui-Gon chide him into remembering to give the praise that was warranted more often. "Though, I'd rather you not make a habit of having to rescue me. A master protects the padawan, remember?"

"Hmm, the age-old debate," Fulcrum said. She let go after a moment more, then moved over to her preferred spot for meditating while they saw themselves out.

Plo was working on his notes of the Senate from this day. He had been agitated, and even meditation had not allowed him to find out why. Lissarkh was sensibly asleep, so his head snapped to the door at some noise… a moment before it opened and Ahsoka darted inside. Every part of her that should have been blue was washed out, but for her eyes. They had the piercing quality of too alert with reddened edges from crying.

She paused there, not having expected him to be awake or at least in the oxygen side of the quarters, and he could guess she wanted her 'big sister'. Only, she was an absolute ball of terror and anger and loss.

Plo turned his chair away from his desk to make plenty of room for her, and opened his arms and chest, reaching down for her. "Come here, little 'Soka," he said, gently. "I am here."

Ahsoka moved swiftly over and climbed up, even though she'd recently been chided by an older Initiate that she was too big to be picked up. Right now, that didn't matter; she wanted to be comforted. And even though she had learned not to project at Plo — or Saesee on those rare occasions he had to mind the Initiates — she was too worn down by the latest nightmare to prevent sharing.

The world of water and storms, of gigantic fish-birds that leaped from the waves and sailed through the air, was strong in her mind. But this time, he saw bodies, close in age to her but human-sized, littering the water, slowly sinking or being snatched by the lurking creatures below. An angry boy's face, a bit older than Ahsoka or those below, was almost reflected in the plasteel window, giving an impression of pale hair and dark eyes.

Plo sucked in a breath, drawing hard on his canisters, as he tucked his little foundling tighter to his chest, crooning the first phrases of a low, soft Dorin lullaby. Now, now was for soothing his foundling, not his own sickened horror. This could not continue, not now, he thought, as he rocked her gently. "Shh," he said, "shh, 'Soka. I am so sorry. We will find them, little one, we will. I have some new ideas of how to search, shh."

She looked up at him, then brushed her cheek oh-so-carefully against his extrasensory organ, accepting that promise. She didn't lapse into her native language, at least, when these happened, but she didn't feel much like talking either. Her boys were out there, and so many of them had died, with this dream feeling like it was now, not the future. She tucked herself back against his chest, and closed her eyes. Sleep was not an option, but she had to be centered before she could creep into the salle, or go listen to a class for the more nocturnal students.

The half-seen face was the thought strongest in her mind as she began to center, he could feel. Only his face, not the view he was watching, let her calm herself fully down in Plo's arms.

Plo kept petting her shoulder and back, singing to her softly, gently, until she was as calm as she could be, after such a sight. "There, better, little one?"

"Yes, Master." She sat back from him and took a deep breath. "Thank you. I know I'm supposed to let the Force help me, but… tonight was too much."

"What you saw was horrific, Ahsoka. An adult Jedi would have trouble, and would be wiser to seek friends for comfort, in the face of such hurt. I will do so later, in fact. But you are welcome."

He brushed his hand over her montrals, well away from the buds of her lekku, and nodded to her.

She gave him a softer hug, then got down. "Master Drallig is probably doing lessons; I'll go see what he is teaching. And be on time to breakfast in the morning," she said, making a small smile before he could remind her.

"Good girl. Go on," Plo said, watching her go. He tapped at his comm, sending a message to Fulcrum's to ask if she was awake, if she was in the Temple, and where he might join her.

The reply was to meet her in one of the observatory rooms, a place where the walls could be set to mimic conditions of any world. The smaller Togruta was obviously not the only sleepless one this night.

Ahsoka hurried out, slipping through corridors with the unconscious skill of a hunter to avoid other Jedi, leaving Plo to go find her elder self.

Plo left behind his foundling and went to the observatory room, trying to use the walk to calm himself, and mostly failing. He slipped in, saw she was already there, and locked the door behind them. "The children Ahsoka sees in her nightmares," he said, without preamble or greeting, "when are you intending to do something about them?"

Fulcrum, sitting in meditative stance, the room reflecting a world Plo had not been to, called Maridun, closed her eyes.

"It was one of the larger culls tonight, wasn't it?" she asked, pain in her voice, even as she met his gaze finally. "The dreams echo, sometimes, or draw at my memory of the first time when I had them.

"I want to save them, Master. But how to do so, without setting the Galaxy against the Jedi, doing the work for the Sith? Or, by intervening too early, unleashing the other Sith's waiting army and so many more people dying? I cannot find the path that saves them, protects the galaxy, and doesn't make the Jedi outlawed in all systems."

The pain in her face, her voice, was only slightly soothing to the angry older man -- but slightly soothing was enough to quell some of his angriest words. And the rest of her worries... unfortunately made enough sense to cool more of them. "Tell me," Plo encouraged, "what you have thought of. Perhaps another set of eyes and thoughts can help. And yes. It was a 'cull'. So many dying children... we cannot let that continue."

She stood, fluid and very much the huntress in her need to move as she considered. "To discover them means we must admit to the actions of the Jedi Master who set it in motion. This will bring a dual-edged blade into play. Either the Order doesn't mind their members enough to prevent such outlawed behavior, or they were culpable and in agreement all along. Laying the groundwork from Syfo-Dyas to Dooku and the Separatist movement is not enough, as Dooku somehow still commands a lot of respect.

"I've been trying to push events to make Dooku reveal his nature more fully, so then we could 'discover' everything and have the Order be believed when they disavow the actions. This has not worked. I have considered going and trying to reason with Jango Fett, but even as I am not a Jedi, I work with you, and that counts against me in his eyes. I also do not know his mindset well enough. I might have an edge now that I know the Death Watch is playing spies for the Sith, force the man to weigh his hatred of the Order against the enmity to those who deny him his rights.

"And, on top of it all, we have to beat the news of the discovery to the Senate itself, without looking too planned, to counter whatever the Sith here tries in spinning it."

Plo nodded slowly, turning that over and over. "What if those of us of the Council go to our Senators, individually but simultaneously, to tell them we have discovered one of our Masters found funds outside the Order to commit an obscenity we have been trying to locate for some time, but have only recently found the location of? That we do not know where he is, but we repudiate his actions? We wish to stop any further creation, but obviously all those now gestating must be cared for. We can take the children into the Service Corps, as we do orphans we are asked to take, give them Republic citizenship and allow them to finish growing up, learning a wider variety of skills than those they are currently being indoctrinated with."

"I trust your analysis of the politics better than mine," she told him. "I was just a spy-master; I left politics to those Senators that I worked with." She'd never see Bail go gray so young, or watch Mon keep herself from shattering by sheer force of will. That was as much a part of her need to end it all as protecting the boys and her master. "The Senators you'd be reaching out to, you need to cross-check them with Tera. He's holding all of the 'potentially corrupt' evidence for me now."

Plo nodded. "That makes sense, yes. I would truly hate for our attempts to protect them to make things worse. I am not certain, but I do not think we are so ill-liked yet as to have it go badly. We have been taking your advice about independent movement, not just following the Senate's directives, after all."

She smiled. "You have. And I have appreciated the way it's aided breaking the momentum of Separatist recruitment." She came over to stand in front of him, offering him her hands. "I know I have not been the easiest to deal with. And I have been very standoffish with you specifically to not interfere with my younger self's now.

"Thank you, for seeing this path, when I could not get away from every shadow I saw over the boys."

"You are welcome," Plo said, reaching out to take her offered hands, pleased at the acknowledgment of her distance, and that there had been a very good reason for it. "And I am not certain it is the right path, but we cannot allow those children to continue to be murdered. I am very glad to hear we have been slowing the slide of systems away from us. Will you meditate with me, to ask the Force if we are about to do something terrible, rather than something good?"

"Gladly, Master Plo. I promise that Sage Tran finally helped me learn to sit still for such," she said with a hint of her younger self's impishness. "I hope, once this is all dealt with, to meet him properly in this time, and take up new lessons."

"I am sure he will enjoy meeting you," Plo said, his tusks flexing in amused affection, enjoying that bit of impishness before he folded his legs up under him in the air.

She matched him, opening herself to him, to the Force, and to the choices ahead of them both, trying to hold back her hope, to keep it from flavoring her interpretations of the actions needed. Together, they could, and would, weigh the future and find a way.

Fulcrum had made it a point to avoid the Senate, but the day that Master Gallia was to address them, in concert with various Senators that were already apprised of the situation, she did slip in, nominally attached to Senator Vancil's entourage as a favor from the Queen of Naboo. The human was quiet and open-minded about most things, and did not mind having a Togruta in their pod.

She had cloaked herself deeply, dampening her Force signature to no more than a wisp of awareness, wishing to observe how Palpatine took the news that part of his plot had been 'found' half a decade too early. Her meditations had insisted on this as the right course to take, once they committed to 'finding' the project on Kamino.

"Can we be so certain of the noble intentions laid out today?" Palpatine asked, insinuation in his tone, despite the parochial projection he was going for. Fulcrum caught just the edge of the Force in the words, a subtle manipulation of those who would not know to be on guard from it. She focused fully on him then, slowly dropping back her shielding as he tried to sway those present into believing the Jedi had masterminded this situation.

The Bothan representative came to her aid, throwing a level of frustration out there. "Noble or otherwise, I believe the facts of the accounts I independently verified when the matter was brought to the Security Council. Chancellor, you yourself have pointed out that individuals are susceptible to corruption, a homily given in the early days after you benefited from the corruption thought to exist in Valorum's regime.

"The credits did not come from any source connected to the Jedi."

"I see," Palpatine said, almost snappish in his reaction to the Bothan's dispute. "Well, then, I suppose those systems that already support the Jedi Order's expansive network won't be so concerned over stepping up to this additional demand on resources, so let us move on."

Fulcrum almost smiled, as those words were dripping with just enough criticism of the Jedi to spark a storm in the chambers. Senators were demanding to be heard, wanting him to clarify, or just shouting out all of the ways the Jedi, and their service arms, gave back more than what they ever took. She kept opening herself, making the Sith agitated merely by existing, drawing the fullness of the ashla into this meeting to push and shove at his shadows.

"Chancellor," the Wookiee Senator began, speaking through a translation device, "I demand that you explain yourself, as you have a steadily building chain of comments that are aimed at impugning our defenders among the Jedi Order!"

Those words got a wellspring of support from several Senators, enough to drown out the smaller voices of the Chancellor's supporters.

"I will do nothing of the sort!" Palpatine snapped, before his eyes went narrow, realizing his mask was slipping, and feeling the pressure of the Light Side beating at him.

Fulcrum felt it as the other Jedi in the room opened themselves to the Force, to the Light Side, drawing it into the chamber, reinforcing her attempts, reinforcing honesty, tranquility, reason, peace -- all of which were anathema to the Dark Side, painful as glass against skin.

Palpatine grasped for his control of the situation, gesturing to Mas Amedda to wrap things up.

"The Chancellor is indisposed at the moment," Mas Amedda began, but it was weak and ineffective as more Senators were actually weighing the last five years, considering comments in a more sinister light, measuring them against the growing unrest in the galaxy.

That was when Fulcrum tapped Senator Vancil's forearm, a prearranged gesture to ask just one question.

"Chancellor, we are most curious as to your comments this day," the Senator began, showing that they could improvise within the framework, "and wonder if you have possibly been visiting with the Count of Serenno, who has been espousing violent, anti-Jedi rhetoric of late?"

Fulcrum had to slam up a counter-Force measure as Palpatine shot pure malevolence toward the Senator of his homeworld, intent on silencing the insinuation of those words. It was a strain; she knew how to guard herself from the Sith Choke. To protect another was a vastly different manipulation of energy, but it also proved to be a breaking point for the man whose mask had slipped so badly.

The man made an almost snakelike, inhuman hiss as his attack was blocked, and his hand came up in a more emphatic gesture, repeating the attack -- but Fulcrum had already knocked the Senator down behind the cover of his pod's sides, blocking the Sith's view of his target. She'd never fought this man, but most had trouble attacking what they could not see.

"What is happening here?" Bail Organa thundered out, his voice resonating with demand and drawing full attention to the odd motions and actions of their leader.

"It looks to me, Senators, like an intent to attack," the Rodian Senator, Onaconda Farr, called out just as boldly. "Either the Chancellor has had a lapse of sense, or perhaps he has abilities like our beloved Jedi?"

"Enough!" Palpatine roared, the full-willed Command raking through all who heard it. There were many who fell silent, but others, trained to withstand assaults of the mind, and those who worked closely with the Jedi, were uncowed.

The man knew it, and lashed out with all of his pent-up frustration, sending Dark Force Lightning out to leap through the pods of those closest to him. The Jedi who were present leaped forward, lightsabers coming out, but the Chancellor had no intention of standing to fight. He made an impossible leap toward the door, landing…

… to find Mace Windu and Yoda in his path, more than capable of delaying him long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Fulcrum stood on an upper level of the salle with Qui-Gon beside her, watching Anakin and Obi-Wan team up against Kit and Nahdar. She'd promised Asajj not to do anything strenuous, much as Mace and Yoda had both sworn to the healers they would truly rest.

"There's still my former Master," Qui-Gon pointed out.

"Yes, but all of you have been systemically defusing the situations that allowed such a large confederacy of independent systems to happen," she replied, smiling when Anakin gave up his lightsaber to Obi-Wan for defense, while using careful Force Pushes to foul the footing for their opponents. She couldn't imagine her own master doing that, but… these two seemed even more solid than The Team.

"Meaning we should probably deal with him before he figures out how to rebuild it all?" Qui-Gon asked, vaguely amused.

"I'm going to sit back and let you Jedi put yourselves back together and finish dealing with the threads," she said. "I've taken a new responsibility."

"For all of the boys from Kamino," he said, nodding.

"Someone who understands their mentality needs to be involved, yes." She gave a courteous bit of applause as Kit and Nahdar conceded the match. "The future is going to be something new, something different, and I am grateful that my clan will have a chance to live free now."

"That," Qui-Gon told her softly, "we are all grateful for. I look forward to meeting them."

Fulcrum nodded, carefully as one lekku was still bandaged. "It will definitely be something, as we find where their aptitudes lay, and what they choose to make of themselves. In that way, I will be meeting them anew." Her eyes strayed to where Initiate Tano had bounced over to Anakin, bubbling with questions on technique and wanting so much to learn even though she wasn't even of an age to go gather her own crystal. There had not been a single nightmare since first contact with Kamino, indicating the Jedi who had gone were taking firm hold against Kaminoan practices.

"So many new people, and new opportunities," Qui-Gon said, soft, smiling as he watched his lineage at play.

"Yes," she breathed, thinking of all the lives saved. "Have a good evening, Master. I need to get to quarters before a certain pale Knight comes to call me to task." She grinned, perfectly content to let Asajj fuss at her.

This new life… it was looking very good to her in so many ways. She'd protected her brothers, kept her master safe, and averted the loss of the Jedi Order. She could afford to sit back and relax now.

senmut

... of the misc.exhausted.me, I am going to offer a GOOD vaccination tale. As I see so many posts saying "yes it sucks but do it anyway", I want to offer the counter of "sometimes it does go fine".

I did Shingles/Flu/Covid in the fall, before Halloween, I think. NB: I 'd had covid for the first time this past winter, and it may have mitigated the vax some, or my body is finally adapting to it. I have had flu-like symptoms each time except the very first two shots, but! This time. With the trio of shots given on Friday evening, I had about a four hour window the next day, 10-ish hours later, of mild aches and NOTHING else.

Fast forward to this week. Shingles #2, and like I said, I'd seen so many people saying if the first one doesn't knock you low, the second will, and many react to both. Folks, my arm is still sore like I got TDaP, but I have had no aches, no fever, no lethargy. Sometimes, your body looks at the roadmap it just got handed, says okay, and just adds the necessary warning signs.

If you are over 50 (in the USA), consider getting it. I've known people with Shingles. YOU DO NOT WANT IT. Get vaxxed. And remember, every immune system is different, so don't assume you will have a bad time.

senmut

~ Simone Ashley in a suit - gif set
~ Cate Blanchett in a suit - photo
~ Halle Bailey looking like a real life barbie doll - photos

~ James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr in COME LIVE WITH ME (1941) - gif set
~ Narnia: The Magician's Nephew in production - wiki link
~ let's talk about Emperor Palpatine's last week leading up to the conclusion of Episode IV - text post

~ Modern day chatelaine with tutorial - pictures and text
~ Better late than never (Saiyuki [Manga]) - fic link
~ A doctor starts seeing patients as people and taking notes - text post, poignant

~ Hellboy cosplay - video
~ Art by Science - video

senmut

AO3 Link | Dreams of Lost Chances (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Essalieyan Universe -- Michelle West
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gilliam of Elseth/Stephen of Elseth [Essalieyan Universe]
Characters: Gilliam of Elseth [Essalieyan Universe], Stephen of Elseth [Essalieyan Universe]
Additional Tags: Drabble, Present Tense, Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death
Summary:

Gil, Stephen, a moment that can never be

Dreams of Lost Chances

"This is just a dream. You're not really here. You ... you left me."

"No."

"I lost you!"

"Even if I am only a dream, I am a part of you. Or ... do you still hold yourself back from all we could have been?"

The snarl is familiar, ripping out of Gil's throat moments before the Hunter is upon the Huntbrother. Lips, tongue, teeth move with fierce possession over skin, met with something not truly submissive but giving ground. What was denied by death finds voice and passion here, now, a stolen moment in effigy.

It is all Gil can have.

senmut

2016 - Okay this year is a rough one for me to think on. But let's see how the movies went.

oh my, only three?

Star Trek: Beyond -- I am never not gonna be pissed that the franchise for this set ended here. Because, you see, while Urban and Yelchin stole my hearts from day one, it was THIS MOVIE that felt like everyone had fully found a way to bring the roles to life with the spirit of their predecessors and their own takes merging BEAUTIFULLY. Then again, losing Yelchin... maybe it's best.

Hidden Figures - HISTORY! Dramatized! Could have done without the shift on the white guy getting the bathroom policy changed from real life, BUT! The whole film introduced me to fuller stories for names I'd only known in passing, as it made me dig in and find historic accounts! Also, hot damn that is one beautiful cast.

Star Wars: Rogue One - This? This was Star Wars in a way I had not felt Star Wars since RotJ. It was about hope, it was about quick-knitting hero teams, it was about giving your all, no matter the cost, to end the evil. To say Rogue One belongs with the OT for me is no hyperbole. I love everything it did to enhance the mythos.

senmut

AO3 Link | Scheduling Time (312 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DC Comics (General)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Diana of Themyscira & Lois Lane
Characters: Diana of Themyscira, Lois Lane
Additional Tags: Epistolary, +Modern Age (1986-Present), Post-Crisis
Summary:

Lois and Diana have a back and forth email chain

Scheduling Time

To: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
From: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
Subject: Reschedule?

I know it's short notice, but I'm sure you saw the small invasion of Mole Men from last week. Turns out their exodus turned over a few leads for me. Maybe Tuesday after next?

To: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
From: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
Subject: Re: Reschedule

I look forward to the story you publish… and the other bits when we do meet up. However, can we shift that to the Thursday of that same week? I am giving a small talk at Bryn Mawr on the topic of holding out hope to others.

To: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
From: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
Subject: Re: Reschedule?

Oh I hope they record it so I can download it after. Thursday of that week is great. I told Clark he could go hang out with the boys while I have a ladies' day to myself.

Okay, autocorrelate might be… no, that's not the word… ugh, Perry's yelling.

To: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
From: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
Subject: Re: Reschedule

I can guess what you were going to say. I find the auto-correct function useful for highlighting the changes in spelling and grammar since my mother taught me English. As there have been shifts in the decades since she had learned it.

Following up to let you know that your co-worker, Miss Grant, could learn to be less inciting in her choices of words for interviews.

To: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
From: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
Subject: UGH Cat

I'm sorry. I didn't even know that interview was happening or I would have put a stumbling block in place.

Did you read my exposé?

To: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
From: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
Subject: Article

Very nice work. It seems the Mole Men had true reason.

See you on Thursday!

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The Dark Knight Damsel

Reading

Fandom Fifty: #44

WHOOT: Highlander Gift fic

Various Links 12/14 - 12/21

Fandom Fifty: #43

Star Wars Time Travel AU

in lieu...

Various Links 12/7 - 12/13

For my Wife

Fandom Fifty: #42

LadiesBingo: Epistolary fic: Emails, letters etc.

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March 2010

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