113 V.2-C.14│The Departure II│

What Anakin was going to talk about with the children was an elaboration of the Force code he had recited and told them about.

He gave that lesson at least once a year to every youngling he could, just to make sure they knew of the differences, the flaws and could compare and contrast the meanings, hidden or otherwise within everything.

'One has to look underneath the underneath.' It was something he would constantly tell everyone, every youngling he could to make sure they understood that there is always more. There is no end to ones journey throughout their lifetime and that their evolution doesn't stop with becoming a Padawan, Knight, Master or even a member on the Jedi High Council.

'Flowing through all, there is balance. There is no peace without a passion to create. There is no passion without peace to guide. Knowledge fades without the strength to act. Power blinds without the serenity to see. There is freedom in life. There is purpose in death. The Force is all things and I am the Force.'

This is the full, complete version of the code he had adopted into his Order.

'Flowing through all, there is balance.'

While the Force did indeed have inherently Light and Dark sides, Anakin recognized that these aspects could not be separated without negative consequences. If the Dark Side and the Sith were to gain dominance, life would become self-destructive and be extinguished.

However, if the Light Side and the Jedi Order's quest for peace were allowed to come to pass, the galaxy would fall to lethargy, apathy, and eventually fade and die. Both Light and Dark were part of the Force, and all aspects of the Force had to be studied and respected.

This wasn't something that Anakin was the only one to know of as there were certainly others that had discovered aspects of balance as well. Where the Sith and Jedi fail, Anakin will pick up the slack and make sure that some semblance of balance is kept.

'There is no peace without a passion to create. There is no passion without peace to guide.'

For Anakin, passion was an integral part of life. Without it, what was to stop one from simply meditating on the mysteries of the Force until one's body atrophied? Yet, inner peace was needed to focus one's passions constructively and purposefully, rather than indiscriminate training, artifact hunting, or simple destruction with no ultimate goal.

Passion without peace was simple madness. Peace without passion was apathy.

Anakin is extremely passionate about everything he has been doing otherwise all of the amazing things he had done. All the good he has brought would not have been able to be made without his efforts. Without his drive to do something, but he had done so from a place of harmony, where he would crumble as his desires burn him from the inside out.

He would burn from within if he didn't temper himself properly.

'Knowledge fades without the strength to act. Power blinds without the serenity to see.'

Finding truth, promoting peace and understanding, these were noble pursuits, but without using the found truths to enact change or improvements in and around oneself, having the knowledge was meaningless. In the same way, power with no purpose beyond increasing itself held no greater meaning.

Anakin had many ways to become powerful and become powerful he did, and this is where he needed to have a purpose for this power. This purpose was originally to protect himself and his mother, but that desire has only grown over time.

Now he has much more to protect, he wouldn't stop increasing his power, not only for himself but for others and for his liberation from the Force.

'There is freedom in life. There is purpose in death.'

In order for life to exist, there must be chaos and order at an equal level. Sometimes laws needed to be broken and sometimes chaos must be brought to order, however neither should be ended permanently. The push and pull between the two kept the galaxy alive, re-growing and changing and improving itself. Life is Change.

Evolution is key to that change and through this change, Anakin would only continue to grow stronger and stronger. He may have immortality, which should mean he would remain unchanged but the fact of the matter was that he could change himself whenever.

Transform his biology and genetic makeup to better suit his needs, or change his mindset to become better adapted to the current culture, religion or way of life. If he couldn't move along with the times, he would only be left behind.

'The Force is all things, and I am the Force.'

Light and Dark, good and evil, life and death, action and inaction and reaction, peace and war, the Force encompassed all aspects of the galaxy. Anakin knew that to truly be a guardian of Life, one could not choose.

Life could not be denied its emotions, death had its place, and rejecting or focusing on a few aspects while ignoring others was simply denying reality and oneself. Becoming a complete being and guardian of the Force demanded embracing it all.

Which is something Anakin had been doing for a long while now. He may like the Force but he didn't have complete separation if he wanted and his goal to create his own Force based energy-field and modification of midi-chlorians may go against this tenant.

Or, Anakin had done such a good job in interpreting the code he took it literally. He would become the Force and the Force would become him, meaning he would actually and truly be the push, the pull, the negative and positives.

He would become death, life and everything in-between.

The Living and the Cosmic.

[]

Rumors had now been spread throughout the Jedi Order about some sort of faction or Order on the Outer Rims within the Empyrean.

This prompted people to look into this supposed Order of Force-sensitive individuals that were not he Jedi. The Jedi High Council had been informed of this and all had convened to figure out just what was going on, even though they were just rumors, it could bring about a big change if it happened to be real.

"Interesting these rumor are." Yoda spoke as they were discussing just what this piece of information is.

"Master Ti, have you found out the origins of these rumors surrounding this new and mysterious Order?" Mace asked Shaak as she had been tasked within the investigation but she already knew about this so she didn't say anything except an edited truth.

She didn't like lying to any of them as even though she isn't that particularly close to anyone, it still created this burden within her mind to keep things hidden from other figures of authority.

"I have discovered that it comes from within the temple. That is all." She revealed as this set off another round of discussion about the possibility that the CIS is somehow involved in this when this new 'Order' itself and its location is supposedly in the Empyrean.

A place that the Jedi are allowed to go to, along with anyone else but that doesn't mean it was where they were needed at the moment. The beginning of the Clone War has set off a chain of events that has lead them to be strapped on resources.

Both within the Order and the Republic.

"Send someone we must to go towards and discover if the rumors are true. Validity of the claim must be confirmed." Mundi spoke being the most zealous of the Jedi Masters within the room.

"Don't you think we are being too rash here?" Depa questioned. "There must be a reason such a rumor exists and if we find the one who has started it, we can take action depending on what this person can provide to us in information."

"Master Billaba is correct. Delve deeper we must." Yoda said.

"We dont have enough time, I am afraid Master Yoda that this is something that would cause a schism within our Order." Mace continued. "The Republic is in dire need of our assistance and it would seem that there is no one else here that could help."

The direction the senate had been going in was to make the Jedi generals of the war, de facto because there was no one else but the Jedi to better represent the senate and the Republic. They were the most centralized faction apart of the system of the Republic, so of course they would be dragged into the mess.

They shouldn't really, but due to a many number of things, events, people pushing and swaying everything within a certain direction, the Jedi cant do much but agree. Of course they could always default back to their monk peacefulness but that wasn't going to happen and the Jedi would be forced into the frontlines.

Masters, Knights, and even Padawans.

The battlefield is no place for a child but there would be several going there.

"Has there been any word from the senate?" Mace asked and Plo-Koon replied.

"There has. From their talks with the Empyrean, they have not said that there is such an Order. They also tried to stay away from this for some reason and even though it doesn't go against the agreement between the Republic and the Empyrean, it certainly has created some tensions." Plo-Koon finished.

"Tensions it has created, yes. Chaos within the Order, even more so." Yoda nodded in agreement.

The Order was within a precarious state as those that didn't want to be involved with the war might try to leave at the mention of this new Order, far away from the problems of the Republic. The Jedi and those within weren't just mindless drones listening to their Queen Bee for instructions but had independent wills of their own.

This only got worse with Anakin's influence from top to bottom. Albeit, it was mostly the younglings and recent padawans that were influenced by Anakin's involvement in the teaching process. Even more so was the fact that what Anakin has preached to some people before and his disagreements with the code, the Order and whatever else there was.

"Calm those within the Jedi, we must. Bring Anakin we must, further investigation need it is." Yoda said as a closing, which lead to everyone filing out of the room.

[]

Palpatine was intrigued beyond belief by the fact there was something that call his attention, immediate attention that could very well be a massive hinderance to his plans, if it wanted to be that is.

The Empyrean had been a thorn in his side where concessions had to be made to appease the rapidly expanding empire that was ruled with both the iron fist and gentle palm of Shmi Skywalker. Of course he knew better than to believe that such success was brought on just by that former slave.

It was impossible for something like to succeed without the aid of something or someone powerful, whether that be someone with the mind, Force abilities or pure charisma needed to create and pull to put people under their thumbs without them realizing this fact.

"My Lord, I have noticed some movements that would indicate that the Empyrean is interested in Geonosis." Dooku spoke over a holographic communication device.

"What!?" Angered, Sidious came out from his inner self. "Tell me, what else is going on over there what with the 'supposed' Force-sensitive Order that preaches about the balance." His voice was especially toxic today, it would seem.

"It is as it would seem, from my correspondence with them there has been very little mention about anything like that." Dooku replied.

"Will they be joining either side of the war? Have they made their decision?" Sidious asked with haste.

"Yes, they have decided to not participate and will continue to not do so, but it would seem like despite this they are willing to step on our toes." Dooku responded.

"That stupid wench!" Sidious even more so angry then he was threw stuff around using telekinesis and lightning rippled around him in his madness before he recollected his mental state of frame.

Sidious was of course referring to Shmi, the current Empress who has been getting in the way of his plans on a smaller scale but if she were to decide to take over Geonosis, it would be a huge setback for Sidious and Dooku.

They still needed some way to continue replenishing their armies and they had also given a sizeable chunk of the Trade Federations wealth, resources and droids.

Sidious had been planning to use, or more like he was controlling Dooku to continue using the CIS in an effort to make sure he become closer and closer to absolute authority as the Republic goes from a Republic into a Dictatorship then eventually into an empire where he would rule as an emperor.

The wealth, the power, the prestige, fame, glory he would bring to the Sith and he would be able to engrave his name within the history books as the best, and most brilliant Sith to ever exist. He would create an empire, he would live forever and he would in an effort to emulate his ancient Sith masters, recreate the eternal Sith empire.

This time it would be a success, or at least that was what Sidious told himself, completely sold on the idea he would be forever, eternal and would never die. Killed by the Force, by someone else, the decay of his body and physical form, all of it would be nothing in the face of his grand design.

"Master?" Dooku questioned as he didn't know whether or not Sidious had calmed down from his anger.

"Do not worry, my apprentice. It was merely a brief release of my pent up energy, you wouldn't believe the idiocy of the Republic." Sidious said as he had to hide himself again, which was becoming harder and harder as time passed by.

His skin if becoming paler and paler by the day, his skin is sagging which makes him look old. Very old, despite not being that old for the Republic's standards.

"Of course, Master. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to stop the Empyrean from claiming Geonosis but I couldn't come up with anything that would be viable without exposing ourselves." Dooku said.

"That is fine, we will just have to work around this PROBLEM..." Sidious clenched his teeth as he continued. "There are many more opportunities but for now it would seem you will have to ration out some of the droids you currently have in stock."

"Yes, Master." Dooku's comlink went off and now Sidious was left all alone with his brewing thoughts and emotions.