Chapter 44

AN: This month the release of new chapters will be iffy at best. I am faced with the bane of all existence... 'EXAMS'. *THUNDER AND LIGHTNING SFX*. I will start writing again from next month. So this will probably be the last chapter this month so enjoy.

(POV Barriss Offee)

The last two weeks have been nothing but surprises. One after another. The most important lesson I learned was that the world wasn't always as it seemed.

The only positive thing about all the secrets was that the Mandalorians never died out. They just relocated. They found out about the dark secret of the coming war and republic and hid. They were biding their time to make sure they survived the coming storm. I should be happy that millions of people survived. But I am also pissed of at the fact that they didn't prevent the war. At the same time I can understand their reasons, were logical and their actions appropriate from their point of view.

I still couldn't believe the true Sith Lord was hiding under our noses acting as the Chancellor. And we couldn't do anything about it. The clones we fought alongside were meant to be our executioners from the start. We argued that we should warn the republic and the Jedi. But we were convinced otherwise by Nomad when he showed us that even master Yoda knew, yet he hasn't done anything. He then explained to us briefly that there are things at play far beyond our comprehension. Our conclusion. That it's the will of the Force.

That's how we found ourselves in a wing of the training facility the Mandalorians are calling the dojo. We are currently training at least a hundred people from ages ten to twenty on how to use the force and to not let their emotions control them. The better statement would be that we are trying to teach them. This is going to be difficult but at least Nomad has said master Yoda will send forth some masters pretty soon.

(POV Aayla Secura)

The grandmaster has summoned me master Kit Fisto and Plo Koon one of the meditation chambers used by Jedi masters. We were supposed to very discrete about the meeting as well. As such I am slowly making my way to the designated chamber.

As I enter, I see the Grandmaster and my fellow masters sitting in a circle, meditating. I silently go and join them.

"Good, gathered you all have," said master Yoda slowly opening his eyes and looking at us as we sat before him "Ask you to do a difficult task I must," he said, letting out a deep sigh.

"What is it that we have to do?" asked Master Plo Koon.

"To leave the order and your friends behind you will have to. Yes, hrrmmm" he said with a solemn tone "Acceptable if this is, I will continue. Now otherwise you may leave" he finished looking at us silently.

The three of us remained silent. It must be of utmost importance for the Grandmaster to maintain the secrecy and ask this much of us. We just remained there after looking at each other.

"Agreed I assume that you have. This path there is no going back if you chose. Certain you are?" he asked again.

"Yes, master. We will do this if it must be done. No matter the cost" I said. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Hrrmmm. Very well. Related to my journey in search of answers this is" he slowly said. Then looked at us with a stern expression "The future I saw. Grim it is. Come to pass but it must. Ensure the Jedi survive but I must. A plan B should plan A fail," he said.

I was shocked. What did master Yoda mean? The Jedi would fall? By the look of it, the others were shocked as well.

"How master? What did you see?" asked Fisto.

"I cannot reveal it. To depart in one month, you will have to. We will select 30 Jedi of different expertise and 200 of our brightest younglings. Negotiated a deal with a hidden power I have. I can only reveal this much for now' he said with a sad expression "We have to plan come. Hrrmmm." He said leaning forward.

We then spent hours discussing the finer details of a plan we will have to execute in one month. Even now I am finding it hard to digest the new details. We three will have to keep to ourselves from now on. No one can know. And even now the Grand Master doesn't tell us who he made the deal with. Who or what was this new hidden power the Grand Master made a deal with?

(Time Skip)

We are taking the Crucible for this Mission. The week before the Grandmaster and some of the Council helped us move Relics, Holocrons, and copied information from the archives to be stored in special data drives to be transported on to the ship.

It was during this month of preparations that I finally understood how important and thorough this secret mission was.

Other Jedi and Padawans tried to figure out what was happening. It was only conveyed that the accumulated knowledge of the Jedi was being moved to a hidden place on Illum to preserve it. And that was the story being spread. The most persistent among the meddlers were Anakin, Ahsoka, and even Obiwan to some extent.

The hour before our departure the Grandmaster called us to bestow upon us his final teachings.

When we gathered, he handed each of us a datapad. On it was written something I haven't seen for some time. It was mentioned during classes as an initiate and padawan.

'Emotion, yet peace.

Ignorance, yet knowledge.

Passion, yet serenity.

Chaos, yet harmony.

Death, yet the Force'

The old code.

"Forget the new code you must. Follow this one you will. The younglings to follow the path of balance teach" said Master Yoda.

"But Why?" I asked.

"Wrong we were. Yes, hrrrm" he said solemnly "We should not suppress our emotions. We should control them. We shouldn't fear the darkness. Resist its allure we must. No light without darkness for there is. No evil without good there is. Learn to balance the force you must. My final lesson this is. May the force guide you. Yrsssss. Now go you must" he said with a smile encouraging us to walk a new path.

Soon we were onboard the Crucible and on our way to the meeting point. Where we will be received by the hidden power. There was no turning back.

(Time Skip)

We jumped a few systems past Illum. We are now entering uncharted territories, The Unknown Regions. Now we wait for our hosts. I was brought out of deliberation by a tug on my robes. I look down to see a nervous youngling. She was the one who stepped up among the hundred or so others to ask questions. I smiled at her.

"What is it young one?" I asked.

"Master where are we going? We know it's not Illum. You all have a worried look on your faces" she asked. We accidentally let our worry be shown. Sigh better they know.

"Well, we are leaving the order under the orders of the Grandmaster," I said.

"But Why?" asked the younglings suddenly. Scared for their future.

"Let me explain Young ones. The Grandmaster foresaw an impending disaster looming over our order. He is hiding us among a secret power so that we may remain safe. So that the Jedi do not vanish, should they fail to defend against this danger," I explained.

"Who or what is this secret power?" asked one of the Jedi looking after the younglings. They too have been anxious about what their future holds.

"He didn't say" I shook my head.

"I think I just found our mystery faction," said one of the Jedi healers standing near the viewport, with a look of shock and awe over her face.

We all went to the viewports to see. And what I saw I will never forget for the rest of my life. A large fleet of ships, each armed to the teeth. They were screaming dominance just through their presence. And the flagship la behemoth of the likes of which I have never seen. A fleet Large enough to be a sector fleet. A flagship strong enough to take on a sector fleet.

What caught my attention was a sigil. A sigil I was all too familiar with. It was the sigil used to remind them of their past. The skull of the mythosaur. The Mandalorians.

I quickly made my way to the cockpit where the other masters are. At this point, I was half sprinting.

"Are they the ones we are supposed to meet?" I asked as I entered.

"Only one way to find out. Sending codes now" said Master Plo Joon.

Soon we received a transmission "This is Admiral Lara Kropt of the Fifth Mandalorian Assault fleet. Please head to the designated docking bay and we can be on our way" said a feminine but strong voice before cutting the transmission. Fifth Assault Fleet? How deep have they hidden from the rest of the galaxy?

"Mandalorian?" asked a shocked Kit Fisto.

We soon landed in one of the hangers of the flagship. As soon as we landed the fleet jumped to hyperspace. As we exit our ship, we see the flight crew going to work on the crucible. Waiting for us was the Admiral and her entourage.

"Welcome to the MFS Impulse. Please follow me to the meeting room. My crew will settle in the young ones and their chaperones" said the Admiral.

I turned to see the nervous little ones and even a few jittery Jedi. Can't blame them we are surrounded by a sea of heavily armed Mandalorians and their war machines.

"You are safe here little ones," said the Admiral assuring the kids.

"Go with them to your accommodations. We will come along after the meeting" assured Fisto. The younglings and Jedi were lead away by Mandalorian Officers.

The admiral led the three of us through the labyrinth that is this behemoth of a flagship. While making 'small' talk. Mainly about our situation.

"I thought the Mandalorians all died due to the Force Phenomena?" finally master Fisto asked.

"No. We just relocated. The details even I don't know. Only The higher-ups know" explained the Admiral.

"Damn that Nomad. He has some explaining to do" I said. Irritated that the Ghosts were able to keep this a secret. They were just distracting the galaxy from the Mythosaur growing in the shadows away from plain sight.

The admiral chuckled "You can ask him yourself. We are here" She said entering a large room with a meeting table at the center. Nomad was sitting at the head of the table being all enigmatic as he can be. The only difference he was out of Armor. I recognized him by his telltale presence in the force. That is the utter lack of one. This is the first time we are seeing his face. And I have to say, 'me likey'. We walk up and the Admiral salutes "I have brought them as asked, Mand'alor".

WAIT! MAND'ALOR?! What the actual Kriff. We were immeasurably shocked. The so-called leader of the surviving Mandalorians was actually the Mand'alor of a whole damn hidden Mandalorian federation.

"Thank you, Lara. You may return to your tasks" said Nomad. The Admiral smirks at our reaction on the way out. He chuckled seeing our expressions. Then he turns to us "Your expressions are priceless. I will be sure to have a picture of it framed on my wall. Have a seat please" he said with a smirk. We obliged.

I was about to shout at him when the doors opened again. We were greeted with the sight of Nomad's squad. All of them were in their casuals as well.

"Hey, Aayla," said the one voice I will never forget. DOC?! "It's been a few weeks since we last chatted," he said chuckling while scratching the back of his head.

"Doc? Finally, good to see the real you without all the shadows and cloaks even in the messages and calls we shared" I said with a 'sweet' smile.

"Oh, so you are the secret girlfriend Vanzii has been hiding," said a sharp feminine voice. So, Doc's real name is Vanzii, good to finally know. I looked to the side to find the origin of that statement only to get another major heart attack.

"Asajj?" asked master Plo Koon. We heard rumors about her joining the Ghosts. But nothing solid, till now.

"Yes. I know what you are going to ask. I will give you a brief version. After the betrayal of my all so dear master. I have decided to walk a new path and Nomad was all too generous to provide me one" said Asajj.

"Well, let me get introductions out of the way. My actual name is Thrunn Straxon. Also known as Mand'alor the immortal" he said with a nod.

"Why all the secrecy? And What is this about relocating the whole Mandalorian sector?" asked Fisto.

"I don't want my people as a civilization to be dragged into any more of your Jedi and Sith ideology spats. As for the transportation thing. I discovered an ancient Rakatan device during my adventures. It helped me relocate the entire sector" explained Nom-…. I mean Thrunn. Got to get used to that.

"Do you still have the device?" asked Master Plo.

"No. It disintegrated forming a gigantic black hole" Thrunn then got serious "Even if we had it. Why would I tell you? Let's get this straight. You lot are refugees under my protection. I have struck a two-part deal with your grandmaster. One, he will hand over all the Mandalorian artifacts from your vaults. Two you guys will train any force sensitives we have to use their gifts. But let me be clear they will remain Mandalorians and not Jedi. You will teach them skills both physical and mental needed to use their powers without going crazy. Not the whole Jedi ideology. They are and forever will be Mando. We don't want our people becoming zealot monks." he said with a stern voice "In return, I will build you a new temple and training ground on one of the planets from which your cult originates, Ahch-To" when he finished there was an oppressive silence. We slowly digested the meaning behind his statements.

"So that's why he sent all those artifacts with us," I said slamming my fist on the palm of my other hand "And what is this about a new temple?" I asked. I had to relieve the silence and get the meeting back on track.

"Ahch-To. A water planet with rocky islands thrown around" Thrunn then activated a holo projection showing a large building being constructed on a large island "I already started construction of the temple. If you want you can send a few of your Jedi to have a look. You can use that place and I can't emphasize this anymore, hide there. If one of your people leaves that place gets captured and then you get found out I will just play ignorant" he said.

We looked at him in confusion. Who does he want us to hide from? He sees our confusion and sighs. He then starts to properly explain things to us. The secrets that have been at play behind everyone's back and the real cause of the war. Oh, we can't forget the fact that the Main Sith Lord everyone was searching for was actually the Chancellor. To say we were shocked, saddened and outright demoralized would be an understatement. Oh, and the cherry on the top, we couldn't tell this to anyone.

"Look I know this is depressing for you guys but there is still hope as long as you guys survive. You can rebuild in the future" comforted Thrunn "You will just have to hide and weather the storm for a few decades.

"If you knew all this why not stop him?" I asked.

"Because it's necessary. Why do you think your Grandmaster hasn't moved. He saw the future and he knows that this sacrifice is needed. Plus, Palpatine is a necessary evil. At least for a while. During that time all you have to do is hide. You will get your chance to strike back in a few decades and by then your younglings would be trained knights" Thrunn said with a sigh "But if it makes you feel better, I have things in place that will make sure his foundation is shaky and he will get punched in the nuts. Metaphorically speaking" he said with a chuckle.

Mater Plo and Fisto sat there and talked about other matters with Thrunn. I meanwhile started catching up with Vanzii and had a small chat with Asajj. I also learned that the runaway Padawans were training force-sensitive Mandalorians at a dojo where we were going.

(Time skip)

It's been a few days and Thrunn has gathered us all at a large hangar.

"We have temporary accommodations ready and awaiting your arrival. Next month Master Plo can take the Younglings and the other Jedi to the new Temple being built. It will be ready to accommodate you by then. Meanwhile, I would like Mater Aayla and Fisto to stay with a couple of Jedi to train the Mandalorian force sensitives on how to use their powers without going crazy. It will take the pressure of Barriss and her friends who are doing that at present. Remember protocols and we won't have problems. Understood?" Thrunn asked after a lengthy announcement "Good board the shuttles and enjoy the view" he said entering the heavy transport shuttle with me and the other masters and his squad.

(AN: https://www.deviantart.com/hazakhan/art/starhawk-class-heavy-shuttle-683122025)

The shuttle soon takes off and we are greeted by a beautiful scene. A verdant planet that was dotted with cities. And a menacing sight of vast Planetary defense stations and fleets. It was hard to fathom how much they have hidden from our knowledge.

"Welcome to New Keldabe," said Thrunn standing beside us with a genuine smile on his face.

SIGH. I know what I have to do and what I can do. I will just let fate take its course.