(Mace Windu POV)

  As he sat with the other members of the Council who were present in their chambers, Mace Windu could sense the Force shifting around them; growing heavy with expectation as they awaited the arrival of the two Jedi who had requested this meeting. Currently, nine of the Council were present with Master Gallia occupied with helping the Chancellors handle a resolution in the Senate, Master Billaba off-world training her Padawan, and Master Poof settling a dispute between Corellia and Alderaan.

  The passing thought of his former Padawan, Depa Billaba, had Windu’s mind turn to his current and highly unexpected charge. Unlike Depa, Serra Keto was not one Windu had chosen as an Initiate to become one of his Padawans. He had only taken the young woman on to complete her training after the death of Windu’s close friend, Master Drallig. Windu wished to see Cin’s final student become a Jedi Knight, though at first Windu could admit that in hindsight he had been uncertain if Padawan Keto’s path were to remain with the Order.

  When he had first spoken with Padawan Keto after she emerged from the bacta tank following the death of Master Drallig, Windu could tell just from looking at her that she was at a defining moment in her life. The use of Shatterpoint had only reinforced that, with two potential pathways possible for her. She was, understandably despondent about the death of her Master and verging on leaving the Order. Windu saw that such a path would lead not just to her demise, but weaken the Order in some way he could not fully perceive.

  Because of that, Windu had stepped in, and beyond arguing for her to continue her training as a Jedi. Many on the High Council and Council of First Knowledge were against it, feeling her irrational behaviour had led to the death of Master Drallig, but in the end, Windu had managed to convince Master Vilbum, Caretaker of First Knowledge that Padawan Keto should remain with the Order and that he would take over her training.

  Knowing she faced great hardship to accept the death of her former Master, Windu had placed her in isolation in the Temple, denying her contact with any in the Order bar himself while she communed with the Force. She, like many younger Jedi, was over-eager and prone to emotional reactions to tense situations. Something that contributed to the death of Master Cin Drallig when she had chosen to sneak away from the Temple and go to the aid of her friend, Knight Shan, as he gathered forces to do what the Senate and Order could or would not, and liberate Naboo.

  Windu accepted Cin’s death. Yes, he had been a friend, and someone important in Windu’s eyes to the safety and security of the Order and Republic. However, it was the will of the Force that Knight Shan moved to help the Naboo when the Senate would not, and from that, events led to Master Drallig’s death. Without those series of seemingly unconnected events, though Windu understood that it had been another Shatterpoint centred around Knight Shan, the Order would remain unaware of the fact the Sith had returned and were now, at least in that one battle, acting openly against the Republic.

  Yes, along with the rest of the High Council, and many other senior members of the Order, Windu knew the Dark Side was rising. The disruption of the Seers to glimpse the future had grown weaker each year in the last ten. But until the defeat of the Zabrak by Knight Shan – another moment that Windu considered pivotal in the fate of the galaxy though he was as yet uncertain as to why – the Council had lacked proof. Now they had it, but to Windu, they dithered on how to handle the issue correctly.

  Many members, along with those in the Senate, such as the Co-Chancellors, who had been made aware of the return of the Sith, believed that it was prudent to be cautious. To not let the Sith know they had been discovered. As such, while many in the Temple had heard that Knight Shan had defeated a Sith on Naboo, the Council had publicly determined that it was a rogue sentient and not the return of the Order’s ancient enemy. That, to Windu, was a mistake and one he argued against to this day to little avail as the majority of the Council disagreed that more direct action was needed. Without proof, be that which was denied by the disappearance of the Zabrak’s body and the then mysterious and seemingly accidental death of Viceroy Gunray of the Trade Federation or from other as yet undiscovered sources, of a clear sign from the Force of the danger the Sith represented, the majority of the Council chose to be cautiously vigilant.

  That, along with the potential he sensed in her, and the silent promise he made himself to finish the work his departed friend had begun, was why he took over Padawan Keto’s training. While the Shatterpoint of her choice between staying with the Order or stepping away had been resolved, Windu understood another one lay in her future. One centred, as many events seemed to be, around Knight Shan.

  Windu fought back a frown as had been the case ever since this meeting was requested, his thoughts turned to Knight Shan. The young man was one of the Order’s most potentially powerful members; one who might even surpass his record of being the youngest Master since the Ruusan Reformation. However, because of all that potential, and perhaps more, Knight Shan was a Shatterpoint of untold complexity and seemingly infinite possibilities. One that beyond giving Windu migraines that lingered for a week every time he tried to comprehend what he could see within the Force, made it clear Shan had to be taken in and taught by the Order.

  Shan had a lineage to his name; one that flowed with both sides of the Force. While that concerned many, it was the complexity of the Shatterpoint that he was that made Windu certain that Shan had to be trained. Yes, he was far older than most Initiates taken in, though not the oldest. Indeed, mere months after the events on Naboo, the son of a former Knight, A‘Sharad Hett had been taken as a Padawan by Master Mundi at the age of ten. Yes, Padawan Hett’s father had been a Jedi Knight and had taught his son the ways of the Order, but Knight Shan was not unique in being accepted into the Order late. Yes, his high midi-chlorian count was unusual, being more than Master Yoda’s and his. However, a high count did not guarantee someone would become a Jedi nor if they did become one of the Order, that they would one day become a Master or even a member of this or one of the other Councils.

  Still, with all that the Force had clearly brought him to the Temple from the past, many in the Order and on the Council were reluctant to take him in. His name, the killing of a Sith apprentice as revenge for his grandfather’s death – something Shan denied had affected his reasoning yet Windu still questioned to this day– the fact the Dark Side had suddenly clouded the ability of the Jedi to see potential futures, and other minor things made others cautious. Windu, thanks to his gift, knew the truth.

  If they allowed Shan to depart, if they chose to not train him, then his path was clouded in darkness. One that would engulf the galaxy in such despair that it may never recover. The sheer scale of the Shatterpoint that Shan was, and the potential for harm he could bring to the Republic and Order, meant that if Windu were a weaker man, he would’ve argued for Shan’s execution or at least imprisonment.

  Windu, however, was not a weak man. He was a Jedi Master and current Master of the Order, and he had argued, vicariously at times, with the rest of the Council for the training of Shan. It had taken effort, many on the Council were concerned about the potential danger of allowing someone with Shan’s lineage and from such an ancient, uncivilised time, to be trained as a Jedi, but in the end, Windu had convinced enough of the Council that Shan was accepted by a decision of eight to four. While those four, two of which remained on the Council to this day, remained doubtful of Shan, the actions of the first Initiate, then Padawan, and now Knight had proven Windu’s belief that the boy should be trained.

  He had impressed in the Initiate Trials, showing a rate of growth in his abilities that Windu had only ever seen in a rare few, to say nothing of mastering unusual Force abilities at an age when none should even be attempting them. He forged a connection with one of Windu’s oldest friends, Master Dooku, which had helped ease whatever concerns Dooku had been experiencing.

  For a long time, Windu had sensed the Force shifting around Master Dooku, so much so that Windu had felt an impending Shatterpoint forming within Dooku. Yet after taking on Shan to train alongside Master Fay – another that had seemed distant from the Order but was now working to rediscover the ancient homeworld of the Order – Master Dooku had grown more centred; the Shatterpoint that was forming in him shifting to become one linked intrinsically to Shan. That event alone would have convinced Windu he was right in arguing for Shan’s training, but it was the first of many events that centred around the young Jedi that proved his path lay with the Force and the Republic.

  Shan formed connections quickly with those around him, including one that factored into the swirling possibilities around Windu’s new Padawan. While that concerned several in the Council and elsewhere in the Order, Windu saw it as a strength. Shan was important to the future of the galaxy. Each time he had stepped before the Council, Windu had sensed the prospect of a brighter, fairer Republic and Order in the maelstrom of possibilities that Shan was intrinsically linked to grow ever stronger. Those, like Padawan Keto, only helped to fuel that potential for a better future and Windu was content to allow it to happen.

  That said, even as Shan formed his connections, the Force was intent on testing him. Some of which Windu could approve of how Shan handled them, others he did not, but each pushed the young man beyond what he was. By the Force, several of the events would have challenged a Jedi Knight or even a Master, yet Shan had faced them emerging stronger and more ready for what lay ahead.

  Still, some of the events, such as Shan’s capture by the Bando Gora, had caused Windu to grow concerned. The Council’s decision to not offer Master Dooku help in freeing his Padawan – something Windu had argued for but been outvoted on – had been a mistake. It had created a small fissure between the Council and the then Padawan Shan, and drew him closer to the Mandalorians and Master Dooku. Yes, two Jedi – Knight Vos and Padawan Secura – had assisted Master Dooku, but that was only because they were working on investigations that overlapped before Shan’s capture.

  Shan’s decision and one Padawan Keto had also taken, to willingly choose to join the ranks of the Mandalorians was one Windu did not approve of. Beyond the potential for split loyalties, the Mandalorians had a history of challenging the Republic and Order while Shan shared a connection to them through his ancestor, Revan. Yes, the Mandalorians had, at least until recently, been far more supportive of the Republic than they historically had been, they were still a culture with opinions that often ran diametrically opposed to the Order and the will of the Force.

  Still, Shan had grown stronger for that trial, and from capture by the Bando Gora; an organisation that was now, based on the reports of Master Dooku and Knight Vos, been shattered and removed as a possible thorn in the side of the Republic and Jedi. It had also, in ways Windu had only come to understand, prepared Shan for what he faced on Zonama Sekot.

  There Shan had faced a race that he believed came from outside the galaxy. Master Fay, who had been with Shan at the time, disagreed with that assessment, as had most of the Council, but using his gift, Windu had sensed that there was the potential that Shan was correct. Still, the months-long campaign he, along with a Mandalorian who had been accompanying him at the time – one Windu suspected Shan had been intimate with – had fought to protect the inhabitants of the world, and then, in a display of fortitude that Windu highly approved of, fought and defeated the leader of this alien invasion force in single combat to save the lives of the inhabitants and drive the invaders.

  Yes, there were issues about the events that followed, not least the fact the world was not where Master Fay and Knight Shan had said it had been, but the fact Shan had placed the lives of others above his own, even willing to die to protect them from darkness, was an action worthy of a true Jedi. As were many events that came after, all of which, Windu understood now, had been the Force preparing Shan for Naboo…

  Before he could once again consider that fateful invasion, and everything that had come from it, Windu leaned back in his chair. Just outside the Council Chambers, he felt the presence of two familiar Jedi. The stronger, yet more reserved and calm – as if seeing the hardened edge of a vibroblade – was that of Master Dooku. The other, in the same oddly detached way, though Windu noticed that it was not quite as detached as before, but impressively powerful – as if looking at a distant, intense star from a great distance – came from Knight Shan.

  The pair stepped into the chambers purposefully, and as they moved to the centre of the large, circular room, Windu felt they were firm in whatever they wished to speak of, and that the Force was alert to something.

  “Master Dooku, an audience with the Council you have requested. Of importance, something you have to tell us?” Yoda asked, the lack of the pretend uncertainty he often used made clear to Windu that the Grandmaster of the Order sensed the way the Force was reacting to the presence of these two in these chambers as well.

  Dooku lowered his head slowly, and Windu felt a sense of melancholy in his friend’s movements. Oh, there was little that most could see in the way Dooku moved, spoke, and reacted but after decades of friendship, Windu knew what minor signs to look for to sense the mood of his fellow Jedi Master.

  “We have, Master Yoda,” Dooku replied as he stood at the centre of the chamber. He took a moment, looking around at each member of the Council; an action that caused the Force to shift further, and as Dooku looked at him, Windu used his gift to try and glean an insight into what was occurring.

  For the first time since Galidraan, Master Dooku was not on the verge of becoming or experiencing a Shatterpoint. No, whatever the moment was in his fate, it had already passed. What remained was one clear, certain path. Yes, there were potential moments along it that Windu felt could be new points of importance, but in this moment in time and space, Dooku was resolute in what he was doing, and left nothing for Windu to try and exploit for the benefit of the Order.

  Yet, while it was clear that the moment in Dooku’s fate had passed, what was also clear was that the filaments of energy that connected Dooku to Knight Shan had grown firmer. Windu’s brow rose at that, as it meant the fate of one was, at least for the time being, linked to the other, yet he remained uncertain of what that meant for the Order, and potentially for the Republic. If it were any other Jedi, Windu would believe that Dooku had formed an emotional connection with Shan, one akin to father and child, yet he knew Dooku did not see people in the same way as others, so Windu was uncertain what the powerful connection meant beyond that it affected both of them and the Council on this day.

  “As many of you are aware, for many years I had been… uncertain about my direction in life and my place in the Order,” Dooku continued after his gaze had returned to Yoda, his former Master. “When I felt the Force guide me to Cameron,” Windu’s brow rose fractionally at the use of Knight Shan’s given name as such a thing was not something Dooku used often in public discussions, “those uncertainties faded away as I worked diligently with Master Fay to train him into becoming the Knight that stands before you today.”

  “His presence as one of our youngest ever Jedi Knights is a testament to the teaching of yourself and Master Fay,” Master Mundi offered, drawing a lowering of Dooku’s head in acceptance of the praise.

  “However, once his training was complete, those uncertainties returned and for the last two-plus years, I have been considering what path I will follow. In recent months, I have come to the realisation of where that path is leading me and that is why, with great reluctance, I must submit my resignation from the Order.”

  There was no major outward response to Dooku’s intent to become the twentieth Jedi Master to leave the Order in the last few millennia. However, within the shared mental communication chamber the Council had, Windu felt surprise, shock, and from Yoda, resignation, at hearing Dooku’s proclamation. He turned his head to the Grandmaster, the Jedi who had trained Dooku to knighthood.

  Within the Force, Windu saw that the connection that had once been resolute between the former Master and Padawan was, while still there, fading. Dooku had chosen to sever his bond with Yoda when he stepped into the chamber, making clear his intent to leave the Order. The diminutive and ancient Grandmaster seemed to slump into his chair, showing his age and slowly diminishing vitality. “Certain of this, you are?” Yoda asked slowly, his eyes locked on Dooku, and for once looking every one of his multiple centuries.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “I am,” Dooku replied calmly, though with the firmness of durasteel. “It is not a decision I have taken lightly, nor one where I have not considered every consequence of my action. However, the more time I spend in deep meditation with the Force, the clearer it becomes that I cannot continue to stay on the path the Order is travelling.” He glanced at Shan for a moment. “And again, if not for my former Padawan, I would likely have reached this decision sooner.”

  Windu, like many in the chamber, turned his attention to the young Knight. Most gave the man only passing consideration before returning their focus to Dooku. Windu, however, remained watchful of the Jedi Knight. As he peered at the young man’s Force signature, Windu noted that something was different. The same, unique remoteness that Shan had held since he had first appeared at the Temple was there, but it had shifted. Almost as if Shan had found a way to overcome the barrier between himself and the Force, yet chose to retain it for unknown reasons.

  Curious about that, and how Dooku’s decision affected the potential paths that emanated from Shan, Windu used his gift to observe the Knight. For the first time ever, the expected migraine brought on by the almost uncountable myriad of probable trails Shan could take never formed. Yes, there was still an almost overwhelming array of potential threads moving outward from Shan, one of which was connecting to Dooku while others Windu knew touched several in the Temple including his Padawan, yet it was the rest of what he saw that had him lean forward slightly.

  Shan was still a Shatterpoint, one that could conceivably alter the very fate of the galaxy. However, the myriad of threads that had hinted at possible paths for him were far less now, and it was clear to Windu that Shan was committed to whatever path he had chosen. The certainty of one at peace with their decisions radiated from the young Jedi into the Force, and while Windu was concerned that Shan’s path, like that of his former Master’s, was leading him away from the Order, he was still proud to be able to experience the changes that Shan had undergone.

  Gone was the uncertain, and at times confused and emotional young boy, and in his place stood a man of conviction. That was what Windu had hoped for Shan to become, and why he had fought so vigorously to have Shan trained by the Order. Yet, as he enjoyed the moment of personal triumph, Windu hesitated.

  For the briefest of moments, no more than half a heartbeat, Windu swore he’d seen a shift in Shan’s remote Force signature. Through that, a lingering tremor of something not just emotional, but potentially sinister had appeared. It was only for a moment that Windu felt he sensed the darkness, but as the other members of the Council spoke mentally about Dooku’s decision, Windu focused on Shan.

  Shatterpoint wasn’t obscured by whatever the Sith had done to alter the Force, at least not when used on sentients. Yet it was dampened; perhaps fatally if the faint trace of danger he felt from Shan was only now revealing itself. However, without actively pushing against Shan’s defences – an act that while permissible would derail this meeting and no doubt infuriate Dooku – Windu couldn’t be certain of what he thought he sensed from behind the distant Force signature of Knight Shan.

  At the very least, while Shan was now committed to the path he had chosen, one that Windu felt led to a better future for the Republic and Order, it was something to monitor in the coming years. Perhaps even going so far as to request that Shan return to the Temple to help with the instruction of Initiates and younglings; something Master Drallig had commented that Shan had a talent for.

  “Is there nothing we can say to at least have you reconsider this choice?”

  The question from Master Rancisis drew Windu from his thoughts on what he might have sensed in Shan, and he noted that the telepathic discussion on Dooku’s decision had ended. From his fellow Council members, Windu sensed resignation as they understood Dooku wouldn’t change his mind, but the question still had to be asked.

  As they waited for the reply, Windu’s focus returned to Shan, though this time he felt something through his gift that had him moving beyond the momentary confusion of potential darkness in the young Jedi Knight. As he looked at the young man with his gift, Windu tensed as he understood that Cameron was not here simply to support his former Master’s decision. No, he had reached one of his own.

  Windu peered into the Force, at least as much as he could with the cloud of the Dark Side interfering with the Force and Shan’s unusual Force signature making it hard to get a clear read on the young man. The decision that Shan had reached was like the one Dooku had reached, one that had already taken place. His presence here today was a formality, and Windu understood that this decision, one that both altered the Shatterpoint that Shan was and yet didn’t. He was still critical to much of the potential futures that Windu had sensed before flowing through Shan, yet now Windu saw that if any tried to deny the decision he had made, then Shan’s path – and potentially, that of the entire galaxy- led to a very dark and dangerous place. One where, conceivably, death and destruction on an untold level lay and which could see the light of the Order snuffed out forever.

  “There is not,” Dooku replied, and while the mystery of what had changed about Shan remained, the resignation of a Jedi Master was of far greater significance. “I have spoken with you, Master Rancisis, and others on this Council and within the Order over the decades about my concerns over the direction the Republic is taking, and how the Order seems intent on doing all it can, not to prepare for any threat from the Sith or other Dark Side orders, but on doing whatever the Senate demands of us. I allowed those concerns to move to a backburner when I took on Cameron as my Padawan. However, events on Naboo, and my former Padawan’s encounter with a Sith assassin only served to bring those concerns back to the fore, and after taking a long time to consider the matter, I find myself with no choice but to step away from the Order.”

  “You understand what this means?” Master Piell remarked with that typically abrasive-sounding tone he used. “For both yourself and the Order?”

  “I do, and I accept those consequences.”

  While they maintained their gazes on Dooku, Windu sensed many of the Council were looking to him and Master Yoda for how to move forward with this revelation. Master Yoda had taught Master Dooku when he was a Padawan while he was Master of the Order, and thus head of the Council.

  Master Yoda turned and looked at him, seeking guidance. Windu reached out through the Force, accessing the mental chambers where the Council discussed business without letting those present know what was being discussed. [This is what the Force wills and I sense that Master Dooku has already made his decision.]

  [Yes. Certain am I also, of this,] Yoda replied with a hint of weariness. He turned back to Master Dooku. “Accepts your resignation, reluctantly, this Council does. With you, my thoughts will be.” Master Dooku lowered his head, accepting the blessing of his former Master.

  When neither Master Dooku nor Knight Shan moved to leave at that point, Windu understood that what he had sensed from Shan – that sense that he had also passed a personal Shatterpoint – was about to be revealed. Something that became even more certain when Master Dooku looked at Shan and gave his former Padawan a subtle nod.

  Windu watched as Shan moved in front of his Master and he felt the eddies of the Force shifting; something the other members of the Council also felt as Shan prepared to speak.

  “Esteemed members of the Council,” Shan began, showing more respect for them than Windu expected. While a Knight, Shan was noticeably clear at times in his opinions, and how he felt about decisions made by the Council. While not great behaviour for a Knight to display, Shan was young and as he lacked a Padawan – both to potentially pass on his negative traits to, and possibly help smooth the edges of his slightly confrontational nature – Windu had, unlike other members of the Council, not held any long-term concerns about it. “I didn’t come here with Master Dooku as simple moral support. We all know that he does not, nor wouldn’t want that.” Windu felt his lips twitch upwards at the gentle dig at Master Dooku; something shared by others as he heard a few gentle chuckles of amusement within the mental chamber the Council maintained. “No, like Master Dooku, I have found myself at a crossroads in my life, and after spending the last two years considering my choices while wandering the galaxy and communing with the Force, I find that I cannot continue as a member of the Order either and offer my formal resignation from the Order.”

  Windu’s face remained impassive but as the minds of the Council gathered in their mental chamber, he noticed that many of their faces weren’t as passive as his.

  [We cannot allow this!] Master Koth voiced first. [To many he is the Chosen One. If he leaves, many will begin to question the wisdom of this Council and our decisions.]

  “[Many? Or simply those he has formed connections with?] Master Tinn countered. [Shan has been, since the moment he entered the Temple, a disruption for many of his generation of Jedi. They see him openly pushing back against our decisions, not least with Naboo, and displaying emotions more freely than a Jedi should.]

  [I do not believe he is the Chosen One. However, it is impossible to deny that Shan’s very presence in these chambers was the will of the Force. It moves around him in a way all of us have rarely seen. He has a role to play in the coming confrontation with the reconstituted Sith. Something Master Dooku referenced in his resignation when he spoke of Naboo.]

  “Does your decision have anything to do with your battle with a Sith assassin on Naboo?” Master Koon asked, giving voice to Master Yaddle’s comment. “Or the fact that events conspired to see Master Drallig perish in the conflict?” Master Koon was, after the death of Master Gillett and the presumed death of Master Sifo-Dyas – a body had yet to be recovered though the Force was clear he had perished – the member of the Council with the strongest connection to Knight Shan.

  “It does in part, Master Koon,” Shan replied calmly, his hand moving to his belt where Windu noted a new lightsaber rested. It had the same curve that his previous one did, and that Master Dooku insisted was critical for one to truly master Makashi, yet to Windu the saber looked incomplete. As if it was missing something. “My actions when I spoke to you, and with members of the Senate, however indirectly, led to the death of Master Drallig. When Padawan Keto came to join the forces that I was gathering to help the people of Naboo – something she did against the wishes of her Master and myself – I should have sent her back. I should have denied her request.”

  Instead, I allowed my friendship with her, and the bond we shared from our time training with the Mandalorians, to affect me in a way it shouldn’t have. That event, and the subsequent death of Master Drallig, do play a role in the decision I have come to. However, it is not the only factor.” Shan straightened as if he were a soldier standing at parade rest.

  I won’t lie to the Council and say that the responses from this body after events on Naboo, or after Zonoma Sekot and with the Bando Gora haven’t influenced me. They did play roles. However, I feel that to become what I must to counter the coming darkness, I must leave the Order.”

  Windu leaned forward, seeking a hint of what was shaping Knight Shan’s thoughts, something he felt the other members of the Council also doing as they brought their considerable presence to bear on the young Knight’s mind. Windu hoped he was wrong about the earlier brief glimpse of darkness within Shan, but even if he was, then he and the Council needed to sense what had changed with the Knight to make him so abruptly choose to leave the Order.

  The same distance that Shan always had projected into the Force was there, but as the combined might of the Council pushed against it, Windu sensed it beginning to falter. Yet, before they could push through the young man’s barriers, a powerful presence emerged to protect his mind. One that Windu knew came from Master Dooku.

  “Cameron and I have made our decisions, and if this austere body is willing and able to accept mine after my decades of service to the Order, I would expect you to do the same for his and not attempt to brute force your way into his mind to discover his reasons for his choice.” In one of those rare moments where Dooku let his feelings slip into his tone and posture, it was easy to see he was offended with the Council for their decision on mass to try and read Shan’s mind. Something that Windu could sympathize with as he would react similarly if the Council chose to do so to his former Padawans. Still, Windu was taken aback by how forcefully Master Dooku had come to Knight Shan’s aid.

  “He is but a Knight, and a young one at that. Untold numbers of his rank have left the Order, along with an even greater number of Padawans I suspect. For the Council to try and force the reason from his mind is, frankly, an offence that only serves to strengthen my resolve on resigning from the Order.”

  Windu pulled his thoughts back from the barriers around Knight Shan’s mind, as did the other members of the Council who, as one, had decided they needed to understand why Shan wanted to leave the Order. Yes, many Knights and Padawans had left the Order over the centuries since the New Sith Wars, and countless more in the millennia before, and while their names were recorded in the Archives, they were not remembered as the Lost Nineteen were. Or Windu corrected himself, after today, the Lost Twenty.

  Those nineteen before Dooku had all also been Jedi Masters who had left the Order. Half had been before the end of the New Sith Wars, with the last coming when Windu himself was just an Initiate. The Bronzium casts that lined the main entrance to the Archives were how those lost Masters were remembered, and to most of the Council – even those who might place stock in the concept that Knight Shan was potentially the prophesied Chosen One – Master Dooku’s elevation to join those nineteen was more important resignation taking place today.

  To Windu, however, as he gazed at Shan with his gift again, he understood that Shan was the fulcrum of events. Not just today, but in the coming years. A Shatterpoint was forming as the Council considered accepting the resignation; one that, if handled poorly, had the chance to unleash a dark path which Windu was unsure if the Republic and Order could survive.

  For a moment, as he examined the forming ripples of an emerging Shatterpoint, Windu wondered if in helping Padawan Keto recover from the death of Master Drallig, and by extension keeping her away from Knight Shan, in an attempt to weaken the bond between them he had inadvertently brought this incipient moment to the fore. Regardless of whether that was the case or not, Windu had made his choice for Padawan Keto in what he considered the best option for her, the Order, and the Republic.

  Within the mental chambers of the Council, voices rang out as various members debated accepting the resignation of Knight Shan or not. It was less controlled than with Master Dooku, as while he was a far more revered member of the Order, his disillusionment with the Council had been present for several decades. For Knight Shan, while young and opinionated, many had expected him to grow out of it which happened with many younger members of the Order. Instead, the opposite had occurred.

  Masters Koon and Koth spoke the most vehemently about trying to convince Knight Shan to remain with the Order. Masters Piell and Tiin were the most content to let him leave; neither having been supportive of Shan’s presence in the Order over a decade earlier. The others offered opinions and comments, but it was clear to Windu that all were waiting for either himself or Master Yoda to offer a judgment.

  [We must accept this,] Windu said into the mental chamber. [The repercussions of not doing so… They lead to a dark place I am unsure the Order can recover from.]

  That statement stilled the voices in the chamber, each member of the Council taking stock of Windu’s apparent willingness to simply allow Knight Shan – one of their brightest lights among the younger generations – to walk away.

  [Was it not you who spoke the most powerfully to convince this Council to accept Shan’s place within our ranks?]

  [It was,] Windu replied to Master Koon’s question, [and I stand by that being the correct decision at the time. Which Padawan, or even Knight, could we expect to have survived and grown from the ordeals Knight Shan faced? I cannot think of one who might have emerged from all, from the Sith shrine deep under this very Temple that we were all ignorant of, to sensing that there was more to the invasion of a member world of the Republic than political matters. The Force guided him to us so that we, and then Masters Dooku and Fay, might train and prepare him for those trials so that now, standing before us, is not a boy but a young man sure of his convictions and the path the Force has laid out for him.]

  [I understand many might consider the idea of one with Shan’s potential and youth being allowed to leave the Order a potential danger. Not least with the looming threat posed by the presence of a reborn Sith. However, I trust in the Force and the path it has chosen: For Shan and ourselves.]

  [Insight, the Force has granted you?]

  [It has,] he replied to Master Yoda. [Any move we make to dent Knight Shan’s request, even to simply ask that he take more time in the Temple to consider his choice, risks benefiting none but the Sith. If we do not accept his resignation, the future, I fear, will be lost to us.]

  In the mental chamber, several of the other Council members expressed shock and surprise at Windu’s words; thinking perhaps that the Master of the Order might be over-reacting. Or they would if they did not understand the nature of his gift. Master Yoda understood it, as did Masters Yaddle, and Rancisis. It was the others, or at least one other, that he had to convince a majority of the Council to accept Windu’s position.

  [Shan has never been an easy fit within what we expect of a Jedi, but I stand by my position that accepting him was the only course we could take that did not risk the future. Just as now, I know that trying to deny or delay his choice to leave our hallowed Order, would also only serve the Sith. Perhaps in a way that would make us not having taken Shan in for training seem inconsequential by comparison. I do not wish to see him leave, as for all his faults of youth, I felt he might one day replace me as Master of the Order. However, I will not stand in the way of what I believe the Force wishes.]

  The mental chamber fell silent, each Master taking time to consider his words.

  [I supported your reasoning when Shan arrived before us and backed his acceptance into the Order. If you are certain that letting him leave now is also the best decision, I will support it.] Windu offered Master Rancisis a mental nod of thanks. Ideally, Master Yoda would have been the best to support the position, but Windu knew the aged Grandmaster preferred to reserve his opinion until after all others had spoken.

  [As will I,] added Master Koon, who was followed by Masters Koth, Tiin, and Mundi. That was the majority, so the matter was settled. However, before he spoke to Knight Shan, Windu waited on Master Yoda’s view.

  [Concerned, I am, of what allowing one with such potential as Shan to leave the Order might mean. For the Order, and our younger Jedi most heavily. However, regarding Shan, trust in your gift in the past I have placed, and trust it again, I will.]

  Windu offered the Grandmaster a small public nod of gratitude for his support, before looking over the two Jedi standing in the middle of the Council Chambers. Or should he say, soon-to-be former Jedi.

  Dooku was his familiar, resolute, and stoic self. His fate was already determined, but Windu sensed that if the decision had gone against accepting Shan’s resignation, Dooku would have protested most vehemently. Shan was attempting to mimic his former Master, yet Windu could sense the slowly rising concern from the young Knight as the Council debated his decision. The trepidation, the moment of deep-seated, and misplaced, distrust that flashed through Shan’s Force presence might, to others, make them concerned about allowing the young and powerful Force user out into the galaxy. For Windu, however, it was another sign that he had convinced the Council of the correct decision for Shan.

  “It is the decision of this Council to accept your resignation, Knight Shan,” He said solemnly, respecting the gravity of the situation. Dooku was about to join the Lost Nineteen while Shan was the first Knight to leave since Gop Berek almost twenty years ago. “We, along with every member of the Order, are saddened that you feel your paths no longer run with the Jedi but accept that you are acting with the wishes of the Force and that it has chosen these paths for you. We hope that you will find peace and balance with your choices, and wish you to know that the doors to the Temple will remain open to you in the future and that we shall consider you allies of the Order.”

  “Thank you.” As he spoke, Dooku bowed deeply, his former Padawan copying the gesture a few seconds later – though only after Windu felt a wave of relief wash over the young man. Along with the rest of the Council, Windu watched as the pair unclipped their lightsabers and placed them on the floor in the centre of the Chamber. “May the Force be with you.”

  Windu bowed to his old friend. “And with you, Master Dooku, and you, Knight Shan.”

  After a nod of appreciation, and Dooku offering personal marks of respect to others on the Council, concluding with a deep, almost horizontal bow to Master Yoda, the pair turned and walked calmly from the room.

  As they did so, Windu reached into the Force again with his gift. The darkness that lay along several potential paths that both might have travelled towards was now gone. In their place, came contentment with their choices, and Windu felt hope that by allowing their resignation – not that the Council could exactly deny the request –he had guided both towards the path that would best serve the interests of the Order and by association, the Republic that he felt was the best source of protection and security that the Order had with the looming threat posed by a resurgent Sith threat.

  … …

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