Chapter 4: The Council's Judgment
POV: Kael Vorn
The Council Chamber was exactly as Kael remembered from countless episodes—circular, austere, twelve chairs arranged around the center like the petals of some ancient flower. Afternoon light streamed through towering windows, casting long shadows across the polished floor.
Except now he stood at the heart of that circle, feeling the weight of a dozen pairs of eyes measuring his soul.
Yoda perched forward in his chair, ancient green fingers gripping his gimer stick, those impossible eyes boring into Kael with the intensity of a star going nova. Mace Windu sat rigid as a statue carved from dark stone, his expression revealing nothing and everything. Plo Koon's respirator wheezed softly in the silence. Ki-Adi-Mundi stroked his beard thoughtfully.
The most powerful Jedi in the galaxy, assembled to judge one very lost software engineer.
Kael's silver-gray aura shimmered nervously in the afternoon light, impossible to hide in this place where the Force flowed like a living river.
"Show us your training."
Mace Windu's voice cut through the chamber like a lightsaber through flesh. No preamble, no courtesy—straight to business. A metal sphere rose from a hidden compartment in the floor, hovering at chest height.
Kael extended his hand toward the training remote, calling on the Force. Silver energy flowed from his fingers as he pushed the sphere across the chamber, the movement smooth and controlled. The metal orb traced a perfect arc before settling gently back into position.
"Now, Pull," Yoda commanded.
Kael reversed the gesture. The sphere glided back to him with the same precision, stopping precisely where it had started. Several Council members murmured approval. The demonstration was basic, but his control was flawless.
"Hmm. Strong, you are. But formal training, you lack. Explain, you must, how learned these skills."
This was the question Kael had been dreading. How could he explain that he'd learned Force techniques from watching holographic projections in his apartment, guided by an alien intelligence that lived in his head?
"I'm self-taught through meditation and instinct," he said carefully. "The Force seems to guide me toward what I need to know. I've studied ancient techniques—"
The curse struck mid-sentence as he tried to elaborate, tried to add context about the gray Jedi philosophy he'd absorbed from the System's database.
"I learned from the wise refrigerator scrolls of destiny!"
Mace Windu's jaw tightened imperceptibly. Plo Koon tilted his head with obvious curiosity. Several Council members exchanged glances that clearly communicated their shared opinion of his mental state.
"They think I'm insane. Perfect."
[COUNCIL SUSPICION: ELEVATED]
[MENTAL STABILITY QUESTIONED]
[RECOMMENDATION: DAMAGE CONTROL]
"Perhaps," Ki-Adi-Mundi said in his measured Cerean accent, "we should test his Force affinity more directly."
A Temple attendant entered carrying a small cage. Inside, a Coruscant sparrow fluttered weakly, one wing clearly broken. The bird's pain registered in Kael's Force Sense like a needle through his consciousness.
"Heal it," Mace commanded, setting the cage before Kael.
This was easier. Healing was intuitive, requiring no complex explanations. Kael opened the cage gently and cupped the injured bird in his palms. Silver energy flowed from his hands, tinged with the warm blue of the Light Side. He felt the bird's wing mend beneath his touch, tiny bones knitting back together as life force flowed between them.
The sparrow chirped once and took flight, circling the chamber before perching on Yoda's chair. The ancient Master's ears twitched with what might have been amusement.
"Good. Very good," Plo Koon said warmly. "Your connection to the Light is clear."
Then Yoda's eyes narrowed to slits. "Now, show us your darkness."
Before Kael could object, before he could explain that he didn't want to demonstrate Dark Side abilities in front of the Jedi Council, Yoda gestured with one gnarled finger. The training remote rose from its position and accelerated toward Kael's head.
Instinct took over.
Blue-white lightning erupted from Kael's fingertips, raw electrical energy crackling across the chamber. The training remote vaporized instantly, reduced to smoking slag that scattered across the polished floor. The scent of ozone filled the air.
Silence fell like a hammer blow.
No Jedi produced Force Lightning. It was a Dark Side ability, born from hatred and sustained by suffering. Using it required corruption, a fundamental turning away from the Light. Yet Kael's aura remained balanced silver-gray, showing no sign of the taint that should have accompanied such power.
"Impossible," Mace whispered.
The Council erupted into heated debate, voices rising as twelve of the galaxy's wisest beings struggled to process what they'd witnessed. Mace argued for immediate detention—such power unchecked was too dangerous to ignore. Yoda countered that suppressing the Force in one strong with it led inevitably to darkness. Plo Koon suggested accepting Kael as a civilian consultant, given the war's desperate need for every advantage.
Through it all, Kael stood frozen in the center of the chamber, watching his fate being decided by people who had no idea what was coming for them.
"The war stretches our resources thin," Obi-Wan said unexpectedly, his voice cutting through the argument. "Perhaps we should consider Master Plo's suggestion. Kael's control is evident, despite his... communication difficulties."
"Obi-Wan's supporting me. That's something."
Kael tried to speak, tried to promise that he meant no harm, that he understood the Jedi were good people facing unimaginable challenges, that he knew they were about to face the ultimate betrayal from within their own ranks—
"Good people facing a terrible birthday cake of doom!"
Yoda's ears perked up. The ancient Master leaned forward in his chair, those massive eyes studying Kael with renewed intensity.
"Much fear in you, there is. Fear of what, hmm?"
"Fear of watching you all die while being unable to warn you."
"I'm afraid of failing to help when it matters most," Kael said instead.
Technically true, if incomplete. Yoda's expression remained thoughtful.
[FORCE LIGHTNING: DARK-ALIGNED ABILITY DETECTED]
[INITIATE RANK]
[WARNING: USAGE IN JEDI PRESENCE INCREASES SUSPICION]
[ALIGNMENT SHIFT: 3% TOWARD DARK]
[CURRENT BALANCE: 47% - APPROACHING TRUE GRAY]
The debate continued for another ten minutes before Yoda raised his hand for silence. When the chamber quieted, the ancient Master spoke with the authority of nine centuries.
"A decision, reached we have. Provisional freedom, granted to Kael Vorn it shall be. Civilian Force consultant to Republic forces, his designation will be. Monitor him, Obi-Wan Kenobi will. Weekly evaluation, required it is."
Relief flooded through Kael like a physical force. Not imprisonment. Not execution. Probation with the galaxy's most diplomatic Jedi as his supervisor. He could work with that.
"But know this," Mace Windu added, his voice carrying the weight of final judgment. "Any sign of corruption, any hint of Dark Side influence, and this arrangement ends. Permanently."
The threat was unmistakable. Step out of line, and the Council would respond with lethal force.
"I understand," Kael said.
As he left the chamber, legs still weak with relief, Yoda's voice echoed behind him:
"Keep watch on this one, we must. Clouded, his future is. Yet important, I sense he will be."
"Important. If only you knew how important."
Outside the Council Chamber, Anakin clapped him on the shoulder with a grin that made him look years younger.
"Welcome to the war, Gray."
[STATUS UPDATED: CIVILIAN FORCE CONSULTANT]
[SUPERVISOR ASSIGNED: OBI-WAN KENOBI]
[FREEDOM: PROVISIONAL]
[QUEST COMPLETED: FACE THE JEDI COUNCIL]
[SURVIVAL: CONFIRMED]
Kael stared out at Coruscant's endless cityscape through the Temple's windows. Somewhere out there, clone troopers were fighting and dying for a Republic that would betray them. Somewhere in the Senate, Palpatine was orchestrating their destruction. Somewhere in the galaxy, Dooku was building the weapon that would tear everything apart.
But for now, he was alive. He was free. And he had access to the Jedi Temple and the heart of the Republic's war effort.
"Time to get to work."
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