AN :
you guys deserve an extra Chapter;)
Next goal is hitting 150 power stones in 24h, there will be an extra chapter ;)
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( 32 BBY )
Across her three lives, Tan'ya had only ever been to one funeral, decades ago as a boy, before he had ever heard of 'the Chicago School of Economics'. His father had even briefly managed to escape the black company he worked at for a few hours to bury the woman that birthed and raised him, before rushing back to the office to escape his supervisors' ire. Tan'ya recalled not particularly understanding the graveness of the occasion, having never really met his grandmother.
This upcoming funeral was different, it felt different. The atmosphere was palpable - Tan'ya could sense the strength of her mother's emotions; worry for her husband and daughter mixed with a determination to be strong, even as grief swelled inside her.
Tan'ya's father was concealing himself in the Force, the weight of his emotions hidden behind a mental shield and a steely gaze, though Tan'ya knew this must be difficult for him.
Of course, Jedi weren't supposed to be attached, but expecting that of a friendship and near-brotherhood that stretched over decades was asking for the impossible. The bond between brothers in arms was nigh-universal, and no amount of Jedi brainwashing could change that. Tan'ya remembered that conversation she had with Grandmaster Yoda on Life Day, all those years ago.
Of course it was natural for him to feel grief when Jedi he had raised from childhood died in the course of their duties or even just from old age, but he had put on a brave face and marched to work the next day. It was admirable, really.
Tan'ya knew that as the Grandmaster of the New Temple, her father could not allow himself to mourn openly. He was a Jedi, he had a duty to do, and so he had focused himself on the diplomatic fallout that Sifo's death had caused, as was appropriate for his station.
If anything, his facial expression often seemed to lean towards anger more than anything else, something Tan'ya could understand with the way the Grand Temple had sent those two incompetents to poke around the Palace.
Had Yoda really approved of those two being on the investigative team? She had to presume that was a decision made by one of his subordinates. The Jedi Temple employed roughly ten thousand Jedi, and Tan'ya couldn't think of any CEO who would micromanage something so far down the chain.
No doubt when her father went to speak with the Jedi Council, he would be issuing a sternly worded report on their behavior.
Tan'ya herself was committed to be on her best behaviour for the funeral service, the very model of a good Youngling. She had even asked her mother's help in picking out an appropriate set of formal black clothes for the occasion, and even wore a long skirt with the cape and silver chain that marked her as heir. With her face schooled to neutrality befitting an officer, and her feelings in the force concealed behind her own mental wall, Tan'ya would not be the one to embarrass the family or the New Temple.
This was the first time she would ever visit Coruscant, and she regretted it was under such unfortunate circumstances. A world-spanning city was an intriguing concept, something she almost found difficult to believe could exist. The sheer amount of food needed to feed so many trillions of people was only estimated by scholars of the subject, and the amount of sewage they put out was just as incalculable.
In a way it was beautiful, being irrefutable physical evidence of the power of the free market. Supply met demand, and so the wheels of civilization continued to turn freely.
In the earliest days of the Republic, when the Rakatan's still dominated the Galaxy, Coruscant hadn't been anything of note at all. It was merely one planet populated by humans among a handful of others clinging to the coattails of the Duros.
Hyperspace travel slowly developed, and exploration continued across the Galaxy, eventually leading to the chartering of the Great Hyperspace Lanes, of which Coruscant sat conveniently near the center.
Coruscant was uniquely positioned at the convergence of the Perlemian and Correlian trade routes, and had indirect access to the Rimma and the Hydian as well. On Earth, all roads may have led to Rome, but it was no exaggeration to say that all hyperspace lanes led back to Coruscant. Situated where it was, it was natural, inevitable that Coruscant grew as vast as it did.
Some theorized Coruscant was the world that humans originated from, a theory that Tan'ya dismissed. From her memory. Earth was located near the edge of the Milky Way on one of its arms, and Tan'ya assumed this Galaxy was merely the future of that, or maybe another alternate timeline like in her second life. Most likely, the lost human homeworld was somewhere in the Outer Rim, where there were plenty of ancient populations and cultures out there unnoticed by the Galaxy at large.
When they had been working on their book together, Tan'ya had proposed her theory to Sifo, and he thought it was very plausible. He believed that human populations had been spread around the Galaxy as slaves by the ancient Rakatans, who had outlived their masters when the Infinite Empire collapsed. He even theorized that the galaxy's many near-human races may have originated from the Rakatan's tampering with human genetics, an idea that was controversial in academic circles.
Now the series would never be finished.
Tan'ya couldn't help the melancholic sigh that escaped her. Sifo's magnum opus had been cut short part way through Volume IV, covering the Mandalorians Wars. It really was a shame. Even with Master Sifo's greater emphasis on military history, Tan'ya had found the process of working together on the books with him to be very enjoyable.
The discussions they would have, the narrative strings that naturally emerged, trying to balance different themes and ideas and learning about these remarkable figures in history, like Revan and Exar Kun. Tan'ya had been intrigued to begin research on Meetra Surik, who had single handedly revived a near extinct Jedi Order.
Of course Being X had taken even that away from her. That petty tyrant masquerading as a god could never let go of his grudge against her. He even told her that her second life would be her last, and had very clearly failed to heed his own words, that promise. Clearly, driven by sheer spite, Being X was determined to torment her for all eternity unless she put a stop to it.
Tan'ya clenched her jaw, watching the streets of Coruscant pass below her window.
"Are you alright, Tan'ya?" Her mother asked. Tan'ya didn't need to read her feelings in the Force to know she was obviously worried.
"I'm just thinking that Sifo's book series is never going to be finished."
For some reason that simple statement provoked such a sense of sympathy in Tan'ya's mother, that she put her arm around her daughter's shoulder and hugged her closer. It was embarrassing and annoying, but also completely ordinary for a mother to be worried for their child.
After putting up with it for what she felt was an appropriate length of time, Tan'ya pulled away, to continue looking out the window of their speeder as it passed through the countless traffic ways and intersections that crisscrossed the world's entire surface.
It was a fascinating place. Tan'ya wasn't usually one to be driven by whimsy, but a city on this scale, one that utterly dwarfed even Tokyo from her first life, was something that she wanted to explore. More importantly, the Jedi Temple was in the senatorial district, and it seemed to Tan'ya like a perfect chance to try and network among the Republic's political class. In the future, when she ruled Serenno, these connections would be extremely useful for getting things done in a way that suited her.
"After the service, do you suppose I could take a tour of the Senate building?"
Her mother started to speak, but Dooku cut across her sharply. "No, we are leaving right after the service."
Surprised, Tan'ya exchanged slightly confused glances with her mother.
"I didn't realize we were pressed for time." Athemeene said, finally. "Is something wrong?"
"This world is far more dangerous than Raxus Prime, and Tan'ya is not yet even a Padawan, let alone a Master."
"We won't go into the undercity, dear." Athemeene promised. "And we'll take a guide so we don't get lost by accident."
"The most dangerous beings on this world don't lurk in the undercity." Dooku murmured softly, and turned his head to look out the window towards the Senate building itself as their speeder passed it by.
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