— — — — — —
Half an hour later—
"I can't believe it… Things have gotten this bad?"
"The Dark Lord of the Sith is the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic?! What a damn joke! I was careless!"
Mace Windu's already dark face turned even darker as the full truth sank in. Rage surged in his chest.
Still, his Jedi discipline held firm. After a few deep breaths, he calmed down and turned to Renzo.
"We owe you for this, truly."
"As for your promotion to Jedi Master—I have no objections. Also… I'd like to be the first to attempt the chaotic Force transition."
"We need a test subject, after all. And it can't be Master Yoda."
Even though the chaotic Force sounded promising, he wasn't about to let everyone switch over all at once. That would be reckless. So he will try it first.
And under no circumstances would he let Master Yoda be the first. Yoda was the foundation of the Jedi Temple—its guiding anchor. It would be too dangerous to risk him this early on.
"Thank you, Master Windu. I have no objections," Renzo replied with a nod.
"Be careful," Yoda said with a helpless chuckle. "Let young Renzo guide you through it."
He didn't argue with Windu—he knew trying to change the man's mind was a waste of time.
"I don't mind at all," Renzo said, smiling. "As long as you follow my guidance, there's really no danger."
"Then let's not waste time. Let's do it now," Windu said, sitting cross-legged on the cushion. He took the holomap of chaotic Force training from Yoda and quickly began to study it.
With a Jedi's learning speed, it didn't take long—just a few minutes, and he had it memorized.
"Alright," Renzo said. "Now I'll implant a chaotic Force seed in you. That'll allow you to complete the transition smoothly."
As he spoke, he lightly tapped the space between Windu's eyebrows, channeling energy to begin the process.
—Half an hour later…
"I did it," Windu said, opening his eyes. A subtle excitement flickered in his expression. "Incredible. This power… it's different from the light side. More inclusive. And it feels stronger, both in energy and presence."
"But…" He frowned slightly. "It feels like I can also use abilities from the dark side now. Is that… really okay?"
"It's fine," Renzo replied calmly. "As long as you stay grounded in your intent, there's no problem."
"In fact," he added, "when you use dark-side techniques like Force lightning through the chaotic Force, it doesn't affect your personality or mental state like it normally would."
"You might've noticed—your old connection to the light side has faded, too. You're still you, of course, but without the side effects from years of alignment with only one half of the Force."
"You've probably still got a few old habits and thought patterns hanging on, but in time, those will fade. Just now, your aura, your demeanor—they were more alive. More human."
The old Windu had always been a bit rigid. Completely intolerant of anything even remotely 'dark.' He didn't bend, didn't compromise.
That was the influence of the pure light side.
Honestly, light-side Jedi were kind of like holy knights from fantasy worlds—obsessed with rules, bound by dogma, and overly rigid in their beliefs.
"…Really?" Windu blinked, clearly surprised.
He hadn't noticed at all.
"Absolutely," Yoda nodded with a smile. "It seems the chaotic Force is safe. Now… why don't you try sensing Palpatine's presence? I'm guessing that's what you really want to check, right?"
Because honestly, that was why Windu had insisted on being the first to transition.
The truth was, he hadn't fully trusted Renzo's claims. Not without proof.
If it weren't for Yoda's complete support, things probably wouldn't have gone this smoothly.
"Alright," Windu nodded. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses.
"Hm?"
Almost immediately, he ran into an invisible wall—his perception was being blocked.
Frustrated, he looked over at Renzo.
"Can you drop the Force barrier you've set up?"
Only now did he realize just how far Renzo had surpassed him. His strength was on a completely different level now.
"No wonder he's the one who pioneered this path," Windu thought with a hint of awe.
"Of course," Renzo said easily, and with a wave of his hand, the Force barrier dropped.
Windu reached out again, and this time, he could sense the area around the Chancellor's office.
There it was—a horrifyingly dense, overwhelming presence of dark side energy.
Just brushing against it made him immediately recoil. He pulled back and made a quick hand gesture to Renzo, who understood and instantly reactivated the barrier.
"Phew…"
Windu let out a long breath, face grim.
"It's just as you said. There's an immense concentration of dark Force energy around the Chancellor's building. It's terrifying… easily on par with me—or even you, Master Yoda."
"There's no doubt. It's Palpatine."
Renzo had been right all along—but dammit that didn't make Windu feel any better.
"If that's confirmed, then it's time to prepare," Yoda said. "Let me complete the transition as well."
This time, Windu didn't object.
Soon after, with Renzo's guidance, Yoda also successfully transitioned to the chaotic Force.
After experiencing its unique nature for themselves, the three of them began secretly discussing how to deal with the threat ahead.
At the same time, Renzo shared another discovery from the headquarters—something deeply disturbing: Every clone soldier had a control chip implanted in their brains.
"What?!" x2
The revelation shocked both Windu and Yoda.
"You're saying the clone army is his creation too?" Windu asked, stunned.
"Honestly… it makes sense," Yoda said with a weary sigh.
"From the start, the clone army appeared out of nowhere."
"The clones were made using the DNA of the bounty hunter Jango Fett—someone hired by Count Dooku."
"Even the order for the clones was supposedly placed by the late Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas... in the name of the Galactic Republic."
"There were holes in the story from the beginning. We were suspicious of the clones at first, remember?"
"If it weren't for how dire the war was—and the fact that the clones proved themselves trustworthy over the years—we never would've relied on them, much less made them our primary fighting force. And to be fair, most of them can be trusted."
"If Palpatine could control them outright, he wouldn't have needed to go through the trouble of installing neural control chips in their heads."
That, in itself, said a lot.
Palpatine never had full control over them—at least not at the start. He couldn't risk tipping his hand and losing the Jedi's trust too soon.
"True," Windu nodded slowly. "So, the clones aren't a lost cause. We can still work with them. But we'll need a way to protect ourselves."
"We can't just rip the chips out, though... That would tip off Palpatine."
He frowned deeply. "We need a way to rewrite the chips—change the programming and who's in control—without triggering any alerts."
"I can handle that," Renzo stepped in calmly. "I've got a powerful AI Queen who should be able to do exactly that."
"Though it means I'll need to get access to the clone units themselves. One by one."
"Knowing Palpatine, he probably hasn't activated chips in every clone. Most likely, he's targeted the ones with high ranks or those who've built close relationships with the Jedi—officers the Jedi trust."
Just like in the original timeline.
The Jedi were betrayed not by strangers, but by the very clones they fought beside. Shot in the back, ambushed by friends.
They died terrible, painful deaths.
"Alright," Windu nodded firmly. "We're counting on you. But if it proves too risky, don't force it. Just gather intel."
"Even if you can't neutralize the chips right away, at least compile a list of all the clones—or even non-clone officers—under Palpatine's influence."
"We can make other arrangements when the time comes."
Now wasn't the time to openly challenge Palpatine. The Jedi needed to quietly secure control over some military forces first. That would take time.
Soon after, Yoda and Windu called an emergency council meeting. This time, Renzo was there too—now officially recognized as a Jedi Master.
They explained everything to the other Jedi Masters.
The room was instantly in uproar.
Many turned their gaze to Renzo, stunned.
Some had already sensed a strange change in the Force recently—but now it all made sense.
It had been caused by a little Jedi who'd disappeared years ago.
Once they heard about the properties of Chaotic Force, and the fact that both Yoda and Windu had already switched to it, the others became visibly intrigued.
But they had a plan. For now, only the Jedi Masters would be allowed to transition to this new path. Other Jedi would have to wait.
Not everyone could be trusted—not even within the Jedi Order.
They all knew of Jedi who'd fallen to darkness before.
And then... There was Anakin.
He was the most delicate variable of all.
Meanwhile, discussions turned back to the control chips discovered in the clones' brains.
"This is serious," Obi-Wan said, his expression grim. "If you hadn't uncovered this, Master Renzo, we might've walked right into a massacre."
"Absolutely," agreed another Master, shaking their head in disbelief. "We owe you."
Renzo offered a humble smile. "I just did what needed to be done."
He couldn't help but glance at Obi-Wan. In the original timeline, his second-in-command, Commander Cody, had been one of the first to betray him—thanks to that chip.
If Obi-Wan hadn't been sharp and lucky, he wouldn't have made it out alive.
Most of the Jedi's clone officers had chips, too. All except...
Maybe Rex. Anakin's right-hand man.
Perhaps Palpatine never implanted Rex with a chip because, even back then, he already saw Anakin as his chosen apprentice.
No need for backup plans.
Next— the Jedi Masters spent the rest of the meeting making secret preparations.
A shift had begun.
And Palpatine? Still completely in the dark. He had no idea that the tide had already turned.
He couldn't have, really. With the rise of Chaotic Force, the future had grown clouded—more unpredictable than ever.
He hadn't even sensed a warning through the Force.
Or maybe he had—just not the right one.
What he felt was the darkness warning him of a coming threat...
But not what that threat truly was.
As long as the Jedi kept Chaotic Force hidden, he would remain blind to it.
And Renzo? He'd already mastered it.
He even figured out how to disguise it—shifting it into light or dark Force signatures at will.
The future was already on a different path.
.
.
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