Chapter Text
The air was still on Coruscant. The fires of yesterday had died down with a celebration of many millions of screams. The great work of destroying the Jedi was done, once and for all. High in the skyscrapers of this great city planet, a new power sat, waiting, for the dust to settle. The world would soon know a new evil, and the birth of the new Sith order. The galaxy would once again be wreathed in fear and violence. The Emperor’s new order that he caused such atrocities for would not last for long. Not long at all.
Newly fired and evicted Senator of Naboo, Jar Jar Binks, stood silently on his balcony. This would be the last time he would see the wonder of Coruscant’s skyline from above. Suddenly, he perceived a subtle shift in the force, and sensed a presence approaching across the balcony. Jar Jar smiled, awaiting the approach of his visitor. “Meesa been wondering when yousa been crawlin back to meesa.” He turned slightly, looking all aglow in the Coruscant sunrise, exposing his toothy grin to any who would intrude upon him. “Nice to be seein yousa, Masterin Mace.”
Mace Windu winced as he walked slowly towards the Gungan. He could hardly move, and his limbs ached from exhaustion. Mace’s new scars- he assumed he now had scars- from Palpatine’s force lightning seared deep into his skin, making every movement painful. The fall from the Chancellor’s chambers left him plummeting through the many lanes of sky traffic on the top levels of Coruscant. He had barely managed to grab hold of a flying taxi where he would have otherwise fallen into the deep space ports below. In a single moment of strife, Jedi Master Mace Windu reached desperately into the darkest parts of his psyche. He grasped out with all of his senses, searching wildly for a darkness that had been well hidden behind his calm facade. In a single moment, Mace Windu had given all that he was over to the dark side of the force. Fear, in that moment, enveloped him, swallowed him whole, and spat him back out anew. This new life, fueled by grief, had bestowed upon him one choice, which he finally came to realize.
“Always two there are.” Mace looked up at Jar Jar, who was now towering above him, silhouetted by the light of Coruscant’s brightening sky. “I was a fool, not knowing it was you. But now I see the truth.”
“So whatsa yousa doin here,” An immense power seethed from Jar Jar as he hissed those words in a tone less jovial than usual., “Master Jedi.” His features contorted into a cruel grimace as he regarded Mace. “The Jedi issa fallen. A newsa power rises. Bombad things a comin for you if yousa bein a Jedi.”
“I… The Jedi temple is in shambles. I knew I couldn’t contact anyone there. This was… the only place I could think of to stay.”
“Oh? Whatsa all this? Yousa be stayin with meesa?”
Mace was silent for a moment, weighing his words carefully. “After our mission on Bardotta, I know that was probably all a rouse, but I felt something there. Something… that haunted me for a long while. I couldn’t decide then whether it was your dumb luck or sheer intelligence, but I now see what you truly are. That presence I felt on Bardotta was the dark side, as it grew in you.”
Jar Jar now turned fully towards the fallen Jedi. “Yousa been puttin tings together now Masterin Mace.”
The Gungan now seemed to be an enormous power over the Jedi. Mace, now doubled over in pain, dropped to the floor of the balcony in reverence, bowing to Jar Jar. “I have come to join you… my master.”