"Lord Vizsla, a midichlorian concentration test, for you—may we?" Master Yoda asked solemnly.
"Yes. Test this kid too while you're at it." Max agreed readily.
"Aayla," Master Yoda motioned to Aayla Secura, who was still staring blankly at the floating balance diagram, "take the two of them to the test. You will."
"Ah—" The Jedi flower snapped back to herself, stood up, and answered, "Yes, Master Yoda."
"Wait." Max stopped Aayla as she turned to leave.
He turned back, gave Master Yoda a slight bow, and said, "Master Yoda, I have a few small requests. I hope you and the Jedi High Council can agree to them first."
Master Yoda extended a small green hand. "Speak. Speak."
Max slowed his words, nearly enunciating each one. "One: I must be present for the entire blood draw and testing process. Two: when the test is done, any instruments that made contact with the sample are to be sealed and handed over to me for removal—paid removal. I'll pay full price."
"Mmm. Not excessive, your demands." Master Yoda nodded. "Aayla. Do it. As Lord Vizsla says."
"Thank you for understanding—and for indulging my caution." Max rose with Christopher Rane, bowed in thanks to Master Yoda, then said, "Ms. Secura, let's go."
...
"Could it be?"
"No way. He's from a great house, isn't he?"
"Hard to say. He's Mandalorian—maybe he was an adopted foundling?"
"Mandalorian, huh. In that case, it's possible. 'The sins the Jedi Order committed against the nameless' probably refers to that Mandalorian Excision, right?"
"Wait and see. The midichlorian readout will be out any second."
"He can't be higher than that child, can he?"
"So what if he is? Does 'the Chosen One' have to be the most gifted? The prophecy never actually says that."
…
The results soon appeared before the Masters of the Jedi High Council. They could've been ready a few minutes earlier—if Max hadn't insisted the comm module on the analyzer be removed before the test even began.
"Master Yoda." Aayla Secura handed the analyzer directly to Yoda.
"Mmm."
After reading the numbers, Master Yoda nodded thoughtfully. Then he passed the analyzer to Mace Windu on his left. When it made the full round through the Masters' hands and returned to him, Master Yoda asked,
"What do you think, all of you?"
"Extraordinary talent," Master Shaak Ti sighed. "Even within the Jedi Order, this is the kind of aptitude you see once in ten thousand."
"The aptitude is good—yet not good enough." Mace Windu said darkly. "At this level, it's still insufficient to bring ultimate balance to the Force."
"Sorry—quick interruption!" Max raised his hand high. "Masters, could you interpret the report for us first?"
"Apologies, Lord Vizsla, Mr. Rane. We were discourteous." Shaak Ti dipped her head. "Based on the midichlorian concentration data, Lord Vizsla—your affinity is second only to Master Yoda and Master Windu in this room, and greater than all the rest of us. And Mr. Rane can indeed be regarded as Force-sensitive."
"Close to mine. Not below it." the motherfucker added.
"Whoa." Max's eyes lit up. The result far exceeded his expectations—he was thoroughly satisfied. "Thank you for the explanation."
"You're welcome. May the Force be with you." Shaak Ti replied with a smile.
"Take it. Keep it." Master Yoda gestured for Max to accept the analyzer and hold onto it.
Once Max had it in hand, Master Yoda pointed toward the floating balance diagram in the conference room and said solemnly, "Lord Vizsla—your understanding of the Force, of its light and dark—expand it. Explain it more. Can you?"
"Sure. If I say something wrong, I hope you Masters won't laugh at me."
Max agreed readily. He knew exactly how stubborn the current Jedi High Council was—these old conservatives had ingrained preconceptions like ideological implants. There was no way he could overturn them in a few sentences.
But as a traveler from another life, he enjoyed sharing a little "real insight" he'd once read in setting materials. This wasn't to show off, and it wasn't pointless effort either—after the Jedi Order fell, what was said in this room today would prove Max Vizsla's foresight. 2
("Come on—survivors of Order 66. Come to me. The old, decayed Jedi Order will fall, and a new Mandalorian Force-warrior order will rise.")
"Let's talk directly off the diagram, Masters. Please look." Max pointed at the balance diagram and began.
"The white vortex and the black vortex coil around each other and chase each other, forming a picture where light and shadow intermix. That represents how the Force's light and dark are unified through opposition, and opposed through unity—mutually generating and mutually restraining."
"And these two 'seeds'—the dark speck inside the light vortex, and the light speck inside the dark vortex—suggest the light and dark are 'you contain me, I contain you.' I'll make a bold guess: the light side and the dark side are, in essence, two faces of the same whole."
"Recently, I've felt the dark vortex growing more and more agitated. I'm worried the dark vortex—meaning the dark side—will overgrow and ruin this balanced, harmonious composition. So I want to find a teacher aligned with the light to guide me, and help me restore balance between the two vortices."
"Why not drive the dark vortex out completely, leaving only the bright and tranquil white vortex?" Master Even Piell asked.
"Isn't that… too extreme?" Max widened his eyes as if startled. "The Force guides me—balance is best."
"Lord Vizsla, light is light and dark is dark—just like this diagram: white is white and black is black. If an issue is black-or-white, choosing one side—how can that be 'extreme'?" Master Plo Koon asked.
"And you are…?" Max asked again, though he clearly knew.
"Plo Koon." The Kel Dor Jedi nodded in greeting.
"Greetings, Master Plo Koon." Max returned the nod. "May I ask you something? Between light and dark—do you always choose light?"
"Of course." The sunny Master Plo Koon answered without hesitation. "My heart is light; what I do is light."
"Then, Master Plo Koon—when you go to sleep at night, do you turn the lights off?"
...
PS: In the Star Wars new-canon novel Master and Apprentice, the Chosen One prophecy reads (translated from the text above):
Only through the sacrifice of many Jedi can the Order cleanse the sins it committed against the nameless.
The danger of the past has not passed—it sleeps within an egg. When the shell cracks, it will threaten the entire galaxy. When the Force itself sickens, past and future must split and combine.
A Chosen One shall come, born of no father, and through him the ultimate balance in the Force will be restored.
-
-
-
🛡 Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore
📢 For Mandalore! 📢
Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore is now available with 100+ chapters ahead on Patreon! 🛡🔥
Witness the resurgence of Mandalorian power long before public release.
🛑 Also available on Patreon:
Cyberpunk: The Relentless (500+) Dragon King of Ice and Fire (200+) Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a SystemMy Cyberpunk 2077 SimulatorMy Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the DreadfortThe Rebirth of Harry PotterStar Wars: Relics of the PastR18: Reincarnated in Her World
🔗 www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 SrMagnus🐦 https://x.com/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ The novel with the most Power Stones rises first!