Jedi Insurgency 259

Departing from the archives, Corvus was feeling quite proud of himself. With his indirect help, the other Jedi should now have access to those ancient computer systems. 

Once they had absorbed this information, and properly studied how the Jedi of old conducted themselves, only then would he return the artifacts, and knowledge he had saved from the Temple on Coruscant. It was his belief that only by examining the past, that a group could avoid the pitfalls of the future. 

Wandering the halls of the Temple once more, Corvus was in search of yet another Jedi Master to influence, intent on knocking out part four of the Jedi Shadowmaster quest today. Mid afternoon sunrays gleamed through a mural he passed by, indicating he had perhaps 10 more hours until night time, on account of Tython being a planet with a 31 hour day cycle. 

During his exploration, he came across a low rhythmic thrum echoing faintly through the corridor ahead. Surprisingly, it wasn't the hum of lightsaber combat, or the hymn of a stoic monk. No…it was the sound of music! 

A series of deep notes vibrated through the stone floor, making him raise an eyebrow in curiosity. This wasn't the Force sending a message or something, but instead, he sensed someone had found an instrument, and had started jamming. 

Windu? 

The aura of the former Order Master was quite easy to notice, however, it was passionate, yet controlled. Curiosity piqued, Corvus couldn't help himself, and moved in to investigate. 

The melody grew clearer as he approached an open doorway. Corvus stepped beside it and glanced inside. The room beyond the corridor appeared to be some kind of music chamber. All sorts of alien instruments lined the walls. Some were clearly for beings with multiple limbs, or the extremely tall. 

Sitting alone upon a stool in the center of the room, Mace Windu had his eyes closed, and was rhythmically strumming a purple bass guitar. His newly healed hands moved with fluid dexterity across the strings. The way he operated the instrument, it was clear he was no novice. Although there was no electronic amp to boost the sound, Windu seemed to use the Force for that. 

Deep notes reverberated through the chamber as Windu experimented with a sequence of tones.

Corvus watched in silence for several moments. The sight was so unexpected that he found himself oddly amused. If someone had asked him a year ago to list a thousand things Mace Windu might be doing in his spare time, playing bass guitar would not have appeared anywhere on that list.

The stern Jedi Master continued his practice, and a rough melody full of controlled passion emerged. Corvus sensed brief glimpses of anger and the Darkside in Windu, but as those long white dreads covered his face, the darkskinned Master began to pick up his tempo, and started to absolutely shred it. 

Just as Corvus was about to walk away, determining that there wasn't an optimal time to influence his peer, a pulse of sound blasted through the airwaves, then returned to Windu, sort of like echolocation from a bat. Corvus recognized what was going on, but it was too late, Windu was still him, and was faster than Corvus had imagined. 

"Might as well come inside." Windu invited, gesturing towards a nearby stool with his chin. 

The bass guitar lowered in volume, but he never fully stopped playing. For several seconds neither spoke, then Corvus slowly revealed himself, emerging one particle at a time, like an image on a screen coming into focus. 

Windu raised an eyebrow, and shook his head at the melodramatic entrance. “Have you been skulking around the Temple this entire time? Spot anything interesting?” 

Curiously, Corvus didn't detect any disgust or dissatisfaction in Windu's tone. He figured such an order-aligned person would find sneaking around like this to be a betrayal of trust. 

"Not for long. I wanted to see how people acted without me around. As you can imagine, gathering the true thoughts of others can be difficult when the Order Master is breathing down your neck.” Corvus said in a righteous tone, completely flubbing his original reason for why he was going around the Temple. 

Windu stared at him silently for several seconds, before slowly nodding. “I understand. Very well, I won't reveal your indiscretions, as I do understand. However, that doesn't mean there isn't a price for your actions.” 

Standing up from his seat, a dark shadow covered the Jedi Master’s face, and the bass guitar suddenly began to play an overtly serious melody. Slightly taken aback, Corvus blinked in confusion. What the heck does he mean by that?!

Standing almost directly in front of him, Windu snorted, then gestured towards the room full of instruments. 

“If you want my silence, then you'll have to drown out my complaints.” 

Corvus folded his arms.

"I was unaware bass guitar had become part of standard Jedi training." He smirked, relieved that he didn't have to do some hardcore training with Windu, or pass some dumb test. “I expected you to be preparing to train your new students in self control, and anger management.” 

“Aren't I?” Windu raised an eyebrow. 

Although he couldn't sense anything in the Force-Windu was a brick wall when he wanted to be-Corvus could detect some trace amounts of amusement. 

He could only shake his head. The white dreaded former Order Master seemed to have mellowed out quite a bit compared to his previously high-strung self. Honestly, he liked this version of Windu a lot. 

"How did you know I was there?" Corvus asked, changing pace as he began to examine the instruments, and see which one fit his style. 

Although he wasn't skilled at making music, he figured the Force could guide him. Just like how Obi-Wan wasn't keen with blasters, the Force had guided him to make a Warcrime of Grievous’ chest, or how Luke used the Force to murder millions of Imperials during the destruction of the first Death Star. 

Windu tapped two fingers lightly against the neck of the instrument. “Besides the soundwave pressure-which you already deduced-I felt a Shatterpoint in my own destiny.” 

Corvus internally sighed to himself upon hearing this. Shatterpoint was such a Bantha shit ability, he almost wished he had chosen Battlemaster as his prestige class. 

Windu nodded. “Over the past few months spent locked up, I've noticed a pattern. Although I cannot sense you directly, when strange things happen around me, you're usually involved."

Corvus could only sigh, unable to refute the man. "There are enough instruments here to occupy half the Temple." He said, changing the subject once more. 

A faint smile crossed Windu's face. “I believe our friend said that there's more to being a Jedi than laser swords, and I tend to agree. How else do you think I mastered my anger so quickly?” 

The exchange felt strangely natural. Months ago, such a conversation would have been impossible. Mace Windu had viewed Revan with suspicion, while Corvus had regarded Windu as a capable but rigid guardian of a flawed system. Now, after surviving Palpatine, Order 66, and the collapse of everything they had once known, many of those old barriers had simply ceased to matter. Although they didn't have to be friends to work together in the best interest of the Order, Corvus was interested in maintaining a healthy working relationship with Windu. Although he may not necessarily progress with his System quest within this music room, connecting with the former Order Master was more than worth it. 

As he was deep in thought, the Force pulsed, and Corvus's attention drifted toward a large instrument positioned near the windows. It was a piano. Its polished black surface gleamed beneath the sunlight pouring into the room. A mountain was visible through the windows beyond it, its snow capped peak added an additional layer of serenity to the chamber. 

He approached the instrument and lightly pressed a key. A single, crisp note rang through the chamber.

"You play?" Windu asked. 

"A little." Corvus replied, however, he felt that if he opened himself up to the Force, that ‘little’ would eclipse most amateurs. 

Windu shook his head before adjusting his grip upon the bass guitar. "Fine. Let's hear this 'little' piano playing."

Corvus rested his hands upon the keys, and let the Force guide him. The melody emerged gently at first, before his tempo started to dramatically increase. 

Within seconds Windu's expression changed, and he couldn't help but snort. Without another word, the bass guitar in his hands began to strum along, seamlessly flowing with Corvus's melody. 

A deep note echoed through the room. The bass slipped beneath the piano melody like a foundation beneath a building, providing weight and rhythm to Corvus's graceful notes.

Corvus raised an eyebrow, the sound was far better than he had expected.

A grin spread across Windu's face, and he started to go even faster, angrier than before. Caught almost off guard by how aggressive this-seemingly chill man-had been, Corvus matched Windu's grin, and also picked up the pace. 

A duel of the bass had been initiated, and Corvus didn't want to be found lacking! Engaging [Speed], [Valor], and utilizing Pause to maximum effect, he was intent on winning this impromptu competition! 

Corvus expanded his melody, weaving increasingly complex patterns through the air. Windu responded with richer rhythms and stronger bass lines. What began as a casual exchange slowly transformed into something resembling a duel.

This battle of ideas rocked the room, and hallway beyond as these two titans manifested their power in the Force. Each man presented an idea, whilst the other played off it, complementing one another, and working in sync like only a Jedi could. 

Windu established a rhythm, and Corvus built upon it. Corvus introduced a new melody, then Windu countered with something deeper and stronger. The music evolved continuously as both men adapted to one another.

No more taunting, or words were exchanged between the two men. Music had become their language, the piano & bass guitar their methods of communication. 

The Force itself seemed to flow through the chamber alongside the notes. Corvus found himself genuinely impressed by Windu's instincts. Though seemingly a stick in the mud, the former Order Master possessed remarkable timing and intuition. He understood how to support a melody and when to challenge it.

Likewise, Windu began to recognize why Corvus inspired so many people. The ancient Jedi approached music exactly as he approached life. He adapted constantly. He improvised without hesitation, and embraced opportunities that others might never even notice.

Tens of minutes passed by unnoticed by either as they jammed out. Several hours had transpired, Corvus was beginning to feel the mental exhaustion of collaborating with another genius in the Force. Psychic energies constantly pulsed outward, and magic was breathed into the hallways for all to hear. 

Eventually Windu launched into an unexpectedly sophisticated progression that rolled through the room like distant thunder.

Corvus's eyes widened. Then he immediately responded with a sweeping melody that danced above the bass line.

Windu ‘hmmed’ and Corvus laughed.

The duel of the bass escalated, until finally, it came to a beautiful end. Before long both men began to laugh spontaneously. 

It was an innocent kind of laughter shared between those who had mutual respect for one another. For a little while there were no Sith Lords to defeat, wars to run, or students to teach. Within that room, they were simply two people who enjoyed making music. Living life like any ordinary person should. 

When the final notes eventually faded, silence settled across the chamber once more. Windu leaned back in his chair and released a long breath.

"You know, I was wrong about you. When I first heard about you, I thought you represented everything dangerous about the Jedi. How could I trust a man who wears a mask? But your reforms…they have me both pensive, and excited for the future.” Windu said, staring intently at the purple finish of his guitar. 

Corvus nodded, and looked out the window at the snowy mountain, lost in his own thoughts. 

The former Order Master gestured vaguely toward the Temple around them. "Jax, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, the survivors. Every person you meet seems to leave with more hope than they had before. I spent years believing discipline was the answer to everything. That if we simply held tighter to the Code, the Order would survive."

A bitter smile crossed his face.

"We both know how that turned out."

Neither spoke for several moments.

The distant wind outside the Temple softly rattled the leaves of ancient trees.

Finally Windu chuckled. "The Force feels different around you."

Corvus glanced toward him. "Different?"

"Warmer, dare I say, hopeful."

For a moment Corvus found himself without a response. He simply looked out toward the endless wilderness of Tython, toward the future they were attempting to build from the ashes of the old Order.

"For the first time in a very long while, I think the Jedi are going to be alright."

4) Influence five Masters/Darths without them discovering your involvement: 3/5

Corvus's eyebrow twitched, not knowing how he had influenced Windu without the former Order Master discovering his involvement…but glancing at the rare look of hope upon Windu's brow, perhaps it was a happy accident? 

Coughing into his gloved hand, he took his fingers off the keyboard, and softly chuckled. 

“I appreciate your kind words, Mace.” Corvus candidly replied, addressing Windu by his first name for the first time. “No man is a mountain, I look forward to our continued cooperation, and friendship.” 

Windu nodded his head, and began to play with his guitar. 

At that moment, a familiar, bearded figure made himself known at the entrance to the music room. 

“Hello there. Care to join Master Tapal and I in the bathhouse?" 

~~~~~~

AN: All hail Bass Windu!