Twisted Morals✧︎ A Clone Wars Story

1: The News from Umbara

Sei Belwyn enjoyed walks through the courtyard of the Jedi Temple more than anything else in the world. In the courtyard stood the Great Tree, which she enjoyed marveling at in silence. The courtyard was prim and polished and was truly a place of solace.

As she walked, the vivid blue sky of Coruscant stretched out endlessly above her. She heard the whirs and whooshes of lightsabers that belonged to Jedi Younglings. It made her even happier to imagine that those younglings would one day become justice-seeking Jedi Knights, and not just neglected Padawans, like her. 

She hadn't seen her master in a week. She would go such long stretches without even speaking to him over a comlink that she often began to forget what he truly looked like; then an image of him would come back and she would shudder as she regretted trying to remember him. 

Her master, Pong Krell, was not an inherently evil man, (how could a Jedi be evil, she would ask herself, responding to rumors) but people had always been suspicious of him. His tactics were bold and straightforward and a horrifying amount of troops perished under his command.

Sei suddenly felt very disappointed in herself for going on another walk. When Krell returned from his post in Umbara, he would surely scold her for procrastinating her training. She turned around to head back to the padawan dormitories. The fresh air had done her good, and now she attempted to lie to herself by saying she was ready to get some work done. 

"Where are you going, Sei?" Asked Padawan Barriss Offee as she fell into step beside Sei. 

"Back into the temple. I need to complete my lessons," said Sei. 

"I admire your dedication," her comrade replied. For a moment Barriss paused and almost stopped walking, contemplating whether she should even say what she was thinking. Eventually, curiosity got the best of her. "But shouldn't your master be helping you with lessons?"

Sei shuddered slightly. For the average padawan, someone talking about their accomplished master would make them beam with pride and glow with a comfortable warmth. Sei only felt cold and empty when people talked about her master. 

"He's very busy," she finally answered, after going silent for nearly a minute. Sei felt uncomfortable answering any more questions, and so she sped walk back into the temple, leaving a confused Barriss still standing in the courtyard. 

⁎⁎⁎

Sei had been studying force-healing in her quarters for an hour before the fateful transmission came. The whole time she wished she hadn't blown Barriss off since Barriss could've easily helped with the subject. The transmission from Master Windu himself had liberated her from her studies. She was also riddled with anxieties, however, as her presence had been requested in the High Council Chamber. 

She took the lift to the chamber and found herself in the large, circular room with a magnificently patterned floor. She could see all of Coruscant- the busy airways, the towering skyscrapers, and the Senate Building, which played host to the most prominent politicians of her time. 

"What do you need of me, Masters?" Asked Sei, exemplifying her dramatized politeness with a little bow. 

They all looked very solemn. Obi-Wan Kenobi sat, looking down, with his right hand covering his mouth and beard. Master Windu's face was creased with concern. Yoda looked very distant as if he was not fully in his own body. The hologram of Saesee Tiin rippled with worry. 

All the masters seemed to hold their breath as Windu said, "This is a transmission we received from Captain Rex of the 501st Legion, regarding the mission on Umbara." 

Sei's interest was suddenly piqued. "How is it going? Is everyone safe? Have they captured the capitol yet? When will Master Krell be back on Coruscant?" 

No one answered her explicitly. However, as the transmission from the clone captain began to play, Shaak Ti muttered, "My poor child." 

The room went silent and next to Sei was the hologram of a clone with blue jaig eyes decorating his helmet. Sei repositioned herself in the room to see the recorded transmission better. 

As the clone began his story, he took off his helmet. Sei noted apparent fear in his eyes. His whole body was trembling and his voice was shaky when he began speaking, "This is Captain Rex, reporting on the mission on Umbara. We have captured the capitol, though our losses have been devastating. We have lost many heroic soldiers in this battle, and General Krell is one who isn't among their ranks. The General was not lost, but executed on my orders." 

A little squeak exited Sei's mouth, but she continued to watch the hologram in bewilderment. The speaker seemed to be getting more and more enraged by the moment. 

"This Jedi was treasonous. He pitted the 501st and the 212th against each other, making us kill our own brothers. He threatened to have my men court-martialed after they had saved the day and even attempted to have them executed. Krell slaughtered many of our soldiers as we attempted to detain him, but we were finally successful. He was too dangerous to be kept alive and posed a threat to the mission at hand." 

The transmission was turned off. 

"Is that true? Can any merit be placed in the words of this...of this...clone?" Sei was exasperated and spat the last word with a fury in her voice that made it sound like venom.

"Everything is true," said Master Kenobi with a grave look plastered upon his face, "I've heard testimonies from my men." 

"No! No! I won't accept this. This is blaspheming and that man is a liar! My master would never do something so vile!" Why Sei was suddenly so devoted to defending to Krell, she didn't know. She had never cared for him much when he was alive, but he had taught her things, occasionally, and perhaps she was beginning to cling to his distorted beliefs. 

"I understand this is hard to accept, Sei," said Plo Koon in a comforting voice, "We had trouble believing it ourselves. But this isn't the end for you. You will be reassigned to a new master, who will teach you more effectively than Krell." 

"To simply give me a new master would be to patch a wound with a small piece of fabric and pretend it heals. I won't forget Krell, nor can you force me to. He has died for his beliefs and was executed by feeble-minded-" Sei stopped. The inhabitants of the room were staring at her in shock. If she continued with another word, she might as well consider herself expelled from the Jedi Order. 

"I'm sorry, my masters. I'm losing my head. I need time to deliberate over this, as it's been a very devastating loss for me. I will gladly accept a new master," she said, hoping to remedy the situation. 

"The loss of a master, a hard thing is," said Yoda, nodding his head solemnly. 

"You will be reassigned to Jedi Knight Mora Kyja. She has taken interest in having a padawan and will be elated to greet you, I'm sure," stated Windu, breaking the silence of the room, "You will be escorted to her starship, the Serpent, tomorrow morning." 

"I look forward to meeting her," replied Sei, her jaw clenched as she gave a final, apologetic bow to the Jedi Council.