**Chapter 676: Lessons in Balance**
**Scene 1**
**Jedi Temple, Council Chamber**
**Shin POV**
The Council Chamber felt strangely alive with a mix of tension and reluctant amusement. Dagon had just finished recounting his bold wager with Onara Kuat, and the reactions around the table were as varied as the Jedi themselves.
"Now that was a funny sight, my boy," Nhon Artaru chuckled, leaning back in his seat with a wide grin. "To challenge a senator — not just any one, but the leader of Kuat herself. Onara, that old lady with fangs."
"Yes, very amusing," Master Cin Drallig said dryly, though his expression showed clear concern. "But nonetheless, what the hell were you thinking making a wager with Kuat? They are master shipbuilders, and the fact that rumors are they already developed a ship made to support the Republic — a powerful one at that — makes this even riskier."
Dagon leaned forward, calm as ever. "Now, now, relax. I've got access to every ancient Sith war machine, Jedi prototype, and Mandalorian ship designed for destruction in galactic history right on my fingertips."
"Yes, but all those designs are, quote, two thousand or more years older," Obi-Wan Kenobi pointed out, his voice measured but firm. "The fact that after the last galactic war, Sith and Jedi just fought territorial battles with no new advancements—"
"Look, it's not a problem," Dagon interrupted smoothly. "Plus, getting Kuat as an ally, plus Corellia, then we would have more control over the Senate."
Shin felt her stomach tighten. She had suspected this for a while, but hearing it stated so plainly still sent a chill through her.
"That's your plan, isn't it?" she asked quietly. "To take control from the Senate, the Chancellor, and the Republic and put it back in the Jedi hands — during the Hundred Year Darkness when Jedi were lords, each controlling the Republic without the Senate interfering."
Dagon met her gaze without flinching. "Yep. Pretty much. At least till we win this war." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I am Grand Master of the Order, Supreme Commander… why does the Temple have so many problems?"
"The good news is Rahm Kota supports us and has started taking over fifty Jedi who are still stationed on the frontlines," Shin replied, trying to steer the conversation toward something positive. "The remainder of the frontline Jedi have returned. They elected to stay. Nine thousand padawans who left the Order at the beginning of the war have returned, as well as four hundred Jedi Knights. But there is a problem."
"There is always a 'but,'" Dagon sighed.
"The padawans and knights have joined because apparently they all have families and heard how good you were with taking care of Jedi families, so they returned," Aayla said gently.
"A bunch of freeloaders if I ever saw one," Nhon muttered.
"Easy," Dagon said, raising a hand. "Explain that we're not sending them to combat till they are retrained. But yes, accept the families — limited, not extended families. Have a clause where their kids and those with them must take up service roles within the Jedi Order. Master Cin, apply the partial Force-sensitives to security training. Also, the status regarding the younglings — we take any youngling that is considered Force-sensitive. Not just the level required at three thousand midichlorians, but six hundred midichlorians is the limit for Jedi training."
"That would severely weaken us," Cin Drallig tried to explain. "At those levels they can—"
Dagon stopped him with a raised hand. "The techniques observed by the Sith indicate that every Force-sensitive becomes a soldier or a warrior. That is the main reason. Also, Dooku has turned to cloning and Nightsisters. They are possibly building an army, and so should we."
The chamber fell into a thoughtful silence. Shin watched Dagon carefully. His vision for the Order was bold — perhaps even radical — but in these dark times, it might be exactly what they needed.
**Scene 2**
**Jedi Youngling Training Hall**
**Dagon POV**
Training and re-educating padawans and younglings was harder than I had anticipated. According to Ethan, this particular group had been selected because they wanted the power of Sith or Gray Jedi. It was a delicate balance — Sith could be good or bad, and I needed them to understand that without losing themselves.
I looked over the class. Mostly females — Twi'leks, Nautolans, and Mikkians — around thirty females and five males. Ages ranged from the youngest at thirteen to the oldest at nineteen.
"What do you actually know about the Dark Side?" I asked, doing my best to shield my amusement. "Know for a fact, I mean, and not just what you've been fed at the Temple?"
"It's the Dark Side!" a red Twi'lek suddenly exclaimed, looking at me as if the answer was obvious.
"Humor me, please," I spoke calmly and stared at her.
She huffed but continued. "The Dark Side corrupts everything it touches. While it gives a shortcut to power, that is at the price of one's sanity and principles, even if sometimes the consequences take a bit of time to manifest. It twists you, turns you against everyone and everything you hold dear." She gave me a pointed look. "Its powers are no match for a fully trained Jedi who has the Light Side as her ally. Further, thanks to a Jedi's training and ability to keep their emotions at bay, we have the advantage when facing a Dark Side wielder. We don't make mistakes in the heat of passion that could be exploited to bring us down."
"Incredible. Everything you said is wrong and correct," I replied, which made everyone look confused.
"Normally a Jedi Master would tell you that you are correct. A Sith Lord would say wrong. An average citizen would say probably unsure. And do you know why?" I asked.
Silence. Interesting.
"Because it's simple. The Force is based on perception. Calling the Dark Side evil is a misconception, though anyone with intact mental faculties could see where that comes from. The truth about it is simple. It doesn't care for the morality of most sapient beings in the galaxy. Do you consider a hurricane to be evil? An earthquake? A storm? The Force is a part of nature. By definition, neither part is good or evil. However, they emphasize different aspects of nature, different mindsets."
"How so? You don't see Jedi going around torturing and killing people," a male blue Nautolan asked.
"Again, with a morality that doesn't really apply in this case. It is true that the Light Side excels in healing, protection, and conflict resolution. On a larger perspective, its wielders are usually better for maintaining a community and working for the betterment of the group as a whole. It emphasizes the betterment of the whole over that of the individual. It excels during peacetime and in maintaining that peace. As you said, mastery over it comes after a long time of training, though that period would be quite shorter if you people weren't too busy trying to cut yourselves off from emotion."
"Let's continue. The Dark Side. It requires a quite different mentality to understand and accept. It's selfish. It promotes the well-being of the individual and that of a small group over any larger body. By its nature, that's not any worse than what the Light Side does. It gives one power much faster than the average Jedi could achieve. Going by raw strength in the Force, someone who aligns themselves with the Dark Side could gain in weeks — usually months — what a Jedi takes years in training to achieve. You're correct that sometimes that training does give a Jedi the upper hand, though that goes only when dealing with Dark Siders who are new to the Force and haven't received the benefit of competent training themselves. As you can guess, there's a catch."
"You all go insane eventually?" a female Mikkian gave me a deadpan look.
"Correct and wrong," I said.
I then used crimson Force lightning to strike at some sand in a bucket, combining it with Wrath Shield burning. I made miniaturized versions of every student, complete with their colors.
They gasped.
"You see, it's both — destruction and creation. It depends on something similar to a choice. To be better. Some Sith of old hated slavery and waged war on the Hutts to end it. Other Jedi of old decided the Republic's decision was best and led conquests of worlds in the Republic's name. We all have a choice. But to learn to be Gray, you must understand balance."
I then unveiled several advanced and modified Sith combat drones — similar to the ones Sidious used to train Maul and I used for Ahsoka and Zule.
"We will start easy. These versus all of you. The last one standing then fights all of you again and again, till all of you can defeat each other," I said as training began.
The younglings and padawans hesitated at first, but soon the hall filled with the sounds of lightsabers clashing and Force energy crackling. I watched carefully, ready to step in if anyone got too reckless.
This was only the beginning of their real education.