The Fog of War/Part 23

"Imprudent," Mar Towla said in his grave, gravelly Mon Calamari voice. "Reckless, even."

"Agreed," Nawsa Arodion said, her voice heavy with weariness, "but what of it?"

The Mon Calamari sat forward. "These Jedi defied the direction of their praxeum council—"

"—and managed to kill Darth Vaszas in the process," Kussam Bnodd countered. "Apparently Vandak was wounded as well."

"At the cost of Sil Kadych," Nulu Thini the Bith pointed out. "Would any of have traded Sil for Vaszas, given the choice?"

"Sil would have," Elata Cazars said firmly. She had known Kadych for years, and while they had never been close—apart from Multiqi La'altac, she had never known a Jedi to be close to Kadych—she was certain of that much.

"What Sil would or wouldn't have done is immaterial now," Tem-Fol-Rytil said. Since raising the topic he had said nothing, but now he turned his great domed head from one side to the other, gauging them all. "All their actions are the past. It falls to us to determine their futures."

"Narasi and Aldayr are Padawans," Tairni Tre'go reasoned. "They can't reasonably be expected to disobey their masters."

"They might have informed the praxeum council, either of them," Mar Towla argued, but Nishric Suftig snorted at his side.

"You've been too long out of being or having a Padawan, Master Towla," the Gotal scoffed. "That's not how the dynamic works, we all know it."

Maktan, the Whiphid, shifted her great bulk in her reinforced Council seat. "Should it be?" she asked. "Had their masters told them they were defecting to the Sith, would they follow then, too?"

"That's a completely different situation," Elata complained.

"It's a greater extreme of the same problem," Mar answered. "Our decision today gives guidance to the Jedi Order as a whole."

"We're not a court, to be bound by our own precedents," Tairni Tre'go argued. "We're the Jedi Council. We're called on to decide this issue for these Jedi."

"Let the future see to itself," agreed Fosdi Sorfuless, a Duros.

There were murmurs of agreement, and Maktan reclined ponderously in her chair. Mar Towla was silent a moment, then asked, "And the Knights? Darakhan, Kal-Di, and Nissatak?"

"This isn't a time for heavy-handed action," Kussam warned. "You just named three of our greatest Knights."

"All the more reason to ensure we speak clearly," Nulu said. "Their greatness makes them visible, and whether it's precedent or not, whatever we decide will send a message to the rest of the Order."

"We've still had no word from Master Z'dar," Loworr Dubb noted. "If we condone this action it may further embolden those who admired him. And who knows what will happen if they slip away?  The Republic needs all its Jedi."

"And nerfs that leave the herd are easier to devour," Nishric noted.

Optimistic as ever, Elata thought. "Tirien and Slejux are on their way back to the Crescentia," she said aloud. "They'll have to admit what they did and tell Multiqi to his face that his best friend is dying. If one of you can think of a harsher sentence than that, you're a darker soul than I am."

"Guilt may do more harm than good if it isn't channeled properly," Mar Towla warned.

"And this was not a small error," Loworr added. "Master Kadych—"

"Oh, for Force's sake," Kussam complained. "They erred. I'm sure they know it.  And as for dwelling on guilt, these aren't half-trained Padawans we're talking about, they're powerful and capable Jedi Knights.  We need them in the field, not in meditative penance for five years."

His bellicosity riled some of the Council's more diplomatic souls, as it frequently seemed to these days, but Nulu Thini said, "And they have already weakened the praxeum council by defiance. If the council addresses it, they can mend the wound and make peace with the offending Jedi.  If we intervene, we serve only to further degrade the praxeum council—we tell their Jedi they can't be trusted with matters of gravity."

"And they're going back," Elata added.

"But this report came just before they were projected to leave," Maktan pointed out. "So that by the time we could communicate with them, they'd be back on the Crescentia. That was not accidental—they chose to face the praxeum council over us."

"Kal-Di rarely does anything without due calculation," Tem-Fol-Rytil pointed out. "It's one of his better qualities. Masters Thini and Cazars are right—they're submitting themselves to the judgment of the praxeum council.  Whether to face those they slighted or avoid gambling on our judgment I don't know, but they're going."

"As opposed to hiding on Corellia?" Mar Towla asked. "What of Darakhan?"

"I'll admit he shouldn't have been on the Crescentia in the first place," Tairni nodded, "but he's not exactly hurrying back here, either."

"Now is the wrong time for this Council to aggravate Mali Darakhan," Nawsa said.

The silence that followed that pronouncement was full of meaning, and Elata saw her fellow Masters exchanging uncomfortable glances.

"We can't be held hostage to a Knight errant," Maktan said.

"Darakhan isn't the one holding us hostage," Nawsa argued. "But he could be the one who gets us out."

"I still feel Master Dumiel's call—"

"We're not going over that again," Kussam said flatly. "The call went out, the Corellians who are going can go, more division in the Order by preventing it...any of this sound familiar? We're just lucky Darakhan's going too."

"Will we overlook this misconduct to buy his cooperation?" Loworr asked, and both her voices carried clear distaste.

"Allowing this conclave is bad enough," Towla insisted. "The Council can not sit idly by while its authority—and that of its proxies—is undermined."

"The Council needs to pick its battles," Elata said. "Darakhan's a good Jedi who had a lapse in judgment. The Corellian Jedi as a restored faction could split the Order."

"And further embolden Corellian separatists," Nulu noted. "Phnyong has his hands full as it is. But are we certain Darakhan will champion the Order?"

All eyes turned to Nawsa Arodion. Many of them knew Darakhan as well as Nawsa, and Elata thought she might know the bold young Guardian better, but no one knew Corellia and Corellian politics like the Corellian Jedi. She ran a hand through her hair. "Mali's a proud son of Corellia, but he's always come when this Council's called. Valin Aresh is nowhere near the Corellian sector, but Mali's made his name fighting up north all the same."

"And yet fleeing Milagro he might have taken the Corellian Run all the way here," Tairni answered. "He didn't. He chose to stop at Corellia."

"Corellia's closer," Fosdi noted. "Kadych was dying."

"I can not believe that's the only reason."

"Does it matter?" Kussam demanded. "He likes Corellia, good for him. It doesn't change everything he's done for all the parts of the Republic that aren't Corellia."

"And some severe sanction might make him see the advantages of a Corellian Jedi Order with its own set of rules," Nulu noted.

"Are we really talking about this?" Maktan demanded. "That the Council's justice is stayed because it's expedient? This is—"

"—reality," Tem-Fol-Rytil said, his eyes tightening. He sat forward, and the rest of the Council Masters shifted in their seats. Once he had their full attention, he said, "We're at war and every Jedi is needed. Defiant or not, Mali Darakhan is a great Knight and his words will carry great weight—whatever words he chooses.  A slap on the wrist to one Corellian is preferable to losing twenty-six of them."

"Twenty-five," Nawsa corrected, her own face a little harder, and Tem-Fol-Rytil nodded, conceding the point.

Elata frowned. "I agree that we have more important problems than Mali's misstep, but the same could be said for Tirien and Slejux. They're all capable Knights, and we have a war to fight.  If we're giving Mali a pass—"

"The circumstances are different," Tem-Fol-Rytil said. "None of them were right in what they did. Tirien and Slejux can make amends as the praxeum council sees fit; Mali can do it better on Corellia."

Elata's frown deepened. Were the choice hers she would have given all three Jedi a 'slap on the wrist'; she had seen Tirien abuse his power before and correct himself without her saying a word, and Slejux was, if anything, even more reflective than Tirien. But she could see that feeling was not universal among her fellow Masters.

Mar Towla looked between her and Nawsa Arodion, then said, "Assuming Darakhan champions the Republic as you all insist he will. You're leaving for Corellia soon, Master Arodion?"

"In two days," she confirmed.

"Perhaps you should leave in one," he suggested, "and take the time to see Darakhan yourself. Tell him the Council is displeased with his conduct, but we're willing to overlook it this once, given his proven loyalty to the Republic."

Elata watched the persuasive idea working on her fellow Council Masters, and took a brief meditative second to keep her own face devoid of emotion. Nawsa frowned with one side of her mouth, but finally nodded. "I'll talk to him."

"And should Darakhan prove more inclined to Master Dumiel's views—"

"We're not there yet," Elata cut in firmly.

She had read that, ages ago, before the rise of Darth Ruin and the commencement of the New Sith Wars, the Jedi Council arrived at its decisions almost exclusively by silent, group meditation until they all came upon the Force's will together. Elata had seen it happen once or twice, but now, as was more often the case in a matter of any real disagreement, the familiar battle lines drew themselves out, partisans on both sides and the ambivalent few in the middle holding sway.

"The proposal is this, then," Tem-Fol-Rytil said into the tension. "Tirien and Slejux are reporting to the Crescentia 's council, which is more than equipped to address the situation. Master Arodion will confer with Mali on Corellia, and that will suffice, presuming he stands with the Republic and not just Corellia.  And I suggest that after this Corellian Conclave, Mali and Aldayr be returned to the fight against Aresh—where a Knight as skilled and resourceful as Mali can continue to make a real difference, far away from Corellia."

It presented the best chance for the three Knights to return to the field as soon as possible, and so Elata reluctantly raised her hand. Tem-Fol-Rytil counted, then nodded. "Carried. Is there further business?" When no one spoke, he raised a hand. "May the Force be with us all."

"Be safe, Elata," Kussam called.

She smiled for the first time all afternoon. "And you."

As the eleven other Council members vanished, the cruiser's holoprojector going silent from the hum that had long since become background noise, Elata remained seated for a long time, meditating thoughtfully. She stirred only when the door opened behind her.

"I'm sorry, Master Cazars," her naval aide said, "but if intelligence predicted Aresh right, it should be any minute now."

Nodding, she stood and stretched; the Force and daily conditioning kept her strong and energized, but neither made her any younger. "Let's go get him."

On the way back to the bridge, her aide asked, "Productive Council meeting, ma'am?"

She smiled and said, "As productive as ever."

And inside she put the Council away in a corner of her mind, thinking, One battle at a time.