Twist of Fate/Part 4

"We have you on our screen. Please identify."

"Freighter GX-521-A3, here on the Republic's business," Tirien responded.

"We still can't call it that," Narasi muttered.

Tirien ignored her. She had abandoned the cockpit for most of the short trip; he had hoped she would take the time for some of the meditation she hadn't achieved on Taanab, but the faint hum of her lightsaber from the hold suggested she was at least doing something productive. She had returned only when he announced their imminent arrival.

"Freighter GX-521-A3, transmit your clearance code."

Tirien typed it in and waited. A moment later, the voice of Control came back, slightly warmer, to say, "You're cleared to dock in Bay Three, Master Jedi."

"Acknowledged."

As he banked the shuttle down, Narasi leaned forward for a better view. "That's Gizer Battlestation?"

"It is," Tirien confirmed. The enormous battlestation had a spherical core encircled by two parallel rings, each two hundred meters thick and bristling with weaponry. Each ring was anchored to the core by half a dozen thick pylons that Tirien suspected doubled as turbolifts. A long spire hung down from the bottom of the core, pointing toward the planet. "It's orbit-locked over the capital city."

"And those are all the Republic Fleet?" Narasi asked, pointing.

Tirien tapped the control panel, frowning. "I'll need to enhance the sensor and scanning suite on this thing if I'm keeping it long-term. From what I can read, though, that whole spread in the eighth quadrant is Republic ships.  The smaller grouping off toward point oh five…I think that's Shadeez's fleet.  Here, take the controls."

A startled-looking Narasi grabbed the control yoke as Tirien closed his eyes, stretching out with the Force. The battlestation was closest, and he could feel a sea of life swimming through the spaceborne aquarium of the durasteel hull, including several spots brighter than others, all near one another; one seemed to brighten further in his mind as he sensed it. But farther out, in the smaller grouping of warships, he could faintly sense a similar, kindred glow.

"Uh, Master…"

The freighter's roll was tilting back and forth on the axis, Gizer Battlestation waving in front of them. Tirien took the controls back, leveling out the ship and casting his apprentice a glance. "No piloting training?"

"Just a simulator, Master," Narasi replied, sounding relieved as she sat back. Casting him an inquisitive, faintly hopeful look, she asked, "Can you teach me?"

"Maybe," he answered. He was mindful of Tem-Fol-Rytil's injunction to train Narasi as if this arrangement was to be permanent, and had been giving it his best, though he found her unresponsive to his directions to meditate. But he was growing increasingly confident even the Council would have to see the error of their ways soon enough, and he did not want to deceive her with unfulfilled promises. Argus Z'dar had been right, he allowed; Narasi had the potential to be a good Jedi. But the two of them were not well-matched.

Narasi turned to look away out the viewport, and Tirien asked, "It is Shadeez's fleet. Can you sense their presence?"

"What? Oh…"  Narasi closed her eyes, and Tirien felt her reaching out into the Force. "Are there…Jedi on the battlestation?"

"Yes," Tirien said, but he could spare no more time for telepathic exploration as he banked the freighter into the indicated docking bay. Within, technicians and droids moved about, none seeming to pay the new arrival any attention. As GX-521-A3 touched down, though, Tirien noticed a group of Republic soldiers jogging in their direction.

"Master…" Narasi warned.

"I see them. We're all on the same side, Narasi.  Stay alert, but be calm."

He led the way down the ramp, keeping his hood lowered and lifting a hand to forestall Narasi as she made to raise hers. He sensed her discomfort, but he expected they would have enough time together that he would be doing her a disservice not to make her grapple with it. He watched the soldiers' eyes go from him to Narasi and linger, then stepped forward to command their attention. "Greetings."

An officer stepped forward with an obviously forced smile. "Welcome, Master Jedi. I'm sorry we weren't apprised of your coming…"

"Quite all right," Tirien said genially. Folding his hands into the opposite sleeves of his robe, he glanced at the woman's rank, then said, "Captain, I'm Tirien Kal-Di, and this is Narasi Rican. We're here to see Admiral Arstyn."

He watched her swallow. "I'm sorry, Master Kal-Di, but the admiral is in a meeting with the Gizer Administrative Council. I could try to get you on his schedule later…?"

"Please," Tirien answered, then continued smoothly, "We'll see General Shadeez while we wait instead."

A ripple of surprise ran through the group, and the captain's jaw tightened. In his peripheral vision, Tirien saw Narasi lean her head to one side. "I…that is, Master Jedi, I can't speak for—"

Tirien and Narasi turned as one when a powerfully built male Togruta strode into the docking bay from a far door. His teal skin contrasted magnificently with the white-and-orange montrals and head-tails which framed his face. He was dressed in what a casual observer might mistake for Jedi garb, but Tirien noticed the darker color scheme and the muted plasteel gleam of armor.

"Welcome, brother!" he called with a smile. When Tirien merely nodded guardedly, the Togruta looked at the soldiers. "It's all right, Captain, Master Shadeez would like to meet with our guest. Come, Master Jedi."

Tirien followed, catching Narasi's eye and gesturing to the freighter; she sealed the ramp, then jogged to catch up. The Togruta looked at her, arching his hairless brows. "Haven't seen a Zygerrian Jedi before. It's nice to see one of you on the good side!"

Narasi didn't seem to know how to respond, so Tirien asked, "Who are you?"

"Jylo Naki," the Togruta answered. "And you must be Master Kal-Di."

"I'm not a Master," Tirien answered automatically, frowning. "You know me?"

"Oh, we've all heard the stories," Jylo said. "Truth be told, we've been anxious to meet you."

"We?" Tirien repeated.

"Come and see."

Tirien and Narasi exchanged a look, but followed in Jylo's wake. Their path wound through the curving defensive ring, passing crews of soldiers and weapons emplacements before finally arriving at a door marked with a simple alphanumerical designation. It opened at Jylo's touch, and Tirien and Narasi followed him inside.

A handful of beings were clustered around a semicircle of sofas, and Tirien felt the Force in all of them. A tall, brutishly powerful male Besalisk and a dangerous-looking female Zabrak who was nearly the same height stood on either side of a light blue female Omwati; already diminutive—she was barely Narasi's height, though obviously a grown woman—she looked even smaller among her companions. A male Devaronian lounged on one of the sofas. All of them wore lightsabers and armored robes like Jylo.

Tirien found his eyes drawn to the Omwati woman, who smiled back at him. Her fine, downy hair gleamed, iridescent in the light of the glowpanels, and though her slender body seemed as frail as any of her species Tirien had ever seen, her eyes bespoke a deep strength. They were dark indigo, the color of midnight, and they made Tirien think oddly of the Force; as with a quiet garden or a closed, comfortable room, they invited meditative contemplation.

Only when Jylo advanced into the room did he shake himself from his abstraction. The Togruta bowed to a Kel Dor sitting on the largest sofa, and they two conversed in a language Tirien didn't recognize. He caught his own name.

"Tirien Kal-Di," the Kel Dor said in Basic, getting to his feet. He wore a breath mask over his mouth, which reached up to shield his eyes as well. Unlike Jylo, he wore Jedi robes that nearly matched Tirien's. "Your reputation precedes you."

"And yours, Karr Shadeez," Tirien replied, shaking the offered hand.

The Kel Dor offered his hand to Narasi as well, asking, "And you are?"

She glanced at Tirien, who nodded, then shook the old Jedi's hand. "Narasi Rican. I'm Master Kal-Di's Padawan."

He nodded. "Come, join us. Let me introduce you.  These are Arlya, Jarkun, Rhosa, and Farwel.  You already met Jylo."

He introduced them seemingly at random; Rhosa was the Omwati. Tirien made a mental note of the order, then asked of the room, "You're all Jedi Knights?"

"We are," Jylo answered for them; he had moved to stand at Rhosa's side.

Tirien studied them; aliens were hard to gauge, but both seemed close to his age, and the Zabrak, Arlya, only a few years older. "I don't recognize any of you from the Temple."

"Because they've never been there," Shadeez said simply, resuming his seat and gesturing for Tirien and Narasi to sit as well; they squeezed in together on a loveseat. "They're the Knights of my crusade, Tirien; I knighted them myself."

Tirien felt Narasi stir beside him, but mercifully she said nothing. Tirien himself focused on the Kel Dor. "Without the consent of the Council?"

Having been apprentice to a Quarren, Tirien had trained himself to pick up on the cues of body language and Force signatures rather than relying on expressions. The others looked discomfited or annoyed, but Shadeez radiated calm as he studied Tirien. "Why seek the blessing of a circle of bureaucrats on what the Force has already made plain, Tirien?"

The Pantoran frowned. "We're Knights of an Order, Karr. Knighthood comes from the Order."

"Ah, but does it?" the Kel Dor returned. "You're a Jedi Knight—what are the words of commissioning?"

"By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I dub—"

"Exactly," Shadeez interrupted. "By the will of the Force. The Council only has the right because it's the will of the Force.  Believe me, Tirien, my Knights have faced trials equal to their rank.  They've earned their Knighthoods the only way real Knighthood is earned anymore—battling the Sith.  Besides, how many Padawans even face the traditional Trials anymore?  Did you?"

"No," Tirien conceded.

"How did you earn your Knighthood?" Shadeez pressed.

"I killed a Sith Lord," Tirien said, but then added pointedly, "and the Council knighted me for it."

"The Council recognized was the Force had already revealed," Shadeez corrected with a smile in his voice. "And it was wise to do so, from everything I've heard. No being here doubts your skill or your courage, Jedi Kal-Di; you'd do well to extend them the same courtesy."

Tirien looked around at Shadeez's renegade Knights. Some of them looked sternly back, as if daring him to challenge the sacrifices they had made; others seemed hesitant, wary of what would happen if Tirien challenged their leader. The Omwati, Rhosa, smiled at him faintly, neither ingratiating nor mocking, just at peace. He brought his eyes back to Shadeez.

"And you?" Tirien asked. "I was told you were a Jedi Knight, but Jylo called you 'Master Shadeez'."

"The last time I was on Coruscant I was a Jedi Knight," Shadeez said easily. "But that was nineteen years ago. And over a dozen good Padawans raised to Knighthood ago."

"We insisted," croaked Farwel, the Besalisk.

"How many planets are free of the Sith because Master Shadeez stood up for them?" Jylo pressed. "How many people still live who would've died?"

"And how many more Jedi carry out the will of the Force because he taught us what we could be?" asked Rhosa. Her voice was as soft as her features.

Tirien had heard as much, but Shadeez's many victories didn't necessarily translate to promotion; Admiral Arstyn was one of the Republic's most successful commanders, but that didn't make him a Jedi Master. Tirien felt the urge to debate—knighting his own Padawans was a deviation, but simply assuming the rank of Jedi Master struck Tirien as pure vanity, whatever his accomplishments—but he took a moment to breathe and clear his mind. Insisting on the Council's authority, however right he might be, would inject needless chaos when he might instead seek harmony. And it would do nothing to aid his actual mission.

"I don't question your achievements, General Shadeez," he said; he could not bring himself to use Master, but his tone was respectful. "Not at all. So why do you think the Council would?"

"I don't seek the Council's acknowledgement one way or the other, Tirien," Shadeez answered. "The Council failed the galaxy. Why do you think I've fought on my own for so long?"

"The Jedi Order is the only thing holding back the dark," Tirien insisted.

"The Jedi hold back the dark," Shadeez argued. "But too often the Order holds back the Jedi."

"We have enemies on multiple fronts, and the dark side is gaining strength. The only way we can defeat the Sith is standing united against them."

"I don't disagree with you, Tirien," the Kel Dor said. "I'm here because I believe in presenting a united front."

Tirien thought it was the best opening he would get. "Then help us all! Come back to us, brother.  All of you," he added to Shadeez's Knights, studying them one-by-one. "The Republic needs good Knights, and who knows what good could be done with all the resources you've built? Whatever issues you may have with the Council, surely you can't believe the Jedi Council compares to Valin Aresh, or the other Council."

Narasi shifted uncomfortably at his side; Tirien would have dismissed it as a holdover of her Initiate leeriness had some of Shadeez's Knights not done the same. Shadeez seemed to notice the moment of unease, because he finally turned his unreadable facemask away to look at his followers.

"They are powerful and dangerous enemies," he said quietly, "but that does not mean we should be afraid."

Turning back to Tirien, he said, "Yes, Tirien, the Jedi Council and its structure and hierarchy don't compare to the Council of Five or the lesser Sith Lords. And I'm sure the Jedi Council would love to have my spies and my soldiers under their thumbs at last, when all their attempts to pry have failed.  But tell me, Tirien, if you knew in your heart you could act and save thousands of lives, but the Council told you not to, what would you do?"

"I'd obey," Tirien answered without hesitation. A few of Shadeez's Knights looked disappointed; Rhosa studied him curiously.

"And there we differ," Shadeez said. "A Jedi's first obligation is to protect the innocent. If he fails that, he's unworthy of his Knighthood."

"And what if I acted against the Council," countered Tirien, "and drew my blade and saved those thousands of lives, and because I was there, I wasn't able to be where the Council needed me, and where I could have saved millions?"

"The Force guides us," Shadeez replied. "If you truly act in accordance with the will of the Force, it won't lead you astray."

"And the Jedi Council doesn't follow the Force's will?" Tirien sighed. "You'll always be right, and ten or twelve other Jedi Masters will always be wrong? General, how is that not Revan and Malak’s path—not the first step toward the dark side?"

Jylo bristled, and the Zabrak Arlya said, "Master Shadeez has devoted his life to combating the dark side!"

"And those of us closest to it have to be most on guard against it," Tirien fired back.

"Indeed we do," Shadeez said gravely, cutting off whatever Arlya was going to say. "But we also have to be on guard against attachment, and the desire for power. Could the Council relinquish its power, its authority to decide right and wrong, even in the face of the Force's will?  I don't know, Tirien.  Decades as a Jedi and I'm still not sure."

"Could you?" Tirien asked. He gestured at Shadeez's followers. "Is leading your army always the Force's will, General, or are you attached to it? Might your Knights not serve the Force better elsewhere?"

"I lead because I have the skill and the experience," Shadeez said, "but I'm a servant of the Force, I assure you. I have the knowledge of a longer life, but that doesn't make me the most powerful or the most important."

"No," Tirien said, "that's Rhosa."

He wasn't sure why he said it, and from the corner of his eye he saw Narasi turn to stare at him. But even as the words fell from his lips he sensed their truth, and had he harbored any doubts, Shadeez's Knights would have wiped them away. Jarkun, the Devaronian, suddenly looked much more alert; Arlya and Farwel shifted a little closer to Rhosa in a protective way, and Jylo laid a hand on the small of her back, staring at Tirien with narrowed eyes. Even Shadeez radiated a quick pulse of surprise in the Force before mastering himself.

Only Rhosa herself seemed unfazed. She gently pulled Jylo's hand off her, giving it a friendly squeeze and offering him a smile. "It's all right. I don't think Tirien's here to hurt me."

"I thought that was General Shadeez I sensed from my ship," Tirien said, "but it was you, wasn't it? You told Jylo I was here, too."

She smiled. "They didn't exaggerate your insight."

Tirien felt a touch of warmth at her praise, but forced himself to focus. "But there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

"And why do you say that, Tirien?" Shadeez asked evenly.

"You're the commander, the man who's raised them from youth and trained them to Knighthood, and yet your toughest-looking fighters are surrounding her, not you," Tirien observed. "It's not because you trust me, otherwise they wouldn't be protecting anyone. You're older and more experienced than me, maybe they think I'm no threat to you, but I don't think that's it either."

He tapped the curved-hilt lightsaber on his belt, looking at the similar weapon on Rhosa's. "You're a Knight, so it's not that you're still in training.  You're small, but size is meaningless to the Force.  I suspect we share a fighting style, and I'm willing to bet you're as good a fighter as anyone else here, if not better.  There has to be something else."

In the ensuing silence, Narasi said, "Huh!"

Tirien didn't take his eyes off Shadeez, and the Kel Dor said nothing, folding his hands and seeming to deliberate. Jylo said into the awkwardness, "Much as we may all be Jedi, Tirien, we're not going to just—"

He frowned as Rhosa put a hand on his chest, but fell silent. "I think we can trust Tirien."

"He's here for the Jedi Council, Rhosa!" Jylo said.

"But like you said, Jylo, we're all Jedi." She turned her deep, dark eyes on Tirien. "I'm a battle meditator."

The silence that followed was profound.

The rare gift was of monumental importance to any Force-backed war effort, inspiring allies with newfound coordination, courage, and resolve, while at the same time sapping enemies of the will to fight and sowing confusion and fear in their ranks. Half the reason Mizra had gone from defeat to catastrophe was the death of the Jedi battle meditator to an unlucky shot from a Sith sniper. With an adept battle meditator on its side, any force stood a better chance of victory; in a close contest, the skill would almost always decide the result.

A world of possibilities was expanding in Tirien's imagination, risky fights against the New Sith Empire becoming likely wins, the Council of Five's empire rolled up like a map. He looked at Karr Shadeez, waiting for the man to speak.

"Rhosa is not a commodity to be bandied about at anyone's luxury, Tirien," Shadeez cautioned him.

"But there's more to the galaxy than Lord Lakalt," Tirien answered. "She—"

He stopped himself, then looked at Rhosa directly. "You could change the course of this war."

The door chimed and opened to admit a Republic officer, and several of the Jedi relaxed tense postures Tirien hadn't realized they were holding. The soldier bowed slightly and said, "Master Shadeez? Admiral Arstyn is ready for you, sir."

"Then I won't keep him waiting," the Kel Dor replied, getting to his feet. He looked at Tirien for a moment, then said, "Please consider yourselves my guests, Tirien. Speak with my Knights.  We truly are the same."

"Then we should be on the same side," Tirien said.

Shadeez gestured to the soldier as he turned to go. "If the Force wills it, perhaps now we will be."