Grim Tidings/Part 9

Narasi sat beside her master on a padded bench in the wardroom, Slejux on his other side, none of them talking. After they had returned their purloined lightsabers, one of Master Z'dar's companions had showed them to this place and promptly abandoned them; Tirien had sent her to the refresher to wash Nimbran's blood off her mouth, and that had been the last any of them had spoken. Narasi sensed her master and Slejux both deep in thought, words or images flowing between their minds, but neither of them brought her into the conversation, and eventually her tension reached a boiling point.

"I…so…what just happened?"

Tirien started—not as if she had startled him, but more like he had come fully back to the moment from somewhere in the Force. "I—"

But before he could speak, the door opened, and Argus Z'dar himself walked in, accompanied by a Togruta cyborg. Narasi could tell at once he was the man who had attacked her, and she made a face. As they all rose, however, Tirien said, "Jylo Naki?"

Narasi realized he was right the moment he said it, but she wasn't sure she would ever have gotten there by herself. It was the same teal face with white markings, but his orange eyes had hardened far beyond the friendliness Narasi remember. He wore a sleeveless black tunic with blue markings at his right shoulder, and it exposed a powerful, bulky cybernetic right arm much like Aldayr's. Narasi remembered Darth Alecto cutting Jylo's triceps off; she supposed it must have been easier to replace the whole arm than to repair it. There was a faint mechanical whirr and click as Jylo walked, and Narasi remembered Alecto had stabbed him through the knee, too.

Jylo's eyes narrowed; he obviously remembered them too, but Narasi got the impression they might've been better off being strangers. "Kal-Di."

He glanced at Slejux without recognition, then looked at Narasi, and his face betrayed a hint of conflict before he smoothed it over. "I didn't recognize you in all the chaos, Narasi. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said.

"No harm done," Tirien added. The way Jylo's eyes narrowed again told Narasi he hadn't taken it as a reassurance, and though she didn't understand why, Narasi recognized from her master's cool tone that he hadn't meant it as one, either.

Master Z'dar waved them back into their seats and sat opposite them; Jylo stood behind his right shoulder like an aide, arms crossed. Master Z'dar cracked knuckles as big as Narasi's eyeballs and said, "Well, glad we got that all sorted out."

Narasi hadn't seen Argus Z'dar in over two years; the former Jedi Battlemaster had absconded shortly before their disastrous mission to Milagro. He was not much changed—still broad and muscular, a twinkle in the eyes set deep in his brutal face. Seeing him brought back a flood of memories—the thrills of her triumphs in his class, the remembered excitement of learning new things, and the phantom aches of muscles he had pushed to exhaustion more times than she could count. But all of that only served to increase her confusion; all sorted out was not how she would have described the situation.

"I hope we didn't hurt any of your people, Master," Tirien said.

"Nothing too terrible," the Boltrunian Jedi Master assured him. "Kinnaki came right around from that stun ring, and Slejux, whatever you were doing to Qleeb didn't last too long. Manaela'll need a bacta patch on her arm, but she—and I—appreciate you not taking the arm all the way off.  Kol'bui got the worst of it, and all she has is a concussion and a cracked shoulder."

Tirien frowned. "Which one was that?"

Master Z'dar answered dryly, "You put her into a wall."

"Oh." Tirien grimaced. "She was attacking Narasi."

"Not judging, just saying."

"And the captives, Master?" Slejux asked.

"A couple stray shots, a couple zaps from the fence," Master Z'dar reported. "We'd put them right, but their facilities downside can do a lot more than we ever could. No fatalities, though.  Seems you three were doing a damn good job before we showed up.  Not surprised—three of my prodigies, Jylo!"

He grinned up at the Togruta, who did not grin back, but nodded. "Yes, Master."

Neither of the Jedi Knights beside her were quick enough for Narasi, and so she blurted out what she was sure was on all their minds. "Master, what are you doing here?"

Master Z'dar's smile faded into a thoughtful look. "Bigger question than I think you know, Rican. But the short version is picking up where Karr left off."

Tirien laced his fingers together. "Why?"

"As in 'Why are you not in the Temple teaching younglings where you belong, Argus?'" Master Z'dar sat back in his chair, one fist covered by the other hand. "Because I was wasted there, Tirien. Oh, don't get me wrong, I understand the value of teaching as well as anyone—better than most, maybe, since I can see the end result in students like you three.  But there are a hundred Jedi Guardians who are…well, maybe not as good as me, but pretty close, and who know just as much or more and could teach as well or better—and who are past their prime for the field.  I'm no spring bhillen, mind, but I've still got what it takes for the field in me—I'm not tired of the fight like Tairni, or out of it like Sil."

"And the High Council?" Slejux asked.

The Jedi Master snorted. "They couldn't see the truth if it came up and lightsabered them. You don't have to take my word for it," he added, because Narasi stared and even Tirien frowned. "You only have to look at the sorry state of affairs in this galaxy to see how well their guidance has managed the war. Look at your friend Darakhan on Milagro.  Brilliant stroke, I say—Gasald was a few months away from the Inner Rim and now she's years behind again, if she'll make it there at all.  Perfect time for the Navy to reinforce Mali and open up a new front; if they drove south fast enough they could cut Gasald off from the rest of her territory and starve her to death, or provoke her into attacking the Inner Rim anyway and slaughter her there.  But do they do that?  Of course they don't.  They keep going with their plan, strategy be damned."

Tirien cocked his head. "How did you know about all that, Master?"

Master Z'dar smirked. "I'm not going to pretend I don't have a few friends here and there who like to keep me abreast of things, but if that was supposed to be a secret, you might want to let the Public Affairs Office know."

Narasi sensed Tirien in thought, so she seized the chance to ask, "Okay, Master, so…so that's why not Coruscant. But why here?"

Jylo stirred. "Why not? Zygerrians are just one more side of the Sith evil."

Narasi winced, but tried to cover her reaction at once. A Jedi who happens to be a Zygerrian… she started to remind herself, but even though she could hear the mantra in Tirien's voice, it was Tirien who spoke up.

"The Zygerrian Slave Empire is an aspect of Sith evil," he corrected.

"It's more or less the same thing," Jylo replied.

Narasi sensed her master firing up, but even as she touched his wrist with two fingertips, not wanting him to get into an argument on her behalf, Master Z'dar turned to face Jylo instead.

"No, it isn't," he said, and though his voice was Jedi calm, there was a hardness to it that ended the debate. "That day three years ago you always talk about? This girl charged Darth Alecto to help her master at thirteen years old, when she'd been a Padawan for all of a week or two.  If that isn't courage and honor, I don't know what is."

Even though she was touched at his defense, Narasi remembered Tirien's rather different take on her actions on Gizer, and with the benefit of hindsight and three years' distance she thought her master had a point. Jylo, however, just bowed his head in acceptance and said nothing more, and Master Z'dar turned back. It took a moment for him to reply this time.

"To answer your question, Rican…Karr Shadeez was a good man, and a good friend of mine. I didn't agree with him going Gray—then—but I always respected him, and I never doubted his honor or his goodness.  Regardless how much they're succeeding, the Council is at least trying to focus on the big picture issues, and I can respect that from a strategic point of view.  But that doesn't make what the Sith or the Slave Empire are doing out here any less evil.  Karr knew that, and he fought the people oppressing the little guy when the Republic couldn't—or couldn't be bothered."

"We still wanted to fight," Jylo said, "but we needed a leader. None of us had Master Shadeez's experience, and without…"

The tic on his face was obvious to them all, but the wince in the Force even more so—a flash of hurt and rage and loss all at once. Narasi was smart enough not to comment, but she thought she knew how the sentence ended: without Rhosa and her battle meditation, we couldn't win battles without an experienced leader.

She wasn't sure how to proceed, but Tirien said, "I wouldn't have thought you'd be content so far from the Sith, Master."

Something in the way Master Z'dar studied him told Narasi he was keeping some things to himself. "When you're not at the head of a Darakhan-sized fleet, hitting them head-on gets more challenging."

"What about Aresh? With Seldec dead…"

Tirien trailed off, and Narasi saw why: Jylo's eyes widened and even Master Z'dar blinked in surprise. Uncrossing his arms, Jylo asked, "Eviar Seldec is dead?"

Slejux nodded. "Kenza Rowkwani defeated him in a duel less than a month ago."

Jylo and Master Z'dar exchanged looks full of meaning, and Narasi thought the policy of no head-on attacks against Sith Lords was about to get an overhaul. Master Z'dar frowned in thought for a long moment before shaking his head and grinning. "Did she really…well, can't be too surprised, I suppose. I knew Seldec when he was just a lad, and he was always first-rate, but Rowkwani…she's something special."

"Another prodigy, Master?" Jylo asked.

Master Z'dar was either oblivious to the edge in Jylo's tone or just chose to ignore it. "Definitely. Powerful too, though you'd never know it just from talking to her.  She was always a bit of a spaz until it came time to throw down, but then…"

He shook his head again. "Well, that's the best news I've heard in a while. Certainly opens up some possibilities.  Not that I don't enjoy picking off slavers, but…"

"Speaking of which, Master," Tirien said, "how did you know about this raid?"

Master Z'dar smirked. "Hey now, I like you as well as anybody, Tirien, but I'm not just handing over the sources and methods any more than Karr did."

"He did discuss intelligence sharing with us on Gizer."

"And if we come upon something I think might interest you—and the Jedi Council might actually step up for—I'll pass it along. Destroying the Sith is the whole goal; might as well hit them however we can." He ran two rough fingertips along one of the ridges over his eyes. "Begs the question, though: how did you know about the raid?"

"I thought it might have been you who told us."

"Me?"

Tirien drew out his beacon transceiver and extended it. Master Z'dar pulled up the message on it, reading it with eyes that first widened, then narrowed. "These numbers don't mean anything to you?"

"No, Master."

The Jedi Master looked it over a moment more, then handed the beacon back and shook his head. "I'm sorry, me either. I can tell you it's not the same source, though, or if it is, the source isn't sharing equally: we knew the kind of forces to expect, and specifically the one cruiser."

Tirien frowned, and Slejux asked, "What now, Master?"

Master Z'dar recovered his smile. "Well, can I persuade any of you to stay?"

"Stay?" Narasi asked.

"Stay and fight!" he said. "Karr's crusade isn't over; even the Slave Empire isn't beaten from this one little defeat. We need to keep the pressure on them, turn up the heat until they're good and roasted.  To be frank with you, without Rhosa Xei's battle meditation, I'll take every talented warrior I can get."

Narasi looked in time to see Jylo wince. Beside her, Tirien said, "I suppose that answers my question of whether we can convince you to come home…"

Master Z'dar chuckled and looked at Slejux, who shook his head. "I'm honored you think so highly of me, Master, and it's due in no small part to your tutelage. But that alone should show you why Tirien is right—in exchange for taking a single great warrior from the battlefield, the Council, through you, sent out so many more."

"See if Sil can swallow his pride enough for it," Master Z'dar suggested.

If you can't, why in the galaxy would you think he can? Narasi thought, but she smothered the idea at once; even thinking about Master Kadych triggered an instinct to be mindful of her thoughts. Master Z'dar turned his gaze on her and she thought she was caught anyway, but he just smiled.

"I won't even bother asking you, Rican—you're Bergruutfa through and through," he said. "If Tirien won't come, I know you won't either."

Narasi held her head up. "I take that as a compliment, Master."

Master Z'dar's eyes twinkled. "I meant it as one."

"So we're at an impasse then, Master?" Slejux asked.

"Well, much as I'd love to stay and catch up with you all, if you're not coming with us, I'll have to send you back down to the surface. We're not loitering here long; I have a few people I may send down for the Carosites to patch up, then collect them my next time through.  You can ride down with the prisoners we sprang, if you'd like; you were half the rescue, you can have your half of the praise and ours besides." He grinned. "And don't look so damn glum. You achieved what you set out to do, and this is where I belong, I'm confident of it."

Slejux cocked his head. "What about the Zygerrians?"

"Dead."

Narasi blinked. "All of them?"

Surprised as she was, she saw her master move in her peripheral vision and looked at him. His eyes had tightened, but she wasn't sure what to make of his expression. "You killed every last one of them in battle? None of them surrendered?"

Jylo looked at Master Z'dar, who measured Narasi and the two Jedi Knights in turn before he spoke. "An operation like ours doesn't have the infrastructure or the resources to take and hold large numbers of prisoners. And even if we did, present company excepted, Zygerrians aren't the sort of people we can just release back to their homeworld with a slap on the wrist and a stern warning."

Slejux recoiled. "You're executing prisoners of war?"

Narasi's eyes widened. Master Z'dar looked them all over. "So shocked? Didn't your friend Darakhan just put Ksyl Ssron to death on Milagro?"

"Ssron was a Sith Lord," Tirien answered, though Narasi thought she saw conflict around his eyes. "Milagro couldn't hold him safely at all."

"We can't hold slavers."

"Then turn them over to us," Tirien retorted. "To the Republic. We can hold as many slavers as you catch."

"The Republic could've held Ssron, too," Master Z'dar countered. "So why did Darakhan take his head? Because there were other concerns, lad.  Even assuming the Republic decided to play nice and treat us as partners and allies rather than rebels—and I'll let you sort out for yourselves how likely that is—it doesn't help the people out here, behind enemy lines, where nobody can be bothered to care.  A crew of Zygerrians gets locked up in a cushy Republic prison?  That's nothing to the other slaving crews; cost of doing business.  Maybe they even think they'll be rewarded when the Sith run roughshod over Coruscant and break open the cells.  But a crew of Zygerrians gets dead?  Others will take notice of that, and next time they think of Carosi IV as an open target, maybe they'll think twice."

Tirien was staring, and Narasi couldn't blame him; it fell to Slejux to speak. "But Master, even from a merely tactical perspective, surely dead prisoners can't provide nearly as much information as living ones."

"I appreciate the tactical insight, Slejux, but I had thought of that. We interrogate first."

"Interrogate how?" Tirien asked.

There was a long, awkward pause before Jylo asked, "Something you want to say, Tirien?"

Master Z'dar raised a hand. "Speak freely, lad, I can feel your concern."

"Killing defenseless people…Master, even if we could somehow justify this, even if I was persuaded—and I'm not—isn't it a slippery slope? What's next?"

"As in, if the old man's going to kill some Zygerrians, what's to stop him from torturing them first?" Master Z'dar asked. "The lure of the dark side…I'm not unaware of it. I saw the best and worst of the galaxy before you were born, Tirien; believe me, I know how slippery some slopes in this war can be.  Sometimes…"

He trailed off, and those deep-set eyes, gray as stormclouds, grew distant. It was a moment before he drew a deep breath.

"I know the temptation to do evil for good, and the more an action is in the shadowy in-between than all the way in the far darkness, the more tempting it can be." He arched his chin, appraising Tirien. "You ever done a thing you weren't sure was right, even one you thought might be wrong, because there was some greater need to be served with it?"

Narasi expected her master to shoot that down, but to her surprise he said nothing. She looked at him just in time to catch his eyes turning away from her and down to the floor, narrowed in contemplation.

Master Z'dar nodded. "Killing prisoners is an ugly business, but war always requires ugliness. Torturing them first is nothing short of savagery, though, and war doesn't require us to become savages.  Don't think I don't have these things in mind, but please trust that after I have given them thought, I'll come to a just conclusion."

No one spoke for a moment. Narasi had no sympathy for the dead slavers, but she wasn't sure how to take the idea of mass executions. Then again, she hadn't had a chance to talk to Tirien about Mali executing a Sith Lord, either; she decided they needed to make the time.

Slejux was unreadable in the Force, and Jylo's eyes moved from each of the Jedi to the next, over and over, as if searching for the reactions they were too disciplined to betray. Tirien stared at the floor, and Master Z'dar finally said, "Anything else you want to know? Ask what you will, I have nothing to hide."

Tirien looked up. "Where's Arlya?"

Narasi hadn't even thought to wonder. She remembered Jylo and the Zabrak Aryla Kesk roaming through Gizer Battlestation with her when Tirien had been with Rhosa. Arlya, one of Master Shadeez's finest warriors, and a former slave at that…she would have been a natural fit for a mission like this, but Narasi hadn't seen her in the fracas aboard the drop ship.

Jylo paled and looked at Master Z'dar, who sighed and bowed his head. "Arlya Kesk. My first casualty as a commander." When he raised his face, Narasi saw the ache in his eyes. "My first failure as a commander."

"Master," said Jylo, "you can't blame—"

Master Z'dar stopped him with a gesture. "That's kind of you, lad, but Karr taught you better than that. Soldiers have their faults and make their mistakes, but in the end, everything a command does or doesn't do—every way it succeeds or fails—is on the commander."

Tirien appeared lost in thought, but he finally looked up at Jylo. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Jylo swallowed, and Narasi could feel the tension in the air, but in the end the Togruta Knight just bowed his head. "Thank you, so are we."

Master Z'dar sighed again, then asked, "You knew her too?"

"We met on Gizer," Tirien explained. He hesitated, then said, "And she contacted me about a year ago. Just before Master Phnyong's death."

Narasi remembered it, then—the message on Tirien's beacon transceiver, the reason he had not been with Kenza and her when they had gone shopping and discovered FastLane Couriers running supplies in Sith territory. She realized with a start that so much had happened thereafter—Antifol Wolt's suicide, the Chancellor's death, and the entire debacle that followed Tirien losing his powers—that she had never once asked about Arlya.

Master Z'dar frowned. "What did she say?"

"She asked if I trusted you, and she wanted to meet. I never wound up making the meeting we planned.  After Anaxes…"

Master Z'dar raised one powerful hand. "You can't blame yourself, Tirien. Any day could be the last day for any of us."

Nodding, Tirien refocused. "Do you know what she wanted?"

Master Z'dar didn't reply right away, and Narasi saw his eyes slide to the side—looking toward Jylo without looking at him. "Jylo, go check with Captain De'nart and see how the cruiser's coming along, would you?"

Jylo didn't seem to think much of that. "Master…"

"Please," Master Z'dar said, but it clearly wasn't a request, and after a few seconds Jylo grimaced and swept from the room without a word. Master Z'dar grunted, then refocused on the Jedi. "Tell you the truth, Tirien, I think she wanted to recruit you."

Narasi didn't know what answer her master had expected, but clearly that wasn't it. "Recruit me?"

"This young woman, Rhosa Xei…" Master Z'dar gave it a moment, measuring Tirien's reaction. "I never met her, but I've heard a great deal about her, and it seems like you made quite an impression on her. She thought very highly of you, and so did Karr.  Between them, they carried a lot of weight with Karr's other Knights.  And…well, no point mincing words: they were in a bad way before I got here.  Even during my first months in command, things were pretty rough.  Adding a Knight of your stature—someone Rhosa and Karr trusted—would've made a big difference.  Of course, it still would…"

Tirien snorted once at the hint, but he glanced at the door. "You think Arlya wanted me here, but Jylo didn't?"

"He's not your biggest fan."

Narasi stared. "Tirien saved his life! If it weren't for Tirien, Jylo would've needed a cybernetic head to go with the arm and the knee!"

Tirien raised a hand to prevent her from ranting further, but Master Z'dar shook his head. "Credit where it's due, Tirien, she's not wrong. But Rican, you may find that saving someone's life doesn't always endear you to them.  When I was…oh, twenty? twenty-one?—I saved Eviar Seldec's life.  These last few decades he wasn't exactly overcome with gratitude, was he?"

"But he was a Sith!" Narasi pressed. "Jylo—"

"Rican, if you're making the point that it's a flaw of Jylo's, here's my counter-argument." Master Z'dar folded his hands and said nothing, and after a few seconds Narasi chuckled and nodded. Master Z'dar smiled back, but he said, "Nobody's perfect, and at least Jylo knows his flaw and can work on it. What's yours?"

Narasi blinked. "Mine?"

"Yours."

Caught off guard, Narasi scrambled for an answer. Well, you say you trust your master, she thought, but you won't tell him how— "I want people to respect me," she blurted out instead. "To treat me with respect."

Master Z'dar nodded. "Not an uncommon one. And you boys?"

Narasi couldn't believe he would call on two Jedi Knights to describe their failings in front of a Padawan, and she could tell how little Tirien thought of it too, but he looked at her, and she had the distinct sense he would not leave her alone here. "Pride."

"Self-doubt," Slejux put in.

"And have any of you conquered those vices entirely?" When they all shook their heads, Master Z'dar said, "Then don't judge Jylo just yet. He's a work in progress too."

Narasi nodded in acceptance. Then Tirien asked, "What's yours, Master?"

"Mine?"

"Your flaw."

There was a moment of silence.

"Hesitation," Master Z'dar said softly. "I hesitated so long to come here even though I knew the Council was wasting my skills. Had I come right after Karr's death, some of the Jedi who were lost might…"

He trailed off, then shook himself. "Hesitation is death to a Jedi's purpose. When we know the Force's will for us, we need to act with decisiveness and purpose, no matter what it costs us.  The triumph of the light is worth any price; it took me a long time to take that lesson fully to heart, but I'm catching up quickly."

No one seemed eager to speak next, but Master Z'dar managed a smile. "Well, if there's nothing else, I really do need to get back to the fleet."

He led them back through the ship, and Narasi realized only when they arrived in the hangar bay that it was the Crusader. The Carosites were boarding the Zygerrian drop ship again, though there was not a Zygerrian to be seen. A few of Master Z'dar's crew people were mixed among the Carosites, sporting various injuries.

Tirien bowed to Master Z'dar. "Please apologize to your Knights that I hurt."

"I will, but they won't hold grudges—you're on the right side, Tirien. All of you are.  We've just got different paths to the same goal: a galaxy without the Sith.  Offer's always open, though."

"Likewise, Master," Tirien said. "If and when you're ready to come back, the Initiates need someone like you."

Master Z'dar smiled again, though Narasi thought there was a sadness in it. Then they bowed to one another and parted ways.