Who You Are in the Dark/Part 1

1,388 BBY

Unlike the tranquil meditation rooms and gardens in the Reconciliation Quarter, where Tirien enjoyed most of his limited time on Coruscant, the High Council Quarter usually echoed with the sounds of sparring—lightsaber and hand-to-hand alike—and filled the Force with lively energy. Tirien let the Force guide him rather than his ears, drifting toward a signature that had become recognizable even among the glow of many lives in the Jedi Temple.

He found a handful of Jedi Padawans practicing a vaguely passable imitation of Makashi, two Jedi Masters observing them: an old Human, and Argus Z'dar, who nodded once. The Human was not even Tirien's height, his head bald and his wispy white beard grown long enough he could have tucked it into his belt. But his eyes were bright and the end of his cane well-worn from tapping hundreds of students' wrists and knees into better position. He wore floor-length robes belted at the waist with a wide obi, his curved lightsaber at his hip.

Thousands of hours of practice had Tirien's yellow eyes fixating on details in the most detailed-oriented of forms: this apprentice's front knee was overextended past her lunging foot, that one turned his wrist the wrong way and could be disarmed with a casual flick, another had his off hand so close to his face Tirien thought he might obstruct his own vision. But one of them was a little less wrong than the rest.

"Enough," said old Master Toldin, tapping his cane on the floor. As the Padawans all bowed to him and went to collect their things, Tirien bowed to the old Jedi in turn.

"Ah, Tirien," said Master Toldin. "You've been giving pointers—I see your hand in Narasi's style."

"Then it's merely your own that you see diluted by a generation, Master," Tirien said, and the old man chuckled before departing; despite his age, he moved so gracefully that he seemed to float across the floor.

Tirien pressed past a few Padawans to Z'dar. "Combining wisdom, Master?"

"Merely observing," the Boltrunian answered with a shake of his head. "If all I'm allowed to do is teach and supervise teaching, I might as well be thorough about it."

Tirien sensed an undercurrent of annoyance, but passed over the sticky moment and asked, "How did Narasi do?"

"Well," Z'dar said evenly. "Makashi doesn't suit her, but she's talented and you've taught her well."

Narasi herself appeared a moment later, flushed with exertion but looking pleased with herself. "Hi Master. Are you sitting in on training today?"

"I could use a good fight," Z'dar offered. "Toldin's a fine swordsman, but you're a little less ancient, Kal-Di."

"We can't stay," Tirien said apologetically. "I came for Narasi because the Council's called us."

"Ah," Z'dar said. He added nothing more, but his crossed arms and tightened eyes spoke volumes.

"Where are we going, Master?" Narasi asked.

Tirien shook his head. "We'll find out when we get there."

"By all means, then, don't let me keep you from what I'm sure won't be a waste of your talents, Tirien," Z'dar remarked.

Tirien frowned. "Narasi, wait for me outside."

She looked a little disappointed, but obeyed. When she was gone, Tirien looked up at Z'dar. "What's happened, Master?"

"Where to start," Z'dar growled. "Did you hear about Karr's Knights?"

Tirien shook his head. "Only rumors. I tried to contact Arlya and Jylo after Taanab got settled, but I don't have any reliable way to get in touch with them."

"They lost a battle with Zirist Lakalt two weeks ago," Z'dar told him. "Half a dozen capital ships and more than one Jedi, too."

Tirien bowed his head, wondering if any of those he had met on Gizer Battlestation had been among the fallen. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Z'dar said. "You offered Karr a way back—one he would have taken, I think. But the Council let all those Knights scatter to the wind after Gizer fell, and now they're lost to us again."

"Perhaps not forever."

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

Frowning, Tirien asked, "There's more?"

"There's always more, Tirien," Z'dar replied. "The Republic drove Darth Saleej from Taanab but failed to pursue him. Decades of war and we still don't know who the members of the Council of Five are.  No alliance with the Hutts despite Sith encroachment on their space.  The Zygerrian Slave Empire has the run of the Outer Rim.  Valin Aresh is still alive."

They were admittedly not the best aspects of the war, but… "We may be Jedi, Master, but we're not invincible.  We can't do everything."

"Maybe not," Z'dar allowed, "but that's no excuse for doing nothing."

Tirien opened his mouth to argue, but his comlink buzzed. Glancing at the display screen, he sighed. "The Council."

"Go, go," Z'dar said, waving one powerful hand with a sigh. "See if you can't do some good in the galaxy. Force knows we could use it."

Tirien went, but glanced back from the door. Z'dar was settling himself down to meditate, eyes closed but grimace lingering.

"Everything okay, Master?" Narasi asked in the hallway to the Jedi Council chamber.

"Mmm?" Tirien refocused out of his momentary reverie. She was gradually allowing him his long stretches of silence more and more; now and then it reminded him of his own early apprenticeship with Suwo, though she remained more enthusiastic than Tirien had ever been. "Oh. Yes, fine."

"How'd deflection practice go?"

Since Taanab, Tirien had devoted extra attention to blasterfire training; they now kept half a dozen remotes aboard the Second Chance for practice. His one-handed style and curved lightsaber hilt were not particularly well-suited to it, but in an era when Jedi were soldiers, neglecting the exercise was suicide. "Slowly, but worth the effort in the long run, I expect."

"Hmm…long, arduous hours of training for vague future rewards? I can't put my finger on it, Master, but it sounds familiar somehow…"

Tirien gave her a dry look in response to her grin, and she giggled. Tirien gave her a second to compose herself at the door, then led the way into the Council chamber.

Master Tem-Fol-Rytil still occupied the center chair, although this time both Masters Cazars and Bnodd appeared as blue holos. For the first time in recent memory, all twelve seats had owners. The appointment of Mon Calamari Master Mar Towla had raised few eyebrows, apart from the handful of Jedi Guardians dismayed to have yet another Consular seated on the High Council. Nishric Suftig was another matter. The Gotal Jedi Sentinel sat with his mouth pressed against his clenched hands, eyes narrowed to a squint as usual. No Jedi doubted his experience, but nearly as few had any idea why a longtime Jedi recruiter had been added to the Council in time of war.

Tirien walked to the center of the Council chamber, Narasi at his side, and bowed to the Cerean Grand Master. "You called us, Master?"

Tem-Fol-Rytil nodded his great domed head. "We've received information we need you to investigate at once."

"Is it Darth Alecto, Master?" Narasi asked before the Cerean could go on. Tirien raised a hand to silence her, but his mind had gone the same way. They had chased rumors of the Mirialan assassin across the galaxy for the better part of a year. They had come upon her handiwork more than once, and Narasi swore she had caught a fleeting glimpse of Alecto on Commenor, but Tirien had not crossed blades with the Sith since Gizer.

"It is not," Tem-Fol-Rytil replied, "though it came to our attention while we were pursuing a lead on her."

"Are you familiar with Toprawa, Tirien?" asked Human Master Nawsa Arodion.

The Pantoran shook his head.

"Narasi?" Loworr Dubb thought to ask.

"No, Master."

"It's a planet in the Kalamith sector," Arodion said. "A border world."

Tirien frowned, unfamiliar with the Kalamith sector. "With the Empire?"

"Yes, but not with us," Master Cazars remarked. "It's near the dividing line between Imperial space and Aresh's territory."

"Are they fighting over it?"

"It's not clear what 's going on," Tem-Fol-Rytil said, "which is why we sent a Jedi Knight to investigate. That was two weeks ago, and we've had no contact since."

"Do we know which Sith faction has Toprawa now?" Tirien asked.

"Our intelligence on the system is outdated," Master Arodion admitted. "They've been in conflict over it in the past."

Tirien looked down in thought, and after a moment of silence Tem-Fol-Rytil leaned forward with a shrewd look. "Yes?"

"I…" Tirien sighed, remembering Master Z'dar's concerns about the Council's missteps. "Forgive me, Masters, but why not let them fight it out? If Aresh and the Council are fighting each other, it means they aren't fighting us."

A few of the Consulars looked disturbed by this logic, though one side of Master Cazars's mouth twitched up. Tirien wished he could read Kussam Bnodd's masked, alien face; bellicose though he might be, the Gand was rarely one to interrupt his enemies when they were doing something foolish.

"Gennic Forgey," Master Suftig barked. "Good Jedi Knight. You know him, Kal-Di?"

Tirien ran the name through his memory. "It sounds familiar, but I don't think we've met."

"He and your master were Padawans together, way back when," the Gotal explained.

When he said it, Tirien seemed to remember hearing the name in Suwo's voice. "All right, but even if we can sneak in and rescue Gennic—"

"There's a larger problem," Master Towla cut him off. "Since you don't know the planet, you won't know that it was the site of a battle during the Great Sith War."

Narasi frowned. "Is that the one when they sacked the Temple?"

Tirien looked away from the Mon Calamari to shake his head gravely. "No. The Great Sith War was Exar Kun."

The Initiates might have been kept in the dark about the chronology of the Jedi Order's various conflicts with the Sith, but even Narasi recognized that name. Her big blue eyes widened and her ears flattened back a little.

Turning back to the Council Masters, Tirien asked, "Who won the Battle of Toprawa?"

"We did," Kussam Bnodd's hologram finally spoke. He shifted, rasping a snort through his mask. "Well, sort of."

"The Jedi commander, Barrison Draay, won the actual engagement," Tem-Fol-Rytil said. "But he and his Knights were lured into an ambush and killed shortly thereafter. The dictates of the war required what remained of our forces to move on quickly."

"And given its location, Toprawa's wound up in Sith hands more often than not since," Cazars added.

Tirien thought he saw where they were going. Crossing his arms, he said, "So the Empire—or Aresh—might be trying to find some weapon or information of Kun's? But if there was something, wouldn't Revan or Malgus or someone else have found it before now?"

"It's a big galaxy, Tirien," Tairni Tre'go reminded him.

"The point is," Master Towla put in, "you must find out what the Sith are doing on Toprawa and ensure it poses no threat to the Republic."

"And find Gennic," Suftig insisted.

Bowing in acquiescence, Tirien said, "Yes, Masters."

Tem-Fol-Rytil nodded. "May the Force be with you."