Chapter Text
I had always intended to hide my interest in Jaesa Wilsaam from the Jedi. I figured it would probably be easier to get her contact information or some details about her training here from their computers rather than asking them directly. After seeing the general level of technology within the enclave, that plan seemed a little less feasible than before; it seemed at least possible that they didn’t have electronic records. But that couldn’t be entirely correct. Surely the rest of the Jedi Order had some way of contacting this remote enclave. Or did they travel to Anchorhead for regular reports?
I also had to get in touch with Shyrack and let her know I was alive somehow. I could ask to use their comm unit and check the call history while I was using it. If their bond was anything like how it had been described in the game, Jaesa probably talked to Master Yonlach. Of course, before any of that could happen, I had to answer the Jedi’s questions.
“Do you mind if I sit down?” I asked, gesturing at one of the couches situated around the sitting room.
“Are your injuries still bothering you? They were quite severe,” another of the three, not the oldest in attendance but not the armored one, asked with some concern. He was bald and had tough-looking, sun-kissed skin, but his brown eyes had a softness to them I found immediately endearing.
“No, I’m perfectly healed. Thanks for asking,” I answered, already moving to sit since I assumed permission was implied in that question. I hadn’t really asked for permission, but to indicate that I’d prefer to talk while we were all sitting down. “My name is Xanot, I’m a Sith Apprentice and warrior.”
“Well met, Xanot. I am Master Yonlach, a Sage among the Jedi,” said the eldest. Next, the kindly one bobbed his head and eased himself back to the seat that he had risen from when I had arrived.
“I am Master Rell, also a Sage. I am the librarian here, for whatever that’s worth. Our collection is small and quite specialized, so there isn’t much to manage.”
Finally, the armored Jedi spoke. He remained standing for a moment longer, gauging the feel of the room, before he sat somewhat stiffly. “I am Knight Master Pollak. The Sages here on Tatooine are under my protection.”
“Knight Master? That’s not a title I’m familiar with,” I admitted.
The Jedi all seemed surprised. “Isn’t it? The structure of the Order is not a secret,” Master Rell replied, somehow saying it in a way that only made me feel a little like an idiot.
“I haven’t met very many Jedi,” I replied shortly, covering for what I figured was just another example of my general ignorance. It was also true, which helped me appear genuine in the Force.
By now, I was used to gaps in my knowledge being exposed at inopportune moments.
“I imagine you have had little cause to learn about anything other than our martial abilities, in these tumultuous times,” Master Yonlach agreed with a sigh. “Our Orders have ever been enemies and rivals, and in more recent years it has certainly been worse than usual. That is why we were so surprised when Knight Tennres spoke of your peaceful intentions on Tatooine.”
“A Knight Master is simply a member of the Jedi Knights who has attained mastery,” Master Rell explained succinctly, with a glance at the elder. “To answer your implied question.”
I wrinkled my brow. “I thought that there were ranks of Jedi, from Initiate to Master, and that Knight was one of those ranks.”
“Well, among those who serve the Force as Jedi Knights, or sometimes as Shadows, that is roughly correct,” the librarian agreed. “The confusion lies in the differences between the Jedi disciplines, I believe. Jedi Knights and Jedi Sages do not have the same titles, and progress differently as they attain mastery over their respective competencies. Obviously, we seek different goals, so it would be foolish to judge a Jedi Knight by the standards of a Sage or vice versa.”
I nodded understandingly. “I see. Well, part of the reason I have come here is to learn whatever I can about the Jedi and this enclave in particular. My master is curious about what the Jedi have found so intriguing about the deserts of Tatooine, and he ordered me to determine if there is strength to be found in the teachings of this enclave.”
“It is arrogant of you to presume that anything the Jedi have found here is accessible to Sith or practical for you to utilize,” Knight Master Pollak declared with a scoff.
“I was told that the Jedi Sages welcome all who seek to learn,” I replied, meeting his suspicious gaze. “Would you rather I simply attacked your enclave to measure your strength?”
“Do you truly seek to learn? That is the problem, really, with most Sith. Not to paint with too broad a brush,” Master Rell interjected, before the knight could respond to my jibe. “We certainly would not do anything to impede your efforts, if they are sincere. It is entirely up to you to decide if you are capable of listening to the Force and discerning its wisdom. Generally, however, Sith declare that there is nothing of use to be found in Jedi teachings, often without full understanding of them. Or perhaps they are unable to trust what they do comprehend. Although it has been...a very long time since any Sith sought understanding rather than violence. This master of yours is an interesting one, if he sent you here to learn from the Jedi. Perhaps this is a sign that things can be different between our Orders than our modern context would imply.”
“I would not be so certain, Master Rell. She clearly indicated that she has come seeking strength, not wisdom,” the Knight Master cautioned.
“And how often are these things truly distinct from each other, Jedi? The Seeing Pool said much the same about the Sith and their relationship with the Force,” I gestured vaguely. “My vision there warned me that Sith make themselves adversaries of the Force, and therefore cannot trust what it reveals to them. I’m willing to try to understand things from a different perspective. But, I will freely admit that I am rather wary of the Force. It has tried to consume me in the past.”
“Is that so?” Master Yonlach wondered, seeming surprised. “And yet we observed that the Force reconstructed your body from near fatal injury in less than a single day, without the aid of surgery or kolto treatment.”
“Thanks to the efforts of your healers,” I demurred. “Their assistance with my healing trance greatly accelerated the process, I think. It has taken longer for me to recover from similarly severe wounds.”
“I’m sorry to hear that such injuries are not uncommon for you. Even so, that kind of healing trance is beyond anything that has been observed among the Jedi for centuries. Perhaps some of the ancient masters could have done the same, but there are no surviving holocrons or texts which could instruct us, especially after the Purge and Reconstruction,” Master Rell declared. “It is also the first time I beleive the Dark Side has demonstrated any healing capability in recent times. How did you accomplish it?”
“The Dark Side sustains my body, even through would be lethal wounds. It’s a talent I’ve always had,” I replied, fudging the truth only slightly.
“Temper your curiosity with wisdom, Master Rell,” Master Yonlach chided. “Clinging to life through unnatural means is not an act any Jedi should rightly contemplate.”
“Hm,” the other Master seemed to shrug. “It was just academic curiosity, my fellow. When was the last time a Sith was willing to speak of their techniques to any Jedi Sage? Not to mention the fact that her feat of regeneration is something never before seen, except perhaps from the Sith Alchemy of old.”
“Regardless of these acadmic curiosities, you have brought assassins to our peaceful enclave, and several of the Sages here have already been killed by these antagonists,” Pollack declared. “I’m of the opinion that you should be given the supplies you need to cross the Dune Sea and then sent on your way. We don’t need any trouble here. This is a peaceful retreat, a place intended for serenity and the pursuit of knowledge.”
“I did not know of the assassin’s presence on Tatooine. Or assassins, as it happens,” I replied. “There are more than the one who nearly killed me?”
“We fought a different man three days ago. He escaped us after slaying a Sage and wounding a Knight,” Pollack remarked, crossing his arms over his breastplate.
“Did you recover anything useful from the body of the one that I killed?”
“No, we did not recover the corpse. I was not sure if his comrade would attempt to dispose of the body, and did not want to risk that my knights might encounter the other assassin while two of our number were bringing you to the healers.”
I shook my head, disappointed. “I’d like to understand what the Jedi are doing here on Tatooine. I would be willing to undergo whatever normal lessons you offer to newcomers, and in return I will assist your Knights in tracking down the assassin who killed your fellows.”
“You have much to learn about our ways,” Master Yonlach remarked with a small shake of his head. “A Jedi does not seek vengeance.”
“No,” Knight Master Pollack agreed. “But it would secure the location of this enclave if we dealt with the second assassin.”
“‘Dealt with’ is such an innocuous euphemism for killing, is it not?” Master Rell wondered idly.
“You don’t need to bloody your hands; allow me to handle this assassin,” I urged them.
“That is what we were initially discussing. If you depart from the enclave, doubtlessly this assassin would follow you, and leave us in peace. Situation dealt with, and without bloodshed,” Master Yonlach replied. “Sending one killer after another is not a nonviolent act.”
“Are you committed to nonviolence?” I wondered in surprise. “No doubt the assassin would attempt to kill me if I left. Would you remain innocent if I was slain after being turned away?”
“The vast majority of Jedi Sages walk a path of peace, Sith,” Master Rell explained. “We do not even construct lightsabers, neither do we practice the martial forms. To address your question, if you depart from us and end up fighting your foe, perhaps even dying, we may still rest with a clean conscience because we do not have authority over the combatants, nor are we reasonably positioned to intervene in your conflict. However, if we requested your aid in dealing with the threat to our enclave, we would place ourselves in such a position of responsibility, and therefore could not avoid the ethical ramifications of the resulting violence and death.”
I sighed, somewhat exasperated with what I considered mental gymnastics. “Given your peaceful nature, Sages, perhaps I should ask your head of security what he plans to do regarding the assassin, since he is the only one among you qualified to make such decisions?”
“While I have no reservations about putting a violent end to the threat this assassin represents, sending one Sith to track another was not part of my plans,” Pollack replied dryly, his arms folded over his broad chest. The man’s taciturn features were turned down in a severe expression. “Neither is working alongside an unpredictable factor. You were nearly killed by these assassins once, and if I sent any of my Knights with you, there is no guarantee that you would be a worthy ally in the resulting combat.”
“That whelp earlier today only injured me because I was looking for you, Jedi, and I wasn’t paying close enough attention to my immediate surroundings to react to his ambush,” I retorted, sitting up a bit straighter at his jab. I’d take a lot of sass, but accusing me of incompetency got under my skin like nothing else. “Even with half my bones broken, I still killed him. Hale and expecting a fight? These assassins are obviously no match for me.”
“Yes, the killing prowess of the Sith is never in question.” Master Yonlach waved his hand as if this displeased him. I figured it probably did. “After all, we have laid three of our fellows to rest in the desert. That is proof enough that the Sith are able killers, and a more mature Sith is typically a more dangerous one. Even so, Knight Master Pollack is right to be wary of entrusting you with the safety of any Jedi, whether it be a single Knight or this entire enclave.”
I furrowed my brow. “I’m not understanding your concerns. I would suggest that you send me to face this assassin and observe the battle from safety; surely there can be no risk to your Jedi in that? If I die, however unlikely I assure you that possibility is, then the assassin will inevitably be weakened and you can easily capture him and do whatever you want to do with him. My advice would be to kill him, although I have heard that Jedi don’t execute prisoners. Jedi in the past have severed threatening individuals from the Force as an alternative to death, but these abominations do not rely upon the Force within themselves and therefore cannot be permanently cut off from it.”
“You are familiar with the nature of these assassins?” Master Rell wondered intently, leaning forward. “We have all sensed the terrible disturbance that their presence has caused on Tatooine. It has occupied the meditations of many.”
“All I really know is that they connect to the Force through other life-forms, and grow stronger in proximity to greater amounts of Force power, similar in some ways to the tarentatek,” I answered with a small shrug. “These assassins absorb and consume life, usually by killing others, and they grow stronger for a time through this primal act. I am told that it is a hunger which can never be sated, and ultimately hunger is all that remains of the Sith who dabble in these things. Darth Nihilus, of the Sith Triumvirate, was the most powerful practitioner of these techniques. In the end, he was incapable of comprehensible speech, and I believe he was but moments away from creating a catastrophic cascade that would have consumed all life in this galaxy when Meetra Surik, the Jedi Exile, slew him.”
The Jedi all recoiled visibly when I spoke the name of that masked Sith. “Meetra Surik reconstructed our Order centuries ago, from the scattered disciples and orphaned children of the Jedi that were hunted to near extinction by the Sith Triumvirate. She never once spoke of her battle against Darth Nihilus wither her disciples, other than to warn the next generations of Jedi about the evil that he represented. While she lived, she ensured that the focus of the Order was entirely on rebuilding, and from that dedication, the Jedi Order eventually organized into the Order of Knighthood, which aims to protect life, and the Council of Sages, which serves to advance understanding and preserve knowledge. The Jedi Shadows, however, were only created shortly after Meetra’s death. Their original mission was to eliminate every surviving student of Trayus Academy, looking to put an end to the abominations that we believed to originate from Malachor V and the Sith Triumvirate,” Master Rell eventually spoke, his voice somewhat brittle towards the end. “Now, however, you have come, followed by assassins utilizing these supposedly extinct techniques. You speak of Darth Nihilus’ final moments, despite the fact that there were no witnesses to his death apart from Meetra herself, and she did not leave any record for historians to preserve. Do the Sith still have knowledge of Trayus’ Academy’s abominable practices?”
I shrugged before offering a small, hopefully enticing smile. “My master spoke of the matter from a historical perspective, but I believe he gained his knowledge from the Jedi’s records. I, on the other hand, have somewhat varied interests when it comes to history, and I don’t think even the historical facts could be called common knowledge. It might just be legends, for all I know. What I do know is that the secrets to the techniques that were discovered by Trayus Academy were lost with Darth Traya’s death and the complete destruction of the planet. The presence of these assassins here seems to indicate that this isn’t as certain as I once thought. Perhaps, if we work together, we can discover more about this threat and the source of their knowledge.”
“None among us are Shadows, Sith, so we cannot be so easily tempted by the promise of defeating an ancient nemesis. My duty is to protect this enclave, not to hunt down abominations. Furthermore, working alongside a Sith to discover the aberrations of other Sith would only multiply the number of potential threats,” Knight Master Pollack waved his hand as if to ward off my attempt at cajoling cooperation from them. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Before you begin to argue that killing the assassin would safeguard the enclave, do keep in mind that there would still remain a Sith among us even if you did succeed in defeating him.”
“Drawing any comparison between myself and these Force-forsaken fools is insulting,” I replied in good humor. “I would even hesitate to call anyone who pursues that kind of thing a genuine Sith.”
“Truly?” Master Rell seemed delighted. “And why would you say that? Is it a difference of philosophy?”
“Master Rell...” Yonlach sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“This is relevant to the matter at hand, Yonlach!” Rell objected, looking affronted that anyone would even suggest that he was being led on a tangent. Master Yonlach didn’t even look up, just waving at me to answer Master Rell’s question. I stifled a laugh at the byplay and shrugged.
“The Sith as an Order holds self-determination as a virtue, and we consider anything that assumes control over our inner life other than ourselves to be anathema. Anyone who is entering a doomed compact with powers beyond their understanding and becoming a twisted perversion of life that hungers only to feed upon others is certainly not acting as a Sith should act,” I explained. “In simpler terms, these assassins and their master are becoming slaves. Placing chains upon themselves. The Sith Code, to the contrary, demands that we break our chains. Even worse, they are abusing the Force in such a way that the Force becomes an aspect of their enslavement, whereas the Sith believe and teach that the Force is intended to free us. For these reasons I would argue that these assassins are not Sith at all.”
The first to react to this was Knight Master Pollack, whose soft chuckles could not be mistaken for anything other than derision. “Pardon me, I don’t mean to offend,” he said, quickly composing himself. “Only, the vast number of examples I could offer from your histories would seem to show that the Sith are largely hypocrites, if what you claim about their Code is actually the truth.”
I shrugged. “There are a vast number of examples from Jedi histories that would embarrass you as well, but our worst examples define neither the Jedi nor the Sith.”
“Well said,” Master Yonlach agreed at once, with a quelling look at Knight Master Pollack. “Yet there is no governing body among the Sith that can conclusively settle arguments of doctrine. Is this not true?”
“Some would argue that the Emperor is the final arbiter, but my opinion is that it is conflict and victory which determines the truth. Whichever doctrine prevails in the end, that is the true doctrine of the Sith.”
“Fascinating. It would seem quite a simple proposition, and based in a tangential way upon the ways of nature,” Master Rell allowed with a smile. I sensed a ‘but’ coming, and was not disappointed. “But how and when are such conflicts of ideologies concluded? Could there be some remnant of an older ideology which is in fact the true Sith, while the larger part are pretenders? Or is it always the majority that determines the truth while the minority must prove themselves through victory?”
I paused, kneading the question in my mind for a moment. I mean, I wasn’t really the most knowledgeable about Sith histories. What were the great controversies of doctrine that had been settled in the past? Had there even been any examples? In other words, were the Sith of my time any different in philosophy from the Sith of five centuries ago? “I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Since we are lacking any real standard by which we can judge the truth of the claims made by the Sith, we can only accept the titles that members of your order take upon themselves. These assassins call themselves Sith, therefore we will know them as Sith,” Master Yonlach concluded. “I suppose, given your perspective, if these individuals are not Sith, then you must defeat them to demonstrate that your interpretation of the Code is the truth?”
“Only outlast them,” I replied hesitantly. “Take the Empire’s present-day racism issue, for example. The Empire is divided about the matter of Human-Sith supremacy; there are many who believe that Sith lineage determines potency in the Force, and there are many who believe that Near-Human species are superior in general to other species. Together these comprise what I consider to be a supremacist faction among the Sith. There are opponents to these views, such as Darth Malgus, who contend that any Empire in the Outer Rim cannot hope to survive if the nation ignores or belittles the strength and contributions of species that are not Near-Human. I believe that this matter will not be settled except through a kind of cultural conflict, which may even become a civil war, wherein some of the Sith Lords adopt a supremacist view and others adopt the species-agnostic view. The portions of the Empire that are weakened by their choice will eventually be killed, expelled, subjugated, or convinced of their error. When it is over, the Empire will either be even more supremacist than it is today or it will have adopted a kind of meritocratic view which does not consider an individual’s species apart from practical utility. Whichever it is will have proven its claim by the fact of its survival.”
“That is a grossly oversimplified view of dialectics,” Master Rell objected at once. “To start with, if the Republic observed such a civil war beginning in the Empire, it would undoubtedly throw its support behind the more egalitarian sect. For that reason, among others, the victor of the conflict would not be determined by the actual truth of their beliefs but instead by pure strength in logistical terms, which doesn’t demonstrate the veracity or falsity of the ideology they represent. And that doesn’t even get into the fact that these conflicts are not usually about only a single issue, so even if there is a conclusive victor, that victory cannot be attributed solely to any one aspect of their professed beliefs.”
“The fact that a non-supremacist view gains itself more allies could be seen as an inherent benefit of the ideology,” I replied. “If that truly was the deciding factor, how could anyone claim it is not a source of strength?”
“Master Rell, you are mistaking the goals of Sith discourse. You, and indeed any Jedi, would consider the goal of such things to be a pursuit of some proven, logical conclusion. The Sith do not see truth as Jedi do, however. The Sith seek after the truth only as a means to gain power, not as something which has intrinsic worth. Whatever doctrine it is that gives them power, that becomes their truth. I would venture to guess that the Sith in general do not recognize any other form of truth apart from real power, and that is why their Emperor is the de facto arbiter of doctrine among them, as our guest has herself already asserted despite her own reservations about the matter,” Master Yonlach cut across our dialogue. “It is therefore a waste of time to argue pure doctrine. Sith may change their tenets when the latest casualty reports come in, and then we will have to start over again from the beginning.”
“Do not lose sight of the grain of sand in your palm whilst considering the desert, Master Yonlach. We have here with us not the Sith writ large, but a singular woman who has already shown her dedication to the pursuit of knowledge through her unusual pilgrimage,” Master Rell returned smoothly. “It would be quite unwise to assume that she holds the same errors as many members of her Order without first engaging with her in discourse.”
“I am still here,” I interjected, amused that they were talking past me. “I also disagree with that summarization of the Sith understanding of truth. My master has spoken before of fundamental truth, in a way that I believe is meant to be understood as observable, self-evident fact.”
“Apologies,” Master Yonlach nodded to each of us. “My point, however, stands. Unless we have here with us a Sith who can agree that there may exist meaningful truth without power, I don’t see any reason to continue with this banter.”
“What do you say?” Master Rell offered the question to me with a conspiratorial grin. “Do you dare to believe in such a humble thing?”
“I believe that I might construe your phrasing to be somewhat biased,” I hedged, looking away as my thoughts raced.
On the one hand, it seemed obvious to me in a childlike manner that evil never prevails in the end. How could that be true if the definition of good was anything other than ‘those who are the victors?’ It seemed simple enough, the victors determine the good, so the truism ‘evil never prospers’ remains perpetually true, in hindsight.
On the other hand, it seemed obvious in a self-evident way that evil does sometimes prevail, and how could that be true if the definition of good was determined by the victor? That would make evil good, and good evil, but only after the fact. And Master Rell’s question ‘when does the conflict end?’ aims directly at a critical weakness. It throws into disarray the whole problem. If evil and good could not be determined without a conclusive victor, or a survivor in other words, then it becomes something transient and unknowable in practical terms. Which, based on the attitudes of my peers in the Empire, it seemed was already true. How often is ‘the good’ spoken of in the Empire? What of justice? Or of fairness?
I’ll tell you, not very often at all.
But if the truth exists without power, then what good is it to anyone? What would I gain by saying ‘what you represent is evil’ as I am killed by my enemies for losing?
“Masters, we have wandered far afield. The primary concern here is that there are hostile Sith who know of this enclave, and the safety of its residents is threatened,” Knight Master Pollack spoke into the silence that had fallen as I settled deeply into thought.
“We have all the time in the world,” Master Rell replied. “The Sith assassin isn’t going anywhere while his target sits here with us. And I daresay he would be a great idiot to challenge her directly, let alone in the presence of so many Jedi who would aid her.”
I decided there was no point in wringing my hands about the matter in silence. Ignoring Master Pollack’s attempt to steer the conversation, I asked, “What use is the truth if it is without power?”
“First, why must the truth be of use?” Master Rell returned.
“How could it otherwise be any good to anyone?”
“Ah, then what is good must always be useful? That is not self-evident; it is merely an expression of your beliefs,” Master Yonlach joined in.
“If this truth does not result in measurable good for people, then why do you believe in it? How could it be a standard for goodness as an abstract if it isn’t demonstrably good in concrete terms?”
“Why does a scientist study the most intricate vagaries of the natural world, even knowing that their field of study is most likely to be worthless?” Master Rell asked rhetorically.
I huffed, folding my hands in my lap and squaring my shoulders. “Then it doesn’t matter to you if evil is perpetrated all throughout the galaxy, as long as you know so-called ‘good’ in your peaceful enclaves?”
“Do not mistake me for a defeatist,” Master Rell cautioned. “I believe that there is no everlasting evil. Just as a storm comes and goes, leaving devastation in its wake, so too does evil rise and fall, but the good always remains. If you will pardon a Human-centric example: even under the reign of tyranny and unimaginable cruelty, a mother may still tenderly sing her lullaby. While evil may require its strong arm, the good only needs a tender heart to prevail in the end. What I believe in, young Sith, is undying hope. Thus, even though I am without a weapon, I can never be defeated.”
“And evil just goes away, like a passing storm? Sorry, I must have been imagining all the wars that have been fought to end tyranny, and all the blood that has been shed to safeguard peace, even within your vaunted Republic,” I couldn’t help but express my instinctual response to his assertion. It sounded pretty, but that seemed to me all that it was. A beautiful idea — a fantasy.
“Now you sound like my former student,” Master Yonlach laughed, shaking his head fondly. “She always hassled me over the same thing, you know. Oh, we would argue well into the small hours of the morning about it. She has a conviction, you see. A violent love rages in her for the truth. Her hope and mine are similar, but not the same; for her, the dream lives on while she actively works towards it, whereas for me it is my resting place and my destiny. I sense you are a woman defined by action, by realization. The way of the Sage would not be your way.”
“The Order of Knighthood, in contrast to the Council of Sages,” Master Knight Pollack declared, “was dedicated to protecting the hope we share with our more academic brethren. We are the blade of the Force, as one of our codes would say. I suppose I shouldn’t forget the third discipline among Jedi: the Order of Shadows is dedicated to actualizing the hope represented by the Light through the tangible defeat of evil.”
“I believe they like to call themselves watchmen, those who stand at the fore, identifying and warding away evil in whatever form it might take,” Master Rell chimed in. “The Jedi Watchmen and the Jedi Sentinels are the most numerous example of the Order of Shadows. Interestingly enough, Meetra Surik herself opposed the creation of the Order of Shadows, for she claimed that the pursuit of evildoers often required an intimacy of sorts with them, a kind of understanding that she feared would prove misleading to the Jedi.”
“Her exact teaching on the matter is: ‘Although in conflict a lesson is often taught and learned, it is at the very least often characterized by an adversarial relationship that casts the beliefs of the enemy in an unfavorable light. It is during prolonged study, often in seeking to understand one’s foes, that this adversarial feeling may transform and become a kind of admiration. Then the evil one strives against may cease to appear repugnant and, instead, may take on an honorable or tragically heroic appearance. This is when a soldier is at risk of demoralization, or of romanticizing warfare itself as opposed to the ideals that they set out initially to defend. To mitigate this risk, a Jedi may become a soldier for a time to defend all who are in need, but never should any Jedi devote themselves to everlasting conflict, especially not against any single foe or ideology,’” Master Yonlach quoted, nodding intently at the end of the long-winded teaching. “We would be wise if we remembered her warnings more often.”
“Her fear, even unto death, was that the Jedi Order she reconstructed would ultimately define itself only as the enemy of darkness, and that it would never properly characterize itself as the paragon of the Light that she envisioned a Jedi should be. It was because she believed that Revan, whom she dearly loved, once exemplified the enemy of darkness, and even he ultimately fell into terrible evil. Her fear was that us, her children, would follow Revan’s path,” Master Rell explained. “Her commitment to establishing the Order as something that existed uniquely, without the need for any contrast, was the drive that created the three disciplines, as her students each sought the truth of the Force in different ways. I do not believe, Master Yonlach, that she would be disappointed in any of the Jedi today, not even the Shadows, although I am sure she would worry over them constantly.”
I shrugged. I was less interested in history and more interested in this student that Yonlach had spoken of. I suspected it was Jaesa, based on nothing other than a gut feeling. “Did your passionate student go on to become a Knight, then?”
Master Yonlach, dare I say, actually pouted for a moment before composing himself. “No. I daresay our arguments would have been less heated if that had been her decision.”
Master Rell laughed. “You’re proud of your little Shadow, Yonlach, just admit it.”
“Silence, Rell.”
The warm librarian winked at me with laughter in his eyes. “The Jedi Shadows hold as a primary tenet of their discipline that the galaxy exists in a state of perpetual warfare, a contest of the Light against Dark, and they understand the nature of the Force and its hope through this lens of conflict, which many of my brother Sages find to be...upsetting.”
“Nearly heretical, you mean,” Yonlach corrected grumpily.
“The High Council has debated the matter endlessly for over two hundred years,” Knight Master Pollack declared in a long-suffering tone. “It is not an argument likely to be settled here by two old desert cacti in our little enclave, not today or even tomorrow. May I once again attempt to remind this council that there are Sith assassins threatening our collective well-being?”
“Our poor, beleaguered Knight protector,” Master Rell chided bemusedly, reaching out to pat Pollack’s knee. The knight slapped the questing hand before it could make contact, but Master Rell didn’t even bat an eye. “You are so patient with our long-winded deliberations.”
“I am shortly going to be entirely out of patience,” Knight Master Pollack announced. “At that time I will take unilateral action, so if you wish to have any input in this matter, speak now.”
“Patience, Knight Master,” Yonlach chimed in, though I detected a slight playfulness to his Force aura that didn’t come through his voice. Pollack rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.
“This has been enlightening,” Master Rell suddenly declared. “In fact, I have decided that I quite like Xanot despite her allegiances. So, she will be my student as long as she desires it.”
“Master Rell, no,” Pollack nearly whined.
“Master Rell, yes,” Rell retorted with a cheeky grin, bounding to his feet and stretching. “If you wish to request her aid in dealing with the assassin, I will perhaps allow my student a break from her studies to assist you. If you are polite in asking. For now, however, I believe this concludes our session?”
I raised a brow at this conclusive wording, but the Knight Master only groaned and also stood. “In that case, I have a report to make that will no doubt ruin someone’s otherwise tolerable day,” he grumbled, stomping out of the chambers.
I blinked, surprised at the sudden turn of events. “Am I missing something?”
“Only procedural minutiae,” Master Yonlach replied, seemingly unbothered by Master Rell’s declaration. “The Jedi Sages have the right to accept anyone who wishes to learn from us, regardless of former affiliations or even outstanding criminal charges. Once declared to be a student of any Jedi enclave, you exist under the jurisdiction of your Jedi Master until such a time as your tutelage is ended or you become a full Jedi Sage. Legally, this is only binding on Jedi property, but law enforcement really doesn’t tend to wait outside our doors for students who were formerly criminal. Not that this applies in your case, since Knight Master Pollack wasn’t considering arrest. Practically speaking, our resident Knights may have wanted to ship you back the way you came with a water canteen and a hearty wave goodbye. But since you are now a student of the enclave, they lack the jurisdiction to do so. The matter of your residency is solely up to Master Rell from this point on.”
“Ah.”
“You’ll be registered with our regional council as soon as Knight Master Pollack makes his report, and that report will then be included in a weekly report to the High Council on Tython,” Master Rell chimed in. “I’m sure this will cause many long and infuriating debates among them for months to come, all of which I will no doubt greatly enjoy observing via holo. Hopefully it’s discussed in the public sessions, anyway.”
“I am glad to be of service, I guess?” I hazarded, a bit amazed at the playful attitude of this Jedi. “Speaking of, I do have to let my crew know that I am alive after they no doubt lost my signal in the Dune Sea. Could I use your comm?”
“Of course, I’ll show you around while we’re at it,” Master Rell replied, with a smile.
Hmm. That was easy enough, I guess? I followed the librarian through the nearby doorway, having to duck past the threshold, and he immediately engaged me in a discussion of ancient history, involving which Jedi Masters I was familiar with and what teachings of theirs I knew. Admittedly, my relative ignorance was exposed shortly, but Master Rell didn’t seem disappointed. In fact, if anything, the opportunity to start from the basics seemed to invigorate the sun-kissed librarian.
Master Rell politely gave me some privacy with their comm unit so I could contact my crew. I considered this act of kindness as I immediately took advantage of it, checking the logs on the comm and scrolling through a variety of IDs. They were helpfully labeled, but I had to go back about a month before I found the comm ID I was looking for.
Padawan Wilsaam. She had made an hour-long call to the enclave, and the 256-bit identifier that marked her specific comm for public holonet communication was recorded in the log. I thought about just downloading their call history, but I didn’t have my armor or my comm. Instead, I simply memorized the string of characters, closing out of the call history and dialing in the Interminable Night.
“My Lord,” Captain Damatha’s face appeared on the very first ring. The holo flickered momentarily, then settled enough that I could see her relieved expression. “Thank the Force. We lost your comm signature hours ago and feared the worst.”
“I was ambushed, Captain, but I am difficult to kill,” I replied. “Inform Lieutenant Quinn and all our ground side assets that there are hostile Sith assassins on Tatooine. I defeated one of them before the Jedi brought me to their enclave. There is at least one more assassin on Tatooine, however, and they may target my subordinates to draw me out.”
“I will escalate our readiness level, Lord. Do you require medical aid?”
“No, the Jedi saw to my injuries already,” I replied. “I believe I will stay here with them for some time, investigating this enclave’s teachings for my master. Before I forget, I need you to record a particular string of letters and digits for me. Do you have a datapad handy?”
Captain Damatha nodded, gesturing to someone off camera. A moment later she nodded to me, and I rattled off the comm ID I had found, adding eight nonsense characters at the front and the end while omitting the hyphenation that was common for comm codes. I suspected the Jedi were listening in or recording this call, and I didn’t want to demonstrate blatantly that I had just snooped on a padawan’s contact info. Since I gave the wrong number of characters and no indications of spacing, anyone listening in wouldn’t immediately guess that the string of alphanumeric characters was actually a comm ID, not unless they knew I had just peeked at the call history and inferred the most likely scenario.
Which they might actually be able to do, but only if the comm unit was keeping a record of my keystrokes. I was willing to take a gamble there.
I was otherwise pretty proud of my quick thinking, to be honest. It was a little trick I’d picked up from my cryptography classes back in college. Obviously, if I was trying to secure the nature of the string from droids or other computers, I would have had to hash or otherwise encrypt the contents, but I don’t have a computer for a brain so that really wasn’t an option.
Also, Star Wars computers might be capable of decrypting hashed messages...I wasn’t actually sure what kind of information security was the norm in this galaxy.
Regardless, “Do you have it?”
“Yes,” Damatha replied, brow furrowed. “What is it?”
“Don’t worry about it, Captain, just don’t lose it,” I waved dismissively. “Do you have the coordinates of my signal?”
“I do.”
“Send Vette out here with a replacement comm,” I ordered before pausing. It was probably presumptuous to invite others to the enclave, and there was also the assassin to worry about. “Actually, strike that. Send her to meet Shyrack Breev at Outpost Varath. I don’t want anyone coming near the enclave while the assassin is still a threat. I will meet her there as soon as I can.”
“Understood. Do you know the name of the Sith commanding these assassins?”
“I don’t. They are not affiliated with Darth Silthar, so the local Imperial forces are not likely to be a threat,” I answered her unspoken question. “Before you go to relay those orders, do you have time to give me a status update on Lieutenant Quinn’s operation?”
“Of course, just give me a moment to find his latest report, My Lord.”
I waited patiently, and then listened attentively to the rather detailed report on the last several combat encounters that Lieutenant Quinn and his men had experienced, followed by a detailed inventory of confiscated contraband and a list of the bounties that could be claimed for the criminals which were captured or killed. It was a satisfactory sum of credits, all told, and we hadn’t even sold the contraband yet. My own men had only taken a single injury, a glancing blaster wound, which honestly I considered to be nearly optimal. Since firefights were involved I had almost expected to lose some soldiers.
Well, there were more combat missions in the near future for my men. I hoped they continued to enjoy resounding success. When Captain Damatha concluded the report, I ended the call and rejoined Master Rell, wondering what the next few days were going to look like.