tea time
SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
HEAD ARCHIVIST'S OFFICE
The morning correspondence had been arranged on the neat wooden tray at the corner of the desk in the Head Archivist's office.
It was a duty that Sela Basran had started to dread ever since the imbroglio surrounding
Lorn Reingard
and his bombshell meeting. As far as Sela was concerned, every enflamed word, every cross glance, every parting of the ways was a gift to the Sith currently running rampant through the galaxy. Sela herself had been unable to attend the meeting due to responsibilities elsewhere, and she counted it as a blessing. She had enough information from second-hand reports that she trusted to piece together a reasonably clear picture of what had occurred. The notes had begun that same day. More reports. Fallout.
A schism in the Jedi Order. A self-inflicted wound. And both sides were right in their own way. It was the worst kind of family dispute.
Sela's eyes settled on the notes in her inbox for a few moments and then she set about taking her time making tea. A little something to soften the blow of what was sure to be more bad news. The ritual soothed her, so by the time she sat she had a steaming cup of tea in one hand and a plate of toast in the other, both of which she set down in front of her before she collected the papers from the inbox.
The first note was good news, which was rare enough in these times. A development on the contents of the Nightfall Register. She read it twice, jotted a note on her blotter, and set it aside. The next was a note from one of her associates from the Amaxine Vault adventure, the promising young Knight who had agreed with Knight Reingard but who didn't wish to burn bridges. Sela made a note to reply with the afternoon post. There were a few more notes concerning literature she was hoping to obtain for the Sanctuary, another regarding a research project she was undertaking.
The last concerned a resignation from the Jedi High Council.
Fitting, perhaps, because in just a few moments' time she would be heading for a meeting of that self-same Council.
Sela opened the note and read it. She could see that it was designed to be inflammatory, to be taken as seismic, and it might have been in the hands of someone slightly more... more. She wondered if that would be a topic of further conversation at the council meeting; Sela rather hoped not, but it might be unavoidable. Still, Sela was of the view that there were much more pressing matters, including some items that Sela herself had placed on the agenda. It wouldn't do to be displaced by... this.
She put the note in a drawer and rose, finishing her tea in a final gulp, then gathered her cloak and headed for the door.
SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER
Sela Basran entered the Council Chamber briskly a few minutes before the meeting was scheduled to come to order. Her eyes were inexorably drawn to the seats of the Councilors who would no longer attend, and she sighed inwardly. This was going to be an unbearable day. She cleared her throat and approached
Ala Quin
and offered a slight bow. "Good morning, Grandmaster. I understand if our agenda must change today due to, ah, present circumstances. However, I would like to update the Council, at a minimum, regarding our last conversation with the Chancellor regarding the Sith prisoner, if there is time this morning?"
