"
...twelve minutes and thirty-seven seconds... Surik's Blade!! -- that's a new personal record!! Whew..." Dagon pressed a finger on the decrepit wall, the Force surging through his digits as he engraved the numbers from his chronometer. He stepped back to examine all the dusty carvings left behind from years ago. There were about a hundred digits on there in total, grouped in columns starting with a name. Aelys,
Rakaan Horne
, Dagon, Djonas, Ryv, and half a dozen others; some the Jedi could only discern by memory.
The Temple Run. An obstacle-ridden journey from a dozen levels beneath to the abandoned foundations of the Temple upon which the new one had been built. It was where a number of them had
holed up during the Sacking of Coruscant, but most importantly, prior to that tragedy, it had been the gateway from which a number of padawans had slunk in and out of the temple. The Temple Run was the quickest route to the seedy underbelly of the ecumenopolis where they had spent most of their days in 'Jedi business'.
As quick as the route was, it could only be traversed by those gifted with the Force or those of incredible athleticism. Sliding down through ancient maintenance shafts full of punctures and with certain exits literally leading into a plunge to death. Climbing up and down decrepit scaffolds of construction projects abandoned for one reason or the other. Squeezing through unseen gaps between buildings and maneuvering from barely standing rooftops and through long condemned buildings that hid either vile threats or the unseen faces of the downtrodden; each one carrying a destiny that Jedi sought to mend and yet, for each fate restored another dozen broken materialized.
But hope, hope could not be extinguished.
Such was the Jedi's service to the Force.
Such was their vow.
A sullen smile curved the raven-haired Knight's lips at Ryv's last carvings. Twelve minutes and thirty-five seconds. "
Always one step ahead, huh?" the first one in and the last one out. But now he was gone, or rather had become one with the Force. The irksome, loud beeping of his alarm dissipated the thick gloom that had befallen the Jedi. Personal record on the Run but still late for the Council's meeting.
"
Chit." was all he muttered before he darted upwards towards the rebuilt Temple of the Jedi.
**
By the time he arrived the bittersweet mood of earlier had abated, replaced by the signature, cheerful persona he'd come to be known for prior to the Wars. The job was far from done but the last months had seen the Alliance make strides in their reclamation of the Core and most importantly Jem's redemption had played a large part in restoring his mood. He and his padawan had walked a painful but fulfilling journey of finding their selves.
"
Uhh, sorry, had a, uhhh... old lady had issues with her speeder, the traffic you know how it is, hehe." he sheepishly explained his late entry with a plethora of words sown into one incomprehensible excuse. He finished casually wiping the sweat from his face with his shirt and finally looked up to see the gathered. While the positive energy filled the room over Master San Tekka's safe return from the depths of Maw territory, there was an air of solemnness running about that simply made him look like an idiot. And it couldn't be anything less. "
I'll, uhh, take my seat -- good to see you in one piece, Master San Tekka." he said, slinking towards his seat and sinking into its backrest.
For the first time in his life among the Jedi, he felt out of his depth. Over the long years of the wars, Dagon had developed into a Jedi Knight of enviable prowess -- a sharp investigative mind in peak physical condition, but the figures around him all carried a certain crown of wisdom gained through extensive experience over a longer period of time.
With a deep breath, the Jedi Knight dispelled the notion, summoning the trademark bravado he often carried himself with. Confidence was rarely in deficit when it came to him.
"
Solipsis was an elusive man but this... Mori... they are hardly one to stray off the radar." he mused after hearing Valery's accounts of her clash with the new Dark Voice. If this was the same Sith Dagon had battled and nearly died to during the Sacking of Coruscant... such
wound in the Force was impossible not to sense. "
... maybe gathering a surgical strike team of Jedi to eliminate her is key to any success to not only reclaiming the Core but disbanding this evil." he held no false beliefs that there was no one among the New Sith Order that would immediately claim the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith but it could shatter their momentum further as it had occurred with Solipsis' fall.
Valery Noble
Asmundr Varobalder
Zark San Tekka
