The Root of the Issue

[Placeholder 04]

In any other case, Cyril would have gone to Genevieve. He was close to the Republic leader, and they shared a mutual trust that tended to turn heads. Cyril was one of the only Jedi she seemed to give much regard beyond professionalism, and he found it easier discussing things with her than his peers. Not to mention the fact that he had served as her advisor and bodyguard for some time in the past.

Times had changed. Shedding his former name, one that was chosen by the late Darth Vulcanis, in favor of his birth name, Cyril had reached out to [member="Kian Karr"]. The two had fought alongside each other a number of times, though there was little to their relationship beyond that. What it came down to was the Jedi maverick's desire to stay away from the rest of the council. He had no disdain for them: he had shame. He and his warriors had come to the Republic with the hope of halting the Sith - they had slowed them, but eventually, Ession was crushed.

The Jedi Lords were no more, and Cyril had returned to the Republic's service in silence. Serving on the front lines was beyond him now, but there were other things the errant Jedi could do to help the cause.

And so he had asked of Kian's presence here on the fringe of the Naboo system. His own shuttle was a simple RSF security transport. A cursory scan of the vessel would reveal no organics besides himself within.

There he waited, the ship set to dock through a nasal tube on its aft end automatically. He knew little of Kian personally - Cyril's experience with the other Jedi Knights was woefully little, and what was there was unpleasant - but he trusted the Kel Dor. Far more than he did the Grandmaster or her cohorts, whom he considered far too young and inexperienced, though that was an argument for another time.

The fact that Kian was the head of the Shadows, and the perfect relay between Sith space and Republic territory, was just a bonus.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian had gotten the message from someone calling himself [member="Cyril Grayson"], and with some investigation Kian realized that it was Graxin Rade. Kian hadn't know Rade well, but he'd fought alongside him on several occasions and had come to respect the man's fighting prowess, but didn't necessarily see eye to eye with him with regards to philosophies.

But none of that mattered.

Cyril said he had information to pass along about the One Sith, and information was Kian's business. But Kian was slow to trust these days.....he'd been a Shadow too long and as hard as he had fought to avoid it...paranoia was a byproduct of the duties. It was why Kian had left the Gnost Dural in stealth mode several jumps from the rendezvous and had taken The Shadow, his Jocasta-Class Light Corvette, instead. Kian left his backup behind. Cyril seemed to want to meet alone.

"Sir, we're at the rendezvous coordinates....there is a single vessel." CG-50, Kian's protocol droid said.

"What do the scans show?" Kian asked as CG went about running the diagnostics.

"A single lifeform." CG-50 said in his metallic voice. Kian nodded and leaned forward, hitting the button to hail the ship.

"This is The Shadow, you seem to be lost?" Kian said, using the question they'd settled on as a safeguard. If Cyril responded with "I was lost, but now I'm found" it was all clear. If he responded with anything else, Kian was to get out of there as fast as possible.....one couldn't be too careful.

 

[Placeholder 04]

It was reasonable to show a measure of caution. Cyril had not been particularly around in the order when Kian took over the Shadows. He also happened to have been the Emperor's hand when the Kel Dor was a Padawan - something few people knew these days. He preferred it stayed that way. It was likely Kian knew all of this, of course, he was the head of the Shadows. It was feasible that the Jedi Master knew more about all that had happened more than Cyril himself, given the mass of information available to someone of his position.

The thought sent a shiver down his spine. He pulled on his mother's lightsaber, a memento from Naboo's Queen, and a symbol of her letting go of her old Jedi life as a Jedi Master. It was something her son would carry whenever he was allowed, a connection to his family that few Jedi had. Hopefully Kian would regard that more openly than some of the others.

The Kel Dor's voice rang out through the small shuttle. Cyril drew in a deep breath, and keyed the comm. "I was lost, but now I'm found."

He stood up an inch straighter, and held his head high. This would be the first time he had spoken to anyone from the order aside from his mother since Kashyyk, and even longer since he'd spoken a word to [member="Kian Karr"]. It was only fitting that he gave the master of shadows a positive impression.

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian smiled under his mask as he heard the chosen words repeated back.

"Begin docking procedures." Kian said and turned to leave the cockpit. As Kian made his way toward the docking port, he pulled the hood down from over his head, not wanting to come across as defensive. Kian also pushed his lightsaber around to the side of his belt so that it was out of sight. From the message Kian had received, Kian got the sense that Cyril had been on assignment for quite some time and that could tend to make even the best of Jedi wary and overly cautious. Kian didn't wish to portray even the slightest bit of hostility or aggression when they first met.

As Kian approached the door that connected the two ships, he felt the soft impact of the two vessels locking together. Kian would go onto Cyril's ship, as a show of good faith and because he wasn't sure if there were materials that needed to be shown that were not able to be taken off the vessel that the Jedi was on. As the door opened and Kian descended into Cyril's vessel, Kian steeled himself internally for a trap that he was hesitant to think was coming. Kian didn't distrust the man.....but he'd been a Shadow far to long to not get that feeling.

When Kian set foot down on the floor of the other vessel and turned, Kian's eyes widened beneath his mask. Standing before him was not the man he knew.....or at least not the man he recognized. The force signature was undoubtedly the Jedi he was here to meet, but the physical differences were staggering. Something had changed, and looking at the man, Kian had to assume it was for the better. Graxin Rade had always had a dark, scared complexion with danger in his eyes. The Jedi before him lacked these qualities and it helped to set Kian at ease.

"Master Grayson." Kian said, his muffled voice deep and clear despite the mask. "It has been a long time." Kian glanced up at the man as he spoke and extended a taloned hand. Kian, standing at only roughly 1.7 meters in height, the difference was clear to see. Kian, while strong, was not a necessarily large man and often found himself looking dwarfed around many of the Jedi of the Order....though in truth Kian preferred it this way. A small opponent was often an underestimated opponent.

[member="Cyril Grayson"]​

 

[Placeholder 04]

Cyril understood how silly it might appear to some to change his own name. For the errant Jedi, it was a necessity. Silara knew him well - he's defeated, and then spared her life on Kashyyk. Soon enough, she would have learned of his connection to Naboo's current royal family, and all forms of vengeful hell would have fallen upon the peaceful world. It could not be allowed, and so after a month of deliberation, Cyril had opted to adopt his birth name, in both specialities and legal documents.

His physical changes were not similar to what a Sith might go through. Essence transfer was blasphemy in his eyes. The party's of his body influenced by Sith alchemy had either been modified, or removed. Wounds from Kashyyk had also torn his face into an in recognizable mess, and so, along with cybernetic prosthetics and an artificial lung, he had requested features more akin to his mother's than his father's during facial reconfiguration.

He hoped that did not seem too vain to the Kel Dor.

"You as well Master Karr, though Cyril is fine. I'm not one for formalities with an old ally." He took the shorter Master's hand in an iron grip, and shook it. "And disregard the connection of the last name to Kiskla...our families may be related, but it's never been proven. Already looked into it."

It was the truth. In his mother's time, before he or Kian had ever reached adulthood, Feena Mason had looked into the matter. She'd found the possibility of a relation, but given her position on the Jedi Council, and the push to make her the Grandmaster at the time, it never received enough time to be proven. Cyril would deal with the awkward sharing of the surnames until he figured it out.

"I wanted to speak with you personally. You're one of the only men in the order I trust. Please don't take that the wrong way." His arms fell down to his sides. "I'm going to tell you quite a bit. Take it all in stride, because it took me quite some time to believe it."

He motioned inside, particularly to a small lounge to the right. It was what passed for a conference room on the small vessel. "I've also stuck myself with an assignment - I've always been a bit disconnected from our people, but I want to make sure communication is maintained."

He looked down at the Jedi Master. He kept track of a lot of what happened in the Order. Never had he met Seraphina Shel'tah, but he knew of her exploits since her fall into the depths on Manaan. Not a word was spoken to Corvus Raaf, but he knew of her training, and the path that brought her to the position of Grandmaster.

He trusted that one too, but Kian he had worked with. Kian was the only Master of this new generation that he knew, and that made the Kel Dor different.

[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian had to admit, he had been curious about the naming coincidence but wasn't planning on pursuing the line of questioning. But the answer that Cyril provided eased the curiosity that Kian had initially felt. As Kian walked into the small lounge, Kian couldn't help but wonder what it was about Kian that had drawn Cyril to reaching out to him. It was true that many of the Jedi from when Cyril was prominent were gone or less involved these days....The Jedi Order was dominated now by a number of very talented yet young Jedi.....but the relationship between Kian and Cyril couldn't be all that well established.

Kian had fought alongside the man before. They'd spilled the same blood in the same mud, as the saying went. But that was really the extent of their interactions. But it seemed Cyril trusted Kian, and he couldn't help but feel a bit honored that the man was willing to place his trust in him.

"I'm glad you feel you can trust me." Kian said nodding and taking a seat in the lounge. "This assignment...." Kian said tilting his head to the side quizzically. "I assume it involves the Sith?"

It wasn't a hard assumption to reach. Kian's focuses among the Jedi were fairly singular. He was tasked with the leadership of the Jedi Shadows, an organization dedicated to hunting down and destroying the Sith and their relics. If Kian was the one that Cyril reached out to then it was likely tied to his work with the Shadows.

[member="Cyril Grayson"]​

 

[Placeholder 04]

Sith. That tended to be the name of the game these days, but the Darksiders were not the only things threatening the Republic. They just happened to be the only group who made their presence public. Cyril had investigated a number of incidents during his time in the Order relating to another group. An organization that was causing damage to the Republic from within, had helped to orchestrate the war they currently fought, and presented a very real threat to this day.

Not all of that knowledge should be known just yet. Kian would meet him with speculation, possibly find that Cyril had spent too much time alone. It was not far fetched for people who isolated themselves from their usual environment to lose a bit of their minds. Still, that was not the case with Cyril, but what it implicated might very well seem that way.

"There's no one else I can tell, and until I have solid proof, it's just theory, but someone needs to know in case something gets to me." He drew in a deep breath, and settled into a small wooden chair that seemed like might shatter at any moment. "First, the obvious, the Sith are infighting. Not with each other, but with their underlings. A lot of the Imperials are unhappy. They want an Empire, not a religious movement."

A moment's pause.

"Recently, one of those Imperials made a move in Byss. Testing the waters. Three quarters of the Sith fleet responded immediately. They're jumpy, scared of their own shadow right now." He leaned forward, and steeped his fingers. "We aren't fighting this war with the Imperials. We're fighting it with the Sith. I think the Moffs are starting to understand that...I believe an Imperial revolution is on the horizon, and I think we should capitalize off of it."

Some of that was obvious, some of it was not. Cyril had spent quite some time observing the interactions between the Sith and their lessers. He knew what buttons to push in order to press this movement forward. He did not need to say the rest of what he thought on the issue - [member="Kian Karr"] was a smart man. He would understand that providing the Imperials assistance could very well spell the end of the war.

"I think there's another group behind it. Someone pulling the strings - things are moving too conveniently, and I've heard whispers that there are those in the Republic's hierarchy that have met with the Imperials. Some of the officers anyway."

Whispers. No fact. Taking this to the Council would result in little more than odd looks.

"I'm going into Sith space to make life a little easier for the common folk, and to get to the bottom of this split, maybe help push it forward. I want you to be my go-between with the Council."

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian listened, quietly and calmly as Cyril spoke. First about the infighting in the One Sith government and then about the potential for someone pulling the strings of it all. Kian, outwardly, would appear to have no reaction, partly due to the goggles and antiox mask that covered his face and hid all expression. Inwardly though, as Cyril talked, he was filing away the information and running calculations in his head. Likelihood scenarios about whether or not the information would be reliable or about whether or not it could be acted upon.

Then Cyril mentioned his plans to enter Sith space. Kian raised a hand up and ran it over the spikes on his mask contemplatively, like how a bearded man would run his fingers through the hair.

"That is a dangerous assignment your taking on." Kian said, leaning slightly forward. "The likelihood of capture....or death....would be great." Kian said, not doubting the abilities of the man but concerned for his well-being.

"I'd be willing to bring any information you provide to the Council." Kian said sitting back. "But are you sure you want to take this risk?"

"And if you are, why?" Kian asked. He liked to know the motivations of people he worked with and he couldn't say that he had a good grasp on the motivations of Master Grayson.

[member="Cyril Grayson"]​

 

[Placeholder 04]

[member="Kian Karr"]'s concern made sense. A man's motivations were everything. They defined who he was as a person, made light of one's true self. Cyril had pondered this for some time. In his earlier days, he'd lived only to serve. First Darth Vulcanus, and then the Jedi Order. It was all an attempt to feel as if he belonged. The reality of it was that he did not belong as the other Jedi did. He was not raised within the temple, he's formed no bond with a master, or trained alongside the others.

He'd been an outlier that joined the order as an adult, and once he realized that, his purpose became clear.

"Over nine thousand men followed me into battle on Kashyyk. We held the beach. My Padawan sacrificed himself to protect the Republic, and I gave everything I had to stop Darth Vitium. The result was a loss, a devastating blow to morale, and a mortality rate that can never be justified." He leaned back in his chair, and breathed a heavy sigh. In that moment, Cyril looked very tied, and very old.

"The Sith took my sister, and all those closest to me. I failed to stop them as I promised. I don't seek vengeance, Kian, I want that to never happen again. I don't have the connection you do with the order - the familial bonds, the friendship, service is all I can provide to you and our compatriots."

It was the truth, if not a bit raw. He came to accept it some time ago, but voicing his thoughts still brought up the pain of Kashyyk. He missed Armand, Rusken, his only friends, dead or missing from that pointless mess. It wasn't right for him to just sit back and enjoy life while their killers were free to commit more travesties.

"The Order needs you, and the rest of the Council to teach new Padawans. You are our legacy - I'm an expendable arm of the Order. If I can make some sort of difference in this war, even if it results in my death, I'll do what I can to bring it about." He offered the Kel Dor a small smile. There was a hint of warmth in it, as if he were pleased to just be talking with another Jedi.

"Our lives are sacrifice, and if I wasn't prepared to take it I wouldn't be a Jedi. You take the same risks with what you do. I should be worrying about you, rather than you me."

[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian nodded along to what Cyril had to say about Kashyyyk. Kian had been there, though on another part of the planet. He, and several others, had been tasked with defending a Wookie stronghold from the forces of the One Sith. Kian had been on the front line, fighting among the soldiers and the droids against a never ending barrage of Sith troopers and Vong. Kian had watched as the soldiers around him had died and had been helpless to stop the tidal wave of the Sith. They'd overrun the stronghold and Kian and many others were forced to retreat in order to fight another day. When Kian closed his eyes, he could still see the faces of the dead from that and several other battles.

The Jedi were not meant to fight wars.....but they did what they must for the good of the Republic.

"The service you'll provide from the front line will be invaluable." Kian said nodding in agreement and then stepped closer, "But don't think for a second that you are expendable." Kian said shaking his head in disagreement.

"A Jedi must be willing to sacrifice, this is true. But sometimes we must also be willing to live." Kian said and let out a heavy breath. "We must be willing to accept our failures and move on....we must be willing to continue to fight long after the fight has gone out of us." Kian said chuckling and thinking about how low he'd felt following the loss on Manaan.

"Death comes for us all, but that doesn't mean you need to go looking for it." Kian said, a part of him worried that Cyril was doing this to prove something or to be punished for perceived failures. "Don't take any risks you don't have to."

Kian stopped for a moment and eyed the man, and Kian poured warmth into the force to make up for the fact that his face could not be seen.

"As for the other thing," Kian said referring to Cyril's comments about not having ties to the order, "you have friends among the Jedi, and they do worry about you. Don't let yourself forget that."

[member="Cyril Grayson"]​

 

[Placeholder 04]

That was unexpected. Cyril lofted a brow as the warmth washed over him like a tidal wave. It was a rare thing for any other force user to acknowledge him in such a way - he was usually the one giving such comfort, and the rest of the time he found himself surrounded by those with no affinity for the invisible energy field. That was not necessarily a bad thing, but the worried display was still touching in a way.

"Thank you Kian." He offered a warm smile. "At times I forget. My master and those I was trained with have all passed on."

Kelios, Sharn, Kaigann, Rusken...

The thought brought him a momentary discomfort. It was not natural for the Order to go through cycles so quickly. This war was a meat grinder for the order he so loved. Jedi Knights were killed daily, and Padawans were thrust into the vacant roles for too early. It was necessary to keep the Sith at bay, but the cold truth to it did not sit well with the errant Knight.

"As for the risks, I do my best to be careful. I want you to update the Prime Minister on my status. She trusts me, and I don't want to risk a middle man shifting my words around, so I'd like to transfer all messages through you. Someone I can trust." He gave a moment's pause.

His voice fell to a low whisper, as if he spoke to loud, the whole galaxy might hear. He leaned forward, and stared straight at the Kel Dor.

"Kian, if this succeeds, I need you and any other Masters we can spare on Coruscant. The Republic will buy us time, but it'll be worth it." He let that sit for a moment, to provide emphasis to the matter. "We're going to capture the Sith Emperor and bring him back to the Republic, put him on trial for the Sith's atrocities - and if we have to, we'll eliminate him in his throne room. I've spoken with some of the Silver seers and others with similar skills. They all see the same thing. I'm going to need your help to do that."


[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian considered this for a moment. Kian had spent a great deal of time investigating the rumors of the One Sith Emperor. Even minute, unimportant details concerning the Sith's life was wreathed in shadow and uncertainty. Kian often found himself wondering if the Sith Emperor even existed, or if he was simply a tool that the Sith Lords used to impose order across their empire. Recent rumors were that he did exist....and had been assassinated.

"I have had some interaction with the Prime Minister and would be willing to act as a go between there as well." Kian said nodding along. "When I return to Ossus, I will call a meeting of the Council and relay what you've told me too them." Kian said, and for a moment he found himself wondering when it was he was last on the homeworld of the Jedi Order.

"I can make no promises as to how the Council will view this news..." Kian said knowing better than to assume what the other Masters would make of it. "But I can promise that I will deliver the information to them unbiased and true to what you've said."

Kian eyed [member="Cyril Grayson"] for a silent moment and then, unable to leave it be, pressed for more information.

"What exactly do you know about the Sith Emperor?" Kian asked. For some time Kian had been interested in gathering all the information he could....and this was a potential lead he didn't with to leave unexplored.

 

[Placeholder 04]

"Careful who you tell. This mission requires absolute secrecy. If the Sith find out prematurely, we'll be slaughtered." It was the truth. The moment the Sith learned of a threat to their Dark Lord, their entire fleet would recall to Coruscant. Cyril had tested this on the world of Byss. The contact he shared with the Imperial had ushered forth a revolution of sorts on the planet. One of the Stormtrooper captains usurped Byss's ruler, and three quarters of the entire Sith Fleet responded. When Coruscant began, it would be the entire Sith force.

"As for what I know about him, bits and pieces." He offered a thin smile. "I had a run in with him when I first joined the Order. Sent to Coruscant by the former Council to retrieve the Holocron of Darth Krayt from his chambers. I made it through the first set of doors before his guards subdued me, by I felt him. His presence. His voice. He's very real." The smile disappeared.

He spent a moment recalling that chilling event. It had been brought on by his own mistakes, but he still felt his task to retrieve the Holocron was too heavy a punishment for a wayward Padawan. Kiskla and her compatriots had sent him on the ill-fated mission shortly after the battle of Ossus. He knew the Imperial Palace well, honestly one of the best choices for this sort of thing, but the thought of returning was still unsettling.

"Other events have helped me confirm his existence. Do you recall Darth Vitium? She had a bit of an attraction toward me. We clashed many times because of it, and she always did her best to convince me to serve her lord. It's not solid proof, but that zealotry was not a lie." It was the best explanation he had to offer. There was other proof, but he was not necessarily ready to relay that to [member="Kian Karr"].

Better the master of shadows not know how Cyril obtained his intel.

"I don't know where he comes from, or what strength he has. What I do know is that the Sith fear him, and he must be powerful enough to bind them together as one mind." He leveled his gaze to meet Kian's. "So I highly doubt it will be easy subduing him."

 

[Kian Karr]

Spoiler

Sorry for the wait, I was on a short LOA!

Kian considered [member="Cyril Grayson"]'s words for a silent moment. Kian had been trying to gather what information he could on the secretive leader of the One Sith empire but as he and the Shadows had soon found out....there was little information available. Kian prided himself on being able to gather intelligence on even the most secretive of things, but he hadn't even scrapped the surface on the One Sith leader. It was partly why Kian found it so valuable to be present at this meeting and continue to gather the information that Cyril was likely to provide. If it was one thing the Kel Dor Jedi disliked it was not having enough information.

"You needn't worry." Kian said to Cyril. "I'm nothing if not discrete with information."

Darth Vitium? It was a name Kian certainly had heard and she had had several interactions with other Jedi of the Order over the years, though Kian's own interactions with her were limited.

"Do you believe you would be able to pull off this mission?" Kian asked, wondering if someone as powerful as the emperor could be captured alive.

"How many have you recruited for this mission?"

 

[Placeholder 04]

Spoiler

Not a problem man. I was a bit slow myself.

Can I do this?

It was a difficult question, and Cyril spent a long moment mulling it over. He was did not see himself as overconfident. A bit brash, perhaps, but he would not commit people to such an assignment if he did not believe victory was possible. Yes, if all the cards were played correctly, they might very well succeed. He had to believe that much.

"Given the right preparations, yes, it can be done. We just have to be careful." He replied, breathing a quiet sigh. Just thinking about Coruscant right now made him uncomfortable.

"Currently I have a team of six. As activities continue, I expect it to grow exponentially. When the time comes, we're going to need the Order's help on this."

[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian nodded at the man's words. The mission he was taking on was a hefty one and while Kian coudn't garantee the Order's cooperation, if it was likely to lead to the capture of the One Sith Emperor, Kian was certainly intrigued.

"I'll do what I can." Kian said.

"And if there is anything you need from the Shadows," Kian said reaching into his robes and pulling out an encrypted datapad. "This will allow you to contact me through secure lines." Kian said.

"Can your team be trusted?" Kian asked. He wasn't going to press for who they were, but Kian was always a bit paranoid. The larger the group, the better the odds that one of them could be a mole.

[member="Cyril Grayson"]​

 

[Placeholder 04]

"Absolutely." Cyril replied immediately. There were no others he placed so much faith in - except Kian perhaps, given the circumstances. He offered a thin smile, one meant to reassure the Kel Dor, but was truly a paltry attempt.

Either way, he took the datapad all the same. He gave it a single once over, ran his fingers over the interface, and nodded. Whatever happened, the Council would know of it, one way or the other. He only hoped things would go better than Kashyyk.

"I'll let you know if we have the need Kian, thank you. I think I've held you up long enough. I know you have a thousand issues to attend to, and I need to muster my people."

[member="Kian Karr"]