The Admiral's Dining Hall

[Johnathon Lynd]

A large room that was about as elegant as one could be on a Military Vessel without taking away from the general military feel of the ship. This was a place where guests of all kinds could be severed. There was a a long wooden dining table in the room that was purposeful in design to provoke conversation while preserving a home like touch in the midst of space. An observant eye would notice that the room was void of any kind of over the top flare, it was simply a place for gathering that felt a touch above the main mess hall.

[Kaini Khatoin]

The dining room was not exactly as elegant as they may have expected, it was meant to serve dignitaries and people of the sort, but this was a military vessel, and one who was especially observant might notice that there was no major flair present in the room. The room itself consisted of a three meter long table with chairs at each side, the table itself was a dark cherry, the flags of the Jedi order used as a runner on the table and at the two seats designated for Ahslin and Erril, there was a hand carved wooden Jedi insignia and a card.

As they entered the room, Kaini stood at one end of the table and heard the droid rambling on and on. The Darksider had long ago grown especially tired of this droid and could not believe that he was chosen for the task of escorting the Jedi.

"And I believe you have already met Kaini......iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"

With one motion the Darksider lifted the droid up and force pushed him out of the room, and shut the doors with a wave of his hand.

::Kaini Khatoin is my name Master Jedi. I am sorry you had the misfortune of dealing with him, he never shuts up.::

His physical details may not have been noticed by the Jedi before, but now here he was standing before them in the modestly lit room. He stood tall a shade under six feet even, with a typical athletic build. he wore all black of course, with a slightly tattered cloak draping his shoulders. His lightsaber was visible at his hip, securely attached to his belt at his right hip through no loop or other mechanical device, it was canted slightly forward. The weapon itself, was simple, to the point of being rough, it was shiny in some spots, there were weld marks on the bare steel, there was no attempt to make this instrument pretty, but it was functional. The grips were rubber and the activation button was near the top where his thumb could comfortably rest.

His helmet, was black, covered in scratches revealing bare metal and a dent just below his right eye. It was the helmet coupled with everything else that gave this man a rough and intimidating look, one who was a force to be reckoned with, someone who was not afraid to get down and dirty and fight until his last breath. His hands, as with any living being, they were the things that could hurt you, his were covered in black leather gloves, with dark metallic slash guards present at his wrists.

::He'll be fine. Welcome again, you're looking better than the last time I saw you. More....filled with life.::

He motioned with his hand.

::You may sit where you chose, there are gifts for you on the table. The voice you heard in the room will be along in just a moment.::

He stood there, emotionless a far cry from the way he was in medical lab, his hollow eyes on his mask simply stared at them and waited for them to move towards their seats. Meanwhile there were two more guards cloaked in red standing at the far end of the room guarding a separate entrance.

[Erril Winterhold]

As the Jedi entered the room, Erril immediately felt the Sith’s presence, and the darkness that emanated from him brushed over the Jedi’s consciousness like a breeze stirring up cooling embers. He recalled his former impressions of the man, and now he also had Ashlin’s first encounter to add to his perception as well. It troubled him now, having experienced it more or less first hand, to see how maliciously close he had come to Ashlin during his intimidative posturing earlier – while she was still reeling from carbon freeze revival, no less. But then, that had probably been the point. Seeing the Sith standing there now, flicking the erratic droid out the door with an apology and introducing himself in such civil tones reminded Erril of just how devious, and also how conflicted Sith could be. Inconsistency was a hallmark among darksiders.

He bowed as was his custom, and spoke calmly after the Sith – Kaini – had introduced himself. “I would return the introduction but apparently you’ve already done your research. We are at your… disposal.”

So saying, Erril brushed Ashlin’s mind discretely and stepped forward to the table – casually ignoring the engraved chairs with their adjacent gifts – to sit at a pair of more modest chairs nearer the door. It might have seemed as though the two of them were purposely ignoring certain pieces of social etiquette, but there was no reason to assume…

Erril stepped up to one chair and pulled it out ahead of Ashlin, smiling pleasantly. “Kaytren.” He said, offering her the chair. The subtle touch of his mind turned into a subtle voice – one that he’d learned to conceal flawlessly at this point, both in presence and in body language.

(He looked taller before)

As the elder Jedi scooted his companion’s chair beneath her, and moved to take his own just one seat closer to the Sith’s end of the table, he continued his private dialogue. (He seems more restrained this evening as well. I suppose there could be any number of reasons why… I think I prefer it, even so. Let me know if you sense anything unusual. You have a far keener mind, my dear)

Erril paused for a moment beside his chair and glanced at the gifts on the table, then over at Kaini. He of course, like Ashlin, had not arrived in the formal attire that had been brought for him, deigning instead to arrive in the simple grey button-down tunic and trousers they had given him in the medical lab. The one addition to his otherwise ordinary appearance took the form of a cloth bundle on his left hip, which held in place his lightsaber much the same way Jedi of millennia past had tied their katanas to their sides. The cloth he used was none other than the very piece that the lightsaber had been wrapped in during carbon freeze. The lightsaber was a simple dura-carbide hilt, press-fitted together and crafted to be nothing but practical. There was, in fact, not even an activation switch anywhere on the hilt.

Erril slid the bundle and saber around his hip so that the weapon came to rest on his thigh when he sat, and scooted his chair in a little more loudly. After the chair came to a halt, there was a silence that might have been labeled awkward for a moment, then Erril glanced at Ashlin and smiled. When the same smile turned on Kaini, there was no mirth in it whatsoever.

“And now the big reveal, I suppose.”

[Ashlin Li]

Ashlin quietly took in the droid's rambling about this and that, the vessel, and his apparently typical stream of important and high-profile visitors. It seemed to mention a pop-holo actress or two, though she didn't recognize any of the names. The idea that the escort droid had been programmed to provide them with a gibberish stream of non-information crossed her mind, but it seemed possible likely that the machine was just... talkative.

She kept mental note of the decks and passages they'd seen between the laboratory, their quarters, and now eventually this dining room, and it seemed to her that they were further from the depths of the vessel now; maybe closer to a hangar and a few somewhat less minimalistic rooms for all these supposed guests and dignitaries. Not that she was willing to feel sure about anything yet... But that viceroy didn't sound to her like he'd have even fit on one of narrow cots.

She stepped into the dining hall beside Erril when they arrived, and catalogued her impressions of the room, the Sith, and subsequent farewell to GH-47.

Though he was athletic and imposing enough to be sure, Kaini was of a slightly more average build than she'd formed an impression of 20 hours ago... And a bit stabler, though that could shift at any moment. Still, the nearly 5'8" woman with thin build and gracefully braided hair found it mildly comforting to see the Darksider from a viewpoint that was far closer to her usual self and senses.

She slipped into the chair Erril had chosen, and acknowledged his private dialogue with a simple brush of acquiescence and agreement. Similar to the other Jedi, her only real addition the original gray ship's clothing they'd received in the laboratory was a simple linen strip of an obi belt, into which she'd securely tucked a well-made lightsaber. The hilt was stylistically traditional, though of more Guardian style than she'd have typically crafted on her own. She met eyes companionably with Erril, and then toward Kaini with calm politeness.

"I suppose we're ready, then."

[Kaini Khatoin]

Typical Jedi stubbornness, they avoided the gifts which were made for them, it did rub Kaini the wrong way a bit but he kept his mouth shut and slid a chair out and sat across from the pair. He had the advantage of knowing far more about the situation than the both of them could have. They were likely to be defensive, he was after all rather dark and he was rather sure that there normal encounters with Darksiders were not normally pleasant. Nor did he figure that them being awoken from their slumber by a Sith was something that either of them would have hoped for. He motioned for a droid, he brought him a datapad, he scanned the contents and debated sliding it across the table to Erril but decided against it. Now was not the time to upset him, not at this exact moment anyway it could wait until maybe a bit more rapport was built among the pair if that were ever to happen.

::Do you require anything? The rest of the droids are not like the one that brought you here.::

Water glasses were quickly filled by a pair of droids, including Kaini's until he looked up at the droid and gave it stare as it realized it's mistake.

::You don't trust us. I don't blame you, but bear in mind one thing. We saved you, both of you and more. You've been in hibernation for a very long time. The galaxy has changed, some say for the better, some say for the worst, I say, the best is yet to come.::

He paused and folded his arms in front of him as salad plates were placed in front of the Jedi.

::I ask that you hear us out. Respectfully, I also ask that you leave your opinions of the Dark Side and me at the door.::

He paused for a brief moment.

::An open mind is not a lot to ask, but forgetting first impressions are and I....understand that.::

[Johnathon Lynd]

Then there was silence as Kaini stopped talking, it couldn't happen soon enough, but he knew when it would end. He saw everything going on in the room and waited patiently just outside of the door during the initial conversation. The two Jedi in the room had not seen him in quite a long time, his hair had changed from the fiery red of his youth to a light brown. His eyes were very nearly the same color as his hair.

The conversation stopped and the time was now, there was no anxiety, no negative vibe or darkness present in his aura, he simply was and that might be confusing to both of the Jedi present, his aura had always held with it such turmoil, such fear and emotional distress. The visions had nearly crippled him as youth, to the point that the Jedi had considered him untrainable and made him a Junior Archivist in the Jedi archives. He spent many days there and interacted with and encountered most of the order's Padwans, Knights, and Masters. They would have known him then, but again he had changed. The doors opened, and both guards dressed in red snapped to attention as he entered the room. He stood the height of his father and had similar build, a dignified beard with a touch fo grey in spots adorned his face. He was wearing the robes of the Gallactic Alliance, in fact these were the robes of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Alliance, a fact that he was sure they would notice relatively quickly.

His face lit up in a brilliant smile as his eyes finally were filled with the sight of the two Jedi that he had not seen with his natural eyes in nearly twenty years. He had missed them, he missed them more than either of them could know and they may or may not have recognized them or remembered them, but what was important is that they were here now.

"Good Evening, Master Winterhold and, oh nice try with the Kaytren comment, but I never forget a face. You are doing well aren't you Ashlin Li?"

He walked up to both of them and bowed respectfully, his body guards in the corner of the room stood nervously, but understood that these were Jedi, but Jedi that they had not been allowed to thoroughly vet before he entered the room.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Chancellor Naom Samja, of Corellia, or perhaps you might remember me a bit differently. Johnathon Lynd, Junior Jedi Archivist. The seer child, the one Rain took under her wing a bit to help save himself, the child who could not be trained as a Jedi. Remember? Son of Svo'k, brother of Alex, the vegetarian Jedi Knight, also the brother of Adrian, the boy who sliced your Padawan's arm off Master Winterhold?"

Johnathon stopped for a moment and studied the pair, the smile not fading from his face for even a brief moment. His aura was filled with warmth and sincerity as his eyes both natural and unnatural took in their surroundings.

"I am so glad to see the both of you mostly recovered from your hibernation sickness, we had gone to the temple and brought your clothes for you, but we of course understand if your trust in the situation and us is less than complete. We have a lot to talk about, a great deal to discuss and it is my sincere hope that we can come to some sort of arrangement."

He was a far cry from the shy and often skittish boy that worked in the archives, he was charismatic and could be downright charming, he was of course a politician. One that had spent his entire career fighting for peace and harmony in the galaxy. The politician who had started the war on the spice traders and had all but eradicated them from existence.

"The Galactic Alliance of course would like to continue our relationship with the Jedi, but we understand that things have now changed. There are other Senators onboard, Senators that are interested to meet you, but as my friend Kaini mentioned to you, the Galaxy has changed dramatically since you went into your hibernation."

He wanted to offer them both a hug, but he felt that they were likely to not receive it quite as well as he hoped in this setting, perhaps later. It had indeed been far too long since he had seen any Jedi for that matter and he did miss their presence.

[Ashlin Li]

The Jedi woman watched Kaini take his seat, quietly absorbing the words and mannerisms that the masked Darksider chose to present them with this time. The politics and intentional theatrics ran through this place like lights and shadows twisting around in a thick fog... and this man appeared to significantly change his mood, demeanor, and the sorts of information he presented them with on a whim, or with every shift in his current marching orders. Just as in the medical lab, she had the sense that the man still seemed to prefer measuring Erril's reactions a bit more than her own... until just perhaps at the very end... Until, even there. She kept herself free from any particular emotions about that, but quietly shared the impression with Erril just the same, perfectly shielded.

Silence hung in the air for just a moment too long after Kaini came to the end, bringing up Darkness itself, or overcoming first impressions. She had her own thoughts there, and weighed out whether it might serve any real use if she shared them... But then, guards snapped to attention, the doors at the other end of the room opened, and the moments of waiting talk seemed to pass.

It appeared that their "host" had arrived.


* * *


Where the two Jedi were, even why, or with whom, didn't matter nearly so much to either of them as the when. They'd been dormant in the tibanna ice for a "very long time," according to Kaini and the few other fragmented signs she or Erril had picked up from the medical lab. They knew that meant years, and they'd known even on the mining world that the stasis casings would probably not function for much past a half-century... Trying to guess anything much more specific about what that might mean for them here had proven more disheartening than helpful; so she and Erril had resolved to wait until something more concrete gave them any anchor to judge time against.

That something stepped into the dining hall.

Ashlin knew very well that they might come to this room to discover someone they knew, or who knew of them. She hadn't conceived any expectations about the ones who'd revived them and held them here, because... it could have been anyone.

But she knew him. When the stately man in what appeared to be highly ceremonial GA garb entered the dining hall, the Jedi woman grasped to fit him into her memory...

She raised her chin a little higher and calmly watched the man through eyes more quiet stormcloud-blue than her mother's earthen brown as the bearded man corrected 'Master Winterhold' and made a point of addressing her by only her own name. She'd thought about this a great deal throughout the day and morning, and there was no flicker of reaction anywhere in her mind or features. He bowed and moved on through the rest of his prepared introductions while she watched, listened, and took a slow sip from her water glass.

Johnathon.

Her nephew, of a sort... Although, this man had been born nine and one half months her elder, which she shared privately with Erril as the remembrance slipped back to her. Her status as "aunt" was a companional joke she'd always shared far more with his twin, Alex, with whom she was far closer. But she knew him.

The few children born with so much intense sensory and precognitive Sensitivity, like this man had, always seemed to have hardest time even surviving sanely through childhood... let alone in ways that made Jedi life manageable, even if they'd wanted it. She'd never quite managed to see Johnathon as her same age. He'd grown into himself now.

This Johnathon here and now, with the dignified beard, steady stance, and the steadier-yet tone and smile of a man who'd long ago grown comfortable among others... was at least eight years her senior; if not more depending on how quickly or slowly the dominant Force energies in his life had seen fit to age him. That was never easy to judge from looks among true Sensitives. Strains and sacrifices might wear lines in their bodies early, or cause other permanent change... But then other deep wells in the Force might pool into them and give aging pause. She'd seen a great deal of both. Still, in Johnathon's case, he'd been given more time than her body had seen... She'd call it ten years since she'd stepped into the carbonite then... And in that time, something had happened to the Homeward. Add that to the first ten since the dying energy pulled them, and the center of galaxy had spun without her for at least twenty years.

In the two decades or more since they'd last met gazes, it seemed Johnathon had fought through his demons, and either harnessed or embraced them... Or else they'd hollowed him out, and consumed him entirely... She could only imagine what else had changed in the galaxy.

Ashlin breathed out and glanced briefly at Erril when Johnathon arrived at his pausing point, then at Kaini, and returned her gaze to rest on the relaxedly smiling Johnathon, who'd kept his aura so consciously warm and open for them. Hers wasn't.

"You look... Better." she spoke very quietly, her mind reflecting back only the exact same pitch-perfect depth and ripples of harder thoughts unspoken that she let fall into her tone and sincere features.

"It's been a... very... long time. As you've said, much has happened. Which names and burdens I'll carry are my choice, Chancellor Samja... I'm sure that you have a lot more to talk about."

[Erril Winterhold]

The casual comments that proceeded from the voice synthesizer in Kaini’s helmet had been of mild interest to Erril, as they had waited for the host. But then one phrase had suddenly leapt out of all the placating banter and burned itself into Erril’s mind like a hot brand. Could it be…? He tucked the thought away with some effort and refocused his mind. There would be another time.

Ashlin’s perception of the Sith intrigued him, and served as a good achor to bring him back to the moment. Erril sat with her impression in his mind for a moment before reflecting it back with his own perception layered over. A vaguely primal instinct lay at the bottom of the idea and coursed up through the rest of the logic like inverse roots. If his intuition was correct, the Sith was paying him more mind because he considered him the greater threat – or perhaps at the very least, the “leader” in some sense. It seemed clear to Erril that Kaini was the main enforcer in whatever operation their host was running. Whether he was the clever right hand or simply the most brutal of the attack dogs remained to be seen, but Erril wasn’t concerned. The tail end of the impression he glided back to Ashlin was the mental equivalent of a smirk – perhaps this Kaini fellow was simply an ignorant male subconsciously refusing to acknowledge the possibility that Ashlin could be the greater threat.

He was about to say a little something to Ashlin about how Kaini would focus on her more if he knew how formidable her mind was, when he heard footsteps approaching the door at the far end of the room. His grey eyes covered the entrance, and observed a man in rich garb emerge from the door with all the confident ease of a socialite entertaining guests.

Johnathon…

Erril remembered well the things the Chancellor reminded them of. He remembered the private session of council where they had discussed what to do with him, and decided that the archives would be an appropriate, relatively sensory-devoid environment where he could focus on matters of the mind, and be in the company of calm and intelligent Jedi on a regular basis. He remembered the family as well, so scattered and filled with all shades of the Force. The memory of Arty losing his arm was no longer a sore spot for the elder Jedi, given how much time his former Padawan had spent since then gushing about all his ideas for improvements to the prosthetic that had replaced the organic limb. His thoughts side-tracked for a moment as he pondered Arty’s situation. Was he…? Still not the time

Johnathon’s lot appeared to have changed by an order of several magnitudes in their absence. Even if the “Chancellor” bit was a ruse, which Erril had no reason to suspect just then, he commanded the obedience of a great many capable individuals. And, most importantly to the elder Jedi’s continuing assessment of the situation, Johnathon had aligned himself with the darkness. Certainly he didn’t seem to exude the darkness himself, but it was all around him; it was in the company he kept, and the ship on which he currently resided and had chosen to host the revival of two Jedi. Had he hoped to win their trust in this way? Erril was skeptical of Johnathon, but for the moment he had no recourse except to hear him out, and learn what he could of the former Jedi who now commanded the loyalty of Sith, as well as a significant degree of sway in galactic politics, apparently.

“I should think so,” Erril said in a low voice, adding his ascent to Ashlin’s final statement, while not quite removing his sharp gaze from their host.
“So tell us then, Johnathon… Naom? What role do the Supreme Chancellor and his –” Erril shrugged, glancing at Kaini “- associates see the Jedi filling at this political juncture? Judging by the way we’ve been conducted up to this point, I’m assuming it’s something very particular.”

[Kaini Khatoin]

Without missing but a moment's breath and perhaps interjecting where he shouldn't, perhaps not, he looked at both Jedi.

::The one thing that you hold most dear. Peace, we want peace. It can only be prosperous for all of us, including you. The Jedi have a saying, There is no Passion, only Peace. Well the last several years would seem to indicate otherwise. The galaxy is destroyed in war after war, even the Alliance is crumbling, not long after my....Johnathon came to power. He was a successful senator, he nearly destroyed the spice cartels in their entirety, who were raping and murdering their way through the galaxy.::

He stopped again and looked towards Johnathon, he had half expected a quick reproach for speaking out of turn, but apparently now was either not the time or he had done nothing wrong. Either way he had said what he needed to, not that either of Jedi were really going to listen to him at this point. They were too stubborn, like children, their narrow minded view of the Galaxy and of the force in general had been their undoing and would have all but destroyed them.

::Without Darkness, no one would know what Light is. Look at me now, reach out and feel me. Am I evil? Or is it just your point of view that I am? I'm smarter than I look and I know both of you, more than you know. I am sure, Johnathon will explain to you just what our Mission is.

For a brief moment it may have looked as if he looked right at Erril, but then nothing as his gaze fixed on the pair.

[Johnathon Lynd]

"Johnathon in this setting please. The other name was a political necessity my friends. You wouldn't vote for someone who up until adolescence was screaming of blood everywhere would you? Or perhaps someone who allowed his brother to be killed and then tried to carve his eyes out at age fourteen? Of course not."

There was a long pause, Johnathon knew what Kaini was going to say, he saw it before it happened and he understood what the implications were of exactly what Kaini had said.

"I must beg your forgiveness of Kaini here, he means well but can be somewhat entitled at times. You see, we found you adrift in space and had he not gone to great lengths to acquire you both, you would be dead if had not done so. That does not excuse his behavior, here or in the lab, but perhaps it explains it a little bit more."

There was another long pause as Johnathon stroked his beard and studied the pair, he could see many things and he understood how this meeting would likely turn out, but he did not presume to pre-judge their emotions, because what true friend would dare do such a thing? He offered a half smile again and looked lost in thought.

"I suppose to your question, I should begin at the beginning as they say. Gaurds, leave us."

Johnathon took a deep breath, preparing for the story that was too true to believe. Reluctantly the body guards turned and stepped out of the room.

"You obviously know that I went through some emotional trauma following the death of Adrian. What you do not know is that somewhere around that time frame, I made a choice to deal with my visions in a different matter, I learned to control them. Once I controlled what they did to me and the pains they made me feel, I became in a sense numb to them. Once I was numb, I started to understand that I could manipulate the force, to a degree that I think no one around me, including the council thought that I could. I felt that I could be trained, I knew that I could be trained. I thought of approaching the council, but I saw the reaction before it happened. I was not to be trained by Jedi, for all the reasons that were correct in their mind. Then i thought about my visions, were they a curse or a gift? I went with the latter and started to understand why the visions of evil stood out in my mind. The visions of despair, murders, tortures, abuse, rape, spices, and just suffering in general. I was called upon by the force itself to stop it, I had this power, I was given this gift.

There was a problem and it's a problem that I do not know if the two of you can see past, but you both might at least see where I am coming from. In this situation, sometimes the ends justify the means to a point."

Johnathon stopped and motioned for a servant droid who brought him a glass of water. He took a long drink, the the glass perspiring and dripping down the side, the tiny droplet meeting his index finger and rolling down his finger and finally to his hand.

"I trust you however, in my position one might say that's easy considering I more or less know what's going to happen next. Regardless, shortly after Adrian died found control and I started training myself. First little bits in the temple, mostly from what I had read, and seen scores of Masters teach Padawans over the years. Then I began sneaking away, probably around the time I was fifteen or sixteen. I masked my steps so carefully that almost no one could track me. I found my way to the swamps of Dagobah, where my self training continued. I was becoming quite adept, but I had found a master."

Another long pause, as if saying the following words pained him in a sort of way. There was no emotion on his face, nor did he have remorse for what he was about to say, but he knew that it was a betrayal. One that he was not entirely sure that they could see past, the Jedi had taken him in and he had gone against them if even for good cause, it was nevertheless a betrayal at it's very core.

"He was a Sith. He instructed me in the ways of the light and the dark, he helped me move forward to a place that I needed to go. Then one day, when I was about eighteen and fully advanced in my training, I was alone on one of my trips to Dagobah and Alex showed up. He is the only one I could never hide from, and the only one who knew how to mask himself from me. I never saw it coming, he caught me training by myself in the swamp, he had guessed what I had been up to, I tried to explain myself and in my frustration well, I got upset and he saw right through me."

Alex Lynd wrote: Fri Sep 12, 2014 11:59 pm
"Your eyes are quite red brother...."

"I'll never forget those words, he called me what I was, what I am and I betrayed him and all of you. I never came back to the temple after that, I left and my Master watched me become a Senator from Corellia, he had his plans, but I had mine as well. His plans conflicted with mine and since his were inherently evil and mine had a higher purpose behind them, I knew he'd never let me do what I needed to do. He passed away shortly before I was elected chancellor, he was a sociopath anyway, but there are days I do miss him and his guidance."

Johnathon gave a half smile.

"During my time in the Senate, I targeted the evil of the galaxy and slowly eradicated as much of it as I could, through legislation and other means. Somehow factions of cartels seemed to turn on each other and when that happens, it's almost like a self cleaning oven. The people, they loved me before the GA Republic whatever you want to call it fell into disarray given the current state of the galaxy. They still do love me, because I target the scum of the galaxy and do my best to make it a safer place.

This is where you come in. The time is right to move, to take back control and to assert ourselves. Surviving Sith, should be eliminated, present company excluded of course. They do not know our plan or even of our existence in terms that they would understand. Then you can work with us at bringing Peace and balance to the galaxy, by ridding it of evil, using my visions to aid you, together we can unite the galaxy and end the evil that inhabits it, through whatever means are necessary. The Jedi and Sith have always been two sides of the same coin, now they can be united in a common goal. Kaini gets what he wants which is power, you get what you and I want which is Peace and together all sides are happy and the galaxy is a haven for peace and prosperity."

He stopped and studied them, waiting for reactions, facial expressions. He did not reach out to feel them, again he felt that improper, he was giving them nothing but respect and that including turning his sight off to their reactions before they could demonstrate them. His respect for both of them was marrow deep and he had gone to great lengths on this day to show it, even if Kaini tried to rain on that parade a bit.

"Judge me if you will, but the murder rate alone had dropped by 75% since I became chancellor."

[Erril Winterhold]

The two individuals hosting the Jedi vacillated for a moment before Kaini ultimately took on Erril’s question. And of course, it was in the sidewinding fashion intrinsic to all politicians – big picture in scope, but legless to plant its feet in anything of true relevance. Erril felt slightly amused by the warped misuse of the “saying” which Kaini mentioned – which was in fact Odan-Urr’s poor interpretation of the first line in the Jedi Code to begin with, in his opinion. While he pondered some manner of coy response, he brushed reassuringly against Ashlin’s mind – he could sense she was ill at ease with the idea of reaching out to feel the Sith in the force, especially in light of how she had already been mistreated by him. If Kaini had paused at any point along the way, things would have continued to hold steady, but as he sat there so benignly across the table from Erril preaching the values of peace and cooperation, he couldn’t resist the urge to make the discussion entirely personal. It was nothing more than a veiled suggestion, but its implication shattered Erril’s internal calm, and struck at his core like a physical blow.

The elder Jedi’s nostrils flared for a brief moment, in the same sort of manner that someone else’s jaw might have clinched. Inside, he felt a sudden sympathetic flare of glowing nerves and thundering heartbeats. He needed to move, to leap across the table and rip that childish helmet from Kaini’s head; to demand whatever knowledge he had about the child who’d been lost on that final day so long ago. His daughter. Mission.

Above the table, Erril might have appeared still, if mildly perturbed, but his fist was latching around his lightsaber when the small brush of Ashlin’s mind shifted into a profoundly adamant grasp, and pinned his mind to the mental grounding it had been on a moment before.

(I know.)

The force of will coming from the younger Jedi burned in Erril’s mind, much like her earlier revelation in the medical lab had, but he didn’t fight it, letting it wash over his mind and plant him back where he needed to be. He needed to be here, he needed to be now, and he needed to remember why. They held no power over him that he didn’t relinquish to them.

(Erril. I know. I’m right here.)

Ashlin’s voice in his head rang true and clear, and held him down for that crucial moment like an anchor in a stormy sea. His mind carefully took hold of a single idea - one that had been held only in passing a moment ago - and held it firmly in place until he was fully re-centered.

There is Passion, yet there is Peace

After a moment, Erril reached out along the connecting mental fibers and grasped onto Ashlin's presence gratefully. He was aware that she had said something in response to Kaini, but he could hardly focus on it just then. He held onto the anchor he’d been given and drew himself slowly down toward a stable place in his mind.

Erril’s stare was elongated throughout most of Jonathon’s neat little explanation of events since their disappearance. He had to regain his rational mind before he could respond to them, but he had to hear them as well, so his mind ran as close to multi-tasking as was chemically possible. He ran through numbers, and places, and scenarios, keeping in mind all the insight about where and when that He and Ashlin had shared since waking up. There were any number of situations that could have leant Kaini knowledge of Mission that had nothing to do with him having any power over her. That’s what Sith did, they took as their own what wasn’t, and they manipulated. They were devious. It was entirely possible that Kaini was just trying to get in his head – and he had very nearly succeeded. Erril knew there was an equal possibility at this point that the unstable Sith and the conniving politician with whom they shared the table did have Mission closed away in some other facility, but he had control of that knowledge now, and he knew he could unravel that mystery just like all the others; he only needed time.

By the time Johnathon had finished his grand description, he had fleshed out exactly who he was, and where he stood. He had explained the sources of his understanding about the nature of the galactic processes he wished to alter, and also the lengths to which he had gone in order to do what he had already done – as well as what he was undoubtedly willing to do still in order to secure the continued execution of his vision. The Chancellor’s final suggestion struck him quite clearly as flawed in its logic. Any arrangement that allowed a Sith to be in power while the Jedi enjoyed peace and prosperity was an impossible fantasy. Kaini was clearly not suited to power over others, and he understood now that Johnathon’s success in the light of day had been in no small part due to much darker scheming in the shadows. They both had to be stopped.

Behind the walls of subtle mental control and keenly managed body language, the elder Jedi brushed his inner voice against the mind of the younger, carried on an undercurrent of continued gratitude for her unshakable fortitude in the moments before. (Our junior archivist seems to have become a Sith sympathizer, a sociopath, and something of a typically ambitious politician in our absence… We need to force a stalemate here, for now. Get back to our privacy so we can learn a little more about the stakes)

Erril regarded Johnathon for a long moment after his final comment about the murder rate, making sure the Chancellor knew he had been heard, then with deliberate slowness, he shifted his sharp grey eyes away from any focus on Jonathon, and onto the Sith across the table from him. He picked up a fork, still eyeing Kaini, and plucked a quartered slice of tomato off his plate.

“Tell me, Kaini, do you have any children? Had the experience of fatherhood?”

[Ashlin Li]

Ashlin turned her eyes back on Kaini, intrigued at how immediately he jumped to answer their question about she and Erril's supposed potential role in all this, rather than Johnathon. She watched the other man in question, too, but Kaini had taken the floor for the moment. 

'Peace,' Kaini said they wanted. Supposedly. When he tried speaking to his idea of Jedi language, she found it mildly painful. Prosperity was a concept Ashlin couldn't much visualize anymore, let alone if this lonely-feeling warship was the seat of their power... which seemed strangely off to her. Like she was still missing something critical. Then again, perhaps the ship was more to suppress she and Erril... More effectively than on some planets anyway. But, why? What happened to the others? 

Ashlin remained very still in her chair, her mind and mannerisms calm. She didn't care for the masked Sith's take on Jedi ideology... Much less those mixed-up lines of that too-literal Code translation, that so few of the Jedi she'd met in her lifetime had ever favored to begin with... She considered sharing her thoughts on that with Erril, but she caught a comforting glimmer of coyness from the elder Jedi that told her it was hardly needed.

She appreciated having Erril there when Kaini switched gears. Nothing about her physical presence or outward mental silence changed when the armored Sith shifted to talking so insistently about Darkness, Light, and his own self, but the steel inside of Ashlin tightened uncomfortably while Kaini went into a passionate spiral asking their opinions of him. The last thing she wanted was any more contact with this alarmingly inconsistent Darksider, but... Here they were. She let the edge of her mind brush and remain a light touch against Erril's, thankful for his presence while Kaini—

::I'm smarter than I look and I know both of you, more than you know.::

Tides shifted. Ashlin caught her breath a snap-second before she could grasp why; similar to the way others might sense a blade before it came, or a sudden obstacle to swerve around before it appeared. She felt minds reeling, her heart tensing, but Erril's thundering. Private but extremely real flashes of saber hilts clenched, masks torn... Erril stabbed and thrown internally into a very isolating hurricane moment that wasn't hers.

::I am sure Johnathon will explain to you just what our Mission is.::

—Ashlin's perceptions clicked into their context in the next second, and the steel in her mind tightened to something much harder while she registered the Sith springing the worst knife on Erril.

Pindrop silence. Erril staggered inside and grasped toward a weapon. Ashlin reached toward him. Kaini wrapped up his threats and questions. The man preaching about peaceful galaxies while prying at any sliver of weakness he could find had vaporized her poor opinion of him well beyond any measure of the distaste she'd had for him up to that point. She'd become more baffled and appalled with every word, that Johnathon's miracle 'plan' contained anything to do with handing this Sith power over others. Her eyes flicked toward Johnathon's, but then to the masked man again.

Mission. They'd been prepared for any of the others. Her mother. Any of the Jedi with them, or the ones left behind. Even Leyana. Just... Not her. He'd grieved losing sight of that precious girl too much for this.

(I know.) She affirmed tightly in the father's mind without moving. 

The white-haired Sephi kept physically still, if anything looking a little perturbed. Deep inside of that, well below the disciplined outward calm of either of their minds, the elder Jedi very privately staggered in a storm that she sliced her way into the center of. Erril first. Then Kaini.

Ashlin's feather brush against Erril clenched to the tightest mental grasp, intentionally cutting a path so far down into the marrow that it burned somewhere under where Kaini's poison had hit him. Emotion, yet peace. They'd only just heartbeats ago been reminded of that, by their caring masked dinner host. 

(Erril. I know. I'm right here.) 

Steadiness filled her mind and quietly braced them, drawn much deeper from her well than either of them had needed moments ago. She was deeply, passionately, angry at Kaini. Ashlin had no intentions of letting that fade anytime soon. Erril was so much moreso that he hurt her to be in so much contact with, much less try to define... But that was fine. Emotions, healing, pain, peace, had coexisted for all eternity. For now they were tasked with being here. 

Physically, the Jedi woman breathed softly in and took another small sip from the water glass with a quizzically arched eyebrow at Kaini's odd verbal emphasis regarding the... assignment, that Kaini felt Johnathon would explain to them shortly. 

"Kaini," Ashlin set her water glass down and spoke in direct reply to the questions he'd just asked them. 

Erril reached out with his own mind and grasped onto her presence after a moment. Ashlin gave him a gentler pulse back, and extricated herself enough that he could find his feet in the storm. Externally, she devoted her efforts to keeping her voice mild and returning the Sith's gaze with the same perfect nothingness that he stared towards them at; though, she was Human enough... and she didn't have a mask.

"What is Evil if it's not gloating and lording yourself over others in pain? Manacling them to tables and leaning in to... enjoy it? Or just to make more threats... promise interrogations, at least questions, that you still haven't asked; while they're blind and drowning, and shaking in nerve pain? Leaving first impressions aside is sometimes possible. But not without reason... I'm assuming you have some?" 

She turned her attention back to Johnathon then, letting the man work his way into the details of himself and his "plan" while she absorbed what she could of the former archivist's hopes and history from where he'd been, to whatever he'd become now. If Alex had known something was so wrong when they were eighteen... She tried to reconcile that into her memory, but set it aside. 

The great plan involved backstabbery... killing the rest of the Sith off, which seemed ambitious... and ruling with an effective iron hand based on Force visions. They were mad if they thought that would work... and she was perplexed about how remaining Sith presence could possibly be disposed of so easily apart from the few Johnathon collaborated with. If anything, she'd have thought they would be much stronger now. 

Interestingly enough, she realized that Johnathon was giving her an unexpected measure of privacy while he spoke... He wasn't pressing or prying in on her at all, which had a strange honor or madness to it considering the rest of his ethics. 

 (Our junior archivist seems to have become a Sith sympathizer, a sociopath, and something of a typically ambitious politician in our absence…) The reassurance of Erril's grateful steadiness in her mind again felt so much better. Ashlin suppressed her smile long before the nerve impulses finished firing, but she made sure that the elder Jedi caught it anyway while he went on. 

(We need to force a stalemate here, for now. Get back to our privacy so we can learn a little more about the stakes.)

She acquiesced. Johnathon was finished. Ashlin took a third sip from her water glass since they'd all sat down together. She watched the long stare Erril gave Johnathon, and then shifted her eyes back to Kaini while Erril asked his own questions of the Sith.

[Kaini Khatoin]

They only heard what the wanted to hear. That much was clear to him, the narrow mind of the Jedi knew no bounds, neither did their ungratefulness. If it wasn't for him and Johnathon they would both be dead, as would a good chunk of their entire order, but they sat here defiantly showing no respect. Erril was a particular matter of curiosity, he sat there and asked if Kaini had been a father. Of what importance was that to the prevailing conversation? Johnathon had been offering them peace and yet the focused on other things, like Kaini.

::Evil is a point of view Ashlin Li. I think it's evil that Jedi murdered...irrelevant.::

He stopped immediately as his anger started to build and shot a quick glance to Johnathon making sure that he had not crossed a line. His guess was that he hadn't quite crossed it, but instead jumped right on it, while leaning precariously close to the edge.How dare they question his motives or his morality, what position were they in to judge him.

::I had questions for you, I changed my mind due to the pain you were in, I had expected your recovery would have been much more swiftly. I gave you plenty of reasons to leave your impressions at the door. This great man seated beside me speaks of a peace, that you so long for and yet you ignore him. What is evil? Evil is being so closed minded that you cannot see the answer to your problems right in front of you to the point where you outwardly pre judge another person because of his aura. That is Evil::

His masked face fixed solely on Erril, the blackened glass eye pieces stared at him menacingly.

[Johnathon Lynd]

Oh my dear ignorant Sith man child. Johnathon thought to himself subconsciously, he had certainly made a beautiful mess of everything hadn't he? He did not afford Kaini the same luxury he did the Jedi and of course saw Kaini's words before they ever even formed in his mind. He could have stopped the Sith, he could have easily stopped him, and that might have saved face with the Jedi, but that was not at all the point in this exercise. There was a point, a point to all of this and he waited for Ashlin and Erril to stop before he stroked his beard. Then right on cue, Kaini started speaking, somehow his words had more of sting to them when they were actually in the air, a sting that he could feel, but since he wasn't attempting to see Ashlin or Erril now, their reactions would intrigue him and give a depth to their personalities which he already felt that he knew fairly well.

"My my. Kaini, I think it might be time for you go check the reports for this sector and perhaps give me a good time estimate for our arrival so that our guests can relax until then?"

His eyes then darted to Erril and Ashlin.

"My friends, I am so terribly sorry for Kaini again, he is a passionate individual who sometimes lets his passion get the best of him. Those without sight can presume, I know. Kaini is simply trying to get under your skin because he feels that you are ungrateful, which of course I know you're not, you just don't like him, which is fair he's not a likable guy. Ashlin, I can tell that the feeling is likely even more than the same for you, you don't like him and I quite get it. Kaini, while a trusted friend is, as I said, not the huggable type. He is single minded, it certainly does not help your case in his eyes that a Jedi may or may not have killed someone near and dear to him."

He paused for a moment, and let an aura of light fill the room, it was his aura. It was the color of cream, it seemed to be smooth and silky in it's touch, not a hint of darkness pervaded over it, or permeated it's warmth. It was a lie, one that with senses alone it would be quite difficult if not impossible to detect.

"That said, I am extremely mindful that his actions do not help my case either, in fact they have likely hurt if not destroyed my case in your eyes. I am not invading your thoughts or privacy, though as a Seer I easily could. I respect you, the both of you and there is nothing more I want than for the Jedi to be at my side at this juncture. Machines and other assorted evil seek to destroy everything that we have worked hard to achieve. The one thing that I feel will give us the strength to rise and to rid the galaxy of evil is the legitimacy of the Jedi Order. An order that has stood the test of time and has been made stronger by good times and bad. You both, must understand that in the grand scheme of things we can win. There aren't many other Sith left, the legitimate ones are here in this room and we are not seeking blood, we are seeking peace. We already have the power, it's foundation is a bit shaky but the power is real. Once the foundation is established, I can lead this galaxy and bring about the most peaceful time in history, with the Jedi at my side to provide me a sounding board, to be a form of check. You can stop me if I venture too far, if I take my crusade to levels that are less than just, you can keep me from going over the edge. Kaini, he can do the dirty work that Jedi do not wish to do, but if you join me, your voice will be heard as will the rest of your order."

He stopped short of describing in detail the greatest mass execution that this galaxy has ever seen. He was cool, his aura did not change, but he did indeed notice Kaini still sitting there perhaps getting ready to move, but hadn't worked up energy to do it yet.

"Please, see me. See what I wish to accomplish, Ashlin, you are closer to Alex than anyone, know that I am is his twin, thus my intentions are pure and have nothing but positive intent behind them. My sight, will guide the way and no harm will ever come to an innocent, only the guilty will be punished, only those who spread their evil across this galaxy with every breath they take. They must be stopped and we are here and now, in a place and position to stop them forever. We can end suffering, we can end pain, and we can end needless death. Help me, I beg you both to see my vision and to understand my Crusade."

that he stopped and nerf steaks were delivered to the table, along with assorted other entrees that were all expertly prepared. Johnathon's eyes did not change in dramatic sense, but there was this look of innocence that washed over his face, almost as if it came out of nowhere, his eyes were wide and innocent, like that of child on his birthday. There was no perceptible layer to this, not one that anyone could pick up on at least. His face was that of someone imploring help, irresistible to holoprojectors and reporters, probably a good portion of the reason that people adored him like they did. He was a great crusader, he was a great pretender.

[Erril Winterhold]

The data pad slid across the semi-gloss finish of the varnished table, and stopped in front of Erril. His steel grey eyes took in the face on the screen, and for a moment his angular features softened. She had been around 15 the last time he’d seen her. If his and Ashlin’s estimation was correct, they had lost her about 12 years ago, which would make her around the age of 27, depending on the month they had found themselves in. You’re all grown up, he thought.

The prospect of Mission having run afoul of Kaini troubled the Jedi, but he couldn’t afford the luxury of letting it trouble him just then. He would find out more in time – what he discovered would do little to alter his decision on Kaini’s fate, thought. Of that he was certain. Both of the men sharing the table with he and Ashlin needed to die, for the sake of the galaxy they planned to continue inflicting themselves upon. With a crooked little smile, he slid the data pad to Ashlin so she could see too.

Glancing back at Kaini for a moment, the Jedi met the gaze of his helmet’s lenses evenly for a moment – his eyes completely calm. Then he smiled. “She always was more of a footwork kid.”

After his remark, Erril could see feel the wheels turning in the chancellor’s inner places. He had finally had enough. It appeared as though they had played their cards at least well enough to buy some time – though that really remained to be seen. Within the admonishments that issued forth from Johnathon’s honeyed lips, Erril could sense it clear as day, and he knew Ashlin could too – their former comrade had lost all semblance of a moral compass. If anything, anything crossed Johnathon’s mind that he believed to be a moment of insight granted by his “visions”, Erril knew he wouldn’t allow the Jedi to stand in the way of his crusade. His implication that Kaini could take care of the dirty work for them made that quite clear, if there had been any doubt. The Johnathon they had know was gone, and there was no bringing him back.

Erril felt a moment of empathy when Johnathon began to imply that his relation to Alex somehow validated his being and his actions – not empathy for Johnathon, but for Ashlin. He knew they had been good friends, and he also knew, as much in his stomach as in his head at that particular moment, how it could feel to have the name of someone close used as leverage.

When the pretender finally fell silent, Erril regarded him with a steady, iron gaze that the former could not have recognized, because he had never seen it, and by the reckoning of body language it was a bit of a mismatch. It was the gaze of a Shadow, who now knew his foe.

The elder Jedi’s eyes relented after a moment, and he allowed a bit of the genuine concern and weariness he felt to color his features – a presentation of partial truth that served his need right at that moment. He did feel concern, but not for the reasons their hosts might have expected; he did feel weariness, but not for the reasons that might have been obvious. He allowed the mildly daunted sense of determination he was experiencing to seep across the paths of his mental connection to Ashlin. Considering the scope of what they had just been presented, it was no overstatement to say that he felt overwhelmed.

“Chancellor… Johnathon… I think we both understand the vision you have for the future; the peace that you desire.” He glanced back at Ashlin, his grey eyes searching her features for a brief moment before returning across the table. “…we do wish to see peace in the galaxy as well. You must understand though that we are still disoriented and weary. And if I’m to be honest, the direction of this conversation has turned my stomach a little much to be entirely rational just now.”

He glanced pointedly at Kaini for a moment, fingering the edge of the data pad idly.

“Give us a little more time to recuperate and consider what you’ve said. We have so much to consider and learn about the changes the galaxy has experienced in our absence before we can even consider making a statement on behalf of our order.”

Erril picked the data pad up, regarding the archived image of his grown daughter for a moment, then sighed quietly and glanced back up at Johnathon.

[Ashlin Li]

Ashlin came to the uncomfortable conclusion that Kaini... was mad. She'd met many calculating Sith and Darksiders over her years, who fell anywhere between 'zealot,' 'bitter,' and 'coldly logical', but who each had their own reasons and rationale for their choices. She'd also crossed paths with a few like Kaini... in this man's case, he seemed incapable of following arguments without constantly circling the focus back to himself and berrating them with his perceptions of traitorous Jedi. She had no intentions of letting her incredible anger at the masked man with his ugly compulsion for pain fade anytime soon; whatever extreme wrongs he felt someone done to him, he was evil and beyond dangerous now while he stabbed at their weaknesses and gloated about Erril's daughter. But he couldn't stay relevant to a conversation long enough to be glean anything real, and he gravitated back into polluting things so much that she felt no use trying to pull much any sensitive information from him at this point. Not verbally.

She breathed out and didn't try to answer the Sith, instead giving her visible concern and attention much more to Erril while she watched the whole situation between the elder Jedi and the two Darksiders. Her heart ached at even the idea of whatever image was on the datapad Kaini passed over to Erril... But then the father's expression softened enough that Ashlin didn't steel herself too tightly when Erril passed her the datapad.

She glanced down at the still image of the young redheaded woman... not so much younger than Ashlin herself now, and permitted herself a few seconds to really look at it while Erril dealt with their hosts across the table. Time really had passed... She'd already seen it in Johnathon's aging, but the beautiful girl Ashlin last remembered from 2 years ago had grown fully up into her adult self. Looking over Mission's appearance in the closeup image gave no clue to her location (she was worn maybe, and an aged scar that Ashlin had never seen before sliced down across her left eyebrow, but the redheaded young woman looked whole and under her own power, with a little windburn, her face still scattered with the same freckles), but Ashlin found her instincts flooding more with relief than with worries. She'd seen enough of Kaini and his obsession with disquieting them that nothing in this image was as damning or cruel as anything she could fathom the volatile Sith across from her choosing if either of these men had a modicum of control over the younger woman. Even if Mission had been dead and they'd wanted to keep that hidden... there were so many ways they could have caused more distress than just this.

Her instinct was still only that, and she empathized that it might not mean much to Erril in the end, but she still brushed the sense of it to the father anyway in the touch of a hand while she handed him the datapad back.

Johnathon spoke about Kaini again. She'd been watching and listening, but finally made a point of fixing her eyes on the politician. It struck her particularly that Johnathon referenced the majority of the Sith as... gone. If there was any truth in that, it was another puzzle.

She watched Johnathon talk about Kaini as if he was a puppy unable to speak for himself. About the Sith's background. About her own supposed emotions toward the man in one breath, and reassuring that he was the chancellor's 'trusted friend' in the next.

Ashlin's features stayed neutral, the walls of her mind still and her gaze calmly centered on Johnathon while the politician with his neatly silvering beard and silken mannerisms clearly referred to himself as a Sith beside Kaini, and delved further into outlining his master plans for the galaxy... how the "Jedi" name would serve as the spotlit white checks and balances on his right hand, while Kaini and whatever few others he had in mind, even Johnathon himself from his own words, would be the distasteful force hidden in the shadows behind him. That was all fantasy.

What was much more... appalling... was the creamy pure aura that Johnathon made such a point of flaring up into the soft glow that had so much potential to be reassuring, if only it wasn't so privately horrifying to the Jedi woman. She wouldn't quite call it an illusion or Mind Trick; it was a different kind of manipulation, but the effect came across as so real that it was extremely troubling.

'Please see me,' Johnathon pleaded with her, wide-eyed and dripping with radiant calmness and apparent honesty. Ashlin's storm blue eyes matched his gaze, and she kept her shields adamantly closed aside from her quiet outward calm. Johnathon had to bring Alex into the equation... that hurt, and she wondered again what had become of him. Nothing good could have happened to him, considering what she saw of his twin here.

Erril reached out gently in empathy for her, and she felt grateful. Ashlin met the elder Jedi's gaze for a few seconds. She was quietly relieved to let Erril take point in answering the two Sith this time... and it took no dishonesty at all to let her every mannerism mirror the white-haired Sephi's weariness and exhaustion. Dinner was served, which her body could use, but she had no appetite anyway. She let her shoulders droop from feeling heartsick at so much lost time with no answers, and she was beyond tired.

Erril slowly suggested to Johnathon that they should leave for now... they had a great deal to think about.

The dark-haired woman stood up, adjusting the lightsaber hilt tucked into her obi, and softly pushing in her chair.

"I... appreciate the time and information," she addressed both Sith, but with somewhat more focus on the politician.

"For now... present circumstances lend better to saying goodnight. I can grasp the time you've invested in building peace, Johnathon. It wasn't easy for you. I'm sure that we'll talk more about it soon, as we come up with our questions and learn more."

[Kaini Khatoin]

Quiet anger built up in the masked Sith as his master spoke to the Jedi and to him about how perhaps it was time for him to leave. He was loyal to his friend and master, but this was a bit much and his displeasure was beginning to grow within him. His frustration of course was taken out on the Jedi, the attempted trick with Mission was not something that he honestly should have done, but he did it anyway. He knew his Master would be displeased with him later on, or would he?

Would he really? Or had this all gone according to some sort of private scheme that wasn't shared with Kaini? He knew why he was in the room, but things had played out somewhat differently than what he had figured. He sighed and stood up as both of the Jedi were paying him no more mind than a child who was throwing a tantrum. Perhaps that's how he had conducted himself, but they surely did not even bother to listen to the great man in the room before them. It was insulting, they had heard what he had said, but there was no way they had truly listened to what he was saying. He looked at Erril, as his fatherly gaze showed through as he looked down at the picture, probably and then from the bottom of his stomach, he felt a stinging sinking feeling, was it empathy or was it guilt? Either way, he knew he had to do something.

He went to stand with the Jedi as his master finished speaking and did the Jedi, his masked face locked with Erril's.

::That was out of line. I do not know where your daughter is, I've never met her. We did however look for her. I apologize.::

He felt the sensation in his stomach subside a bit as he straightened himself and nodded at Erril and Ashlin, who was adjusting the lightsaber hilt on her belt. His eyes locked onto it, and the sensation in his stomach was replaced by a quiet ember of fire. His masked face locked into the lightsaber hilt on the Jedi's side, and the ember began to grow, slowly at first, but then there was pain. Pain, anger, and hatred rushing through every nerve ending in his body. His breathing increased as anger surged through, he was sure it was audible at this point, but he did not care, he did not care for anything in the room at this point but that lightsaber hanging there mockingly from her side.

He grimaced beneath his mask and his lightsaber hilt shot into his hand with his thumb resting against the ignition.

::That lightsaber DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!!! WHERE DID YOU GET IT?!::

He motioned at the hilt hanging from side with the emitter of his own lightsaber. She...he....what?! He knew that hilt, he had no idea how but he knew it, he had seen it and he had felt it. The Dark Side of the force swirled around in a fury that would frighten most, and he sensed that even his all seeing master was not expecting this from him. Jedi had, done things to him, Jedi had taken many things from him, and he somehow felt that Ashlin Li, standing here today must have taken something else from him, as there was simply no denying it, even though he could not put it into words. His thumb stroked the ingestion button on his lightsaber, lightly, each movement brought with it a fiery passion that started from the tip of his gloved thumb and resonated through to his very soul.

::Tell me NOW!::

He could feel the eyes of his master burning through him, but he did not care. He wanted answers and he did not give a damn, who felt the rage and hints of confusion swirling in and around his aura.

[Erril Winterhold]

By an unspoken agreement among parties, the dinner appeared to have come to an end. Erril had risen from his seat and gone to hold Ashlin's seat for her as she rose, still pondering the image of Mission on the data pad tucked under his arm. There were so many things to consider now, even with the discussion having been cut short. He needed to think about what came next; what he needed to find out next. His thoughts brushed past the image of his daughter again - it was fixed in his mind like a nail in a wall. He wanted to take a ship and go find her right then, and go find his family, but he couldn't. Not yet anyway. There were things aboard this ship that still required his and Ashlin's attention.

All such thoughts and fledgling plans were still rolling around in Erril's head when Kaini rose, rippling in the Force with an odd mixture of conflicting feelings, and came to stand with them on the near side of the table. His posture didn't seem aggressive in any way, but Erril still angled himself subtly between the Sith and Ashlin, who had now risen from her chair and stepped away from the table a bit too. The last thing he expected to hear as Kaini came to a stop was the apology that issued forth from the helmet's voice synthesizer. Erril felt a squirm of frustration deep within himself - the words and actions of this one had no logical flow whatsoever. He had done nothing but antagonize and berate the two of them since they had been pulled from carbon freeze earlier that day, and now he was apologizing for the use of his most recent ploy? It seemed to be a growing trend with Kaini that the only thing they could expect was the unexpected.

Looking slightly up at the visor panel of the Sith's helmet, Erril inclined his head in thanks for the apology. He may have had his reservations about what - if any - motivations guided Kaini in his apology, but that was still what it was, and he accepted it as such. His frustration had likely found it's way to Ashlin's perceptive mind, but he had otherwise masked it as smoothly as could be, and he intended to keep it that way. Until an occasion of more even footing presented itself, Erril intended to reserve all reaction from the perception of their hosts.

That conviction was tested again almost immediately after having been asserted in response to the apology. Erril himself had begun to glance at Ashlin simply in search of any mundane social cues when he sensed the emotions beginning to churn up within the Sith standing beside them once again. He followed the gaze of the Sith's mask with a quick glance, and found it resting on Ashlin's - he amended; Nomi's - lightsaber. Its presence was no cause for emotional upset though. They had both walked into the room openly armed. Kaini's sudden explosion triggered the elder Jedi's fight-or-flight instinct which he immediately clamped down on by rote, but his knuckles whitened as his grasp on the back of Ashlin's chair tightened. His mind reached out in several directions, seeking to gain some basis for reaction to the Sith's outburst. His mind pressed purposefully against Ashlin's consciousness, confirming in the wordless gesture that he was near, and aware of the danger in the sudden shift. Simultaneously, his mental influence began to roll smoothly across the nearest surfaces on and around the near edge of the table, and exert an ever so subtle telekinetic pressure on them. He prayed to avoid just such an exchange, but he had the necessary grasp to send several dozen objects flying with purposeful trajectory - and ballistic speed, if needed.

For a single, painfully long heartbeat, Erril's calculating mind only waited, and his steel eyes watched the outburst unfold.

[Ashlin Li]

Her perceptions prickled again.

The exhausting swirl of thoughts in Ashlin's mind—Mission, her family, the politician Sith’s chilling schemes, watching the madman's subdued repentance and apology to Erril—nearly every strand of thought the Jedi woman had been measuring flew into a mental box which she snapped the lid closed on. Her eyes darted from Erril to regard Kaini.

Shocked—Pained!—Confused?—Furious—ANGER.

The mad Darksider’s breathing became suddenly quick and shallow through the mask. His ebb and flow of emotions exploded into a new firestorm of rage, hurt, and confusion that roared and crackled against her senses. Kaini’s hilt shot into his gloved hand. Ashlin steeled her mind in the next seconds, while Kaini roared out accusation and questions about… her lightsaber… of all things.

::WHERE DID YOU GET IT?!::

Her sister’s lightsaber, Ashlin amended and willed herself to maintain stillness. Nothing she expected an insane Sith to get into a blood fury over. Her fingertips moved to rest on the steely dark hilt that felt like a cold thing where her hand usually touched a friend. But it was well-crafted. The weapon had a stable grip pattern with sleek channels that lent especially well both to agilely shifting or staying rock-firm in a wielder’s grasp. Nomi had always been pleased about those; let alone about the core of the saber itself. Fine for her hands, but it was even a bit narrow for Kaini’s gauntlet. Her sister had been forward-thinking and serious about her blades, but not quite grown yet when she’d made this one.

::Tell me NOW!::

Ashlin exhaled.

“It was lent to me. But its crafter was young at the time. I don’t know that it ever left the Temple or saw combat, before we did.”

She kept her eyes fixed on the mask and weighed various possibilities of the madman's grudge against the Jedi. Or whatever Jonathon had told him. Or who he might be. Another mentally questionable Precog, possibly. But she doubted that. He didn't seem to have those talents.

[Johnathon Lynd]

The moment was interminable and for once Johnathon was caught off guard. There were certain things about his young friend that did lend themselves to unpredictability, even for a Seer. It was part of the process and the internal sigh was almost echoed externally if it was not for his need to control every ounce of emotion within his own being. His stare narrowed at Kaini.

"You are being quite rude."

He only had seconds to act before there would be bloodshed, this most certainly was not what he wanted, not now, not yet. This would also serve the purpose to display in part his power, an inherently neutral and disabling skill would do for the moment. The force swirled through and around the Seer, his energy and aura swelled in a fraction of second, extended his left hand and placed it flat against the space between himself and Kaini and let out a powerful but effortless force push, meant to direct his younger friend away from the Jedi and potentially send him flying across the room. He hid then origin of his power in his actions, the Jedi knew what they knew, but the one thing that he could not hide and that he was inherently unaware of was his eyes glowing a sinister yellow as he expelled his energy into Kaini, they would only return

[Kaini Khatoin]

"It was lent to me." Lies, absolute lies, everything about her words were false, he didn't know why he knew this or felt this but he certainly did know it beyond any rational reason. He should kill her, he should kill them both, right here and right now. They both deserved it, there was no denying that, there was simply no denying that all his pre-conceptions about Jedi were true, they were evil, manipulating and whats worse is that they did it with a smile on their face.

To hell with what Johnathon wanted, to hell with it! This was for some reason personal now. His hatred filled his aura and as Ashlin's words echoed through his helmet, piercing his subconscious his thumb moved and the red blade screamed to life as Johnathon's hand covered the space between them

::LIAR!::

In the nanosecond it took to utter that word and the blade to spring to life he felt the mighty force push and the breath was knocked out of him. The red blade retreated into it's home as quickly as it had sprung from it. The hilt hit the floor as Kaini was thrown back, his arms outstretched, his judgement clouded and his reactions delayed, he crashed into the wall, with a thud and falling face first down to the ground. He clenched his gloved hands as he tasted blood, either from the shock of the push, or flying into the wall he couldn't be too sure.

Visions of the lightsaber hanging from Ashlin's side flashed through his mind, it was hers but not hers. This was crystal clear to him,

::Ashlin::

He took in a breath as his aura changed again, he grimaced in pain, a sharp stabbing pain on the right side of his chest, it was definitely a cracked rib. He raised his head and the eyes of his helmet caught hers.

::Nomi?::

Kaini pulled himself to his knees and stayed there for a minute as he seemed to contemplate the question he just asked. The pain spread to his entire body, a pain he had never known, as if electricity was passing through every square inch of him. Shame, this was shame that he was feeling, shame and embarrassment.

::You aren't Nomi, you are Ashlin Li.::

He felt the glare of everyone in the room, especially Johnathon as his conscious being seemed to implode on itself as he simply knelt there. His gaze changed and he looked at his gloved hands, as he flexed them several times as if he was seeing them in this state for the first time.

::I am...::

Pain shot through his body again and he let out a quiet grown as he cupped his masked face in his gloved hands.

::Nothing.::

The pain subsided and the confusion returned, his lightsaber still lay on the ground where it had fallen several feet from him. He tried to collect himself, but still knelt there.

::Who is Nomi?::

He looked up, at Ashlin again, a much softer tone in his augmented voice, one of confusion and pain. If it wasn't for the helmet covering his face, you might even say that his gaze at Ashlin was one of longing and nothing more.

[Ashlin Li]

::LIAR!::

Kaini exploded again, this time with pain beyond words. Ashlin watched the newest eruption unfold. Blood red lightsaber spitting to life—Johnathon’s intervention before she needed to—and while the ‘benevolent chancellor’ betrayed even more of his own power—Kaini slammed into the wall—Kaini crumpling down—Kaini’s intense, raw, brokenness while he spilled out questions and pain—And fixated on… Nomi? Ashlin’s younger sister had been a temple youngling a generation ago. Why should the man recognize it? And why would he care?

The only logical reason the woman could grasp at struck in her mind with a private swear. Physically and mentally, Erril was the stoic presence beside her; the calmest in the room now, with a healthy skepticism about whatever new chaos this was. He shared the impression that the younger man in front them was like ruined steel that had been melted and warped too many times. Nothing trustworthy here, expect maybe yet another testament about their host. Ashlin acknowledged the elder Jedi’s silent assessment of the situation, but kept her eyes on the younger darksider.

Whatever reaction Nomi’s lightsaber hilt triggered in the masked man ricocheted around his being so jaggedly that the Jedi woman could feel the fresh wounds it was slicing into him. Ashlin threaded a gossamer thought into the gashed-open man’s consciousness with pinpoint precision, and a mental touch that was lighter than glancing at a gasping man’s throat to see if he breathed. What was a spider web touch in Kaini’s explosion of fire and pain?

“Nomi is my sister,” she told him. It was common knowledge.

Kaini struggled up to kneel, and their eyes met regardless that Ashlin couldn’t physically see his through the helmet.

“Jedi, like us. But she was much younger and at the temple.”

Ashlin looked into Kaini in private, brutal, fascination when she mentioned Jedi. When Kaini mentioned her own name. Her sister’s name. Mentioned himself… He was ugly enough before, but now it was like he was hollowed out. She couldn’t see anything in him but scars and an incredible sizzle of pain.

The metallic taste of blood in his mouth made her jaw tense. She wisped her touch away into nothing, and glanced abruptly from Kaini to Johnathon. The Jedi dropped her shield enough to let a terse, very feminine, flash of white-hot frustration and defensive emotions flare up in her eyes and aura.

“I’m finished. I can’t play this.”

Radiating an intense impression not to touch her, not to follow, she abruptly left. Past the guards. Into the hallway. She was done with that room for now.

[Erril Winterhold]

ping... ping... ping...

The sudden burst of activity, and the painful stillness that followed immediately after, only continued to reinforce Erril's mental analog of Kaini, and his relationship with Johnathon - metal in the crucible, heated too fast, cooled even faster, and subject to the inevitable stress fractures of unbalanced tempering. As Kaini lay half-prone on the ground and aimed his inquiries up at Ashlin as a distraction from his own shame, the elder Jedi continued to watch and listen as the warrior-servant's veneer of strength continued to cool to nothingness like.

ping... ping... ping

Erril took a quiet, steadying breath and allowed his calm resolve, as well as his own scrupulous perspective on remarks made, to trickle softly through the force to Ashlin's roused mind. The contact with his companion reminded Erril of the importance of his stillness, and so he maintained it, distracting his own mind from the taut bands of adrenal tension in his chest by focusing on the more importance details of the situation - intellectually, and tactically. Ashlin's near-contemptuous excusal of herself from the dinner party was what he'd prayed for.

And the younger Jedi made her exit, Erril found himself absently fingering a groove in the table that hadn't been there before. He glanced across the near side of the table at a dozen similar scratchmarks leading up to other pieces of silverware like comet tails pointing back to where they'd laid only a few seconds ago. His steel eyes turned up to Johnathon with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about the table."

Feeling no other comment to be owed by way of farewell, Erril offered none, and quietly followed Ashlin out of the chamber.

[Kaini Khatoin]

Where there was confusion in everything else, there was focus on Ashlin. A focus that was nothing more than a thread to grasp onto as he was trying to pull himself up from the great abyss which he seemed to be falling into in his mind. His gaze never shifted from her not, for a moment.

He felt the red hot sear of his master's gaze burning into his soul, but it was nothing more than white noise in sum total of the moment. He would deal with it later, but for now it meant absolutely nothing to him. Nomi was her sister, and the Lightsaber was hers. Who even was Nomi and why did it matter to him one bit? These were Jedi, Jedi were useless, Jedi were the reason the galaxy slipped into chaos and his Master was the one that was to restore the order. This was sense. Not the Jedi.

Yet, something was off, the pain did not subside, every thought that passed through his mind in the brief moments that followed brought more and more agony to his body. He did not move, he heard her speak, the words were all that was going on that he could hear.

::Jedi like us?::

He stopped, his augmented voice was weaker than it had been.

::I am not a Jedi. She is a Jedi like...you, you mean?::

nit’ę́ę́?Of course that is what she meant, the questioned did not even need to be answered. Then, she was leaving, she stated she couldn't play it this any longer, he felt it was almost deliberate, but he was no longer playing. He pulled himself to his feet quickly as she she left, but felt the impression she was leaving and did not follow. His chest burned.

He turned his head and looked at Erril, who spoke of the table.

::What?::

Before he could utter another word Erril had left and Kaini stood there alone within himself. He felt his master near him, he did not speak as the door shut behind Erril and the guards left the room...

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Continued in the Guest Corridor
(Link)