Master Mona Pell
“A fair question,” Master Pell replied. “Though I am not sure Lord Pyrran will be entirely satisfied with the answer. Please understand that I do this only on my own behalf, not as a representative of the Council - I am sure there are others who are of the same mind, but I do not speak for them, and they will have to make their own peace as they see fit. Walk with me, Jedi Lin, if you would be so kind.”
As they made their way down the familiar hallway, out of earshot of anyone else, Mona explained, “What happened back there - the trial - was difficult. For all of us. I am afraid that your friend took damage in the process. I maintain that the decisions we made were necessary. But necessary does not always mean… kind. I would look this Sith in the eye, and make it right with him. Yes, a person could simply make a holo call. I do not believe that would suffice, though. We need to see each other, see the living Force in each other, to understand one another.”
Master Pell was not normally given to such philosophical discussions of the Force, and she quickly pulled back to more familiar territory. “I will take my own shuttle, as I imagine you will stay longer than I do. I hope Lord Pyrran will agree to meet with me. If not, I will accept his answer, but I think it is for the best that he and I talk, and perhaps… clear the air, so to speak.”
Tython Interlude
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Re: Tython Interlude
Teizi Lin and Padawan Dallyn
She ducked her head in agreement, secretly pleased - no, settled in spirit - by Master Pell’s reason.
“I will call Lord Pyrran at once. ThoughI have a brief stop to make here on Tython, I will be returning to Rishi in short order.”
The two parted, Teizi choosing a path moving toward the main exit. A fortuitous choice as her padawan bolted from his position next to the staircase and ran to catch up with her. Heads turned in their direction: Teizi didn’t shorten her steps. She didn’t slow her pace until she was out of the grounds and on the path to the spaceport. Several deep breaths of fresh air did her good and she finally turned her head to address Dallyn. The padawan had been running, his forehead was beaded with sweat and flapped the sleeves of his robes around in a most unbecoming way. Perhaps his forehead wasn’t the only part of him that had been perspiring.
She pulled out her holo and placed a call to Pyrran, asking him if he’d meet Master Pell, assuring him of her intentions, and suggesting that if he should agree, he should choose the location he felt best suited. Teizi wasn’t about to push him to agree. She understood his reluctance - and he had a bit of time as she needed to find a home for the tauntaun she’d acquired on Rishi.
Her plan was, of course, to see if the members of Kalikori village would take them in. They’d been away from their native Hoth for far too long. They wouldn’t fare well going back to the cold from the tropic weather they’d become accustomed to, and they’d have a hard time integrating into a herd with their own matriarch. No, she was certain that taking them back to Hoth would have spelled certain death for them. As for keeping them, well…it was a dream that would never be realized.
The pair walked in silence to the spaceport. Stupefying silence from the cargo area at the spaceport to the long dusty road to Kalikori. Well, not so very silent. Tauntaun weren’t known for the reticence. They served to help drown out the quiet between the two of them. The villagers accepted the offered animals, much to her relief. She’d been concerned that they’d turn them down. Though the animals could surely be put to work, they did have a smell that many deemed offensive. How fortunate that beasts of burden were so valuable.
She patted the tauntaun on their broad noses and muttered goodbyes. It was silly and, well, perhaps a bit selfish. She shouldn’t be so attached. Really.
“How can you be so calm?!”
The question fairly shouted at her shoulder abruptly roused her from her thoughts. They were well alone now that they’d left the village and she supposed it was about time he decided to speak up.
“After all that’s happened…the attack on Rishi…the set up…Master Jesk. How can you just walk away without…saying anything? DOING anything? I just…don’t understand.”
Teizi turned and regarded him for a long minute.
“What would you have had me say? What words would have soothed your spirit? What action do you think would have resolved the matter in a better fashion?”
“I…I don’t know! Something more…heroic? I guess? It all just seems so pointless. If the Jedi can’t even…”
Ah, here was the true problem. Jesk, the fallen Master. It wasn’t the first time a Jedi had fallen to the Dark Side, nor would Jesk be the last. However, this was likely the first personal experience of such a thing for young Dallyn. And now, he was having a crisis of faith.
One she didn’t feel well prepared to negotiate with.
“Dallyn…” she began, but the padawan shook his head and started walking toward the spaceport at a rapid pace. After a few steps, he slowed and turned to look over his shoulder, his face wearing an emotion approximating grief.
“I’m sorry Master, I just need to think.”
Teizi nodded and let him keep his steps ahead of hers, concern driving her to do a lot of thinking of her own.
She ducked her head in agreement, secretly pleased - no, settled in spirit - by Master Pell’s reason.
“I will call Lord Pyrran at once. ThoughI have a brief stop to make here on Tython, I will be returning to Rishi in short order.”
The two parted, Teizi choosing a path moving toward the main exit. A fortuitous choice as her padawan bolted from his position next to the staircase and ran to catch up with her. Heads turned in their direction: Teizi didn’t shorten her steps. She didn’t slow her pace until she was out of the grounds and on the path to the spaceport. Several deep breaths of fresh air did her good and she finally turned her head to address Dallyn. The padawan had been running, his forehead was beaded with sweat and flapped the sleeves of his robes around in a most unbecoming way. Perhaps his forehead wasn’t the only part of him that had been perspiring.
She pulled out her holo and placed a call to Pyrran, asking him if he’d meet Master Pell, assuring him of her intentions, and suggesting that if he should agree, he should choose the location he felt best suited. Teizi wasn’t about to push him to agree. She understood his reluctance - and he had a bit of time as she needed to find a home for the tauntaun she’d acquired on Rishi.
Her plan was, of course, to see if the members of Kalikori village would take them in. They’d been away from their native Hoth for far too long. They wouldn’t fare well going back to the cold from the tropic weather they’d become accustomed to, and they’d have a hard time integrating into a herd with their own matriarch. No, she was certain that taking them back to Hoth would have spelled certain death for them. As for keeping them, well…it was a dream that would never be realized.
The pair walked in silence to the spaceport. Stupefying silence from the cargo area at the spaceport to the long dusty road to Kalikori. Well, not so very silent. Tauntaun weren’t known for the reticence. They served to help drown out the quiet between the two of them. The villagers accepted the offered animals, much to her relief. She’d been concerned that they’d turn them down. Though the animals could surely be put to work, they did have a smell that many deemed offensive. How fortunate that beasts of burden were so valuable.
She patted the tauntaun on their broad noses and muttered goodbyes. It was silly and, well, perhaps a bit selfish. She shouldn’t be so attached. Really.
“How can you be so calm?!”
The question fairly shouted at her shoulder abruptly roused her from her thoughts. They were well alone now that they’d left the village and she supposed it was about time he decided to speak up.
“After all that’s happened…the attack on Rishi…the set up…Master Jesk. How can you just walk away without…saying anything? DOING anything? I just…don’t understand.”
Teizi turned and regarded him for a long minute.
“What would you have had me say? What words would have soothed your spirit? What action do you think would have resolved the matter in a better fashion?”
“I…I don’t know! Something more…heroic? I guess? It all just seems so pointless. If the Jedi can’t even…”
Ah, here was the true problem. Jesk, the fallen Master. It wasn’t the first time a Jedi had fallen to the Dark Side, nor would Jesk be the last. However, this was likely the first personal experience of such a thing for young Dallyn. And now, he was having a crisis of faith.
One she didn’t feel well prepared to negotiate with.
“Dallyn…” she began, but the padawan shook his head and started walking toward the spaceport at a rapid pace. After a few steps, he slowed and turned to look over his shoulder, his face wearing an emotion approximating grief.
“I’m sorry Master, I just need to think.”
Teizi nodded and let him keep his steps ahead of hers, concern driving her to do a lot of thinking of her own.
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Re: Tython Interlude
Pyrran Onyk Mahr
Pyrran agreed to the meeting - with a few caveats. It would need to be away from their little encampment at the villa, on neutral ground. The Jedi Master would have no contact with the twins.
Vette would be there. The latter was, of course, Vette’s caveat, not Pyrran’s. It made Pyrran nervous - he would never forget the time a Jedi had used Vette against him, paralyzing her, making him think she was dead. He would never forget his fear. What it had felt like when he thought he had lost her. Vette insisted on coming, though, and Pyrran couldn’t exactly say no. It wasn’t his place to tell Vette what to do, where to go. And if where she wanted to go was to stay by his side, to protect him… how could he not be grateful for that, even as he feared walking into another Jedi trap.
For his own part, though, Pyrran kept the bargain. He and Vette waited for the Master on the beach; he had his lightsaber, but it remained sheathed, and Vette’s blaster stayed on her hip. They would not be the ones to violate the temporary truce, though they would respond if attacked.
“Greetings,” Pyrran said when the group finally arrived. His speech was more formal than usual, but not hostile. The Sith lord gave them a small bow. “Teizi. Dallyn. Master Pell.”
Mona Pell was regarding Pyrran with undisguised curiosity. “Extraordinary,” she murmured under her breath.
She had never seen such a Sith. Pell had thought if Teizi was reporting accurately, she might be able to sense traces of the Light Side, but this man - this Pureblood - practically radiated it. She would have thought it impossible. Interesting, too, that the Force so strongly tied him to the Mahr family. It seemed she had a great deal to learn from this Sith.
Pyrran agreed to the meeting - with a few caveats. It would need to be away from their little encampment at the villa, on neutral ground. The Jedi Master would have no contact with the twins.
Vette would be there. The latter was, of course, Vette’s caveat, not Pyrran’s. It made Pyrran nervous - he would never forget the time a Jedi had used Vette against him, paralyzing her, making him think she was dead. He would never forget his fear. What it had felt like when he thought he had lost her. Vette insisted on coming, though, and Pyrran couldn’t exactly say no. It wasn’t his place to tell Vette what to do, where to go. And if where she wanted to go was to stay by his side, to protect him… how could he not be grateful for that, even as he feared walking into another Jedi trap.
For his own part, though, Pyrran kept the bargain. He and Vette waited for the Master on the beach; he had his lightsaber, but it remained sheathed, and Vette’s blaster stayed on her hip. They would not be the ones to violate the temporary truce, though they would respond if attacked.
“Greetings,” Pyrran said when the group finally arrived. His speech was more formal than usual, but not hostile. The Sith lord gave them a small bow. “Teizi. Dallyn. Master Pell.”
Mona Pell was regarding Pyrran with undisguised curiosity. “Extraordinary,” she murmured under her breath.
She had never seen such a Sith. Pell had thought if Teizi was reporting accurately, she might be able to sense traces of the Light Side, but this man - this Pureblood - practically radiated it. She would have thought it impossible. Interesting, too, that the Force so strongly tied him to the Mahr family. It seemed she had a great deal to learn from this Sith.
Re: Tython Interlude
Padawan Dallyn
He'd returned Pyrran's bow with one of his own and an added smile. He couldn't see his master's face from his position slightly behind her, but he doubted that she'd given any indication that she was pleased to see both he and Vette again. Because she was. He could tell by the way her shoulders relaxed when she'd stepped out into the suffocating Rishi heat. The way the air around her felt comfortable to be in.
Teizi Lin had chosen the correct profession. Even though she'd sort of fallen into it by her telling, Dallyn believed that the Force would still have found her a willing and able servant no matter what different history may have befallen her.
His vocation was now very much in question. He'd been brought up in the Jedi Temple. If anyone should have understood the Force and his place in the Jedi, it should have been him. Not some farm girl from Dantooine. But the more time he spent around her - out in the galaxy - meeting people who weren't Jedi - the more he realized that...
The place he'd grown up wasn't where he was going to grow old.
He'd returned Pyrran's bow with one of his own and an added smile. He couldn't see his master's face from his position slightly behind her, but he doubted that she'd given any indication that she was pleased to see both he and Vette again. Because she was. He could tell by the way her shoulders relaxed when she'd stepped out into the suffocating Rishi heat. The way the air around her felt comfortable to be in.
Teizi Lin had chosen the correct profession. Even though she'd sort of fallen into it by her telling, Dallyn believed that the Force would still have found her a willing and able servant no matter what different history may have befallen her.
His vocation was now very much in question. He'd been brought up in the Jedi Temple. If anyone should have understood the Force and his place in the Jedi, it should have been him. Not some farm girl from Dantooine. But the more time he spent around her - out in the galaxy - meeting people who weren't Jedi - the more he realized that...
The place he'd grown up wasn't where he was going to grow old.
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Re: Tython Interlude
Pyrran Onyk Mahr
Master Pell continued to regard Pyrran. The Sith lord stared back steadily, trying not to appear disconcerted. Not to be disconcerted.
After a moment, Mona spoke again. "I assume Jesk was incorrect about your intentions about the Twi'lek girl?"
Pyrran merely nodded warily.
"And if I may ask where she is...?" Mona asked.
"Safe," Pyrran replied shortly.
Mona raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so reluctant to discuss this? It appears you have done nothing wrong, yet you seem determined to convince us you have."
"I have no reason to trust you," the Sith lord replied - not a statement of malice, but a mere statement of fact.
"I am a Jedi Master..."
"The Jedi care nothing for slaves."
"How can you say that? The Jedi are guardians of peace and order throughout the galaxy..."
Pyrran shrugged. "For some. The Empire imports and exports slaves by the thousand, and I have never seen a single Jedi lift a lightsaber to intervene. Why should I tell you anything now?"
Mona stared at him for a long moment, her eyes piercing, as if she could stare through him. Pyrran, undaunted, stared back.
Abruptly, Mona cracked a smile. She turned to Teizi. "I like him," she said. "No wonder you have made such a Sith your friend."
Master Pell continued to regard Pyrran. The Sith lord stared back steadily, trying not to appear disconcerted. Not to be disconcerted.
After a moment, Mona spoke again. "I assume Jesk was incorrect about your intentions about the Twi'lek girl?"
Pyrran merely nodded warily.
"And if I may ask where she is...?" Mona asked.
"Safe," Pyrran replied shortly.
Mona raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so reluctant to discuss this? It appears you have done nothing wrong, yet you seem determined to convince us you have."
"I have no reason to trust you," the Sith lord replied - not a statement of malice, but a mere statement of fact.
"I am a Jedi Master..."
"The Jedi care nothing for slaves."
"How can you say that? The Jedi are guardians of peace and order throughout the galaxy..."
Pyrran shrugged. "For some. The Empire imports and exports slaves by the thousand, and I have never seen a single Jedi lift a lightsaber to intervene. Why should I tell you anything now?"
Mona stared at him for a long moment, her eyes piercing, as if she could stare through him. Pyrran, undaunted, stared back.
Abruptly, Mona cracked a smile. She turned to Teizi. "I like him," she said. "No wonder you have made such a Sith your friend."
Re: Tython Interlude
Teizi Lin
She could understand Pyrran's suspicion. His clipped words and cagey answers were exactly the sort of response she received when she'd first met him. Though, Teizi realized, he had spoken honestly when she'd informed him of why she was there and had asked for information in a respectful manner. Therein lay a strange dichotomy. Pyrran was an honest man. Of this she was certain. Yet she'd also seen him tell blatant lies and make false implications. She sensed the latter wasn't his natural habit, though. That he lied to protect others, not himself. Teizi felt that she could understand his motivation - and now could understand how he could utilize falsehood having recently taken part in an elaborate ruse herself. Perhaps it seemed easy for him simply because he'd had greater occasion to practice.
A Light Side-weilding Sith Pureblood on Korriban. Yes, he would have had many such occasion to practice the art of deception. And yet, Pyrran seemed supremely placed to keep the Jedi Order honest.
Teizi nodded to Master Pell when the other woman first indicated a fondness for Pyrran and then seemed to give her blessing on the friendship the two of them had formed.
"He is also right. Lord Pyrran often sees through the pretense of the Order. I respect him for keeping me focused on the core values of being Jedi."
Though her voice did not change intonation throughout the sentence, she finished her statement with a small smile at Pyrran. She had meant what she said and it was clear she considered it a positive thing.
She could understand Pyrran's suspicion. His clipped words and cagey answers were exactly the sort of response she received when she'd first met him. Though, Teizi realized, he had spoken honestly when she'd informed him of why she was there and had asked for information in a respectful manner. Therein lay a strange dichotomy. Pyrran was an honest man. Of this she was certain. Yet she'd also seen him tell blatant lies and make false implications. She sensed the latter wasn't his natural habit, though. That he lied to protect others, not himself. Teizi felt that she could understand his motivation - and now could understand how he could utilize falsehood having recently taken part in an elaborate ruse herself. Perhaps it seemed easy for him simply because he'd had greater occasion to practice.
A Light Side-weilding Sith Pureblood on Korriban. Yes, he would have had many such occasion to practice the art of deception. And yet, Pyrran seemed supremely placed to keep the Jedi Order honest.
Teizi nodded to Master Pell when the other woman first indicated a fondness for Pyrran and then seemed to give her blessing on the friendship the two of them had formed.
"He is also right. Lord Pyrran often sees through the pretense of the Order. I respect him for keeping me focused on the core values of being Jedi."
Though her voice did not change intonation throughout the sentence, she finished her statement with a small smile at Pyrran. She had meant what she said and it was clear she considered it a positive thing.
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Re: Tython Interlude
Pyrran Onyk Mahr
"I see," Master Pell said. "We Jedi can certainly use someone to keep us honest, can't we? The champions of goodness and light - and very pleased with ourselves about it, more often than not. Perhaps such a friend would have benefited Master Jesk."
Pyrran couldn't quite tell if she was being sarcastic or not. To his surprise, he didn't think so.
Mona went on, "So tell me, Lord Pyrran - it seems you have developed rather a history of saving Twi'lek slave girls now. Not exactly a common pastime for a Sith lord, is it? How did you become invested in this particular cause?"
"I..." this threw Pyrran off balance. "I don't know. It isn't a 'cause.' I never really thought about it, I suppose. I was simply in the right place at the right time, and I..."
He hadn't ever thought about it. He'd had no cause to. But as he spoke the words, the truth flowed back to him. The memories of being a child, unable to protect himself from the beatings his father gave him, doing his futile best to protect his sisters. Being a student on Korriban, still abused but now with different abusers, teachers of the Dark Side who taught by inflicting every pain, stealing every hope. Being an apprentice, the right hand of an evil man. Then a so-called lord, but still forever walking a line to save his own skin.
It was because he had always felt powerless. Because the powerlessness of these Twi'leks was something he understood all too well.
Mona sensed his pain, like the unexpected sharp stab of a knife, and expeditiously dropped the subject. "Well, in any case, I doubt the Twi'leks spend much time questioning their good fortune. More like counting their lucky stars about whose hands they ended up in. A one-in-a-million Sith lord..."
Pyrran shook his head. "No, you shouldn't... don't build me up in your head like that. As some unique, good Sith. I've done things. We all have, to have risen to the rank of Lord. I'm not some innocent apprentice plucked from the clutches of Darkness by the forces of Light. I earned my title."
He thought of Cheketta. At least he had made amends for that tangle of impossible choices.
But not all crimes could be so easily atoned for. There was blood his hands would never be clean of. One act in particular he would never be able to justify, even to himself. The part he had played in the torture death of a spy at his Master's hands...
"And what will you do now?" Master Pell asked, snapping Pyrran out of his reverie.
Pyrran, caught off-balance, forgot that he ought to keep his answer veiled. "I thought that I would stay with my family, at least for a time..."
"Your family? On Dromund Kaas? Or Korriban?" Mona was momentarily confused... but then a small smile crossed her face. "Ah, no, I'm wrong. You mean your family here. Oh, don't look so surprised, Lord Pyrran. This isn't exactly a shock. Siralai always has been one to take in stray Sith. I know we agreed that I would not interfere with your household, and I will keep my word - but do give Siralai my regards, if you will?"
Hoping he wasn't going to regret this - that he wasn't falling for a trick, putting his newly-saved sisters back in danger - Pyrran said, "It's alright. You can go see her. My m-- uh, Siralai."
Mona smiled again, but it faded quickly. "Perhaps later. I sense a disturbance in the Force."
Pyrran raised an eyebrow. "Well, there are rather a lot of Sith on Rishi at the moment..."
Mona shook her head. "Not here. At the market. I must go see what is amiss."
She neither instructed them to follow, nor made any attempt to dissuade them when Pyrran - and now Vette, too, who had emerged from the shadows behind a tree now that she was certain that she was not going to be called upon to provide concealed cover fire - fell into step behind her.
"I see," Master Pell said. "We Jedi can certainly use someone to keep us honest, can't we? The champions of goodness and light - and very pleased with ourselves about it, more often than not. Perhaps such a friend would have benefited Master Jesk."
Pyrran couldn't quite tell if she was being sarcastic or not. To his surprise, he didn't think so.
Mona went on, "So tell me, Lord Pyrran - it seems you have developed rather a history of saving Twi'lek slave girls now. Not exactly a common pastime for a Sith lord, is it? How did you become invested in this particular cause?"
"I..." this threw Pyrran off balance. "I don't know. It isn't a 'cause.' I never really thought about it, I suppose. I was simply in the right place at the right time, and I..."
He hadn't ever thought about it. He'd had no cause to. But as he spoke the words, the truth flowed back to him. The memories of being a child, unable to protect himself from the beatings his father gave him, doing his futile best to protect his sisters. Being a student on Korriban, still abused but now with different abusers, teachers of the Dark Side who taught by inflicting every pain, stealing every hope. Being an apprentice, the right hand of an evil man. Then a so-called lord, but still forever walking a line to save his own skin.
It was because he had always felt powerless. Because the powerlessness of these Twi'leks was something he understood all too well.
Mona sensed his pain, like the unexpected sharp stab of a knife, and expeditiously dropped the subject. "Well, in any case, I doubt the Twi'leks spend much time questioning their good fortune. More like counting their lucky stars about whose hands they ended up in. A one-in-a-million Sith lord..."
Pyrran shook his head. "No, you shouldn't... don't build me up in your head like that. As some unique, good Sith. I've done things. We all have, to have risen to the rank of Lord. I'm not some innocent apprentice plucked from the clutches of Darkness by the forces of Light. I earned my title."
He thought of Cheketta. At least he had made amends for that tangle of impossible choices.
But not all crimes could be so easily atoned for. There was blood his hands would never be clean of. One act in particular he would never be able to justify, even to himself. The part he had played in the torture death of a spy at his Master's hands...
"And what will you do now?" Master Pell asked, snapping Pyrran out of his reverie.
Pyrran, caught off-balance, forgot that he ought to keep his answer veiled. "I thought that I would stay with my family, at least for a time..."
"Your family? On Dromund Kaas? Or Korriban?" Mona was momentarily confused... but then a small smile crossed her face. "Ah, no, I'm wrong. You mean your family here. Oh, don't look so surprised, Lord Pyrran. This isn't exactly a shock. Siralai always has been one to take in stray Sith. I know we agreed that I would not interfere with your household, and I will keep my word - but do give Siralai my regards, if you will?"
Hoping he wasn't going to regret this - that he wasn't falling for a trick, putting his newly-saved sisters back in danger - Pyrran said, "It's alright. You can go see her. My m-- uh, Siralai."
Mona smiled again, but it faded quickly. "Perhaps later. I sense a disturbance in the Force."
Pyrran raised an eyebrow. "Well, there are rather a lot of Sith on Rishi at the moment..."
Mona shook her head. "Not here. At the market. I must go see what is amiss."
She neither instructed them to follow, nor made any attempt to dissuade them when Pyrran - and now Vette, too, who had emerged from the shadows behind a tree now that she was certain that she was not going to be called upon to provide concealed cover fire - fell into step behind her.