Dark Jedi - Part 2
Something was bothering her…he could tell…even if not for his far superior ability to read people…they’d been together for nearly eight years now…
“What’s wrong,” he asked as she recoiled from him…normally she was ferociously energetic during their few stolen moments together
“Just…nothing,” that clearly wasn’t true
He stroked her back but she almost leapt off the bed to get away
“I don’t want to talk about it alright…I don’t feel like it tonight…”
“That’s not the issue,” He said swiftly “you’re not yourself, just talk to me…is Milaea alright?”
“She’s fine, just fine…everything…” she blew out, she hated this…hated it…”Everything is just fine…forget about it”
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Master Pyl…slightly below average connection to the force…Makashi preference…involved mainly in scouting core worlds for force sensitive infants for the last 5 years…before that placement on Dantooine 3 years…hmmm a recurring theme…every few years he seemed to be shifted around Enclaves occasionally to Coruscant…often working with the younglings or finding infants…by his own request…
“A passion for developing the next generation of Jedi…” he quoted from the screen as his eyes narrowed…most of the transfers where signed off by a Master Ysson currently on Coruscant…
Something was amiss…something had upset Sofa…and if Sofa was upset he needed to fix the problem…he could of course simply delve her…but the longer they were together the more uncomfortable doing that to her he was…plus it was risky.
Instead he had simply reviewed her last mission logs, it seemed straight forward enough, a simple assignment recruiting…Sofa loved children…so what could have caused her such disquiet…Milaea had seemed content, only noting Sofa disliked Master Pyl…Valens had never met him…didn’t know any history between him and Sofa…but perhaps someone else did.
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The wide face greeted him with a sneer like smile
“Valens,”
“Oma,”
“To what do I owe he displeasure,”
“Master Pyl…know anything?”
The portrait image shrugged
“Nothing really, never heard of him…Sofa might know,”
“That is the issue exactly, what about Ysson?”
At first he though the data stream had been interrupted but then realised her face was static
“A raw nerve?”
“I’d rather not talk about it with you,”
“Really…”
“Really,” she said firmly, Oma was as close to a friend as he had really, her outsider status meant she quickly recognised he was more than just a late entrant into the Order, and being bullied by other Jedi for her size had left her with a dark streak he could appreciate and had assisted her in developing, earning her gratitude and friendship reflected in their brooding treatment of each other.
“Tell me,” he said he could force her, even across this distance, but he had no desire to.
Her mouth twitched
“It does no good, he’s got too many friends,”
“That doesn’t bother me,”
“It should, neither of us needs the attention,”
“I can be discrete,”
“So can they,”
Now he really wanted to know
“Who is they?”
“They….are not your problem…they’re mine…” she paused her tone darkening considerably “One day”
He didn’t want to press, but nor could he let it go
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Slicing the doors in the Temple had been an interesting nightly diversion in his first few years here…but now he simply had a complete access card copied from Kimar’s. Oma didn’t know the full extent but knew enough…she was not confident enough to take them on, she still feared the Jedi – he did not.
Yssons room was neat, his datapads in a precise stack of four. Flicking his wrist to reveal the slicer he jammed it into the input and output port, the screen burst to life as Lyaea’s code worked its magic. His fingers moved quickly behind the gloves, dancing through records, his mind filling with details on holo-mails long since thought deleted…cryptic terms, subtle insinuations, reassignments after the first stirrings of complaints….
A set of five key names including Pyl grew in his mind as being the common actors…yet it was systemic…there were another 15 or so outliers…stringent denial letters, threats of legal action for defamation…Masters assigned to ‘retreats’ to ‘address behavioural issues’ only to be reassigned and the subject of action once again…instructions NOT to inform civilian authorities…
He didn’t understand, what were they doing, what were they hiding? He knew of two secret dark-side sects within the Jedi, one that secretly worshipped the Maker, and two other secret societies…but this was new…there was no obvious connecting thread apart from the cover up….
A small icon showed a different set of files with a higher level of encryption…mostly picts…the holo-mails revealing nothing more he clicked it open. At first he didn’t understand what he was looking at…younglings of various humanoid races…
Only slowly did he realise what they were for….it had not occurred to him that such things could happen, that anyone much less a Jedi would even….It simply defied even his broad experience. He had already flicked across a few dozen, he didn’t want to go on anymore, as though simply coming across this made him somehow complicit in it.
Yet he was a Guardian…perhaps these were not People…but he could not deny his role, his responsibility to investigate, to make judgments and execute justice…that was what his grandfather would do.
He scanned through each pict as fast as he could, analysing the species and key facial features, indeed where a face was shown at all, carefully memorizing the details of each so he could cross reference against Jedi he knew and others he did not…building up a list of victims in his head…
The scale vast, at least 70 odd individuals, but broken up over small time periods – his advanced cognition allowed him to cross reference this with the times Master Pyl and others were assigned to working with younglings in the Temple on Coruscant or Enclave on Dantooine, the pattern he had seen before made sense now, though he wished it hadn’t.
His eyes took in dozens per second, but on one he suddenly stopped…he knew the girl in it….or at least her future self…here she was not even a teenager, less than ten, but the black hair and the pink birth mark on her left ribs left no doubt. It was Sofa.
The door hissed open, he had been negligent, so taken up in uncovering this…sickness…he had ignored his surroundings, Master Ysson entered.
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“A trash compactor?”
Usura nodded
“A trash compactor?” Kimar repeated
“Yes Grand Master…there are picts…the forensic team is investigating…”
“How in the bloody stars does a Jedi Master end up crushed to death by a trash compactor?”
“The investigation is ongoing Grand Master…”
It made no sense, Ysson, deputy head of Education and Training had been in a meeting not six hours before, now he was found mushed in a trash compactor on the other side of the planet.
“Well did anyone see him leave the Temple?”
“Well…no there was a power outage…”
“Backups, batteries?”
“It was localised…some kind of electrical overload in the South East circuit breaker, the technician said it looked like lightning had hit it.”
He shrugged indifferently, dismissing the Yinchorri before returning to some real work.
“You have a problem.” The voice came from nowhere in particular, he jolted up to see a knight before him holding a thick file full of flimsi
“Knight…Valens…what, how did you get…” his booming protest ended as the file dropped onto his desk spilling the contents…picts, documents…hundreds of them…he glanced over the first few…his stomach sinking as the bile rose with his understanding of what he was looking at.
It took him nearly half an hour in silence to fully appreciate the extent of the conspiracy perpetuated under his very nose while Yoda’s twisted foundling stood silent as the grave.
“You have a problem,” he repeated then handed him a separate pict
“And I have the solution,”
It was graphic…bloody and shocking, Ysson…was not dead in the pict…but…a trash compactor was about the only thing that could cover up trauma like that….nothing compared to what he deserved - still.
“You murdered another Jedi!” Kimar whispered through gritted teeth
“Three last night but who’s counting, they are a threat to the Order and need to be excised…give me your approval and I’ll remove the rest of them quietly and quickly”
“Why shouldn’t I arrest you right now?”
“Tell me Grand Master what will be better for the Order, arresting me and these files being released to three dozen news outlets in exactly,” he checked his chrono for effect,
“22 and a half minutes, or letting me get on with the job,” It was an empty threat, but Kimar didn’t know that, Valens knew the information needed to be released, but that was too blunt and risked re-traumatising the victims were they to see their face plastered across the Holo-net without warming.
“What would Yoda say about that Knight,”
“You know what he would say, public inquiry, to the Courts for years of hearings, denials, arguments…but I leave the politics to you…I am a pragmatic foot soldier, give me leave and it will be done”
“And how can I trust you are up to the challenge…” he didn’t need to finish that sentence three sabers flopped onto his desk.
“That was four hours work, Yoda taught me well….and I will only get better with time and practice” They both wanted the Order strong, albeit for very different reasons, Valens needed Milaea protected and guided, for now his goals aligned with those of the Grand Master.
Kimar kept his face neutral, but smiled inwardly…he could use this murderer…
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Was she a victim, a survivor – an overcomer…both…neither…
Right now she was just alone holding onto a stuffed Ewok as thought she might fall into an abyss without it.
She should do something…yet just thinking about it she felt the guilt, the shame welling up again…things she thought she was long past…the memory of his hand on her throat, his voice so close to her ear…
Any other day she felt so confident and strong…but this brought her down, left her broken on her bed…no one would believe her…not the respected Master Pyl…she didn’t want to have to tell anyone what had happened she didn’t want to remember it…much less to have it then dismissed as slander, as a made up story, to be cross examined
‘Why didn’t you speak up then?’
‘Where is your evidence, it just your word against his, and look at all the venerable masters who speak on his behalf?’
‘Isn’t it true you’ve been censured for emotional attachments before, isn’t it true you’ve been sent to programs to address your sexual desires, it seems you have a history of sexual deviancy Neirai!’
All the voices she imagined would assail her – they talked – they would never listen…she couldn’t do it.
The door slid open light peaking across her face
Terror filled her instantly…it couldn’t be…not now…not after so many years…not again…her throat choked up as she balled up afraid it was happening again.
“Sofa…” the quiet voice came across the room
Milaea did not understand what was wrong, Sofa seemed very sad and afraid for some reason…she wasn’t sure what to do…her own bad dream about fire and explosions seemed nothing compared to Sofa’s fear…Milaea didn’t like it.
She cautiously stepped toward her worried should get in trouble…but she didn’t like Sofa to be sad…she remembered something Soryu said, sometimes just being there was enough.
She tentatively stroked her master’s arm as the door slid shut to leave them in darkness. Gingerly shuffling up she got onto the bed and held Sofa as best she could manage hoping Soryu’s calming techniques would help.
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“Vengeance is mine and retribution…by my will shall they be held to account, not thine own power…thus says the Maker…” he quoted as Pyl gradually came to, harsh white light from a single glow panel above him, the abattoirs machinery obscured in the darkness. He was tied to a chair, in front a small table with an hour glass
“Vengeance is yours, and retribution…by my power shall your will be enacted...thus says Aertemisaea of the Law,”
Pyl struggled against his restraints pointlessly as he paced around him, he had two hours before he needed to leave on assignment to Bonadan, fortunately he was able to sneak this in by performing his own jump calculations shaving 8 hours off what the navicomputer, and his contact were expecting, enough to make this side trip – Kimar had been too focused on the gray and the senate to pay attention to what was happening within the Order, focused on the wrong things, but to his credit had leapt on Valens offer to address the issue.
Still he didn’t trust the Grand Master fully, he had another score to settle with him…and would soon release the files to Gurrlum - he could be trusted to bring this to light and was arms-length compared to Soryu or Yoda…
But exposure would cause the perverts to circle their wagons and go on the defensive – before that happened he needed to extract as many names and filmed confessions as possible.
“I want you to know something…I do have rules I follow…a code in a sense…I tell you this because you will think later that I lied…but I assure you I didn’t…
My people kill yes, we are very good at it…when we fight it is always to the death, we do not take prisoners, we do not torture…we do not rape or maim. We manipulate yes – turn our enemies to kill each other…mutilate corpses to spread terror yes…but we don’t inflict pain for pains sake.
Here is what will happen…I am going to force you to admit your depravities to this camera, you will resist, you will fight, but you will fail, either through exhaustion or some other means you will break and you will tell this camera everything.
Then you will plead for mercy, to inform on the others you know of, and you will tell me their names, then you will think I will spare you…I will not.
As I said we do not torture or take prisoners, but we do experiment…”
He took hold of the hour glass
“The experiment will last only as long as it take for this to empty, about half a standard hour…by the time the last grain falls you will be dead
…but it will seem like more…because I am interested in experimenting with perceptions of time and temporal manipulation using the force….to pause, accelerate or slow, even reverse time.
I am also interested in the manipulation of memories and emotions…I wish to see if I can force you to relive your memories from the view point of those you harmed…to feel their emotions…their terror and helplessness…
You will not die because of physical trauma…your mind will simply be burnt away from over use, it may feel like years within your head as I experiment…but you will die before the last grain falls,”
He turned over the hourglass
“Now shall we begin?”
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Soryu had offered to be there, but she told him it was better for him to take Mili to the Zoo…she didn’t want…Mili was too young, and thought he hearing was held in private, somehow…she didn’t want her to be in the Temple while she gave her evidence.
It was a strange fear, as though speaking it out loud could somehow infect people around her…she shouldn’t feel like that…but she just couldn’t help it.
Sofa glanced at her comm, the message from Valens was odd…”You are worth it.”
She didn’t understand, he’d been gone for nearly a month on some special assignment for Kimar, the messages he’d set up for timed release while he was beyond contact range looking - he couldn’t possibly know what was happening back here yet somehow the daily notes were all too pertinent.
The door opened and the secretary gestured her in,
“Master Neirai,”
She paused for a moment…a trickle of sweat on the small of her back…was this really happening?
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In spite of the evidence…the recorded confessions – exactly how these were obtained Gurrlum did not ask – he should he really should – but he didn’t…some people still refused to believe it.
“Lies, attempts to smear”
“He was good man, why are you attacking him?”
“She couldn’t have done it, I was there, I would’ve noticed,”
“They just want attention”
“If it really happened THEN why are the only coming out NOW, why wait twenty or more years?”
There would always be some who thought that way, Gurrlums role as Commissioner was not to persuade them, it was to state the facts, determine what had happened, why it had happened, how it could happen and with those facts ensure it did not happen again. He did not believe he could achieve the last goal, but he could make some strides toward it.
He could not offer those who were harmed compensation, healing, or any justice, against the reality of what had happened none of these things could ever make a meaningful impact. All he could offer was the removal of the silence and stigma they had been under.
The list of interviewees had been long…four dozen in all…each one was tragedy enough…he did not want the volume to turn them into a statistic…he had made sure each and every account was included in his report…each and every instance revealed. Yet he knew there were more out there…whose stories would never be heard…a voice to the voiceless, he was unworthy and ill-equipped to be that yet he would try.
He could not stop it happening again, he could not undo the damage...nor even ensure they were believed…only ensure they were heard.
The master assembled before him in the auditorium, Kimar stood to the side, Soryu beside Yoda whose stern countenance was at odds with the disappointment he felt. There were some of the victims in the audience, fewer than he’d thought, more than should’ve existed in the first place.
What shocked them most shouldn’t have been that it had happened…what should’ve chocked them Gurrlum thought was they had believed it couldn’t happen – such denials of the possibility of it occurring AT ALL, and the dismissal of people who suggested it might or said it had - THAT was what they should be shocked about.
He adjusted the microphone to his lengthened face then began.
“Is evil merely the absence of good….”
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