SW: TOR: RECKONING OF A LOST SOUL: UNCONQUERABLE
Part Two of an Old Republic Tale by MsFicwriter
ABOARD THE 'VYGRALI', EN ROUTE TO CORUSCANT, 0200 HOURS
Qyzen Fess and I considered ourselves lucky that there was a powerful hyperdrive aboard the Sith vessel Vygrali. Otherwise, we might never have made it to Coruscant before the Essence of Victory killed me! True, she was only a ship intended to transport couriers, not soldiers. Nevertheless, we were both. The Sith, like the Jedi, always trained their operatives to be combat specialists as well as spies. The only difference was that Jedi Shadows worked to bring injustice into the light and eradicate it, while Sith Assassins used their killing power to gain even more power for themselves. I sighed as I remembered that we presently served the Empire of our own free will, but that didn't mean we believed in their cause. We had simply traded our obedience, at least for now, in exchange for our lives. Come to think of it, even that was not really a freely-made decision, because choosing death wasn't really an option when so much was at stake right now. As much as I hated to admit it, Pfon Urazhai was right: Master Karos was more dangerous than he was. What was she up to on Coruscant, and why did she truly want to help the politician Denon Yepti? We would find out, or we would perish.
As the Vygrali sailed through the vacuum of space toward Coruscant, Qyzen paced its main hold like a beast caged for weeks: "Padawan," he hissed, his reptilian voice quivering even though he was trying to hide it. "I do not understand! How could the so-called Jedi Master Karos have trained Pfon Urazhai in secret without her colleagues' knowledge? Didn't any of them suspect what was going on?" He paused. "Master Yun sure didn't."
"We all make mistakes," I answered, sighing sadly. "Although we're sensitive to it, even the Force can't--and doesn't--tell us everything. My theory is that Master Karos was phenomenal at hiding her true intentions and manipulating others. As to how she actually trained Pfon, I suspect that she used a Sith holocron to teach him from afar..." My blood chilled. "In fact, he may be the very same Sith that Tamara Malthisen was trying to contact, back in the crystal cave on Tython, in order to locate Revan! Of course, she probably had no idea that Pfon was her Master's secret pupil..." It all made sense now. The pieces of the puzzle that was Master Karos and her treason were finally starting to fall into place.
"If I'm right, then Tamara used Pfon, but Karos and Pfon both used Tamara! Pfon may have been the one to expend and torture her before...enslaving her, but Karos primed Tamara for such a fate. Karos ensured that Tamara would not be stopped along her path of rage and aggression, except for trying to kill me in the duel. Then she and the Jedi Council exiled her, giving her all the more reason to try and join the Sith. Against her calculations, however, the Sith turned on her from the start instead of giving her the opportunities the other hopefuls get." Something felt hollow inside me. "Here's what I don't get. Why did Master Karos AND the Sith use Tamara up and then throw her away like a blood-saturated cleansing cloth? Why did they both choose me for their purposes instead? I know that I'm a skilled duelist, but so was she! Qyzen, this is so confusing..."
The Trandoshan said nothing for the space of five whole minutes. Then:
"There is something priceless within you, Padawan," he replied, "which the followers of the Dark Side will stop at nothing to either kill or use to their own advantage. Master Karos saw it, and so did Pfon Urazhai. I do not know what this 'priceless thing' is, but rest assured it lies within your very depths! I knew it from the first moment I saw you..." Closing his one eye, Qyzen let out a long, slow breath. He was definitely meditating, even though he wasn't Force-sensitive. "It is not 'goodness', because I suspect that someone who is truly good would not have to struggle with so many...what is the ancient word?...'temptations'. They simply would know what was the right thing to do, and then do it, with no doubts or self-recriminations. That is what the Jedi Order preaches, if not practices."
I couldn't argue with that. I'd often thought the same thing myself.
"Regardless whether you win or lose in any individual battle, this is why Master Karos and the Sith want to claim you for their own. You are not simply a follower, one of masses and masses of students who wish to be taught. In time, you shall become stalwart, inspiring or demoralizing thousands by your actions. Why do you look so uncomfortable?" He lay his clawed hand in mine. "You have already led me, Padawan, to this even higher calling than hunting the largest game in the galaxy! If we're going to win against Master Karos and the Jedi as well as Vadym and the Sith, you must realize this."
Why did I feel so terrified? I felt my head shaking without accord, without volition. It simply thrashed from side to side like a remote droid--no, no, no! A leader was someone braver, stronger, smarter. To wit: better.
"You are worthy of the calling," Qyzen said. "You are unconquerable."
glee!
That is all. Nothing else can convey the glee! in me.
:) I'm glad to cause you such gLee. :)
Jedi Council + An unidentified biological agent infected Jedi with a Trandoshan companion?
I think life is about to just a bit more difficult for Per'dra.
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More please!