Settling In (Jace)

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Master Teer Ka was clad once more in the brown robes of the Jedi Order, her boots clicking on the marble floor of one of the Jedi Temple's numerous halls, an echo accompanying her as she moved along her way. It was also safe to say that she carried herself remarkably well, with a straight back, and perfect posture. Her arms swung by her sides in the gentle motions of someone at ease, though the cadence of her steps was very much like a marching soldier on parade.

In a way she was a soldier. The Jedi Order was like a microcosm of the Republic, with members and affiliates in all fields. There were guards, teachers, artisans, cooks, and diplomats. It just so happened that her life had, for many decades, been that of the fighter.

The Togruta woman might have used the term warrior, except she found it a little too romantic. She was engaged in single combat at times, but she didn't pride herself on being a fierce warrior. Teer considered herself a Jedi Master who fought for a strict purpose, engaged in warfare against the enemy. The galaxy was her battlefield, and she was a soldier on it. Maybe more skilled than the typical recruit, more experienced than him too, but not anything more or less than another soldier in the fray.

Now, like a soldier who had fought in every war, she was retired, and simply tired. Teer had her fill of death and violence over the years, with forty-two Dark Jedi dying by her saber. While she didn't feel shame for fighting the enemy, neither did she take pride in it. The notches machined into her saber that represented those deaths were merely reminders, tributes to the fight, like the akul-tooth headdress that rested on her forehead.

Still, a healthy dose of controversy rarely hurt. Teer usually didn't worry about the opinions of others too closely, as they generally lacked both the facts and the proper frame of reference. Others could call it a trophy if they wished, but she would simply ignore the condemnations. If they really cared, they could always ask.

However, she was unlikely to be condemned now. While even a skilled Weapons Master with so much experience could be readily dismissed, a Jedi High Councilor couldn't.

Why it was she'd been selected, Teer Ka didn't know. She had her suspicions that it was Councilor Mon'vuuem to thank. Ever since her reappearance on Shili, and her meeting with Teer, the Kaminoan woman had looked very favorably on her Togruta counterpart.

Master Ka wouldn't admit it even to herself, but she had grown a kind of wisdom and patience while immersed in her roots, and in her own culture. While she had picked up even more of a 'mission-first' tendency to let the stragglers fall alone, everything else had been a marked improvement.

Even if Councilor Ka didn't consider herself a beacon of wisdom, she recognized one did not become a Councilor unless that was a quality possessed in more than a fair amount. So she'd been forced to conclude she was, in fact, at least moderately wise.

Apparently age had finally conferred a gift.

Teer continued her measured strides, heading towards the dining areas for whatever raw meat she could find, looking straight ahead constantly, without deviation. The beauty was that she could feel the location of every being, and with a split second of focus could determine whether they were good or evil, whether they had ill-intent or not. If she'd met the person before, she could even tell who they were.

However, she wasn't expecting company. After all, not many chose her for companionship.

[Jace]

It seemed as if it had been years since Jace Beleren last set foot in the Jedi Temple. Of course he had managed to stumble up to the steps only a few months before and then rather shamefully carried in by a few old friends. He had barely begun to heal before he set off for Thila, and war. The Jedi Master was still unsure of what had compelled him to do such a thing but it had seemed all for naught. He had been praised for his staunch defense of the fortress yet the words had seemed so hollow. Too many men and women lost their lives in what felt like a pointless struggle. Of course Jace knew that there had been a purpose in their nearly unyielding defense as the Sith had taken enormous losses in their eventual victory. The loss of life was expected in war but that didn't mean the Jedi had to like it.

Walking through the halls of the Temple helped to ease the Jedi's burdened mind. There had been a time when Jace had experienced a similar exhaustion. The Council at the time had recognized that his years of service as a Shadow had taken its toll. Jace had not really known anything else since his promotion to Knight but was suddenly shown a very different side of the Order. He had found that there was much joy to be found in instruction as well as conversing with peers. Eventually it led to a seat on the High Council which was an honor he had certainly not expected and would culminate in his becoming Grandmaster. It all felt as if it had been so long ago.

A pair of young Jedi nodded in his direction and Jace returned the gesture. They seemed somewhat familiar but the Jedi Master struggled to remember their names. It seemed to Jace that the halls were significant less crowded than he remembered but that was not overly surprising. The Blades did not represent a large part of the Jedi Order but it was still a noticeable number. Jace knew that unless the Council official declared war, those numbers were likely to decrease. It was true that more joined with each passing day but unfortunately war would not let the Blades' strength continue to grow. Jace took a moment to pray silently for the safety of those on the front line of whom one was his closest friend.

Jace believed it better not to continue down that train of thought. Dark had been his thoughts of late, and his brooding was helping no one. It had done him good to see some old faces and simply be in the presence of so many of his peers. To be surrounded by so many paragons of the light helped to heal the wounds that could not be seen. The Jedi Master had decided to do what he could around the Temple until the Council decided what would be best for him. Jace, being a Jedi Master and former Grandmaster, was allowed a certain sense of autonomy but he still answered to the Order as a whole which was governed by the Council. He suspected that he would be allowed back onto the Council but Jace was unsure if that is what he wanted.

He had spent the morning visiting various classes and consulting with a number of other Knights and Masters. Jace was not much of a teacher, Vreem had been much better, but he liked to share what knowledge he could. The Jedi Master had also done a bit of sparring which always helped to clear his mind. Jace had spent some time with lightsaber training but unarmed combat had been his focus. He would need to devote some time for meditation but that had become more difficult as of late. Suffice to say, Jace had worked up an appetite and was now on his way to the dining hall. It was just outside the dining area that the Jedi spotted a familiar figure.

"Greetings, Master Ka," intoned Jace as he approached the Togruta. He inclined his head in her direction, a gesture of genuine respect.

The former Grandmaster had not had much occasion to talk with now High Council member. Jace knew enough to know that her abilities and exploits earned her a place among the top twelve Jedi of the Order. She was a Jedi much in the same way that Jace had been, a warrior. He could respect her dedication to do what is necessary for the Jedi Order. It could often be a dangerous line to walk but Jace had done it as well. Their similarities did not end there. They both wore the standard brown robes yet Master Ka possessed the tooth headdress while tattoos ran down the side of his face. A more permanent addition to his appearance but not more important.

"Firstly, let me offer you congratulations on your appointment to the Council. The Order will benefit greatly from the experience and wisdom you offer."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

The figure Teer saw when she turned her head was only an inch taller than her, but was instantly recognizable as a figure that commanded respect. Dark blue eyes were intelligent and authoritative, and the tattoos on one side of his face were familiar. It was Jace Beleren, the former Grandmaster whose recent return had caused a bit of a stir.

Master Ka herself hadn't arrived on the Council in time to be a part of that stir, but she'd acquired the knowledge in review. In her estimation, enough was known, and she didn't plan on pressing him for information. If he volunteered anything about his absence, she would listen with interest, but if he remained private, it would stay that way.

The Togruta woman pressed her palms together and bowed her head in response to his nod, giving him a traditional greeting, and a sign of respect. Even though he was no longer the Grandmaster, he still merited respect for his service as such, even though she was easily a decade more seasoned.

"I thank you for your kind words Master Beleren," Teer said calmly, straightening from her own bowed head. "You honor me."

It was clear with even just a second or two of observation that Master Ka's default visage was both stern and calm, and had been that way since her beneficial time on Shili.

One thing that set her apart from many other Jedi was her own attunement to her culture. Teer was very much a Togruta as she was a Jedi, and she brought the perspective of Shili with her, using a relentless support for the collective, for the greater good. In that respect, she was centered around the big picture. However, she was still a Jedi, and no one could question her devotion to the Order and to the adoptive tribe that was the Jedi Order.

"And I congratulate you on your return. What you endured was difficult. I think it will not go without action this time. I hope, sincerely hope, that this will change things, and your suffering will have had a purpose."

[Jace]

"It is well deserved," noted Jace with a slight smile as he waved off her thanks. He was a man who placed a great deal of importance on formalities. The woman before him had provided many years of service to the Order, more than he, and Jace's congratulations were not something she needed to thank him for. Many often found it odd that the former Grandmaster was a man of such formalities considering that he had spent a great deal of his life in the presence of criminals. It had taken time but the Jedi Master had learned to separate his identity as a Shadow and a normal member of the Order.

"What purpose is there to be found?"noted the Jedi in a half-whisper which would have only been audible to the Togruta. There was noticeable darkening in his expression. It was not the sort of face for the light that encompassed the Jedi Temple.

He had suffered great pain at the hands of multiple Dark Jedi but that was not the source of his anguish. Of course his torment had been near unbearable but it was the shame that came after. The knowing that he had avoided a catastrophe through sheer luck. He had run the scenario through his head so many times that he had lost count. Jace told himself in retrospect that he would not have been so reckless but the Jedi knew he was only lying to himself. He had made a firm choice upon leaving the Temple and would have probably done so again despite knowing what he would encounter.

"Forgive me Master Ka, I did not mean to sound ungrateful. I only meant to suggest that my capture was a result of my own actions and therefore not something the Order should take responsibility for," added Jace after a few moments consideration. He was not one to usually make such off-handed comments but he had changed since his return.

Responsibility was a heavy burden, but one Jace had always been willing to bear for the Jedi Order. He had been hesitant about accepting the position of Grandmaster but Jace had done so, thinking he knew the burdens that came with the position. A man who had always supported the Order from the behind the curtain had found himself on center stage. One did not need to be a seer to predict that such a combination might end in failure. Luckily his replacement was much more suited to the position than he ever had been.

"I must confess myself slightly surprised Master Ka," began the Jedi Master, "In all honesty I had thought not to find you in the Temple but rather on the front lines."

Jace was not intending to be rude but was genuinely curious about this matter. Of course many people had asked the same of Jace when the war first started. It came as a surprise that the former Shadow had voted to keep the Order from going to war. Jace Beleren, the Jedi who so frequently took the fight to the darkside had decided not to meet the Sith on the field of battle. There were few in the Order who had more experience in combating the darkside face-to-face and one of them stood before him. No doubt it seemed odd to the younger generation that the two stood here instead of together on some distant battlefield.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"A valid question," Teer said softly in a calm voice.

Jace's previous testiness had vanished, and Master Ka didn't think he had meant anything particular with that, or indeed about this. While she could have chosen to view that as a challenge to her credibility as a leader; she didn't. As far as Teer Ka was concerned, it was just a question.

Now that she was a leader, she was expected to take an active part, so what was holding her back? That was an interesting little quandary she found perplexing at times. In the end though, it was simply a matter of values.

"I've killed far too many people Master Beleren. I'm not eager to kill more. I'm not eager to order deaths on a massive scale, and I won't rush into it."

As funny as the next part was going to sound, the Togruta woman couldn't find any alternate way to say it. No matter how she tried, she decided honesty and sincerity was the best way to go.

"A single death is tragic, but personal. The memory of the fallen foe will live on in me. But if I were to be a General and to order a thousand men to die, I would not remember a single name or a single face. I am not keen on industrializing death, no matter what the cause."

Then there was the other matter.

"Additionally, I feel I am a servant of the Jedi Order first and foremost. For now I will advise and do my best to have the Jedi Order stand with the Republic, but I will do as the Order dictates. That has been my policy for a long time, despite my personal feelings about the Sith. When the time comes, I will be ready. But until then..."

The Togruta woman looked her fellow Master in the eye, with an unflinching gaze. Her midnight eyes were rather captivating actually, and they burned with a sincerity deep within.

"I will remain loyal to my last breath."

[Jace]

If the Togruta thought anything about Jace's cynical comment, she made no obvious note of it. The Jedi Master was grateful that his peer had said nothing. His ordeal was not only affecting himself but also those around him, and that was simply unacceptable. He could still remember his friends' worried faces when they had found him half-dead on the Temple steps. It was a nearly unbearable shame but one he would be forced to bear. There would be ample time to dwell on his catastrophic mistakes at a later time. Instead he focused his attention back on Master Ka.

Nor was I, responded Jace only to himself.

Master Ka's words seemed to reflect the former Grandmaster's own thoughts. He had killed so many people over the years that he had lost count. Most were evil in one form or the other but no one deserved death. Unfortunately, few gave Jace the choice of letting them be captured alive. It would seem easy to some for a Jedi simply injure a person without killing them. Yet combat was never so simple as some would like to believe. In truth, the dead seldom used to be on the Jedi Master's mind. He never forgot them but Jace had done his duty without regret. His thinking had changed since he had come back from Thila. Jace had not been eager to order deaths on a massive scale, but he had done so. The Jedi had led troops before but not in galactic conflict. Part of Jace envied the Jedi that stood before him, she had avoided the battle-for now.

'Industrializing death', the Togruta had a way with words. He could not find himself to disagree with her words for they rang so true. It was true, Jace would never know the true lives of all those men and women who died on Thila. A bitter fact, but also a reality of command. The Sith Empire was a machine on a large scale, and they had done quite an effective job at industrializing death; Jace had seen it with his own eyes. Did that mean it was his duty to go to the front lines and battle this terrible machine with a construct of his own? It was a question that some Jedi found easier to answer than others.

"Loyalty can become a difficult concept when one finds themselves at the pinnacle of the Order," noted Jace in his usual voice. There was no edge this time, or bitterness; he was simply making an observation he believed to be true.

Jace had been the exact same as Master Ka, he would follow the will of the Order. Such things were easy when he was a Jedi Shadow and handed his tasks. Eventually though, Jace had found himself at the head of the Jedi High Council. Suddenly, he was the one who was giving out the orders. Of course being Grandmaster did not grant him supreme authority but the position did exist for a reason. Therefore the question of loyalty had become something he begrudged. What did loyalty to the Order mean? Following the Code? Listening to his own conscience? All seemed valid approaches but it had been far from a simple decision.

"Still, I find myself in agreement with you Master Ka. I myself have taken many lives in combating the darkside and other evils, more than I care to mention. The battle at Thila had been unpleasant in the extreme. It is not a position I would wish to be in again, but something tells me that the Empire will not cater to our desires."

He paused for a moment, touched by a sense of melancholy. A longing for simpler days.

"War is not to be taken lightly."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer nodded slowly, acknowleding Jace's point. After all, when was there no one to be accountable to? For now she had to remain accountable to the Grandmaster, the Order as a whole, and herself. But if she was the Grandmaster, then would she be accountable to only herself, to everyone, or to the Chancellor?

It was a matter that would take considerable thought and meditation; if it were pressing and applicable to her. However each day was uncertain, and the Togruta woman couldn't say what it would bring. It simply wouldn't do to develop contingency plans or policies for if she was the Grandmaster. In the unlikely event that rank ever passed to her, she would do her best, and devote her full attentions to the question of role.

Until that hypothetical date, there was no point to be served in it.

Unfortunately the Sith Empire wasn't likely to give either the Jedi or the Republic any kind of fight that would cater to their strengths. While Teer had no doubt that the Sith Empire would fall militarily, she doubted it would be this year or the next. Their population base was far too small to dominate the Republic, the Republic had strategic depth to fall back on, and the Empire lacked the resources to fight a protracted war.

Had the architects been anyone besides wielders of the Dark Side, Teer might have suspected that their whole goal was to acquire territory swiftly before suing for peace. However, the presence of the Dark Side meant that their goals had to be ravenous avarice, like the hunger of a starved kath hound mixed with the ambition of a petty tyrant. And all of that was supported by the resources of a galactic power.

"No," Teer said softly. "It isn't."

Nothing was to be trifled with now. Even the tiniest detail could prove crucial. Nothing could afford to be left to chance.

"Tell me Master Beleren, have you ever fought a pack of kath hounds? Or perhaps an akul?"