Opposing Views

[Symm]

Prazhi. Right now, the Galactic Court deliberated on the Betrayal at Nar Shaddaa, where a small group of Republic troops fired upon their Sith allies against orders. It was already a week into the proceedings, and yet no clear outcome had been decided. Yet.

The Republic and Jedi sent their representatives, and Kathar found himself invited not as a participant or observer, but as a member of a small security detail. Even that, though, seemed more ceremonial: He still had to leave his weapon aboard the Republic vessel in orbit, he was not allowed in the courtroom during arguments, and he was under strict instructions to keep his use of the Force as passive as possible.

Still, he recognised the honour in being chosen. His escapades around the galaxy, in Hutt Space and Sith Space, earned him the respect of the Order. He wasn't about to shirk his duties then.

Kathar, dressed in the traditional garb of the Jedi, walked the areas of the Galactic Court he was allowed access to while Great Powers decided the fate of the galaxy behind closed doors. He looked into rooms and scanned for non-existent threats. After several hours of this, Kathar exited onto a balcony that overlooked the city.

He placed his hands on the balcony railings and cast his gaze about. Since the Republic and the Sith designated this planet a neutral zone for political discourse, Prazhi had developed rapidly. Green eyes sought out and found the two embassies, representing opposing ideologies and stark architectural differences.

It all seemed so serene from up here, yet something fluttered at the edge of his consciousness; a glimpse of the future he couldn't quite grasp, yet the very awareness of it filled him with dread.

Kathar closed his eyes, letting his thoughts drift and the Force to centre him.

[Ysmir]

Viren detested politics. And yet, here he stood.

It was by no small order he had been summoned here; despite his opposition to all things debate, the importance of such a monumental gathering and decision could not be understated. When it had been made clear that Her Inner Sanctum were expected to be at the summit, Viren wasted no time in redirecting the Harbinger's course toward the neutral world. There, the behemoth of a battleship hung lazily in orbit above the planet, while a personal shuttle brought Viren and an entourage of Lords of Strife to the surface. As per regulations, his weapons were left abord his personal quarters on the Harbinger, but they'd have another thing coming if they thought to force him from his armor. And so, clad in the glossy black shell that denoted his presence wherever he went, the Darth strode from the shuttle and had spent the last week in near-isolation within his newly assigned quarters, where he generally passed the time through meditation and reflection.

But that only held its merit for so long. Control was a core aspect of Viren's being, and seeing as he had all but mastered that aspect, the idea of training it further seemed moot. He took to the halls of the Galactic Court and walked, earning the awe of his subordinates and the obstinate horror of those on the opposite spectrum who witnessed him glide across the polished floor in his fortress-like armor. Each step carried the weight of the nigh-tangible will he exuded, and many parted ways from his path without so much as a glance from the Dark Lord; it was out of instinct, a sense of self-preservation, even in this safety net of neutrality.

A sheep will always fear a wolf, no matter the environment they are in.

A rendezvous with the Imperial command present in the Court revealed that little progress had been made in the way of the all-important decision. Her Radiance waited patiently, as did Chancellor Vrieska on the Republic's side. In Viren's mind, what Prazhi waited on with bated breath was whether or not another war brewed on the horizon. In his heart, he yearned for a chance to show himself against the only worthy enemy he could think of in this wide Galaxy, the only ideal that had managed to stand against Her will time and time again. And so, in his heart, he hoped they made the wrong choice.

Viren eventually found himself unable to learn much else from the poltical rabble that skulked about the inner Court. It was then he felt it.

A glimmer, an echo. That of his apprentice. But Albrecht was not here; he dwelled deeper in Court, far removed from the center of politic. Viren reached out in the Force and found that the answer to his sensation lie not far from where he stood. A presence maintained a relaxed position on a balcony at the end of the hall. Viren's eyes locked onto the figure as if through the very walls that divided them, and he made way toward it.

If Kathar hadn't heard his heavy footsteps approaching before the doors swung open, then it would be the sheer pressure of the Force surrounding Viren's figure as the Darth looked into the back of the Jedi's head that gave him away, something he made no effort to hide.

In his armor, the Darth stood a full head taller than the Jedi Knight, though his lack of a helmet openly displayed his paled, scarred skin and burning orange eyes that confirmed he was, indeed, humanoid. Viren regarded him for a moment as they shared a silent exchange, before the Dark Lord nodded gently.

"Kathar Maiavel," he said, his voice deep but softer than one might imagine, "so you yet live? Impressive."

Dispensing the closest thing to a compliment he could give, Viren walked from the doors, leaving them ajar as he took a place near the balcony about five feet away from Maiavel. He rested the palms of his hands on the railing as he stared out over the city much like the Jedi had been doing before his arrival, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Here we stand at the gates of history. The Force has its ways."

[Symm]

To Kathar, Prazhi's presence in the Force felt strange. The man grew up surrounded by Jedi at the Temple on Coruscant, and there the balance keenly favoured the light. On Khar Delba, after millennia of Sith activity, the Force felt smothered by the dark. After his trials there, Kathar spent an hour in the refresher trying to scrub away the residual psychological imprint.

Prazhi, though, was a place that teetered on a point; like finely tuned scales, swaying in the breeze, prepared to tip in either direction. Yet the balance felt off, artificial rather than natural, and relatively easily influenced away from equilibrium; influenced, for example, by a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Kathar felt Viren's presence long before the footsteps pricked his ears, and the Jedi shivered at the feeling. The contrast between master and apprentice couldn't be starker: Where Karn was a raging inferno that occasionally breached containment, Viren was cold and controlled. He saw Viren in the Force like the reactors that powered battleships, immensely powerful and exquisitely directed in its purpose. There was little doubt that this mammoth presence had turned upon him, like a heavy cannon before it rained destruction down upon its target.

Goosebumps raised on Kathar's arms as he turned to face Viren, a neutral expression forced onto his face. "Lord Viren." He bowed his head, ever so slightly. "Yes, despite the efforts of your apprentice. Considering I didn't see his ship when I left Khar Delba, and that you've heard of me at all, I guess he survived?"

It was inevitable that Kathar tensed when Viren walked to the balcony. Rationally, Kathar knew that the Sith wouldn't do anything, yet he couldn't help the reaction regardless. So he remained almost motionless for far longer than a socially acceptable amount of time before he shoved those concerns deep down.

Kathar turned to lean sideways against the balustrade, one hand resting atop the railing while the other hung at his side. "Yes, it does. We all have our parts to play, I suppose." Kathar glanced to the side, out at the city. "Just like this place has helped keep the peace, as the Force demands." He paused, then looked back at Viren, "I just hope the Force continues to be kind to us all."

[Ysmir]

"The Force is indifferent," Viren countered with little hesitation as the continued looking out over the cityscape.

It wasn't just a way to disagree with the Jedi; no, anything but. It was something Viren had learned the hard way throughout all of his life. From the scars that marked his cheek to the echos that once haunted his heart, now beaten into submission by his dominant will, every day had been a lesson that the Force -- no, not just the Force, not a single soul -- owed you kindness. To hope for such a thing was to deliver yourself to dissappointment's doorstep willfully. Viren did not intend on making that visitation.

He turned his yellowed eyes to Kathar finally, after an eons worth of silence hung between the two. "The Acolyte lives. Interesting; I do not remember telling you I was his Master."

Viren regarded Kathar properly for the first time since his arrival on the balcony. The Darth studied every portion of his stance, his stature, his disposition; the red of his hair and the way its curls swayed gently in the wind. When their eyes met, Viren saw defiance, conviction -- and the slightest hint of uncertainty, no doubt brought upon by Viren's own presence. It seemed the Jedi was on edge even in this place of neutrality. And perhaps that was the correct way to feel as Viren had the feeling that, by night's end, neither would ever have the privilege to speak so cordially ever again.

Further he studied, and his eyes took note of Maiavel's hands on the bannister. There, Viren noticed the most subtle hints of scarring on their backs. He noted this detail before turning back to the cityscape.

"Yes. He told me of you. He told me of your prowess. I would venture to say he even spoke highly of you," Viren added with a touch of emphasis, though it was left intentionally ambiguous as to what exactly he meant. "The citadel of the Dark Lord Naga Sadow may not have killed you, but that was never its purpose. I was aware before I event sent my apprentice on this... errand, that he would be tested."

Viren peered downward at Kathar with calculating eyes. "Were you tested, Jedi?"