AN: Hello everybody, back with another chapter, special thanks to Jacob for proofreading and editing, I highly recommend you guys check out his stuff he is a great friend to be helping me with this, now anyway onto the chapter.

The Mysterious Jedi

Rivendell main hall

The celebration had dwindled. People were still being merry but it had become a more quiet and general affair than anything. Viridian sat with Kes on a bench, staring at a fire when Jane walked by and sat down from him, and her.

"Ah Jane, I would like to introduce you to someone." Viridian smiled and gestured to Kes, "this is Kes Ametesi, my girlfriend." Viridian stopped short. It felt a bit strange to say that. Not in a bad way but strange nonetheless.

Jane smiled at the young woman, "Hello Kes. I am Jane Mallory, Viridian's brother."

Kes smiled and nodded, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Jane nodded, "You as well." he sighed as he looked into the fire, "I'm not sure what I am going to do now."

Viridian averted his eyes to the floor and sighed, "We're going to finish a mission on Arda before we leave. Jane, I know that you are willing to lay down everything for me but, what about everyone else if the empire learns that you betrayed them? What will happen to them?"

Jane swallowed, his eyes welling up with tears that reflected the fire light, "That is the rub." Jane whispered, "I will have to choose between one family member or the others."

"There is a third option." Kes began, getting the older man's attention, "get them all to safety."

"That would mean they would have to give up their lives till the Empire either reforms or is overthrown."

Viridian looked back at Jane, "Maybe," he began softly, "if they are willing to make that decision."

Jane let out a breath, "I think they would. I will ask when we see them again."

Viridian felt a smile tug at his lips, "But now is not the time to be gloomy. Now is a time to be merry!" he exclaimed getting cheers of agreement from the hall. Jane smiled, grabbing an ale and downed it in a gulp.

After a few hours, Viridian and Kes decided to go to bed in the medical ward to stay with Du. They found Janus and Xey there along with Ulra, Jasmine, and Jak.

Viridian could sense a little anger from Jak, and as soon as Viridian sat down, he quietly excused himself. Viridian sighed.

"I should probably go talk to him." Viridian said standing up.

Kes looked up at him and nodded, "Ask what you did to offend him and give him your most sincere apology."

Viridian nodded in understanding. It would be easier said than done. He took a breath and followed Jak to the place where they had their argument before the battle.

"Jak." Viridian began getting the Mando'a's attention. Viridian gulped and did the only thing he could think to do: he got on his knees and placed his face on the ground. He completely and utterly humbled himself before him, muttering: "I am so, so sorry for threatening you. Please forgive me."

"Get up." Jak was all that said to reply this.

Viridian did so and looked into his eyes despite how tempting it was to avoid contact.

Jak's hardened blue eyes stared back heavily like arctic glare. "I'm gonna say this once. Don't ever to try pull that kind of osik with me or any of us for that matter." He grabbed his helmet, donning it with a rush of compressed air as the seal was made, "I'll accept your apology since you did so. But don't expect me accept another one if it happens again." He turned his back on Viridian, walking away in contempt.

Viridian sighed as he walked to the bench and slumped into it; watching the mist splash into the night sky and mix into the starry light of Arda's celestial neighbor and the distant stars of his home, "How did this happen?" he asked himself.

Jane came by and sat next to him, "What's got you so down?"

Viridian sighed, "I may have permanently damaged a friendship."

Jane nodded sympathetically, "I know that feeling, brother. I've been on both sides of that predicament."

Viridian turned his head to look at his brother, "What do you mean?"

"I hurt the friendship, and the friendship was hurt by my friend."

Viridian let out a breathy mirthless laugh, "We always seem to get screwed over. I had friends who were clones during the war." he said bitterly, "we should have never trusted them."

Jane rose an eyebrow, "Didn't the Jedi commissioned the clone army?"

Viridian snorted, "HA! No, if someone did they went under the nose of the council, but I really think that the Sith had something to do with it."

Jane nodded, 'So the lower ranks either didn't know, or he is telling the truth.'

"Don't expect me to trust your men. I am not willing to put myself in that position like that again especially with Keen." Viridian growled, his hand clenched into fists.

"I had him arrested. From what I understand you and him will have a trial by combat in a few days." Jane explained before adding, "It'll be to the death."

Viridian nodded, "So one of us won't walk out of the arena? Seems fitting in a way."

"Viridian," Jane said warningly, "I am all for his execution. He is a dangerous mad dog who will stop at nothing to cause as much harm as possible, but to kill him for a personal vendetta," Jane swallowed as tears stung his eyes, "Even if it is Vesse's death you will be avenging, I don't want to lose you down that path so many Jedi fell down in the Clone Wars."

Viridian swallowed as he remembered their names: Depa Bilaba, Sora Bulq, Quinlan Vos, Pong Krell, Anakin Skywalker, along with so many others… two of them had found their way back from the abyss. Two out of several.

"I am not them." Viridian said simply.

"That's probably what each of them said before they joined that list."

Viridian didn't want to admit it, but he was right, Viridian took a deep breath, "It's easy to do evil." Viridian began.

"It takes effort to do good." Jane finished.

The brothers sat in silence for a moment before Viridian turned to Jane, his eyes hard and vindicated, "I'm still going to fight Keen."

"Of course."

Viridian turned back to the scenery.

"It's so hard to believe." Jane said.

"What is?"

"That all the way out here on a feudal world I would find my baby brother alive and well."

Viridian closed his eyes, "My masters would say it's the will of the force, but I am beginning to wonder if Iluvatar had anything to do with it."

Jane chuckled, "When I saw you down in the trenches I was so happy that I declared that there was a god," then he sobered, "Then you told me of Vesse."

Viridian clenched his eyes shut, "I was angry. I should not have told you the way I did."

"You ran into her killer, I can't blame you for being angry." Jane somberly shook his head. Viridian looked down and saw drops of water falling to the floor. Viridian looked back up and saw Jane crying; his teeth clenched and his eyes overflowing with tears.

Viridian placed an arm around him and patted him on the back to let him know he was there. His mind drifted, in a few days he and Keen would fight to the death. Then there was the disturbance in the force from earlier. One thing was for certain: the journey was going to get a lot harder.

(Page Break)

Sleep didn't come easy for Viridian that night. At some point, he got fed up and decided to get some training in. From what he could tell given the moon's position, it was the middle of the night.

Viridian winced as he stretched the injuries he sustained in the battle; reminding him that it might not be a good idea to go over board and decided to do some light stretching and walk around the elven city.

Kes had saw him get up and leave in the middle of the night. She shadowed him watching him at work. Kes wondered if this had anything to do with Jak, or something else. The Mandalorian had yet to come back from his walk. Kes watched as Viridian walked into the city, the moon lighting his silhouette in the darkness of the streets. Kes figured that he was trying to tire himself out so he could go to sleep.

Kes sensed the Mandalorian walking by, and she turned to face him; growling: "What did you say to him?"

Jak turned to her, "What?"

"When he went to apologize to you, what did you say to him?" Kes repeated, her tone heavy and even as she walked up to him.

"All I said was the truth. I accepted his apology but I won't accept another if it happens again."

"Oh no you don't!" her eyes flashed with anger as she balled up her fists, coming face to face with the taller man, "Tell me exactly what happened! Tell me everything, from his transgression against you to his apology, now!"

Jak stared at her for a long moment, shaking his head.

"He threaten me. I stepped in line when he was getting too aggressive and he threatened me. I don't take threats lightly, especially in the manner he did."

"I asked for everything!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms wide, "I know what he did, but for kriff sake I want to know as much of the situation as possible! He won't tell me other than he said some things he regrets! So for Force sake, tell me what happened!"

Jak sighed, pressing his fingers into the bridges of his eyes, "I was talking with him when he brought up the Orcs and how they came to be, saying how he felt sorry for them. I told him that the Clones in many ways are the same way. Viridian got angry and an argument erupted between us." Jak explained.

Kes bowed her head, closing her eyes as she nodded slowly, "The clones hurt us a lot, Jak," her hands hung still at her side, frozen and cold, "We were in the middle of the Temple when it happened," tears welled up in her eyes, "I still remember the screams and the smell of burning flesh. You remember that youngling that Viridian told you about, the one Keen killed?" she asked him

"I remember when I found her body in cold storage on the resistance's ship. He told me to leave her alone... he told me that her name was Vesse, and how she died but… well, that's about it."

"She was his neice."

"Oh." His face froze in that moment, his eyes heavy. His gut had told him the kid had been close to Viridian in some way. He hated to be right. "I see."

"Jak, we may never forgive the clones for what they did." Kes sombered softly, "I know that you were close to them, but so were we and when they started to shoot us in the back it…" she turned away, "It hurts just as much when we learned a fellow Jedi fell to darkness."

"I ain't asking forgiveness, Kes. Don't mistake that I ain't. I only ask don't judge everyone for the actions made by another. Judge the individuals involved and their actions, not the whole."

This was a touchy subject for Jak.

Kes just pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing, "Jak, we are not the Mandalorians you knew growing up, so stop comparing us to them." she said in annoyance, "I get you had a bad childhood and were treated badly because you came from the same clan as Tor and Pre. Look, I get being judged based on the actions of people you never met is terrible. We Jedi went through that a lot." she sympathized, "I get that not all the clone troopers partook in that grievous bloodshed. I am not talking about them. I hope they are alive and well. I am talking about the overwhelming majority that did: the ones that became the stormtroopers."

"I AIN'T!" he bellowed in anger, his eyes widening with rage; utterly surprising Kes, "I know you're not them! You didn't try to kill me! You didn't call me Aru'tal! Traitor's blood! Didn't have your name stained with the blood of thousands!" He smashed a piece of maple with his fist, breaking it into pieces. He sighed heavily, almost panting as he stared into the running river below:

"... Tor and Pre weren't just apart of my clan... They were my family. Tor was my grandfather... Pre was my father."

After the initial shock, she stood there listening to him vent, but tensed just in case he did anything violent to her.

"My grandfather was one of worst criminals in our history. He betrayed Mand'alor! He killed anyone who stood in his way! Clans were wiped out, including kids! Clan Sornell were burned alive by him! Members of Clan Tyra were raped and murdered by members of Death Watch under his command! He killed a thousand outsiders and Mandalorians in a single year in the Civil War! And my father?" He fists clenched in rage as he spat:

"He didn't even knew I existed up until the Clone Wars! I was forced to watch neighbors, friends, and family get taken away by New Mandalorian Police because they wanted live by our traditions and didn't want have to give up their history and identity! My own mother worked as an assassin to keep me alive while our Clan was blacklisted! She died on a mission, killed by Mandalorian Secret Service led by a Jedi. I thought the Death Watch changed under my father's leadership."

He was quiet for a bit, staring into nothingness. When he continued, his voice was on the verge of cracking, held back only by a thread of self control, "... You didn't see the things I saw them do, the kind of things that burns in your mind. Even the Clone Troopers involved at the Temple had more honor than the things I saw Death Watch do… and I was involved. Then I saw that I betrayed my own kriffing best friend because I joined up with the Watch! He… he was the only person who never judged me for who I came from. But I saw it in his eyes: he was hurt. He felt betrayed that I had joined up with the very same group that killed his whole family."

He could never get rid the look in Rarok's eyes when he told him he joined with Death Watch in the Clone Wars. "Ulra is probably one of only goddamn things that is still important to me in this kriffed up galaxy."

He looked into Kes's eyes, his face even but his eyes heavy, "Don't mistake my intentions for something else, Kes."

Kes closed her eyes and sighed, "Deja Vu." she said to herself but loud enough for Jak to hear.

"What?"

"One of my good friends, Daniel Valo. When he found out who is father was and all that, he closed himself off from us for a week before we finally got him to talk to us, and he laid it out to us. I will tell you what I told him." she said with somber smile, "But… you don't mind if I hug you do you?"

"... Go ahead."

Kes pulled him into a hug, her arms tightly wounding around the Mandalorians torso. After a moment, she spoke with the softest of whispers: "You are blameless in the eyes of your loved ones, the force, and the Deities that may exist in the universe. All that matters is what you do with the gift you have been given, so use it well."

"I don't put much stock in the Force, but... thanks." He pulled away from the hug, taking something out of his pouch, revealing it to be a Mandalorian cigarra.

"Oh really you don't put much stock in the Force despite being in a relationship with a Miraluka Jedi... and traveling with a group of them?" she asked amused

"I know it exists, I just don't see it like Sith or Jedi do." Lighting the cigarra, he took it in before blowing the smoke out of his mouth like dragon's breath.

"You might want to do Ulra a favor and try to quit." Kes said and walked away, "also I don't think Lord Elrond would appreciate smoking on his property." she added.

"You do realize they smoke themselves too right?" He said as she walked away

Kes turned back to see his smug expression, it was always a game between them she would try to get him to stop smoking he would, he won this round.

"Ah there you are Jak!" Kes turned to see Ulra coming from around corner. She was shocked to find she was smoking a pipe like the Dwarves and Gandalf use. Kes shook her head and walked off, "Why do I even bother?" she muttered to herself. She made to follow Viridian, finding him standing on top of the gate.

Viridian stood on the ramparts overlooking the battlefield that he had fought on the day before. Every time he got the chance, he would look back on the field of the war torn environments. He could still see the pyres of the dead orcs and vong burning. No one had died on their side, it was hard for him to believe that. One could say he was looking for the piece of himself that he lost. Maybe he was, or maybe he was asking himself when it would end, if it would end… if he truly wanted it to end.

Viridian sighed and stood up straight, 'Daniel, Vega I honestly hope that wherever you are, that you are alive and well.' He turned about and began to make his way to the steps when a unfamiliar voice spoke to him:

"This is Jedi Knight Tau Nyl, calling any Jedi that are currently fighting for the light on the world of Arda. I come with grave warnings that threaten this world as well as the galaxy, and I wish to aid you in the coming wars. Find me in the great dark forest that contains an entity of pure evil."

Viridian checked his comm, it wasn't active, 'Telepathy, who the hell are you?!' Viridian screamed back over the telepathic link.

'I am here to help.' Tau returned.

'I knew just about every Jedi in the order, 'Tau'. There was no Tau Nyl.' Viridian retorted.

"Forgive me, young Jedi, but if you knew my true name, you would not trust me. A Celestial known as Iluvatar sent me to aid you in your righteous struggle. Find me in the dark forest, and I will share with you all of the knowledge that I possess on the Yuuzhan Vong, who I know threaten this world, as well as the entire galaxy, and I tell you my true name. Trust in the Light Side of the Force, as well as your instincts. May the Force be with you, Padawan." The mysterious Jedi replied before his Force presence vanished, leaving Viridian confused and bewildered.

Viridian turned to see Kes standing there looking up at him in confusion and concern.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I do not know." Viridian said, "Whatever it is we should deal with this Tau with caution, till he can be trusted."

AN: I hope you all enjoyed, and before you ask no Viridian is not talking to the Blue skinned alien communist and he won't be fighting for 'the Greater Good.' as they like to say, anyway I will see you in the next chapter.