New chapter up. Enjoy.
The weeks went by, and things weren't getting any better for the Republic. Chancellor Saresh reached the term limitation of her office and had been replaced by a man named Jebevel Madon. Though many hoped he'd be more reasonable than his predecessor, he turned out to be just like her. Infact, many argued he was only a puppet to Saresh, who was still running things in the background. There was no proof, of course, the crafty Twi'lek was too smart to leave a trail or evidence.
Jace sat in his office, discussing the most recent special forces mission with General Lussic. Though the mission had been deemed a success, having managed to extract a good deal of information about the Alliance from the Zakulian base, they had lost half of their soldiers and a Jedi.
General Lussic remained perfectly silent, watching as Commander Malcom read over the report from the mission. He wasn't sure why, but the commander seemed overly eager to hear about the details. It was odd, but then, many things were odd these days. Everyone was more on edge, mainly because the Republic was losing this war. Nobody had the courage to say it, but everyone was thinking it.
"The losses are unacceptable, considering the value of the intel." Malcom said soberly.
Lussic nodded. "I agree. If the chancellor hadn't sanctioned the mission himself, I would have nixed it before it even made it to your ears. It was a stupid waste of resources we can't afford. Not to mention, we lost another Jedi. Their ranks are starting to get a little thin."
Malcom nodded. He hated the loss of life, but he was thankful Kia was still alive. She had gone on the mission, along with the spec ops team and another Jedi. When he heard the team had lost one of their Jedi during the fight, Jace's heart had stopped for a moment until it was confirmed that Master Wryn hadn't been among the dead.
Before they could discuss the mission further, there was a commotion from outside the office. Suddenly, the door opened and Master Wryn rushed in with a purpose. Malcom's secretary was right behind her, being completely ignored by the Jedi. Both Malcom and Lussic stood.
"I'm sorry, Commander, she wouldn't wait." The young woman apologized.
"It's alright, Lilian, she's fine." Malcom replied.
Lilian nodded with an unsure look, leaving the office, the door closing behind her. Malcom didn't need to be empathic to know Kia was angry. She was still dressed in her fighting tunic, a dark reddish stain along the side looked like blood. It was odd that she wouldn't have changed clothes, since it took a full day to get back from the base they had been sent to raid.
"We need to talk. Now." She said, looking between the two men. She paced back and forth like a caged animal. The look in her eye was wild. It wasn't the look of a Jedi master. "At this rate, we won't need to worry about the Eternal Empire or the Sith causing the extinction of the Jedi. The Republic is doing a wonderful job killing us off for them!"
Her words weren't a yell, but there was a passion in them that made both men shiver. Obviously, Kia wasn't controlling her powers of persuasion very well. She had a talent for calming people down, but she could also do the opposite, make them angry or fearful, if she wasn't careful. At this moment, Kia was not being careful.
"Calm down, Master Jedi. We heard about what happened on the mission." Malcom said, trying to sound reassuring.
Kia scoffed. "Mission? That wasn't a mission! That was a trap! It was plain as day, the moment we got briefed, yet we got sent in anyway." She continued to pace, though she wasn't looking at anyone in particular anymore. "I wasn't even supposed to go. HE was just going to send Knight Ballo. If I had listened to the chancellor and stayed home, you would have lost all of the squad! And for what! For intel we could have gotten by simply knocking on the Alliance's door and asking to talk! But NO, we had to go on this suicide mission, which cost us three soldiers and one Jedi! All because that naive, spineless, son of a hutt is following HER directive!"
Both men knew who Kia was talking about.
"Master Kia, there's no proof of…" Lussic began.
"No proof!" Kia yelled, picking up a small table which was next to the sofa and flinging it with a flick of her hand, sending it across the room to smash against the far wall. Both the general and the commander ducked out of reflex, decades of military training kicking in automatically, even though the table flew high enough over their heads to not be a threat. "The proof is all around us! You just need to open your damn eyes to see it!"
Lussic, again out of reflex more than true desire, reached for his sidearm. Malcom saw the move and lifted a hand for the general to stop the motion. He didn't need to provoke the Jedi into doing something in a fit of rage she'd regret later. Jace knew Kia was more than capable of deflecting a blaster bolt at the owner of the blaster without the aid of her lightsaber.
Jace lifted his hands into the air, as if to show Kia he wasn't armed. He slowly made his way around his desk, walking towards her. "Master Kia...Ki...just relax." He used the name he only called her in private, considering shortened nicknames weren't commonly used when speaking to a Jedi Master. Jace decided to risk the blatant familiarity in front of the general, rather than watch the woman he loved fall to the darkside before his eyes. Truth be told, that was exactly what he was witnessing. "We're all on the same side. I know you're angry, we all are. Just breathe..." He looked over to Lussic. "Maybe you can step out? We'll finish our conversation later."
Lussic hesitated for a moment, but nodded, though he was reluctant to leave the supreme commander alone in a room with a crazed Force user. He slowly walked around Kia, hands in the air, giving Kia a wide berth as he slipped out the door, closing it behind him.
Kia didn't move an inch while the men shifted around her. Jace took it as a good sign.
"We're alone now, Ki." Jace said, just to say something. He honestly didn't know where he was going with this, but at least they were alone to figure it out.
Kia had her eyes closed and Jace could see her taking slow, deep breaths, calming herself. He put down his hands and took the last few steps so he was standing right in front of her. He gently placed a hand on her cheek and, thankfully, she turned her head into the touch. She was trembling.
"The Jedi who died...he was a friend, wasn't he?" Jace said, taking a guess at the source of her anger. Maybe not the source of all of her anger, but certainly the catalyst for her display. It was something she wouldn't admit in front of Lussic, no matter how angry.
Kia nodded, opening her eyes. All Jace could see in them this time was sadness. Pain.
"Remember when I told you I had only been with one man before you?" Kia said softly.
Jace's eyes widened.
"Knight Ballo...Dezrin... was the closest thing I had to a best friend on Tython. We only slept together one time. There was no spark or true feelings. I think we were more curious than anything. After that, we stayed friends. Watched out for each other. Had each other's backs." A slight sob escaped her lips and Jace's heart broke. "I failed him." She whispered, turning away. The fire of her anger was now gone, replaced with heart wrenching sorrow.
Jace turned her back around, pulling Kia to him as she fought tears. For her part, all that came from her were low sobs, her eyes remaining mostly dry.
"You didn't fail him, Ki. The Republic failed him." He hated to say it, but it was the truth. He pulled away just enough to look down at her. "It was a pointless mission, ordered by a man not thinking on his own and certainly not thinking about the best interests of the Republic."
They remained silent for a long time. Jace now had a better understanding why Jedi stayed away from attachments. Kia, the most level headed and gentle being, had become volatile and almost beligerate from losing a friend. A good friend, but still only a friend. What would she be like if she lost him in some tragic or horrific way? Jace guessed this was what had scared Satele enough to end their relationship so many years ago. He could only imagine the scale of destruction a Jedi Master, fueled by anger and grief, could rain down on their enemies or anyone who tried to stop them. Most likely, they wouldn't be able to separate friend from foe. Now he knew what Kia risked, what she potentially would lose, just by being with him. This new understanding made him love her even more.
Jace could feel Kia take a deep breath, hold it, then let it out slowly. She pulled out of the hug and he didn't protest. She had only let a tear or two slip out, which she wiped away, composing herself.
"Let me take you home. You need to get yourself cleaned up. You'll feel better." Jace said.
Kia shook her head. "I need to report back to the council. Master Gnost-Dural will be waiting for my holo."
I nodded. "Then I'm going with you. There is no way in hell I'm leaving you alone right now. Not after what I just witnessed."
Jace expected her to protest, but instead, he got a quick nod and Kia turned and headed out of the office. Jace followed close behind. He stopped to talk to his secretary, who looked almost more shaken than Kia, though she hadn't witnessed any of the Jedi's actions beyond the closed door. Obviously, Kia's uncontrolled power had rattled the poor girl.
"Cancel my next appointment. I'm going to accompany Master Wryn to speak with the Jedi council."
Lilian nodded, looking relieved to be doing something.
"Oh, and keep what you saw and heard here to yourself, alright?"
Again, the young woman nodded, returning her attention to the datapad. Jace continued to follow Kia out of the office. Around them, as they walked slowly up to the Jedi council chambers, people walked around oblivious to how close Kia had come to stepping over a line.
To Be Continued...
