Rules of Engagement
Well, the story goes like this. I was watching TPM and then Yoda said the thing about there always being two. And yet the Sith had been believed extinct for millenia. How did he know? Was it just deducing from the Jedi? An educated guess? Or had Bane's successors blundered so badly? Here's my versionJ
The Jedi Master was pacing the ambassador's quarters energetically and his long, pointed ears were twitching with excitement, something he did almost unconsciously. And even though he knew that his facial expression did not show a thing he was quite upset. He looked up at the ambassador again, slowly, deliberately. The man returned his gaze steadily, his pale eyes unfathomable. He was an astute politician, that one, and cold too. And even the creature that had perished in the dungeons of the ambassador's residence just a few hours ago seemed to have feared him. Strange, that.
"Unfortunate this is," the Jedi Master stated.
"Indeed." The voice was melodious, and yet there was a slight edge lurking there too. "Who could have known?"
"Question him you did. The last you were to talk to this one."
"So you suspect me of murdering this - man? What is he to you? I thought I was doing you a favor. You seemed so uncomfortable around him." A small, mocking smile appeared on the ambassador's lips as he raised the cup of sweet Jeha tea and drank slowly. The Jedi Master gave him a disapproving glance.
"Reason I had. Told me what he was, he did. A Sith. No Sith spotted they have been for a long time, a long time."
"A Sith? What is that? I thought he was a Jedi, one of your people. Actually you told me that yourself, Master. Are you telling me that you lied to me?"
"Believe me you must, that my intention it was not to deceive you. Merely precaution dictated my actions."
"Precaution. I see." Lowering the cup the ambassador sighed. "He was barely alive when I saw him last. There was not much information to be gained."
"Allow you I did not to see him alone."
"It is my duty to my people that I take matters like this personally, don't you think? Besides, the guards assured me that there was no danger."
The Jedi Master snorted: "No danger!"
"He was young."
"Yes. A pity this is. A possibility there was, that redeemed he could have been."
"I regret his death, if only because you seem to be mourning him. But-"
"Regret his death you do? Astounding. Another reason there is I believe."
"Do you now." The man's lips twitched in annoyance and those icy eyes narrowed for the merest fraction of a second. "What reason?"
"A secret he told me, about the Sith."
"A secret?"
"Always two there are, he said, a master and an apprentice."
"Very interesting. I assume he was the latter? Considering his age and all ..."
"Yes."
"And now all you have to do is to find his master, am I right? Or did he tell you who it is?"
A sudden light flashed in the ambassador's eyes when he leaned toward the Jedi Master who stood facing him calmly.
"Revealed nothing he did."
"Ah, how unfortunate."
It was so frustrating. Somehow the man was unreadable. All too calm and all too cold. It did not seem natural. And yet, the mere suspicion was nothing without proof. It was clear though that the ambassador would not let himself be goaded into an admission. He was far too sly for that. The young Sith had died of natural causes, as far as the medics could tell, but what did they know? There were ways to make a violent murder look like a harmless heart-attack. And somehow the Jedi Master suspected that this man knew all about it.
"The Sith, extinct we believed them to be."
"They are extinct, for Force's sake! One boy! Please! He was crying by the time you were finished questioning him!"
The tall man rose abruptly and started pacing the length of the room, his hands folded behind his back, his long, grey hair trailing behind him like an angry cloud. The Jedi Master suppressed a smile. Not only a politician. A talented actor too, it would seem. But then the ambassador rounded on the short alien very suddenly, his pale eyes flashing with anger:
"I know you and I know a lot of other Jedi too. If this boy was dangerous then his master has made a lot of mistakes during his training. He won't survive. How can you fear the Sith?"
"Agree with you I do. Dangerous he was not. Yet. The reason for my sorrow it is. Saved he could have been. But fully trained a Sith can bring great harm. Destruction, death. Poison they do, the souls of the weak and the strong."
"Tell me, Master Yoda, have you ever met a real, fully trained Sith?"
Raising his head high to meet the tall human's gaze the Jedi was completely sincere when he said, his voice no more than a whisper: "Yes." Nodding sharply he turned away, giving the other no chance to reply. He walked away slowly, with measured steps. Maybe he was mistaken. But he doubted it. Well, perhaps there would be another time, another occasion. Maybe. He turned back once again:
"May the Force be with you, Lord Kell."
"Always."
