Dustil glanced around, nodding approvingly.
"Looks like someone finally took a broom to this place." That's an understatement.
Telos was nothing like she had remembered it to be. If she wasn't sure of the exact coordinates of the planet, and the innate knowledge that gave her a slightly tingly feeling knowing that Carth was here, she might have mistaken it for somewhere else.
The purple sky she remembered had subdued to a lavender-bluish color. Ruins were halfway rebuilt and those that weren't wore signs designating when they would be. Large buildings and structures lined the newly built walkways, not compact and pulled together with spit and bailing wire like the structures before, but made up of a graceful, sweeping architecture she could only assume had always been the Telosian style.
The mark of the Republic was on everything being rebuilt, but the growing trees and grass denoted the unmistakable touch of the Jedi.
"A decided improvement," Canderous said. Dustil turned back, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't give me that look of yours, kid. I give credit where credit is due, even if my people might have helped destroy this planet in the first place." Her Padawan smirked. There was a begrudging respect between the Mandalorian and the Telosian- much like she remembered between the Mandalorian and the Republic war hero.
She swallowed hard. 'I left him' didn't seem quite so damning now that she could add 'and now I've returned' to the list.
"I wonder if it is just this settlement being restored or if similar operations are being carried out all over the planet," Bastila murmured.
"We'll know soon enough," she replied.
Katrina couldn't think of a more polar opposite to the planet she had just left than the one she was stepping onto.
Coruscant was nothing but development and revitalization- always something new and revolutionary. She wondered if, at one time, Telos had ever been more than a shell-shocked badlands.
Enough. She wouldn't think upon Telos anymore.
Of course, it's pretty hard to keep it off your mind when Dustil Onasi is following you.
He observed the cityscape of the planet with an expression of interest and feigned boredom. If he had never seen anything of the kind before, he was making a good show of acting nonchalant about it.
"Hopefully we can make it inside and to the Council without having to sign any holoprints," she said to no one in particular.
It was doubtful she would get any offers of that nature at all. Carth was the star, the Republic's shining hero. He was the one the crowds flocked to see and congratulate.
It was more likely she would get the stares as always. She was not the hero; she was the mysterious Jedi on the arm of one. The Council had not been foolish enough to proclaim her true identity to the whole of the galaxy, but it was heavily hinted at and rumored of. The fact that they were only unconfirmed rumors was the only thing that saved her from mobs demanding war trials and retributions rather than holoprints.
That and there had always been Carth, smiling somewhat tiredly at adoring fans and ushering her away from prying eyes.
"We shouldn't tarry. The Council's time is valuable." Katrina nodded in acknowledgement, following Bastila's hurried steps.
Normally she would roll her eyes. But this was no mere mini-council, appointed to look over a fledgling enclave. This was the Jedi Council, who presided over the entire order. Keeping them waiting wasn't likely to win her high marks among some of the skeptics.
Even the Jedi weren't entirely in agreement about her return from the dark side. Some seemed to believe that to be a dark lord once was to be a dark lord forever, and nothing gave them greater pleasure than lecturing her on the dangers of her past.
She didn't need reminders. There were plenty built into her everyday life.
"This is kind of a trial by fire, isn't it?" Dustil called out, stepping up his pace to catch up next to her.
"You don't walk before you run with the Jedi. You fly." She glanced back at him. If he was nervous, he wasn't hiding it as well as his reaction to Coruscant.
"You don't have to do this, Dustil." He straightened up.
"I'm not afraid." He couldn't have been less convincing if he tried. Katrina shook her head and continued on.
The halls of the Council alone were sometimes enough to break her reluctance to buy into all she was supposed to believe. They were solid as any tree on Kashyyk, unbreakable as any volcanic mountain on Korriban.
"Well, well, the outlaw Jedi returns." The voice that called out to them was instantly recognizable. It was always slightly bemused.
"Jolee!" Of course, as solid and unbreakable as the halls were, they were still penetrable by Jedi like Jolee, whose wills were stronger than any kind of building.
"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, eh? Reports of a rogue starship blasting off Telos, wanted by the authorities...wouldn't have been you, would it?" The old man's face wrinkled up with his smirk.
"What are you doing here?"
Jolee raised an eyebrow.
"Am I a Jedi or aren't I? You going to tell me I don't belong here, that I don't have the proper devotion?" As she remembered, Jolee had simply sat back and observed the Republic's celebration over the destruction of Malak and the Star Forge with his usual keen eye for overzealous patriots. She remembered saying goodbye to him and his rambling response as to his plans afterwards. She hadn't really remembered any plans.
Then again, she thought to herself with a wry grin, Jolee often hides one gem of information amid mountains of bantha fodder.
"Well, now that you mention it-"Jolee held up his hand, chuckling
"Never mind; don't answer that. You'd best stay in the old man's good graces since I'm on your panel of judges now."
"You're joking."
"The Council has asked you to join them?" Even Bastila seemed suitably astonished.
"The two of you getting senile or something?" Jolee said irritatedly. "Yes, I'm an official card-carrying member of the Jedi Council now. I guess they decided they needed a voice of reason among the Force-happy and the Sith-depressed. I'm their medium, in any case."
It seemed shocking that the Council would even ask Jolee, who was even less respectful of Jedi ideals than she was, and even more shocking that Jolee would accept.
"Are the two of you finished gaping at an old man, or are you going to tell me who this kid with you is?"
"Dustil Onasi, Master Jolee," the younger Onasisaid easily, with only a moment's hesitation.Katrina glanced back at him. Dustil stood almost at attention, watching Jolee as he might also shove him into a wall if he displeased him.
Jolee laughed.
"Here's a character- known me for all of thirty seconds and already I'm his master." He paused.
"Carth's your old man, huh?" Dustil nodded, but offered nothing more.
Jolee didn't push it. Katrina had never known the man to push anyone into anything. Goad and cajole, maybe, but never push.
"I'm sorry about that," he continued, his voice much more sober. "He was a good man."
She heard 'was' and felt overcome with the urge to take them all to his sickroom, to point frantically and cry out 'see, see, he's still alive'.
Of course, 'alive' is a pretty relative term.
"They've been waiting for the two of you, so we'd best go in." She and Bastila followed Jolee.
"So I guess I'll just...wait here then?" She heard Dustil call after her.
The Council sat, poised and collected in their chairs.
The same disconcerting feeling came over her, as it did whenever she stood before the Council: the feeling that they somehow knew every single thing that had happened to her since the last time she had stood before them. She still remembered blushing to her ears trying to bury the memory of sleeping with Carth at their last meeting.
"Greetings, Padawan Bastila, Padawan Revan." From a padawan to a knight to a lord and now back to a padawan. At times she couldn't decide if Revan was living her life over or if she was living an entirely different one.
Master Vandar, one of the few Jedi on the Council whom she was familiar with, watched she and Bastila as they bowed respectfully.
"We have heard reports from Telos," he began, pausing for a moment as if to allow them to explain why they had to make a jailbreak from a Republic planet.
"I assure you, Master, we made every effort for a peaceful cooperation with the local authorities," Bastila answered.
"And yet," Master Ahniuk interrupted, "We have heard through Republic wire reports that two Jedi were imprisoned, escaped, and led a chase through the Telosian badlands before escaping on their ship."
Katrina sighed. At times, Ahniuk, a tall Twi'lek with eyes of steel, was an uncanny substitute for Master Vrook.
"Diplomacy didn't go over too well, eh?" She struggled not to smile. Jolee would certainly be a welcome addition to the Council, in her eyes anyways.
"The officials on Telos, if you could call them such, are highly distrustful of the Jedi, Master," Bastila explained.
"Not surprising," Joleemuttered under his breath.
"What do you mean by that, Master Jolee?" Ahniuk asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No disrespect, of course," Jolee added, though not with the same earnestness.
"The rest of the Council would appreciate your insight, Master Jolee," Vandar said.
"The Sith use the Force; the Jedi use the Force. Telos is a loyal Republic planet; the Jedi didn't join the Mandalorian Wars until it was neither popular nor needed." Jolee stopped, as if it was obvious to everyone. When he found everyone was still waiting, he sighed, exasperated.
"Good and evil are ambiguous things, Master Vandar. The people of this planet look at our actions, not our beliefs." Vandar nodded approvingly. It seemed to be more of a proving exercise that Jolee was an asset to the Council than something that actually needed to be explained.
Katrinafelt herself getting irritated at the Council, at their little tests, their little secrets.
"We approached the resident commander of the base, and he was very...uncooperative as far as our inquiries into the attack," Katrina continued.
Vandar raised an eyebrow.
She saw that 'uncooperative' would simply not cut it as far as explanations went.
"We angered him by not leaving the planet immediately. He intended on locking us up-"
"He was aware of Revan's true identity," Bastila finished quickly for her.
"The entire planet was not hostile," she said, a little too hostile herself. Anything was better than Bastila's words hanging over the air. "We escaped imprisionment and fled to the almost inhabitable parts of Telos, but we were aided by a group of rogue separatists."
"Many of them are Force sensitive, and do not share the distrust of the Jedi that the rest of the planet does," Bastila murmured.
"Perhaps these sensitives may aid in the repair of the relationship between Telos and the Jedi," Ahniuk said.
"We were able to convince them of that very thing, Master." Of course, we had a little help from the angry mob on the other side having shot one of their own.
"It is our hope that Telos will be much repaired by the time we return to it," Bastina again finished.
Vandar shook his head.
"The Council has done it's best to keep your identity a secret, Revan, but we fear we can only do so much. Inevitably, there will be those who discover it and mean you harm."
"I sense your thoughts are with Admiral Onasi," Vandar continued, and she pretended she didn't see the slight twinkle in his eye despite the circumstances.
The Council had never said much on the subject of love and a Jedi, in her case at least. At times she wondered if they indulged her because they feared her going to join the Sith if they refused.
"Admiral Onasi is recovering on Telos, Master Vandar,"Katrina answered mechanically.
"Sad this is that innocent people are hurt from these feelings of rage, the desires of the dark side for revenge and recrimination."
"Which brings us to the matter that the Council has charged you with," Ahniuk said, straightening up in his chair.
"Have you any knowledge of the circumstances of your attack?"
"The technical crew on Telos that began repairs on our ship seemed to believe it was a special kind of weapon, a highly specialized detonation device that could be localized and controlled down the exact second of detonation."
"The common belief as to the origin of such weapons seems to be the planet of Anelli, rumored to base its economy off the production of detonation based weapons."
This seemed to galvanize the Council. They glanced around at each other, their eyes having conversations Katrina could only fathom about. Only Jolee looked pointedly at her, still bemused and looking as if he knew all this would happen beforehand.
"The Council is in agreement that this planet is where you should continue your search," Ahniuk finally said.
How could you be in agreement? None of you said a word.
"Yes, Masters," Bastila automatically replied.
"Master, might I ask what Anelli means to the Council? Has it any special significance?" Vandar seemed to look at each member in turn before responding.
"The Council knows nothing of this planet, Padawan Revan. We advise you to gather as much information as possible, and report back to the Council."
They were lying. She knew they were lying and it made her grit her teeth, the grinding making a slight hum through her pained smile.
"As the Council wishes, Master Vandar."
"Then nothing else remains than hope that the Force is with you in your undertaking."
Jolee cleared his throat loudly.
She remembered Dustil in the hallway, getting a sudden mental image of him up against the door of the Council chambers, straining to hear. The image made her smile in spite of herself.
"There is one more matter, Master. A young man has accompanied us, and he wishes to become a Jedi."
"This is hardly the concern of the high council, Padawan," Ahniuk said reproachfully.
"I understand, Master, and I told him as much-"
"Revan helped to turn him back from the dark side, Master Ahniuk," Bastila added.
"He's a former Sith-"
"He's Admiral Onasi's son." Katrina shot Bastila a glare.
Vandar nodded.
"His wish then, must be carefully weighed and considered. The Council is grateful you have brought this before us instead of acting rashly and beginning his training without our consultation."
"But I have no desire to train him!" She realized instantly how loud, how desperate she had sounded. The stares of every member of the Council would have told her even if she hadn't. Katrina straightened up.
"Should you decide that he is worthy to begin the training, Master, I ask that you not put his training into my hands. I feel that our personal relationship-"
Personal relationship? Right, Katrina. Keep telling yourself you and Dustil Onasi have any kind of functioning relationship.
"-would interfere with the kind of unbiased and impartial guidance the training of a Jedi requires." She heard Jolee snort, then attempt to cover it up, resulting in a kind of loud cough.
Vandar nodded approvingly.
"Your foresight does you credit, Revan. We will meet with this young man presently, and may the Force be with you."
"And with you, Masters." She and Bastila bowed again, exiting the room. Jolee followed them out.
"Alright, old man, out with it,"Katrina snapped, turning on him the moment the door was closed.
Jolee narrowed his eyes at her.
"You want anything out of me, missy, you'd better find a more wheedling way of doing it."
"I could feel the deception in there thicker than rancor spit. What are they covering up from me this time?"
It was taking most of her willpower to keep control over her emotions. Should she let the overwhelming anger and irritation she now felt nipping at her heels out, the Council would sense it in moments.
"Ah no, you're not getting me here. I may be old, but I still know how to play the field. I won't become the Council's rat."
She felt her anger turn to hurt, her irritation to pain. Each alone was harder than any kind of anger to mask.
"Jolee, don't make me find out from another person who wants to kill me. Let me hear it from a friend. What is the Council hiding?" He gazed at her sympathetically.
"Good words, lass, but not enough. You shouldn't hear it from me. Some things you need to discover on your own, and not have them told to you."
She struggled not to be angry with him. Still, she didn't know which would have been worse- hearing it from Malak or seeing it in some ancient Jedi archive years later.
"You'd better tell that young man to go in before he breaks his way in with a lightsaber."Katrina glanced over at Dustil, standing off to the side with his arms folded. If he had heard their conversation, he made no indication that he had any interest in it.
"They're waiting for you," she murmured. He smiled, visibly relieved.
"Thank you. I know it cut your teeth out to do it, but thanks." He stood for a moment more, awaiting the standard professions of welcome or reciprocation of good feeling.
When he got nothing but her empty scowl, he walked past her and into the Council chambers.