The Council Chamber
Raven took a deep breath as she stood outside the large wooden doors leading into the chamber. Qui-Gon had gone in ahead of her to tell the Council that she was there. She allowed her thoughts to drift into the future, where she made plans to locate her master and then collect her things to leave. She also needed to inquire after Dane.
The door opened, scattering her thoughts as she saw Qui-Gon fill the doorway. "They will see you now," he said formally, moving aside to allow her passage into the room. For a moment, Raven tried to fool herself into believe that she was only facing a council of her peers, but she knew that was untrue. These were all master Jedi, people who had never strayed from the narrow path the Order.
Somberly, Raven walked into the Council chamber, moving to the center of the room as she had done so many times before. She recognized the face of Mace Windu, a colleague of hers in some of her classes over the years, as well as the venerable Master Yoda. He was seated in the chair reserved for the head of the Council, regarding her thoughtfully. Raven gave a stiff, ceremonial bow to him and then turned a quarter turn to give the other, encompassing bow to the rest of the Council.
Raven's composure was thrown for a moment when another familiar, thoughtful face jumped out at her. Daré Shioc sat ninety degrees around the circular chamber from Yoda, watching her former padawan with a blank expression. Raven completed the gesture then turned back to the Whill to wait for him.
"Look like a Jedi, she does," he said finally after long minutes had dragged by. "A trick, is this? A prank?"
"No prank, Master Yoda," Raven replied respectfully. "I have come as I should have five years ago either to be allowed to remain within the Jedi Order or to be stripped of my title and lightsaber, as the Council deems fit." She could sense the Council reaching into her mind, as well as the comforting presence of Qui-Gon. Her mental shields were at their most natural state, allowing the Council members to view much of her feelings and impressions. Raven had nothing to hide, and she wanted to make that absolutely clear. Whatever judgment the Council passed, it would be complete and just.
Yoda murmured thoughtfully to himself for a moment, half closing his eyes. Raven could feel the Master reach out into the Force, although she knew not what he sought. "Five years, it has been," he said finally, his ears twitching slightly as he opened his eyes to regard her, "since last with us you stood. Is that not true?"
"It is, Master," Raven replied. The rest of the Council remained silent, happy to leave their head to ask the questions while they simply observed and listened to the Force guide them. Most likely, they would discuss her appearance amongst themselves once she had been dismissed, coming to a suitable answer in time.
"Leave the Temple, why did you, and returned to us after so long, why have you?"
"If you will recall, I was the head of an information gathering unit for a mission that involved a senator's abducted the children. The Jedi were asked to retrieve them as to keep them from harm. My task was to sort and validate information for the two Master-Padawan teams that were to carry out the rescue. Due to time constraints, I didn't validate all of my information and through youthful ignorance, I passed it along anyway. My unreliable information caused the death of a Padawan, his name Demian Emil. His master, Robas Coun, was injured as well, paralyzed. I was overcome by grief, and after meditating on the incident I felt I was no longer fit to bear the title of Jedi Knight. I left the Temple that day.
"I have returned because of personal injuries sustained in assisting a Jedi Knight, one Qui-Gon Jinn, in his mission. He made me realize that perhaps I am still a Jedi at heart, even though I left the Temple, and the last five years I have spent in a kind of limbo, being neither Jedi nor defector. Although I had no choice in the matter of coming to the Temple, I did choose to come before you now, as I am, to accept your judgment on the situation as to whether I am still a Jedi or now stripped of that title."
The small master pursed his lips and looked thoughtfully at Raven. "Problems with Council decisions you have had before, have you not?" he asked with quiet emphasis.
"I have, Master Yoda. I must confess I have never totally agreed with the Jedi involvement in politics and still maintain that the Order is governed too much by the Galactic Senate. I see the Order as used for petty and silly situations for the mere convenience of the Senate. However, I had said such things before I left the Temple, so that has not changed much," she added, a slight smile playing at her lips.
Yoda's ears twitched in amusement. "True words, those are, but considered your dedication must be. Reviewed will all aspects of your tenure be so made a decision can." Raven responded silently with a respectfully bowed head.
***
"I wish to know of your activities since you left the Temple," a soft, alto voice said firmly. Raven turned to face the speaker, recognizing the voice immediately as her former master's. She drank in her master's features for a moment, familiar with the dark red hair that was pulled back as always into an intricate braid. The sun from the Coruscant sky highlighted it from the back, bringing out the blond and subtler shades of red within it. Daré Shioc sat cross-legged on her chair, her back as straight as a ramrod, and her deep blue eyes burned intelligently in her delicately featured face. She was a slim woman, although there was strength behind the small bones and structure of her body. A wash of memories came with the one look, memories of strict discipline and also great affection, lessons learned and games played. Daré had been Raven's master for almost fourteen years, and she had been a mentor and a mother, a teacher and a disciplinarian, but most importantly, a friend.
"I was a runner for most of those years," she told her master unashamedly, "mostly running information. I also learned to do minimal slicing, although that was more for my own purposes of gathering information. I kept tabs on certain people for my own safety, as well as my own curiosity. I did provide the Intelligence Corps here with important information when I thought it might be useful."
Daré Shioc nodded slightly, a gesture that Raven recognized as filing the knowledge away for later consideration. "Did they verify their sources?" she asked quietly and not mockingly. The question made Raven smile a bit, because it was her master's way of seeing that mistakes were not repeated. She was not so much concerned that her former padawan had made a mistake than that it wasn't repeated by others.
"They did various checks on myself and my contacts, yes. One of the people I gave my information to was a former colleague, so he trusted me from then. I do know that I was tailed by a Jedi for a number of weeks, and they thoroughly checked out my activities and presumably my information."
Master Shioc hid her thoughts well, for Raven couldn't decide if she was ashamed of her padawan or not. The meeting continued with other Council members asking questions about her life either before or after she left. Some of the questions were also directed at Qui-Gon, inquiring as to her behavior and involvement. Dusk had turned the sky a deep scarlet by the time she and Qui-Gon had been dismissed from the Council Chamber, told that the Council would deliberate on her fate and inform her of it once they had made a decision.
"You look pale," Qui-Gon said, looking at her with concern in his eyes once they had moved beyond the antechamber leading into the Council room.
"I have little doubt of that," she replied, moving slowly through the hallways back towards the infirmary. "Perhaps you were right when you said I was still too weak for this."
He shrugged. "You looked fine until you walked out of there," he replied. They walked in companionable silence for a short time until the clash and hiss of lightsabers began to echo in the hall, as well as the cries of a crowd.
"Is that the tournament?" Raven asked suddenly, feeling drawn towards the sounds.
"I would imagine," Qui-Gon replied dryly. "Shouldn't you go back to lie down in the infirmary?"
"Probably," the rogue replied, heading towards the arena.
Raven took a deep breath as she stood outside the large wooden doors leading into the chamber. Qui-Gon had gone in ahead of her to tell the Council that she was there. She allowed her thoughts to drift into the future, where she made plans to locate her master and then collect her things to leave. She also needed to inquire after Dane.
The door opened, scattering her thoughts as she saw Qui-Gon fill the doorway. "They will see you now," he said formally, moving aside to allow her passage into the room. For a moment, Raven tried to fool herself into believe that she was only facing a council of her peers, but she knew that was untrue. These were all master Jedi, people who had never strayed from the narrow path the Order.
Somberly, Raven walked into the Council chamber, moving to the center of the room as she had done so many times before. She recognized the face of Mace Windu, a colleague of hers in some of her classes over the years, as well as the venerable Master Yoda. He was seated in the chair reserved for the head of the Council, regarding her thoughtfully. Raven gave a stiff, ceremonial bow to him and then turned a quarter turn to give the other, encompassing bow to the rest of the Council.
Raven's composure was thrown for a moment when another familiar, thoughtful face jumped out at her. Daré Shioc sat ninety degrees around the circular chamber from Yoda, watching her former padawan with a blank expression. Raven completed the gesture then turned back to the Whill to wait for him.
"Look like a Jedi, she does," he said finally after long minutes had dragged by. "A trick, is this? A prank?"
"No prank, Master Yoda," Raven replied respectfully. "I have come as I should have five years ago either to be allowed to remain within the Jedi Order or to be stripped of my title and lightsaber, as the Council deems fit." She could sense the Council reaching into her mind, as well as the comforting presence of Qui-Gon. Her mental shields were at their most natural state, allowing the Council members to view much of her feelings and impressions. Raven had nothing to hide, and she wanted to make that absolutely clear. Whatever judgment the Council passed, it would be complete and just.
Yoda murmured thoughtfully to himself for a moment, half closing his eyes. Raven could feel the Master reach out into the Force, although she knew not what he sought. "Five years, it has been," he said finally, his ears twitching slightly as he opened his eyes to regard her, "since last with us you stood. Is that not true?"
"It is, Master," Raven replied. The rest of the Council remained silent, happy to leave their head to ask the questions while they simply observed and listened to the Force guide them. Most likely, they would discuss her appearance amongst themselves once she had been dismissed, coming to a suitable answer in time.
"Leave the Temple, why did you, and returned to us after so long, why have you?"
"If you will recall, I was the head of an information gathering unit for a mission that involved a senator's abducted the children. The Jedi were asked to retrieve them as to keep them from harm. My task was to sort and validate information for the two Master-Padawan teams that were to carry out the rescue. Due to time constraints, I didn't validate all of my information and through youthful ignorance, I passed it along anyway. My unreliable information caused the death of a Padawan, his name Demian Emil. His master, Robas Coun, was injured as well, paralyzed. I was overcome by grief, and after meditating on the incident I felt I was no longer fit to bear the title of Jedi Knight. I left the Temple that day.
"I have returned because of personal injuries sustained in assisting a Jedi Knight, one Qui-Gon Jinn, in his mission. He made me realize that perhaps I am still a Jedi at heart, even though I left the Temple, and the last five years I have spent in a kind of limbo, being neither Jedi nor defector. Although I had no choice in the matter of coming to the Temple, I did choose to come before you now, as I am, to accept your judgment on the situation as to whether I am still a Jedi or now stripped of that title."
The small master pursed his lips and looked thoughtfully at Raven. "Problems with Council decisions you have had before, have you not?" he asked with quiet emphasis.
"I have, Master Yoda. I must confess I have never totally agreed with the Jedi involvement in politics and still maintain that the Order is governed too much by the Galactic Senate. I see the Order as used for petty and silly situations for the mere convenience of the Senate. However, I had said such things before I left the Temple, so that has not changed much," she added, a slight smile playing at her lips.
Yoda's ears twitched in amusement. "True words, those are, but considered your dedication must be. Reviewed will all aspects of your tenure be so made a decision can." Raven responded silently with a respectfully bowed head.
***
"I wish to know of your activities since you left the Temple," a soft, alto voice said firmly. Raven turned to face the speaker, recognizing the voice immediately as her former master's. She drank in her master's features for a moment, familiar with the dark red hair that was pulled back as always into an intricate braid. The sun from the Coruscant sky highlighted it from the back, bringing out the blond and subtler shades of red within it. Daré Shioc sat cross-legged on her chair, her back as straight as a ramrod, and her deep blue eyes burned intelligently in her delicately featured face. She was a slim woman, although there was strength behind the small bones and structure of her body. A wash of memories came with the one look, memories of strict discipline and also great affection, lessons learned and games played. Daré had been Raven's master for almost fourteen years, and she had been a mentor and a mother, a teacher and a disciplinarian, but most importantly, a friend.
"I was a runner for most of those years," she told her master unashamedly, "mostly running information. I also learned to do minimal slicing, although that was more for my own purposes of gathering information. I kept tabs on certain people for my own safety, as well as my own curiosity. I did provide the Intelligence Corps here with important information when I thought it might be useful."
Daré Shioc nodded slightly, a gesture that Raven recognized as filing the knowledge away for later consideration. "Did they verify their sources?" she asked quietly and not mockingly. The question made Raven smile a bit, because it was her master's way of seeing that mistakes were not repeated. She was not so much concerned that her former padawan had made a mistake than that it wasn't repeated by others.
"They did various checks on myself and my contacts, yes. One of the people I gave my information to was a former colleague, so he trusted me from then. I do know that I was tailed by a Jedi for a number of weeks, and they thoroughly checked out my activities and presumably my information."
Master Shioc hid her thoughts well, for Raven couldn't decide if she was ashamed of her padawan or not. The meeting continued with other Council members asking questions about her life either before or after she left. Some of the questions were also directed at Qui-Gon, inquiring as to her behavior and involvement. Dusk had turned the sky a deep scarlet by the time she and Qui-Gon had been dismissed from the Council Chamber, told that the Council would deliberate on her fate and inform her of it once they had made a decision.
"You look pale," Qui-Gon said, looking at her with concern in his eyes once they had moved beyond the antechamber leading into the Council room.
"I have little doubt of that," she replied, moving slowly through the hallways back towards the infirmary. "Perhaps you were right when you said I was still too weak for this."
He shrugged. "You looked fine until you walked out of there," he replied. They walked in companionable silence for a short time until the clash and hiss of lightsabers began to echo in the hall, as well as the cries of a crowd.
"Is that the tournament?" Raven asked suddenly, feeling drawn towards the sounds.
"I would imagine," Qui-Gon replied dryly. "Shouldn't you go back to lie down in the infirmary?"
"Probably," the rogue replied, heading towards the arena.
