Masters of the Force

Tarn walked through the pristine hallways of the Jedi Temple in his usual calm demeanour. It hardly bothered him anymore that there were few Jedi within the Temple or throughout the Galaxy for that matter.

His blue eyes matched his light brown hair that was pulled neatly back, almost with its own small ponytail. He was clad in the same brown cloak and white robes of his former Master, Ash Merrick. As it turned out, the young Jedi Knight was on his way to see his former Master, who Tarn seemed to bear a resemblance to, save for the beard. He strode through several stairways, as he entered through the doorway to the Jedi Council chambers.

"Ah, Master Tarn," Len said, waking Ash from his reverie as he stared out into the night sky of the city-planet.

"Masters," the Jedi Knight bowed. He was older than Dante by 6 years, but he appeared less haggard than the younger Knight. It was no secret that he worried about his comrade, but he knew Dante would come around soon and would be relieved of his troubles.

"Sit down, Tarn," Ash said in his usually soft manner. With the exception of Cyrin, Dante and Jolee, the rest of the able-bodied Jedi Knights and Masters were present. That only meant Frreral, Ash, Len, Sneed and Tarn.

The Jedi Knight sat down, curious as to what caused the Council to convene so late at night—and without three of the other members. "What's going on?"

Ash cleared his throat before he spoke, standing near the windowpane. "As you now know, Frreral has been honoured with the title of Master, after his time on Kashyyyk."

Tarn nodded—as did Sneed and Len.

"What we didn't know until now was what those things he encountered was."

"And we do now?" Sneed asked.

"Jolee has been one of my oldest and truest friends, and he has informed me of something that warrants more investigation. The presences he felt before he and Frreral eliminated the Dark Jedi that were mutilated, was of one person alone. A former Jedi. And even now, as we speak, another person we know has that same connection—whether intentionally or not—to the same former Jedi. Somehow, it all correlates to that facility where we lost Gideon and Toll. Dante has been ordered to go to that facility on Corellia and he is searching it, even now, as we speak."

"Who exactly is this person we are talking about here, Master Merrick?" Tarn asked, running one hand through his neat brown hair.

"Master Ravenmoon's Padawan learner, Rena Naver, is somehow connected to the dark creatures back on Kashyyyk, and even now on Corellia."

"Rena?" The younger Knight asked curiously, his expression revealing a similarity to Ash Merrick. Somehow I have the impression there is more to this than what meets the eye.

The older Master sighed. "We do not understand it, but she has some connection to Revan. She can lead us to him—and it appears he has been fighting the Sith all this time."

"Revan? And he is fighting the Sith?" Sneed asked.

Len brought up a hand to prevent any further questioning. "There's more."

"The Sith we have been fighting all this time, are nothing more than cultists. Revan and the Exile are fighting against the True Sith Empire, who has been behind the dissolution of the Jedi Order over the last 15 years, give or take. And the Republic—no, the Galaxy has been weakened from Revan's efforts during his time as Dark Lord of the Sith."

Tarn leaned back, taking all of this into his system as he ran a hand across his smooth face. "So what do you propose?" He asked after a few more moments passed by.

Len and Ash glanced at one another before they looked at the others. "Effective immediately, you and Sneed are to become Jedi Masters—there is no time for a ritual or official ceremony. Time is of the essence, and we will need the both of you more than ever."

Both newly ranked Masters glanced at one another.

"Masters?" Sneed asked. "Do the others know? And what is it that needs to be done?"

"Cyrin and Jolee are aware of it. As it stands, Cyrin is on his way to the Chancellor to tie up some loose ends. Jolee is resting and as for Dante—well, we don't know what the two new recruits he has with him are like."

"But surely we can wait to be knighted as Masters at some other given time. Dante must be here—he must be informed of his Apprentice's ability," Tarn reasoned.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you," Len said. Something had obviously caused both Masters to look at one another apprehensively.

"But," Ash continued, "these are not normal circumstances. We have reason to believe that Rena may be indirectly linked to the incidents on Corellia and she may have been responsible for the assault on the Senate."

"Surely you can't be serious!" Frreral—who, up to this point, remained silent—exclaimed. "She is a kind soul and I feel the Light Side swirling around her."

"Appearances can often be deceiving," Sneed reminded the wookiee Jedi.

"So says you," the wookiee snorted back. "You want the Jedi to be something of a career. There is far more responsibilities to this Unifying Force." Frreral looked back towards the others. "Rena is of the Light Side—I can sense nothing but good from her heart."

"But she carries a twinge of regret," reminded Len.

"I have to agree with Frreral, Masters," Tarn replied. "Rena is not a traitor."

Ash's expression softened. "Nevertheless, Tarn, Rena may be doing this without being aware. She might be the Sith we're looking for."

"Traya?" Frreral asked in a tone of incredulity.

"And what of Dante?" Tarn asked. "Rena is his Apprentice—his Padawan learner. Suffice it to say, what we do will have a profound effect on him."

"I sense much distress in Dante," Sneed said, ignoring the stares of Tarn and Frreral. "He will understand—but I fear he may become hysterical and will have to be dealt with."

Ash shook his head. "No, what you're suggesting is something far more drastic. The Council won't have that. Dante has been a loyal member of the Jedi Order."

"And he is not here now, is he? He is far off in space—traveling to Corellia, as you say."

"What exactly are you trying to suggest, Master Ze?" Frreral barked.

Sneed looked back at Frreral. "He may be aware of Rena's secret and kept it hidden from us."

"No," Ash said, "as logical as that somehow sounds, it doesn't seem probable. Dante would have informed the Council or he would have somehow taught her to steer away from it."

"So you say, Master Merrick," Sneed said, his voice turning calm and cool, "but you must admit that Dante's actions lately have been questionable. The situation on Dantooine merited that he stay there until those Republic cruisers arrived."

"He left, taking the Sith fleet with him—he saved Dantooine from a cruel fate," Tarn said slowly.

"Dante has been my friend for a long time and he would have done that only to save the people," Frreral replied.

"But nevertheless, he left when any of us would have stayed," Sneed suggested.

"Be that as it may, Dante's integrity has never been questioned," Tarn replied fiercely.

Ash sighed and shook his head softly at his former Apprentice. He knew the man was right.

"He had broken the Code during your mission to find the holocron entitled Unifier, did he not, Master Frreral?" Sneed asked the Jedi Master.

"He did, however you should tell me one Jedi who did not?"

"I didn't, Master Frreral. Dante fell in love with another Jedi Knight and when she was killed—he gave in to the Dark Side!"

"It has been known to happen from time to time," Tarn said cautiously. He glanced at Frreral and then at Ash. They knew exactly what Sneed was suggesting.

"And before he rejoined the Jedi Order, he was an emotional wreck, was he not?"

"Let's stop this line of questioning," Len said softly.

Sneed turned to face the nautolan Master. "Master Vizta, Dante could have known about Rena's abilities. Suffice it to say, that when he arrives, he should stand trial, as well as his apprentice."

Ash could only sigh. What he really wanted had somehow gone awry within this meeting. With new Masters, they could have begun training their eldest Padawans, while providing aid to the battered and beleaguered Galaxy. He had counted on Tarn's support, but somewhere it had gotten lost in order to defend one of the younger man's trusted friends. He smiled inwardly, knowing that at least the boy he trained would move on to greater things, even if he didn't know the truth of his origins.

Seizing a momentary pause in the Masters' arguments, Ash raised a hand and spoke brusquely. "Now is not the time, we will have to wait for the other Masters to arrive—they will help us decide what to do about Rena and Dante. In the meantime, Masters Frreral, Vizta and I called this meeting so we can inform you of what has been occurring as of late. The Republic has collapsed with few Core Worlds retaining whatever is left of the Republic. We are on our own and the Galaxy needs us. The Sith have risen and we need to prepare to stop the threat of the Dark Side from ever taking hold of the Galaxy once more."

Len looked at all of the Masters, picking up where his trusted friend left off. "It is now time for us to take on Padawans old enough to become as such. This is a perilous time—and the future lies in our hands, as well as those of the future Jedi."

Tarn nodded somberly, knowing that without much in the way of communication, there was no way to warn Dante of the Council's decision. He looked at Frreral and noticed the Master felt the same way.

Before anyone—especially Sneed—could say anything else, they felt the pressure and weight of the Dark Side creep into their bodies, raising Goosebumps along their bodies and informing them of one thing. They were too late.

Before anyone could react, a loud explosion resounded throughout the Temple. The Sith had arrived.