The Royal Starship entered Coruscant's atmosphere. The planet's large city was crawling with ships and other transports as it always did.
"It seems a lifetime since we've soon home," Solin mused as he watched the Capitol landing platform get closer. "Though in truth it's only been a few weeks since we began our last mission."
"It will be good to center ourselves away from the conflict at Ord Mantell," Keira added.
"We should report to the Jedi Council as soon as we can, Keira, and update them on the situation."
"What do you think their next move will be, Master?"
"I can't say for sure, but I know they'll want to find out more information about Vulcan and these so-called Sith."
The Royal Starship then landed on the platform and Captain Senih powered down the engines. Solin glanced out of the window and could see Chancellor Von Croy and Senator Jear of Ord Mantell waiting for them along with an entourage of Senate guards. He and Keira hurried from the cockpit and to the ramp, which lowered as soon as they reached it. They did not exit the ship until they saw King Mobbs, Captain Menousek and Ngema exit the throne room.
"Welcome to Coruscant, Your Majesty," Solin said as they started to walk down the ramp. "Have you ever had the chance to visit?"
"Not in many years," King Mobbs replied. "And certainly long before I started to serve Ord Mantell."
Solin and Keira led King Mobbs and his two guards toward the Chancellor and Senator. When they reached them, the Jedi took a bow as a sign of greeting. Chancellor Von Croy and Senator Jear nodded at them in return. Solin and Keira then stood aside to let King Mobbs step forward.
"It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty," said Senator Jear. "Ever since Master Solin sent us word about the invasion beginning, we've been worried about your safety, even after you got past the blockade. May I present Supreme Chancellor Von Croy?"
"Welcome, King Mobbs," Chancellor Von Croy said in his booming voice. "It's an honor to meet in you person, despite the unfortunate circumstances."
"Thank you, Supreme Chancellor," said King Mobbs as he started to follow Chancellor Von Croy and Senator Jear down the platform and to a transport.
"I must say, I am troubled by the events happening on your planet," Von Croy said. "I have called for a special session of the Senate to hear your testimony in the matter."
"I'm grateful for your concern, Chancellor."
At that, Chancellor Von Croy stopped following King Mobbs and Senator Jear and remained behind with Solin and Keira as the rest of King Mobbs' entourage kept walking toward the transport. Chancellor Von Croy turned to Solin.
"I must speak with the Jedi Council immediately, Chancellor," Solin said. "I'm afraid the situation has become much more complicated.
"I understand, Master Solin," Von Croy replied. "I thank you for traveling to Ord Mantell and for getting King Mobbs here safely. Do what your must, Master Jedi."
"Thank you, Chancellor."
Solin and Keira stood in the center of the Jedi Council chambers. Solin was giving his report on the events of their mission.
"The person who called himself Tosan then revealed he was a Sith Lord," Solin explained. "He wouldn't tell us what that was, but it was clear to us that it was some sort of Dark Jedi cult. We had a short duel before Keira was able to subdue him. We held him at lightsaber and demanded to know who is master was. He didn't say, but said we would find out soon."
"And did you learn who Tosan's master is, Solin?" asked Sabe, who had hardly aged in the years between Solin's training and Knighthood.
"I'm afraid so, Master," Solin replied. "Once we had arrived on Ord Mantell and informed King Mobbs of the pending invasion, we were confronted by Tosan's master. And I'm sorry to say that it was Vulcan Gunner."
At this revelation, several members of the Council gasped and glanced at one another.
"You're absolutely sure it was Vulcan, Solin?" Sabe asked.
"I'm certain, Master. He even called me by name when I spoke to him. He asked me not to call him that and he is now...forgive me, Master, the name escapes me."
"I believe he said it was Lord Nacluv, Master Organa," Keira said.
"Yes, that sounds correct," said Solin. "Well, Vulcan, or Nacluv now, asked if we would surrender custody of King Mobbs to him. I told him he ought to know me well enough to know that was not going to happen. That's when we had a lightsaber duel with him. We were unable to gain an advantage over him before he decided to escape. He managed to send us to the ground with a powerful wave of the Force and escaped. I have no idea of his present whereabouts, but he did promise that we would meet again."
The council members kept looking at each other, silently communicating their thoughts on Solin's report and this new revelation. Finally, Master Liam Park, the head of the Council, spoke up.
"Thank you for your report, Solin," he said. "You and Keira did well in getting King Mobbs back here safely before the invasion began. Keira, I must give you praise for such a powerful display of Battle Meditation. We could sense it being used from here."
"Thank you, Master Park," Keira said, bowing her head slightly.
"As far as Vulcan Gunner, we will use all of our resources to unravel what's happened to him in his exile. We will discover what's happened to him and figure out what exactly this cult of Sith is and what their plans are, if any. May the Force be with you."
At that, Keira bowed respectfully and made to leave. She stopped when she heard Sabe speak and saw Solin was still standing in the center of the room.
"Solin, do you have more to say?" Sabe asked.
"With your permission, my Master," Solin replied. Sabe nodded, inviting him to continue. "We have encountered a vergence in the Force."
"A vergence, you say?" said Sabe. "Is it located around a person?"
"Ngema Resor, one of the guards of the Ord Mantell Royal Palace. She is trained in combat due to her role in the palace and she had spent years doing training of her own. During our confrontation with several Dark Jedi outside of the palace, she was able to dispatch two Dark Jedi on her own before moving on to the other guards. I was able to sense her mind and it was clear to me the Force was working through her. She is extremely Force Sensitive and in my opinion, it's something of a miracle her abilities were not discovered at an early age."
"And what would you like from us, Solin?" asked Master Park.
"I request Ngema be tested, Master."
"You think she should be trained as a Jedi?" Sabe asked.
"Finding her was the will of the Force, Master. I have no doubt of that."
"Very well," said Master Park. "Bring this young Ngema before us and we will test her abilities. If they are as strong as you suggest, we will recommend her for training."
"Thank you, Master," Solin said, bowing and walking toward Keira. Together, they two left the council chambers and waited for the doors to close before they spoke.
"What do you think will happen?" Keira asked.
"Well, they at least heard me out on requesting testing for Ngema," Solin replied. "I hope that she is able to pass the tests and be approved for training. We could certainly use someone who her abilities in the Jedi Order."
"And what about Vulcan?"
"That one will be trickier. I don't know how the Council plans to investigate his claims when they have nothing to go on. They don't even know if he has a base of operations or how many of these Sith exist. For all we know, it could just be Vulcan and Tosan or there could be an entire Sith Order that we don't know about."
"What do you think they'll do about it if they find anything?"
"They'll probably task us with handling it," said Solin. "Of all the Jedi in the Order, I'm the one who knows Vulcan the best, so they would probably use that to their advantage. If they do assign me to handle Vulcan, will you go with me?"
"Of course, Master," Keira replied. "I'll always have your back. Anything you need, I'll do whatever I can to help."
King Mobbs sat on a cushion in the office of Senator Nvled Jear. The Senator had given up more than half of his quarters and office for the King to use during his visit. The office was luxurious and overlooked a large portion of Coruscant, including the nearby Senate Hall and the Jedi Temple. Hundreds of ships flew by the office, none of them paying any attention to the intense conversation happening inside.
"What options do we have?" asked King Mobbs.
"Our best choice would be for you to testify to what has happened since the blockade begun," replied Senator Jear, who was pacing the room around the cushion were King Mobbs was sitting. Captain Menousek stood next to the cushion, while the other aides stood around the room in various spots, listening to the conversation. "Once the Senate has heard firsthand from you, it will be able to take diplomatic action against Malastare."
"What if the Senate took further action against Malastare? Say, something that involved a militaristic response."
"Your Majesty?" said Senator Jear, stopping in his footsteps and looking at King Mobbs with a confused expression.
"What if I were to suggest the Senate vote to create an Army of the Republic to counter the threat posed by Malastare?"
Senator Jear took a deep breath as he digested this question. He looked uneasy.
"I understand the threat posed by Malastare, Your Majesty, but a military response could be seen as excessive."
"I hear you, Senator, I do, but consider this: Dark Jedi have revealed themselves to be associated with Malastare. There could be an army of Dark Jedi we don't know about and this conflict could extend to other planets before the Republic could act. Wouldn't it be better to take action now rather than wait and be taken by surprise?"
Senator Jear considered King Mobbs for several seconds before he nodded.
"I can certainly agree that Dark Jedi being involved in this conflict could make it that harder to resolve. If you believe creating an Army of the Republic would help solve the problem as quickly as possible, then you have my full support in the Senate, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Senator," King Mobbs said. "I assure you, this is not something I take likely. I just don't want to see other planets suffer as our planet has in this conflict."
Senator Jear nodded, but did not respond.