"Are you sure you're alright, Nathrrya?" Qui-Gon asked. "Would you like to meditate in the Room of a Thousand Fountains?" As the unlikely trio had walked up the steps of the Jedi Temple, they had introduced themselves to each other. Now, they stood in the grand entry hall.
The Sith smiled sadly at the Jedi Master and shook her head. "No, I'm not alright, Master Qui-Gon. Its finally hit me just how alone I really am. Everything is so familiar, yet so different." She sighed. "I feel like a living fossil, a relic of an age long past." Nathrrya smiled again, but it never reached her eyes. "Which, all things considered, is exactly what I am. It's going to take me some time to get used to that idea, so yes, I would like to meditate somewhere to try and centre myself."
The Jedi Master simply nodded "I understand," he said kindly, looking around for someone to show Nathrrya the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Qui-Gon smiled when he spotted a Padawan, Siri Tachi, talking with several other Padawans a short distance away.
"Padawan Tachi, I have a task for you," Qui-Gon called.
Siri turned to see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan with an interestingly dressed, red-haired woman. As the blonde-haired Padawan approached the trio, she noticed the woman had a lightsabre hanging from her belt. This made Siri curious; was this woman a Jedi returning from some sort of deep-cover mission?
"What can I do for you, Master Jinn?" Siri asked respectfully.
"Obi-Wan and I have been summoned to see the Council and I would like you to take Nathrrya here, to the Room of a Thousand Fountains," Qui-Gon explained. "She is not from the Temple and does not know its layout. Please stay with her, as the Council may wish to speak with her."
I'm not even from this era, Nathrrya thought glumly.
Siri bowed to Qui-Gon "As you say, Master Jinn." The Padawan then beckoned the Sith to follow her. "Please come with me, Knight Nathrrya." The smile Nathrrya gave Siri was a bittersweet echo of what might have been.
"What do you think of Nathrrya's claims, Master?" Obi-Wan asked as they rode the turbolift up to the Council chambers.
"I did not sense any deception from her. However, it was clear she was hiding something," Qui-Gon replied, bemused as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Most likely to do with her Force training." Obi-Wan looked at his master, puzzled. The Master went on. "I had thought Nathrrya could be an ex-Jedi or she could be a non-Jedi force user, a member of a small, obscure force-using order from a distant part of the galaxy. However, she claims to have been encased in carbonite. The length of time she has indicated makes me doubt either of those possibilities."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Could Nathrrya be either an Old Republic Jedi or as outlandish as it might seem, a Sith?" the young man ventured. He didn't believe that Nathrrya could be such a thing. What Sith ever openly approached a Jedi?
Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows. "What makes you suggest that padawan of mine?"
"If she has been in carbonite for so long, then she comes from a time when both the Old Republic and Sith Empire existed." The young man paused "And we have both faced the Dark Side, master."
Qui-Gon nodded, for he knew the incident that Obi-Wan was referring to. They had both faced his former fallen padawan, Xanatos. After Xanatos' fall to the Dark Side, Qui-Gon had sworn he'd never take another padawan but Master Yoda had other ideas.
"To be truthful, my Padawan, I do not know," Qui-Gon admitted. "I felt no darkness from her. It is possible to temporally conceal one's true nature but I could still tell she was hiding something of herself. If Nathrrya is a Sith, she acts like no Sith that I have ever read about. Also, I am fairly certain that a Sith would never call themselves a 'Servant of the Force' as Nathrrya did."
"True enough, I suppose, Master," Obi-Wan remarked, remembering how flirtatious the woman had been. It was not a trait one would associate with a Sith, he supposed. "It's almost certain that the Council will want to speak to her," he added.
Qui-Gon nodded. "Indeed, my Padawan, I agree with you."
"I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation, master," Obi-Wan said with a smile.
"As would I, Padawan, as would I," Qui-Gon replied with a grin.
"Here we are, the Room of a Thousand Fountains," Siri announced as she and Nathrrya passed through the large wooden doors. The Padawan had noticed that Nathrrya had kept mostly to herself during their walk and hadn't spoken much. Siri doubted one would need to be Force-sensitive to sense the sea of emotions flowing off the woman.
The Sith's eyes grew bigger as she took in what had to be the largest greenhouse she had ever seen. It was easily seven stories tall and had to take up a good portion of the north-western side of the Temple. The two women were standing on a platform, from which, Nathrrya could see several stone and dirt paths converged. The paths then wound their way through potted plants and large displays of exotic foliage from across the galaxy. She could also see small bridges crossing streams that flowed from unseen sources. Benches lined the paths, encouraging meditation and reflection – this was a Jedi Temple, after all. There had been nothing coming even close to this at the Sith Academy on Korriban. Nathrrya could hear fountains trickling from everywhere within the chamber, along with the roar of the waterfall at the room's centre. Some of the fountains were concealed by the shrubbery but most others were brilliantly displayed in the centre of some of the stone walkways.
The Sith turned to the Padawan at her side "I can see why this is called the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Hard to believe we're on a city planet when you're in here."
Siri smiled "That was the intent or so I was told. It's mainly used for meditation, but some Jedi come here for lightsabre practice and the Jedi Council has met here at times, due to its peacefulness and serenity."
Nathrrya grinned "Peacefulness and serenity are just what I need right now." The Sith could swear she felt the Dark Side recoil from her for saying that. Rage, hate and anger had their place and were useful; it was one of the major things that separated the Sith and the Jedi. One harnessed the darker emotions while the other tried to release all emotion. Both beliefs were flawed, not necessarily wrong. That was Nathrrya's view, because of what she'd witnessed over the years.
"Though I must admit, lightsabre practice sounds tempting," the Sith said, looking down at her own weapon. "I'll have to see if it even still works. Force only knows what the carbonite freezing has done to it." It was the one thing Nathrrya had yet to do. She should have seen to her lightsabre sooner but when you're told that three and a half millennia have passed since you were frozen, the shock from the revelation made the thought of anything else go out the airlock.
While the outer case of her lightsabre looked fine, the internal components were likely to be another matter entirely. Now she was somewhere that would have everything she'd need to rebuild her lightsabre. At least she didn't have to worry about the blade colour giving her away, as she didn't use the traditional red crystal – she used a violet colour crystal, as she felt it suited her personality more. It had also taken her months to find the much-treasured crystal for her first lightsabre that she'd built herself. The same lightsabre that now hung from her belt.
Siri raised her eyebrows in surprise "You were frozen in carbonite?" she asked, shocked.
Nathrrya nodded "Yes, for far too long." The sadness in her voice was almost painful.
Siri felt awkward at this revelation. "Perhaps later we can go and see Master Drallig, I'm sure he'll be able to help you make sure your lightsabre is working correctly."
The Sith smiled, "I'd like that, Padawan Tachi. Now let's see if we can find a nice quiet spot for me to meditate in."
It didn't take the two women long to find a suitable spot for Nathrrya to meditate in. Siri seated herself on a bench nearby, simply observing. The Sith herself was seated cross-legged, hands on her knees and eyes closed. Now, at last, Nathrrya could try and mentally process what had happened to her, which wasn't easy, as she worked through her emotions. She was sorely tempted to simply leave the Jedi to their fate and find a nice, quiet part of the galaxy to ride out the coming storm but Nathrrya knew her conscience wouldn't allow her to do that.
She didn't hate the Jedi the way most Sith did. Which was just as well considering her cousin had been a Jedi. How does a Sith have a Jedi for a cousin? Family can be a complicated thing and Nathrrya's was more complex than most. However, she did think the Jedi were a bunch of self-important hypocrites and needed to be taken down a peg or two. But to see them wiped out the way this... Darth Sidious personage had planned? The Jedi didn't deserve that. During the Great Galactic War, three and a half millennia ago, she'd seen the flaws of both the Empire and the Sith, as well as the Republic and the Jedi. It seemed as if nothing had been learned in the time since.
What concerned Nathrrya was this Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. He was far too much like her former Emperor, Vitiate, for her tastes. And that much Dark Side energy concentrated into just one living being was never a good thing. She briefly wondered what it would be like to re-establish the Sith Order, after all, apart from Sidious, she was the only other fully trained Sith Lord, that she was aware of. Three and a half millennia ago, she had been known as Darth Avarice, the Emperor's Wrath. A title and role with which she had become disillusioned, by the end of the Great Galactic War. If she were to re-take her title of Sith Lord, she'd have to think of a more suitable name, but only after Sidious had been dealt with. For that, Nathrrya needed the Jedi. The Sith knew her limits and she seriously doubted she would be able to defeat Sidious in a one-on-one fight.
"Nat?" an all-too-familiar voice asked, one Nathrrya never expected to hear again.
The Sith's eyes snapped open and she saw before her two Force-ghosts, sitting cross legged. Nathrrya recognised both easily enough. In front of her was her cousin Casavir, the Hero of Tython, and to her left was his one-time Padawan and now partner in more ways than one, Kira Carsen.
Nathrrya could still recall meeting Kira for the first time on Nar Shaddaa and it was clear to the Sith that her cousin had no idea that his Padawan was a Child of the Emperor, which was a title given to those Sith whom the Emperor could take direct possession of. Kira fled Korriban at a young age when she had realised this was being done to her and at some point Kira found her way to the Jedi but it was obvious that none in the Order knew of her past. Nathrrya had never said anything to Casavir about it as she felt it wasn't her place and Kira had asked, almost begged her not to reveal her secret. Eventually Kira had confided in Casavir and with his help she was able to permanently sever her connection to the Sith Emperor. Kira had gained the rank of Jedi Knight as a result.
"Cas, Kira?" Nathrrya asked, surprised to see her long-time friends.
Her cousin grinned. "I know I said you'd make a good Jedi, Nat, but even I never pictured this," he said as he gestured around them.
Nathrrya just rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny, Cas."
"What's this, the big bad Sith, scared to be in the middle of the Jedi Temple?" Kira asked teasingly.
The Sith snorted. "So says a Child of the Emperor. But yes, I'm terrified. How do you think the Jedi will react when they learn what I am? Here I am smack in the middle of Jedi central. I'm good but I'm not crazy enough take on the entire Jedi Order and I don't even know if my lightsabre works." The woman sighed. "I might have the best of intentions but we all know what the road to Hell is paved with. All the Jedi will see is a Sith and we know what happens when the two orders usually meet." Nathrrya shock her head to dispel the unpleasant thoughts.
"You still hanging out with this loser, Kira?" she asked. Kira grinned in response as she put her arms around the man at her side. "Where else would I be but at my tough guy's side?" she replied, making it clear they were far more than Master and Knight.
Nathrrya just laughed. "Point taken, Kira."
"On to more serious matters," Casavir said with a smile it seemed even death and the passage of time hadn't broken Nat and Kira's friendship. "We wanted to let you know you aren't alone as you think you are. We may not be able to do this," he gestured to their Force-ghosts, "as often as we may like, but we'll never be far away."
"Even Master Satele is willing to speak up for you, if the current Council becomes too... belligerent," Kira said.
Nathrrya felt her mouth fall open. What in the name of the Force was going on, if a long-dead Grand Master of the Jedi Order was willing to speak up for a Sith? The shock must have shown on her face.
"Nat, you said yourself you feel unsafe here and I don't blame you." Casavir said. "That's why we enlisted the help of Master Satele should it be needed. She has worked with you and myself when we faced Revan on Yvain-4."
"Nat, you've taken on a great task, dealing with Darth Sidious. You've seen the danger he poses, not just to the Jedi, but the galaxy as well," Kira said.
"I haven't agreed to anything yet," Nathrrya grumbled good-naturedly.
"Maybe not, Nat, but I know you," Kira replied pointing a ghostly finger at her friend. "You're thinking about it, and you can feel how out of balance the Force is becoming. If you don't act, darkness will rule, and even you won't stand for that."
"Kira is right, Nat, and you know it," Casavir pointed out.
The Sith just rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll see what I can do, now stop pestering me, will you!" she snapped, but without any real bite to her words.
The two Force-ghosts just smiled at each other, looking very pleased with themselves, before they started to fade away.
"Well that was unexpected," Nathrrya mused before she stood up and walked over to where Siri was seated.
Siri couldn't believe her eyes; she'd heard about Force ghosts but never expected she'd witness any much less two at once. While she was too far away to hear, what was said between the two Force ghosts and Nathrrya it was clear they all knew each other very well.
Siri smiled as the Sith walked over to her. "I gather you had some friends of yours visit?" At Nathrrya's curious expression she continued, "I saw them appear before you, though, I was too far away to hear what was said."
Just as well. Nathrrya thought. "Yes it was... good to see them. I'm not as alone as I feared," she admitted "Now let's see if we can do something about my lightsabre. I've got a feeling I'm going to be needing it far sooner than I realised."
