A/N: in which the council calls a meeting, cori lies to satele, and theron does not have a work interruption

also i've discovered i guess zhorrid just... disappears? in canon? i'm confused about what exactly goes on but then again this IS swtor so. also also no update last thursday bc thanksgiving + black friday + holiday weekend + working a retail job. i won't be finished posting this before kotet but whatever. i had a Long Weekend.

"We lost much with Ziost. It is imperative that we show our people that we aren't shaken. We must be a unified force, not each distracted by our own petty vendettas."

The council chambers were silent as Marr spoke, each of the councilors focused on the holodisplay of Ziost's ruined surface that was projected in the center of the room. For once, there was no argument. In addition to the eight remaining council members, the Wrath, Lana, and Agent Ven were all present for the first formal Dark Council meeting in the weeks since Ziost had fallen. It was fitting, in a sense, that this first return to official business was also the first return to the previously ruined Council chambers on Korriban; though parts of the Academy itself was still in some state of disrepair, the Council rooms were all back in working order.

Fitting, yes, but it only offered so much comfort given the subject of their meeting.

"Vitiate is no longer our emperor," Marr continued, one hand curling into a fist on the arm of his seat. "He has been silent for far too long, and his appearances on Yavin 4 and Ziost have only strengthened the necessity for the Dark Council to solidify its place as the central power in the Empire. For years already, we've ruled with little to no guidance from Vitiate, but now we must put an end to the charade that he still guides us."

"Then we have much to do," Aruk mused, his expression guarded and nearly unreadable over the flickering holo. "If we are to truly show our people we are capable of operating without Vitiate, we'll need a full council. With four empty seats—"

Rei cleared her throat loudly, effectively cutting Aruk off. "I believe you mean three empty seats, Aruk. Vowrawn has procedures in place. His sphere is capable of running in his absence."

"Procedures only go so far, Nox," Marr cautioned, though he conceded with a nod, "But this is a matter for another day. Some of these seats have been empty for over two years — they can remain empty for another few months, if needed. Our focus today is on Ziost. Zhorrid?"

With a nod, Zhorrid tapped at her datapad, and the image of Ziost disappeared and was replaced with various numbers and figures and statistics. She launched into an explanation, detailing her attempts to catalog the refugees and work backwards to build a casualty report, as well as — in Vowrawn's absence — to work out some sort of system to relocate the survivors.

When she finished, Marr gave a brief overview of the effect on the military, then Lana, Evris, and Zaara each gave their own reports in turn. Lana had already outlined a plan to once again restructure and relocate Intelligence, complete with procedures to mitigate the chaos in particularly overwhelming situations. The Wrath had little new information to offer — mostly reports on the evacuations and Republic involvement — but ended with a confirmation that she hadn't had contact with the Emperor's Hand in several months. Zaara had little to say at all, offering a few counterpoints to Lana's plans and briefly noting some flaws in the standard evacuation procedures.

A few of the councilors spoke after that, and Rei listened as intently as she could, sipping at her caf and making overly-detailed notes in an attempt to stay awake. For once, her tiredness had nothing to do with boredom and everything to do with the fact that she hadn't had a full night's sleep since returning from Ziost.

She'd barely slept at all, really. If she wasn't sparring or meditating or observing acolytes at the Academy, she was working, spending hours researching and brainstorming and drawing up a plan she was now prepared to present to the rest of the council. She waited until another lull in conversation and debate presented itself, then indicated her intent to speak as she began pulling up her notes on her datapad.

"Darth Nox?"

Rei nodded, clearing her throat and glancing through the notes once again. "You want to remain stable, move forward, all that — which is good. I agree. But I also think we should focus on Ziost. Reclaim it."

Her words were met with silence and more than one skeptical look.

"Ziost was rich with culture and history, and we cannot let Vitiate take that from us, too. Darth Acina, Darth Marr, and I have drawn up plans for a task force to study the surface and recover what we can."

Acina stepped in, her voice more commanding and certain than Rei's had been. "Using resources from the Science Bureau, I can send teams to ensure that the planet isn't toxic or otherwise unsafe. From there, we set up outposts, and between the Science Bureau, the Reclamation Service, and the military, we'll be able to get a better idea of just what we're up against. And, of course," she added with a nod towards Rei, "we can save what little history Vitiate left for us to salvage."

Darth Aruk nodded. "I can assist Nox with recovery. The number of temples and tombs on Ziost is vast, and we don't know how Vitiate's influence affected any spirits on the planet."

Rei was somewhat surprised that her plan was, for the most part, being accepted. While it was true that she'd gone to both Marr and Acina to try and drum up some support before presenting it to the entire council, the task force had been primarily outlined by Rei herself.

It had taken a week and a half and dozens of critiques from Talos and Vrynn, but she'd gotten it to a state she was proud of. It was the first time she'd presented something of this scale to the council, and would be the first time she'd be heading up something of this importance.

"Good." Rei nodded, too exhausted to be truly pleased with herself. "I'll forward the details to all of you, and for anyone who wants to assist, we can discuss it further later."

Marr nodded, and after a moment asked, "Is there any other business relating to the situation on Ziost or with Vitiate?"

"Yes, actually." Zaara stepped forward. "I've been offered the position of Intelligence Commander several times over the past two years, and I'd like to formally accept."

"If I recall," Ravage mused, "your original assessment of Minister Beniko's performance on Ziost was satisfactory. Has something occurred to change that?"

Zaara didn't waver, standing at perfect parade rest and meeting Ravage's gaze; it was a convincing charade, but Rei knew her well enough to know she was hesitating. "No, my lord. I stand by my original assessment. However, the Empire should strive for more than satisfactory, wouldn't you say? I have full confidence in Minister Beniko, but I believe she could benefit from my experience with Intelligence."

Zhorrid said nothing, but shifted in her seat to lean forward; Zaara continued to watch Ravage, but she flinched at Zhorrid's movement, barely visible but just enough for Rei to catch. Enough for Zhorrid to catch, as well, if the councilor's slow grin was any indication.

"Then if Minister Beniko and Darth Zhorrid have no objections…?" Ravage looked somewhat nonplussed, but deferred to the two women at the head of Sith Intelligence.

"I have no objections, my lord," Lana offered with a nod.

"Agent Ven was a delightful Cipher," Zhorrid almost crooned. "I would love for her to work for me again."

Zaara's lips pressed into a tight frown. "Thank you, Council." She stepped back to stand with Lana, deliberately avoiding Zhorrid's eyes.

With all business related to Ziost finished, Zaara, Lana, and Evris were all dismissed as the Council refocused to discuss the day-to-day ongoings and issues typically dealt with during their meetings. With most everyone's minds still on Ziost, the rest of the meeting didn't take long — much to Rei's relief — and ended on a note that was so ordinary that it was almost off-putting.

Ordinary wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Rei thought to herself as she took the elevator down to the Academy's main level. She could use a bit of normalcy, after everything that had gone on the past few months.

Rei had barely stepped out of the elevator when she felt a presence at her side, jarring her from her thoughts as Zhorrid fell into step beside her. "That necklace from Dathomir is even more exquisite than I thought it would be," Zhorrid stated with a wistful little sigh. "And I have just the occasion to wear it. Dinner, you and me, a lovely Alderaanian restaurant in a little town about an hour south of here."

The necklace had been payment for Zhorrid's help with tracking down Eclipse Squad, and there had been a reason it had spent the past decade locked away in a vault in Kaas City. Rei forced an uneasy smile and pointed out, "You do know it's cursed?"

"The necklace? I took care of it."

Rei decided not to ask how.

"Besides," Zhorrid continued lightly, "I have more information, and I want to look my best when you take me out on a lovely little thank you dinner tonight."

They reached Rei's office, and she shooed away a few loitering acolytes as she punched in the keycode and stepped inside. As the door slid shut behind Zhorrid, Rei gave a slow nod; she could use a bit of a break, even if she couldn't entirely afford to take one. Besides, despite Zhorrid's… somewhat intense need for some sort of friendship or camaraderie or whatever it was she was after, nights out with her hadn't ever been anything other than enjoyable and entertaining. "I suppose it's the least I could do," Rei conceded. "And this information?"

"I finally heard back from an agent of mine in the Republic special forces." Zhorrid sat in one of the chairs, crossing her legs. "Eclipse Squad is dead. Hunted down and assassinated by someone I believe you're familiar with."

Rei leaned up against her desk, crossing her arms as she mulled the information over. She had been looking forward to tracking down the squad herself, but dead was dead, at least in this case. "Who?"

"Major Davri Sohms."

Of all the ways that Rei could take out her pent up frustrations from Ziost, hunting down the commander of the Republic's top special forces squad seemed as good a method as any. "I'm familiar with the Major, yes. I believe it's time we got very well acquainted."

Karina squirmed in Cori's lap, but she simply tightened her arms around the girl. "We're almost there."

On the other side of the shuttle, Kira was holding back a grin. "What are you even going to tell Satele? That you kidnapped a child from Imperial space?"

"She hid on our ship — that's not kidnapping. And we didn't even know she was there for almost a full day," Cori pointed out, the words a bit sharper than she'd intended. She'd been on edge since Ziost, but things had been even worse since receiving word from Zaara that morning; at Cori's request, a holo of Karina had been shown to the Imperial evacuees, and no one had reported her missing or seemed to even recognize her. "Besides, this is the right thing to do, especially after—" She paused, releasing her grip on Karina to instead press her hands over the girl's ears. "Especially after finding out about her parents."

"Relax. Satele trusts you. If you want Karina to stay with you, she'll let her stay with you."

Karina struggled against Cori, holding her arms and declaring, "But I don't wanna go to the Jedi!"

"Karina—"

"They'll make me a farmer!" she wailed, bouncing a bit as she swung her legs in protest. "I don't wanna be a farmer! I don't wanna be a Sith! I don't wanna be a Jedi!" Karina was now practically chanting, running through a list of things she had no desire to be — including everything from a chef to being quiet.

"Okay, okay, okay," Cori acquiesced as the shuttle landed at the temple, hoping to quiet Karina before the doors opened. She had a point, at least — with Karina's weak Force sensitivity, there was little chance of her passing her trials, and she would likely end up working with the Jedi Service Corps.

But Cori had a duty to the Jedi, a duty that required her to bring Karina to Satele and, if possible, to train her. There wasn't much choice, not even with as vocal as Karina's protests were.

"Tell you what, Rina," Kira offered as the trio stepped out of the shuttle, "I'll take you for a little tour. We'll see the temple and Tython, maybe take a little trip down to Kalikori village, and then you can tell me if you still don't want to be a Jedi." She held out a hand. "C'mon. You've got to at least see what you're missing, right?"

Karina tugged away from Cori and latched onto Kira's hand. "What's a Kalikori?"

"I'll show you," Kira promised, before glancing back at Cori. "Let me know if you or Satele need us, alright?"

She nodded, watching as they left before heading in the opposite direction to meet with the Grandmaster. It had been a few days since she'd heard from Satele, and Cori was anxious to learn how Master Surro's healing was progressing. The process was a bit different for her than it had been for Cori, given that Cori hadn't immediately remembered much from her time under the Emperor's influence.

Besides, she hadn't had time to spend more than a few days on Tython. Cori had returned to war, and the Republic had needed her more than she had needed healing. Still, it wasn't a decision she wanted forced onto Surro.

One of the temple's meditation chambers had been converted into small personal quarters for Surro while she stayed on Tython, and that's where Cori headed. She found Surro in bed, awake and propped up, talking with Satele. "Sorry if I'm interrupting."

"Not at all," Satele assured her, motioning to a second, empty chair that had been pulled up to the bedside. "We've been waiting, actually."

"How are you doing?" Cori asked Surro as she sat, reaching over to gently take one of her hands.

Surro glanced from Cori to Satele and back, swallowing hard before she answered. "Better. It helps, being on Tython. But—" She took a shaky breath before continuing weakly, "It's still hard."

"It always will be," Cori offered truthfully. "But not this hard. There are ways to help — healing techniques and meditation worked well for me. You'll find a method that works for you."

Without warning, Surro grasped tightly onto Cori's hand. "Thank you," she said, voice insistent. "It… it helps, knowing this can be done. That I can… get past this."

"We're doing everything we can," Satele promised, glancing up at Cori before adding, "But for now, perhaps we should let Surro rest."

Cori nodded and stood, sharing a quick goodbye and a few more words of comfort before leaving Surro alone and following Satele out into the hall. "She seems… clearer. More focused."

"She is. Just being on Tython has made a tremendous difference. But she isn't as resilient as you are," Satele pointed out with a frown. "I doubt she'll be the same."

Deciding to hold back an argument, Cori simply gave a nod of acknowledgment and continued on in silence. She wasn't fond of Satele's assumption that there was anything special about her — it was something she'd heard more than once, from several Jedi, that there was something unique to her that led to her relative success in the hunt for Vitiate — but this wasn't the time or place for such a discussion.

As they entered Satele's quarters, Cori cleared her throat and decided to switch topics and bring up Karina. "I… On Ziost—" She paused, taking a deep, steadying breath, and began again. "Grandmaster, while we were on Ziost, an Imperial child stowed away on my ship. Her family didn't make it off the surface, and…"

Satele glanced up at Cori's pause. "It will be better for her to be raised in the Republic. It's tragic, about her family. Hopefully she can still find peace and purpose here."

Cori bit at her lip, suddenly hesitant to reveal Karina's Force sensitivity. The weeks of listening to her various objections aimed at both Jedi and Sith had worn Cori down, apparently. Part of her was worried that her hesitance stemmed from a far more selfish reason — that Cori simply didn't want to take a girl who'd lost a family that hadn't wanted her in the first place, and abandon her to an Order that would eventually turn its back on her, as well.

Karina seemed at home on their ship, and if that's where she wanted to stay… Cori didn't want to take that choice away from her.

"Is something wrong?"

"No." Cori shook her head. "I just… I wanted to let you know. We'll need our supplies increased a bit, just until we find a… better situation for her." A momentary pang of guilt coursed through her; Kira had been right, earlier — Satele did trust Cori, and would accept her words without question. She felt that, in a way, she was betraying that trust, but also that she was doing right by Karina.

She justified it by telling herself it was temporary.

Cori cleared her throat, hastily changing topics once again. "In the meantime, have you decided what to do about Darth Marr's proposal?"

"About the joint force?" Satele clarified. "I've… considered it, yes. You have thoughts about how we should proceed?" she guessed.

She nodded. "I think Ziost changes everything."

"I believe you're right."

"How's work on that holocron coming?"

"Good. I'm set to meet with a professor at one of the universities here in Coruscant next week." T'sereen passed a plate of rolls across the table, handing it off to Theron before adding, "Unless Saresh needs me again. I've already had to cancel this meeting once."

Theron grabbed two of the rolls and set the plate down in the center of the table. "Some sort of holocron expert?"

"A relative of the woman who made it," she corrected. "Eira Rand. The last living descendant of the Jedi Exile."

He let out a low whistle. "She's not gonna get caught up in a misguided attempt to restore her ancestor's glory, is she? Once every three hundred years is enough for me."

T'sereen made a face Theron couldn't decipher. "I hardly think that's a risk."

"Alright, alright," Felix spoke up. "What happened to no talking work at the dinner table?"

She gave a pointed glance towards the huttball match playing on the vidscreen in the next room. "Shall I turn that off, then, or are we bending the rules a bit because we have a guest over?"

They went back and forth for a few minutes, the bickering light-hearted but hinting that this was far from the first time they'd had the argument. Theron nearly shook his head, holding back a comment about how domestic the entire thing was; sometimes it was easy to forget how T'sereen had been when they'd first met — younger but no less jaded, the newly named Barsen'thor, full of fire and quick to argue.

Of course, T'sereen hadn't really changed all that much. She still picked far too many battles, though they were mostly much smaller, these days.

The conversation throughout the rest of their dinner covered far more innocent topics — including Theron's complicated, ever-evolving relationship with his mother, because that was one thing that T'sereen wouldn't ever stop badgering him about — and continued on even as they relocated to the living room to finish watching the huttball match.

It was much later into the night, with the warm glow of Coruscant's nightlife seeping through the windows and a post-match recap show playing on the vidscreen in the background, that their discussion turned more serious. They'd settled into a comfortable silence; T'sereen was curled up on the couch against Felix, who was snoring softly, while Theron sat on one of the lone chairs, scrolling aimlessly through nothing in particular on his datapad.

"What does she mean to you?"

Theron glanced up and set his datapad aside; he would've been thankful for the return to conversation, but between T'sereen's somewhat hesitant tone, her mostly empty wine glass, and the almost imperceptible flush on her already-rosy cheeks, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know where this was going. "What do you mean?"

"Her. Rei." T'sereen waved a hand. "Nox. Whatever she calls herself these days."

"What does she mean to me?" Theron repeated, stalling his answer.

T'sereen nodded.

"She's…" He knew there wasn't an easy answer, but as Theron searched for something to say, he realized he didn't really have an answer. There were things he liked about her, reasons he cared about her, but Rei herself? She was a whirlwind that had come into his life completely by accident — an accident he was glad for, and an accident he was looking forward to repeating. "We'll find out, I guess. I mean, it's not like we've had a lot of time to… you know. Figure it out."

T'sereen nodded again, as if she understood perfectly what he was trying to say. "Don't fuck it up," she cautioned, and Theron wondered for a moment if she was speaking in Rei's defense, but she continued, "You don't want to be on a Sith's bad side."

"Trust me — that's the last thing I want to do. For a lot of reasons."

"Good." They fell back into silence for a few minutes, then T'sereen slowly asked another of the questions Theron had been dreading. "Did you see Ziost? I mean, after?"

Theron's brow furrowed in concern, and he was silent for a few moments before answering; it had been years since T'sereen had contacted anyone she'd known while in the Empire — it had been long before Theron had even met her — but that didn't mean she didn't still wonder about her family. Ziost had been her home, once, after all. "No. Not from the surface, at least."

T'sereen's lips pursed, her expression unreadable. "There were evacuations?"

"Mostly just from the capital. The mandatory evacuations didn't get that far south."

"Casualty reports?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know of. When I left, I don't think they even knew where to start." Theron managed to hold back the reflexive I'm sorry that came with delivering news of this caliber; T'sereen wasn't the sort to take any comfort in what would amount to an empty apology, anyway. "I have some contacts I could reach out to…?"

"Don't bother." She fidgeted, fingers running along the edge of her robe sleeves as her lekku twisted and curled in both frustration and grief. "I left them behind years ago. There's no reason to try and run back to them now."

While Theron suspected that T'sereen did want to know what had happened to her family — or her grandmother, at the very least — he wouldn't go searching for answers unless she asked him to. "If you change your mind, just let me know."

T'sereen glanced up with a tight-lipped smile. "I appreciate it, but you're no longer in a position to do much, are you?"

"Administrative leave," he confirmed with a sigh. "It's not as bad as it could be, honestly." With an attempt at lightening the quickly deteriorating mood, Theron added, "But, hey — I made it through an entire evening without a work interruption."

She rolled her eyes, but when she smiled it was genuine. "Optimism never did suit you, Theron."