A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…

STAR WARS
The Old Republic – Episode Nine
THE PRICE OF RITUAL

Jedi Master YUON PAR has collapsed, suffering from a

mysterious illness. Yuon has been taken to the Republic

capital, CORUSCANT, where the Jedi Order's most brilliant

researchers search desperately for a cure.

Yuon's former padawan, newly elevated Jedi CANLYN

DESSAN, accompanies her. Along with her companions, Trandoshan

hunter QYZEN FESS and recently expelled Padawan ASHARA ZAVROS,

Canlyn is determined to find a way to save Yuon.

She is not the only Jedi on Coruscant. Master BELA

KIWIKS and her padawan, KIRA CARSEN, are on a priority

mission from the Jedi Council. A mission that Jedi Grandmaster

SATELE SHAN has learned might be compromised…

Chapter One: An Act Not of Reason, but of Faith

It was late. Tython's moons, Ashla and Bogan, were both visible in the sky: Bogan waxing, Ashla waning. Within the temple, save for those guardians on night watch, most of the Jedi slept.

Caecinius did not sleep. The Jedi martial trainer whose students referred to him as "Swordmaster" rarely slept long, and he never slept well. He knelt in what remained of the meditation gardens in the old temple ruins and tried to concentrate.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity."

The old images intruded, as they always did. The invasion of the Temple on Coruscant, a mix of Imperial troops and Mandalorian hunters. Many Knights and padawans, and even younglings, had been cut down in their sleep, or as they desperately tried to rally against the surprise assault. He had likely survived only because he had been in the inner meditation chambers, struggling with his Master's final lesson.

"There is serenity…"

He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing another image into his mind. The recent sojourn he and Satele Shan had made to Kalikori Village. Satele had wanted to speak in private, so they had walked back from the village instead of taking a speeder and had been caught in a sudden downpour. They had sprinted through the rain, laughing. When they had returned to the Temple, soaking wet and still chuckling to each other, Master Syo had eyed them both with harsh disapproval - which had only made them laugh harder.

Their actual conversation had been serious, even ominous. But the race through the rain had been fun. For a moment, Caecinius had felt young again.

Young. Of its own accord, his mind abandoned the Jedi Code and instead retrieved the variant that was taught to younglings:

"Emotion, yet peace.

Ignorance, yet knowledge.

Passion, yet serenity.

Chaos, yet harmony.

Death, yet the Force."

Why was the wiser version reserved for children? Perhaps because the very young could spot the lies, while adults had taken years to learn the intricate art of self-delusion.

The children's code calmed his mind, and he felt his consciousness move sideways, into that state that was neither asleep nor awake. His emotions calmed, and time slowed. He reached out with the Force and lifted several rocks into the air, letting them circle his head like a spinning crown. His heartbeat and breathing settled into a steady rhythm, and he opened his awareness to the universe.

The universe responded with a series of shrill mechanical beeps.

The rocks collapsed as his eyes shot open. In a single motion, he set his posture into a combat crouch.

Then he saw the droid.

The astromech, the one that had brought the recording of the temple's attackers to the Council Chambers. Without that droid's information, Caecinius would not have been able to save the Great Forge. Possibly would not have been able to save the Jedi Grandmaster.

Caecinius relaxed, moving back into a sitting position. He forced what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Hello there," he said. He searched his mind for the droid's designation. "T7, right?"

T7 beeped excitedly, delighted that he had remembered. Then another, more serious set of binary sounds relayed his message.

Caecinius frowned. "The Grandmaster is summoning me?" He looked up at the moons, frowing. At this hour, it had to be important.

lMore binary, as T7 informed him that he had taken a speeder to bring him back quickly.

"Let's go, then."

He stood and followed the droid, which glided with remarkable speed across the uneven ground.

Caecinius was surprised when T7 guided him away from the two most obvious destinations. They did not go to the Grandmaster's office, nor did they approach the double doors of the Council Chambers. Instead, the droid led him to the very top level of the Temple, to the observatory.

The shields were open. Satele stood motionless, staring up through the clear dome.

Caecinius approached gingerly, uncertain if she had heard or sensed him. But, of course, she had.

"Trust us an uncertain thing," she said. "It's like the future: always clouded, always shifting. To trust is an act not of reason, but of faith."

Caecinius bowed. "Grandmaster."

She looked over, smiling sadly. "I have decided to trust you, Caecinius." She nodded to T7. The droid ran a scan of the observatory, then whistled that all was clear.

Caecinius cocked his head. She feared surveillance. Here, in the Jedi Temple?

"What has happened?" he asked.

"You know of Master Kiwiks' mission to Coruscant?" Satele asked.

"Not much," Caecinius replied. "She and her padawan said you believed Coruscant was at the center of disturbances in the Force. They wouldn't share more, just that it was a 'special mission.' "

"Yes." Satele looked back to the night sky in time to see a distant comet streak across their view. "Did you hear about the failed defection of the Imperial officer code-named 'The General?' "

"Of course. Canlyn Dessan's mission. She failed."

He spoke without judgment. It had not been Canlyn's fault. A single recently promoted knight could not have hoped to protect the man from the forces the Empire had sent.

"The failure was mine," Satele acknowledged. "I did not anticipate the attack."

She continued looking at the sky as she filled him in on the background. "The General promised information about weapons of incredible destructive capabilities, weapons being created by both sides. Sadly, most of his information died with him. But in his initial message, he shared that some of these weapons were being developed on Coruscant."

"You believed him?"

"He had a reputation as a man of honor. I trusted his word. I sent Master Kiwiks to investigate his claims and to persuade the Republic military to destroy those weapons."

She sighed and, for just a moment, looked startlingly weak and drawn.

"Twenty years ago, if a Jedi Master had gone to the Republic to ask a weapon be destroyed, it would have been done without question. Our stature has been so diminished that it took weeks for them to even acknowledge that these weapons exist. They still refuse to deactivate them, or even to divulge the details of them to Master Kiwiks."

"Perhaps they're right," Caecinius said. "The Jedi didn't stop the Sith twenty years ago, and we are weaker now. The Republic has a right to protect itself."

"That is their argument," Satele replied. "But more has happened. I received a message from a... new contact. A source in Imperial space. She told me that the Empire knows about the weapons, and that Sith forces are in position to act."

"Can you trust her?"

"Of course not. But while trust is uncertain, facts are absolute. She is Imperial, and she knows about the weapons. Which means the Empire knows about the weapons. If she's telling the truth, an attack may be imminent. If she's lying, then it's a trap – but even so…"

"It's a trap we have to spring," he said grimly. If these weapons were as powerful as Satele suggested, then the Empire could launch an attack that would make the Sacking of Coruscant look like a minor brawl.

"Your martial skills are likely to be needed either way," Satele said. "T7 will accompany you. All the information I've gathered, from The General's initial message to Master Kiwiks' progress report, are in his databanks. Study them well on the flight."

Caecinius bowed again. "Yes, Grandmaster. I will leave immediately."

"A ship is already waiting. Tell no one where you are going. Tomorrow, I will advise the Council that you are on a special mission."

Caecinius inclined his head, turned to leave. He stopped at the door. Satele's eyes had already returned to the sky. He sensed tension in her.

"You're wondering why the secrecy," she said flatly.

"Yes."

"I didn't foresee the Empire's attack on The General. I felt secure - foolishly secure - in using the request for an escort to get Canlyn and Master Yuon to Coruscant more quickly. I didn't think a stronger guard was needed. The operation was a closely guarded secret. The General was a cautious man, even paranoid. It wouldn't have leaked from his end."

"Wasn't there a traitor on the ship?" Caecinius asked.

"There was," Satele acknowledged. "But not even the captain knew the mission until they were en route, at which point communications were restricted. The traitor made it easier for the Empire, but he had no opportunity to tip them off. The Senate was not informed of the plan, nor was the general military. Only a handful of high-level members of Republic SIS and the Jedi Council."

The Council? "You can't believe..."

She looked at Caecinius, locking his eyes with hers.

"The leak came from here," she said firmly. "From within the Jedi Temple, very possibly from a member of the Council."

The floor seemed to tilt under his feet as he absorbed this statement. It was inconceivable that a member of the Council would turn traitor.

But Satele's certainty was persuasive. He thought of the recent attacks on the Order, thought of the death of Bengel Morr. He felt his anger build.

Satele reached out, took hold of his hand. "Control your feelings," she said. "I need you, Caecinius. No one else here can match your skill. But I must know that you can control your anger."

He took a breath, tried to release the unwanted emotion with the air in his lungs. His hand shook. Another breath. Then another.

Bit by bit, the wave subsided. He gave a tight nod.

"I am ready," he said.

Her doubt was reflected by the worry in her eyes. Her voice sounded in his head. Just three words.

"I trust you."

He bowed again, and with T7 in tow, left the observatory to prepare for his journey.