-0000-

Kaidin was waiting nervously. Grand Master Sorsee had requested an audience with him. Kaidin felt he knew what this was about. The stunt on Noreno. When he heard the news, he was shocked. Even now he couldn't believe it. Any other time he'd sent people to perform covert operations, they would do them… you know… covertly. In and out, nobody bats an eye. It allowed him to fly under the radar and do things that would completely disobey orders from Grand Master Sorsee.

This meeting was Darin's fault. There was no denying it. If he hadn't been so grand in his entrance, Sorsee wouldn't want to see him. He wouldn't be afraid of losing his job, his freedom, or his life.

But what he did was impressive. He was able to turn the tide with an attack that the Alliance never saw coming. He saw an opportunity and seized it. It doesn't matter who you are, you've gotta respect that.

A chime went off, and Kaidin walked into Grand Master Sorsee's office.

"Sit."

He sat in a chair and stared cooly at Sorsee, feeling the tension fill the air.

"I'm sure you've heard about Noreno."

He nodded cautiously, his mind racing in the different directions he saw this conversation going.

"Who did it?"

"Why would I know?" Kaidin asked. He hadn't expected Sorsee to be so direct.

"You're the head of Intelligence. And I know I sure didn't authorize it."

"So I'm expected to know everything?"

"That's your job. And don't think I don't know about a few other little 'excursions' you've authorized. You have a history. I'll ask again. Who was it?" As he said that, Kaidin gasped. He was hit with a mental attack from Sorsee. It felt like his head was being crushed, the pain unbearable. He couldn't think, he couldn't speak, he couldn't move. After what felt like an agonizing eternity, the pain dissipated and Kaidin fell forward, sweat dripping from his face and hands trembling.

"I'll never say anything," he mumbled.

"Then show me." Kaiden felt himself lose consciousness as he slipped into a memory of the meeting with Kravhenn. It was all he could do to separate the conversation from the memory and avoid giving Sorsee any other information.

Sorsee sat back, surprised. "Kravhenn is a part of Intelligence?"

"Who... who's Kravhenn?" Kaidin asked, his voice shaking.

Grand Master Sorsee waved his hand and threw Kaidin out of the room, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to walk out on his own. He put Darin Kravhenn and Fral Joren on the missing persons list with orders to notify him whenever found. They would show up eventually.

A few days after he added them to the missing persons list, he got a call from the base on Ryloth. Joren, Kravhenn, and company were en route to Coruscant. They'd come from the rocky crags with no supplies and no ship. The lead Jedi there, Maani Kodd, recognized Joren and let them take a ship.

-0000-

Lysis was reading in his chambers when he got a message summoning him to Lord Terrias' conference room. He sighed, then marked his place in Artist of War and placed it in a box, which he locked and placed in a vault, which he had hidden under a floor tile under his bed. The key he put on a string around his neck and tucked under his clothes. He stepped back and made sure that there was nothing giving away the location. When he deemed it satisfactory, he left the room.

Artist of War was Lysis' most prized possession. As far as he knew, it was the only copy, making it invaluable. It was a combination of thousands upon thousands of transcripts, records, routines, deployments, orders, mannerisms, philosophies, arguments, beliefs, observations, and everything else possible about Grand Admiral Thrawn, a man Lysis kept on the highest of pedestals.

He did not agree with all of his methods, but the deductive and inductive reasoning skills of the man were unparalleled.

He walked into the conference room of Lord Terrias, who was standing before the holoscreen and speaking with Grellan. Lord Terrias motioned for him to stay silent and to come by him so that Grellan could see him.

"Lysis! Good to see ya!" exclaimed Grellan.

"Same here. Been a long time."

Lord Terrias interjected. "I've brought Lysis here to fill him in. I've kept him in the dark, but now seems like a wonderful time to inform him."

Grellan nodded. Terrias said "Grellan has been on Malachor, training some pupils in the ways of the Force. One has recently proven herself to be ready. She will be taking a place by my side, just as Charybdis has. An equal to you and Valum. As the strategist, I believe that it is best for you to know first."

Lysis nodded, saying "Will Grellan be returning soon?"

"Maybe for a little, but I've gotta go back" he said dejectedly.

Lysis nodded. "Should I tell Valum and Charybdis?"

Lord Terrias shook his head. "Valum is already en route to Lothal, and Charybdis is… busy. When both return, she will be here already."

Lysis nodded obediently. "Yes m'lord."

"That is all. Dismissed."

"See ya Lys" Grellan called.

"And you, Grellan" he responded.

As he returned to his chambers, he was struck with question after question. What was she like? Who was she? What kind of combatant? What did she excel at? And probably most importantly, what did he mean by equal?

He tried to push the questions aside, but they kept leading to more and more questions, and these questions kept being rather relevant to his current working theory. Perhaps he was right in his suspicions that victory was being delayed indefinitely. It contrasted heavily with SA propaganda, but it was the most logical conclusion when one took into account as many battles as Lysis had been involved in.

And if Lord Terrias was meaning to keep this a secret, then he would be meaning to tie up loose ends.

The Junel had a culture built on combat, while the Seyley had one based on competition and honor. While similar, that difference was key. The Junel were the most recent species to join the SA. Lord Terrias knew that the Seyley would never approve of the delay. It wasn't their way.

The SA was about to experience a violent change. He could feel it in his bones. What he didn't know was what was coming next.