| abstract
| - The emotional strain permeated the small speeder as it was parked in the lower levels of the naval base outside of Eriadu City. Master Greystone, even as perceptible of a Jedi as he, was not in need of digging deep into the Force to discern what his former student was feeling. No, Evening Delwynn was not pleased. In fact, she was outright disgusted. She had haphazardly thrown together the raid, hoping to quickly apprehend Avar Zranik. When failure arose, it was not taken well. Master Greystone was unable to cast blame on the agent, even though she blamed herself. The delay that occurred in the office, while not substantial, allowed the guards from some outside location to arrive and disrupt the plan. Delwynn scolded herself internally for not having simply grabbed Zranik the moment she entered the office. The Jedi felt each self-reprimand through the Force like lashings with a glass-tipped whip. "Danstari," the agent called, turning off the engine to the speeder. "Bring the guard into the base, but don't take him to the ship. There's a room across the hall from the command center. We'll use that for interrogation." "Yes, boss," the lieutenant replied dutifully. After Danstari retrieved a cart from the far end of the garage, Master Greystone helped him by pushing the body of the guard off the seat and onto the a cart. As Danstari strolled away, the Jedi Master was left to consult with Delwynn over the events that transpired. Knowing her temperament and personality, he knew that sympathy was not what was needed. "Are you going to sit in here and mope, or are you going to interrogate the guard as to where Zranik may be next?" the Jedi harshly asked. "I'll talk to him once he wakes up," she replied softly. "Beating yourself up for this is not going to help, Evening," he returned. "Master," Delwynn said, finally turning around and facing her former teacher. Her face was visibly wrenched with anger. "You know me better than anyone else alive in this universe. You know full well what I'm thinking. That's why I never try to hide it from you like I do everyone else. I'm entitled to a few moments of self-correction to make certain that I'm fully on my toes the next time around. We both know that it will neither last long nor have an effect on my ability to perform in a positive way." "Failure is always an option," the Jedi Master remarked. "Not when lives are at stake," the agent snipped. "You know that just as well as I do." "Then, what is your plan?" he calmly asked. "I want to know what else Zranik is up to," she answered. "He brought up the 'two hands' analogy. Something else, probably something even more sinister, is going on." "You think the guard knows?" Master Greystone questioned. "No," Delwynn stated flatly, slamming her hands against the steering column. "I don't, but I'm still going to ask. If I had to put money on it, I'd bet Czerka was involved." "You're convinced of this," he commented, stepping out of the speeder. "Once again," she responded with a smirk. "I hardly ever shield my thoughts from you." As Master Greystone straightened his robe with his hands, Delwynn exited the speeder. He proceeded to follow her across the garage and into the stairwell. They exchanged a few passing glares, as they ascended the crisscrossing stairwell up to the floor where the command center and landing pads were. With each piercing look, the Jedi was reminded of the deep-rooted anguish and hurt that the agent harbored. No, he did not sense it directly. The wounds were far too deep within her soul and so far covered over that they were almost indiscernible in the Force. He knew they were present because of their history. In fact, most of what he sensed was only because of their long-developed relationship. He and Delwynn were professional and personal confidants, but she was impossible to read otherwise. Other Jedi had even remarked on that in the past. "Can you retrieve Shalli?" Delwynn asked the Jedi Master, stopping outside the command center. "May I ask why?" Master Greystone inquired, curious as to her reasoning. "I want to see if she is really fit for this," she stated. He nodded and started down the corridor toward the Mally. It seemed like an honest request, the Jedi Master surmised. Even so, it seemed incredibly risky and dangerous. Shalli was not likely to be the most stable when pressed, given her current state. He felt that it would be imperative for him to be there, overseeing the situation. Fay was likely a better choice, but she was not actually a part of the team; Shalli had been assigned the Jedi liaison position. Once he reached the Mally, Master Greystone found Shalli meditating quietly in her chambers. To interrupt gently, he softly spoke to her. He informed the Omwati that Agent Delwynn was awaiting her presence. He failed to speak of the reasoning or what was about to take place, hoping to keep the Jedi centered and to limit potential flashpoints for volatility. Together, the two Jedi marched side-by-side off the Traverser-class vessel and into the naval base. After a couple moments of walking, they reached Delwynn, who was leaning backside to the wall and reviewing a datapad. The agent said nothing to the Jedi initially, not even acknowledging their arrival with a glance. She remained affixed to the datapad for a few moments further, as if reviewing notes. Then, she straightened her stance, brushed hair behind her ears with her hands, and stared tellingly into Shalli's eyes. "Are you ready to help me out?" Delwynn asked without inflection. Shalli nodded passively. "I need you to help me with the interrogation of this man," the agent continued. The Omwati once again nodded, clearly non-emotive. Master Greystone was concerned. The blue-skinned Jedi was clearly acting as she previously had: her emotions were stifled and suppressed. There was no telling what she was truly thinking or feeling—if she was feeling anything at all. Delwynn, too, seemed unconvinced. She simply tipped her head to the left and held her eyes closed for a quick second. Rather than belabor the point, she pushed the door open and entered. Inside, Danstari was standing in the far corner. The captured guard was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. Another empty chair was the only furniture to fill out the medium-sized expanse. It was completely sterile in appearance and not well-lit. The Jedi Master knew this to be the more stereotypical backplanet interrogation room that beings saw on holodramas. It fit the trope to the stroke of a pen. Shalli followed Agent Delwynn into the room. Master Greystone entered last, closing the door behind him. Once the agent took a seat across from the guard, the two Jedi fell in behind her. The proceedings began immediately. "I want to know everything about EIE," Delwynn sternly instructed. "Start talking." "I have nothing to say to you," the guard said. "Ya' came in and attacked us. I ain't owing anything to ya'." "This is a Republic investigation," the agent returned. "You will cooperate or face the consequences." "The Republic?" the man chuckled. "Ya' kidding, right? The Republic's got no say in this." "Fine," Delwynn said. "I'll turn you over to the guys on Thyferra. They're good at getting what you think 'ya' ain't owing' from us." "You mocking me lady?" the man snapped. Delwynn simply looked over her shoulder at Master Greystone with wide eyes. She wanted to pounce, but proper etiquette dictated otherwise. "This case is too personal for me to handle objectively," she said to the Jedi Master. "Let's let Shalli take it for a moment." The Jedi Master wanted to speak up and say that this was a bad idea, but he instead turned at looked at the Omwati. She was completely stoic and non-emotive, and it appeared that she had not even noticed what Delwynn was intending. "Shalli," Delwynn said, now looking at the Omwati. "Your turn. Make him talk about EIE and what connection Czerka has." "How so?" Shalli asked. "However you need to," the agent replied, rising from the seat and gesturing for the Jedi to sit. "Oh, this is great," the captive man snapped. "I go from a plasma-hot Human to a blue-skinned freak. At least she's kind of hot, too." Shalli was completely unresponsive to the chiding remarks, at least as far as the Jedi Master could sense. The Omwati seemed like an empty void, a hole in the Force. She was completely absent from anything in the nexus of the Force that filled the room other than the fact that she was sitting there. The feeling troubled the Jedi Master, and he leaned toward Delwynn, hoping to get her attention. "Evening," Master Greystone whispered. "I sense something wrong here. Shalli's not herself, this is not good." The agent nodded, but did not respond otherwise. "Tell me about Czerka," the Omwati ordered meekly. "Why should I tell ya'?" the man quipped. "What do you know about what EIE does with Czerka?" Shalli pressed, although she was still apparently suppressed. "I know nothin'," the man said. "I don't know nothin' about what ya' sayin'." "Who hired you?" the Jedi asked, surprising the Jedi Master with the type of pointed questioning experienced agents were to likely pursue. "I was just hired to guard a warehouse," the guard answered. "But, it wasn't just a warehouse, was it?" she furthered. "It was an office, too," the captive man responded. "But, it was still a warehouse. We did what we had ta'." "Which was?" Shalli fished. "I ain't got to answers to tell you, you big blue freak!" the man shouted, having suddenly snapped. Master Greystone sensed something in the Force about the size of a seed take hold in the room. As if sensing it as well, Lieutenant Danstari walked over to the guard and pressed his blaster into the man's back. "Actually," the lieutenant said. "You do, or it will be far worse for you." "I ain't talkin' to you, that plasmatic lady over there, or that blue freak!" the man shouted back at the lieutenant. Before anything else could happen, Master Greystone sensed Shalli come alive. Her presence in the Force was suddenly reverberating with life. Fearing what she might do, he prepared himself to intervene. "A freak?" Shalli chided, holding out her right arm. The chair, with the man upon it, started to quiver. After a moment, it started to move slowly backward and off the ground. Clearly, Shalli was controlling the chair through the Force, but the power seemed to also be making her bolder. Master Greystone once again leaned toward Agent Delwynn. "Evening, this is a mistake," he whispered. "Give her thirty seconds," she said, as if knowing what was about to happen. "If she fails, we remove her together." "You Jedi?" the man asked, sounding somewhat frightened. "Tell me what I need to know," Shalli returned. "Jedi can't hurt me," he goaded. "It's in ya' code, 'er somethin'." The presence of Shalli in the Force immediately evaporated. She had returned to an emotionless, almost soulless state. The truth of that man's statement, in Shalli's eyes, must have been the clinching reminder of her role. Master Greystone closed his eyes and fought through the Force, attempting to ascertain what the Omwati was thinking, feeling, or sensing. There was simply nothing—an absence of even the slightest thing. Only the silhouette of the Jedi could be sensed. She was present, but there was nothing otherwise. It was an indescribable void. Shalli had now turned around and looked at Agent Delwynn. Her eyes were as empty as the void in the Force. The Jedi was essentially useless. She had completely collapsed to nothingness internally. There was simply nothing else to state. Contrastingly, Agent Delwynn was enraged. With Shalli not able to interrogate, she walked straight over to the guard, who was now about two meters further back than before. Leaning in closely, she gripped his shirt with her left arm and shoved him back in the seat, tipping the chair slightly backward. "Gettin' frisky?" he asked with a smile. Delwynn pushed a little more and let go, causing the man to fall backward. With him on the floor, she got down on her right knee and pressed her left knee into his chest. Then, she gripped his forehead with her left hand. "You sure you 'ain't got nothin'?" the agent hastily chided. "Because I think you do." "You crazy!" he shouted. "Danstari," Delwynn called. "Take this man to the ship. We'll have the guys on Thyferra do the barely legal stuff to him." At that, the agent stood and watched the lieutenant hoist the man from the ground and force him into the corridor. She was still clearly enraged, having recused herself earlier. With celerity, Delwynn exited as well, leaving the two Jedi alone. Master Greystone sensed no need to address the agent further. She, as a grown woman and seasoned agent, clearly knew her limits and had worked within them. Shalli was the more pressing need at the moment. "What's going on, Shalli?" Master Greystone asked. The Omwati looked blankly at the Jedi Master. No response came. After three minutes, he decided to resume the conversation. "What do you feel?" he pressed. "Nothing," she simply stated. "The Force is gone. It is dead." "It is?" Master Greystone asked, curious as to why she stated such. "It is gone," the Omwati reinforced. "Completely." "How does that make you feel?" he inquired. "I don't understand," she answered. "I believe that," the Jedi Master stated. "Everything feels dead," Shalli added. "The Force must be dead." Master Greystone put his arm over Shalli's shoulder and led her into the corridor. Then, he ushered her back to the Mally. The symptoms Shalli was exhibiting showed that either the Force had been stripped from her, or that she was simply blinded by the dark side of the Force, the latter of which offered an explanation as to why everything seemed 'dead.' Once aboard the vessel, Master Greystone took Shalli back to her quarters. The Jedi sat on her bed and laid back. "That's a good idea," the Jedi Master affirmed. "Sleep for a few hours, until we can leave." "Then what?" she asked. "We'll find out what to do then," he answered. "Are you interested to know now?" "No," Shalli responded, illustrating that there was no concern regarding the situation. She was apparently resigned to her lack of connection to anything living. The Jedi Master reached out through the Force and pulled the switch on the light, causing the room to go dark. Then, he turned around, walked out of the chamber, and closed the door behind him. After the metal door whooshed shut, he walked about three meters to the entrance to Delwynn's office. Inside, the agent was sifting through paperwork. "You hate being behind the curve," Master Greystone said, sitting under the mantle. "I'm going to get those Czerka documents, even if…" she stated, her voice trailing at he end. "Illegally?" he asked. "No," the agent answered. "You watch." "Before you do anything," the Jedi Master interrupted. "I think we better talk about Shalli." "Fine, go ahead," Delwynn said. "I want to take her back to Coruscant," he said. "She needs Jedi intervention." The agent sighed. "I can tell something's wrong, but I've never seen anything like this. I've only worked with Jedi in passing. You know that. I've never had one on my team before." "Evening, she can't feel the Force at all," the Jedi Master complained. "Even worse, she's completely absent from the Force. I can't sense her in it at all. I need to get her back to Master Yoda. I trust him to tend to her." "What about her former masters?" Delwynn asked. "That would be more harmful than good," he said. "That may actually provoke her to the dark side, if she's not already encroaching on it." "Look," she stated flatly. "I don't understand all this Jedi business, Master, and you know that. I trust you, but I need to know that she's completely ineffective before I send her to Coruscant." "Consider her completely ineffective in every way," the Master Greystone said. "Even ineffective in living, I presume. She's utterly comatose in her soul and in the Force." "If it is that dire, then she needs to go back," the agent responded. "I don't want you going, however, I need someone to replace her on this team." "What about Fay?" he asked. "I'll have her prepare a ship to take her back," Delwynn said in a perceived affirmation. "No, Evening," the Jedi Master interjected. "Fay can stay with you. I'll go and take care of this." "Let's get clarification from whoever is leading the Jedi Order for this one," she stated while fidgeting in her chair. "I just don't want to lose someone I trust while I'm scrabbling to find anything at all to stop what this man is doing." "You're still upset," he prodded. "Of course," the agent remarked, slamming her hand on the desk. "I should have grabbed him. Zranik is now the least of my concerns. We need to make sure that his plans are stopped." "Well, then, what have you planned?" the Jedi Master asked. "I hope you're ready to lobby the chancellor for me," she snickered. "I'm going to need all the help I can get with this one." "He's already promised to help," he reminded. "I know," Delwynn returned. "But, I want a carte blanche to do whatever is necessary. I'm not taking any more chances. My gut has to be good enough to supplement the evidence right now." At that, Delwynn pressed a button on the desk and the door to the corridor closed. A lock engaged, as indicated by the metallic clicking sound that followed. Then, the agent depressed another button. Sitting in silence, Master Greystone observed as Delwynn waited for the connection to be made. After a couple of minutes, however, they were both distressed by the lack of connectivity. Finally, Delwynn depressed the button again. This time, the voice of GIN Director Pelmar Aiden was heard on the other end. "I hope you have some good news for me," the GIN Director sneered. "It's been along day here, and I'd wager that you've not had much better." "You guessed it," Delwynn quipped. "Okay, Delwynn," Director Aiden sighed. "Lay it on me."
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)