Inquisition

[Fennex Zeerda]

Fennex was nothing if not a Fox of his word. As the Master made his way up the corridor to Silas' accommodations, he fumbled in his little knapsack for the familiar decanter. It had been with him for a long time now- probably the most permanent thing in his life aside from his lightsabers, battered grey coat, and the Jedi Order. It was a simple plasteel bottle with a little screw on cap- he'd forgotten what color it might have been, and the carrying handle it had come equipped with had long since broken off and been lost. The outer shell was battered, scraped, and dinged, and hardly resembled anymore what he had bought on a whim one day on Hemelder Aurek because he was sick and needed something to keep his tea hot on his mission. It was perhaps one of the closest things he had to an attachment nowadays, but he kept it for one simple reason- it reminded him every time he looked at it of how things and people changed over time.

The Temple Guard standing on either side of the door stepped aside as it whisked open, letting the little Master through. He went straight for the low table and pair of chairs in the center of the small, sparsely furnished room. Silas had been given an empty Knights chambers in a secluded section of the Academy- the room had a bed, it's own attached refresher, a table and chairs, and a meditation nook, all supplied by light from a narrow slit window far too tiny for the man to fit through. It was hardly extravagant, but Jedi were accustomed to such a sparse life- hopefully Silas remembered as much and hadn't grown accustomed to luxury. Fen clambered up onto one of the chairs, not even glancing at Silas, and set his decanter on the table along with two small cups. This pair of cups were fairly new- little wooden carved bowls he'd picked up on Iktotch. Cups seemed to come and go. He poured a measure of steaming and pungent green tea he'd made that morning, frothy and full of floating particulates, into each bowl and then set the decanter down on the table. He pushed one towards the other chair before finally looking to Silas.

"I told you there would be tea."

@Raydo

 

[Silas Rin]

Silas sat in the chair, eyes open but not fixated on anything in particular. His mind was elsewhere, back on Andara. He wondered what his children were doing. It was difficult keeping track of time on a different planet so he just wondered, it gave his mind something to do. As he reached out he felt like he was almost there. Could almost hear the feet running down the halls, the laughter, the occasional argument. He thought he could also sense Ralaa nearby. Perhaps it was just a trick of the mind, filling in his mind with familiar sensations.

The slight smile still fixed on his face when Fennex entered the room. He had learned the Jedi Masters name sometime later. The fox too worried about a fight breaking out the first time they had met to properly introduce himself.

They sat silently as the small Jedi poured a strong smelling tea and slid a cup to him. He studied for a moment as he took the cup in his hand. "So you did.." Silas responded. He took a sip of the tea, it was indeed rather strong but Silas didn't complain. He had drunk worse things in his lifetime and the hot beverage was comforting.

He peered at Jedi over his glass before sitting in back on the table. "Its good. Thank you." he commented as he crossed his legs. He then waited for the fox to speak.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

"You're welcome." Fennex replied, taking a sip himself and getting little bits if light green froth on his whiskers before going on. He looked hard at Silas, trying to feel him out with the Force and get a sense of the man. He certainly wasn't a typical exile, especially since the rise of the Sith. From what Fen had gathered, he was rather well respected by some Jedi even- but that did nothing to change the fact that he was reckless and could be dangerous. He was a powerful Force user, and many on this level could easily hide their allegiance and intentions until their foes dropped their guard, and Silas actions themselves were nothing if not suspicious. Fennex wanted to sort this all out as quickly as possible. Based on their interaction the day before, a number of likely scenarios had begun taking shape in his mind- none of them entirely good.

Fen sat his bowl back down on the table and put his paws in his lap, maintaining his steady gaze on Silas. His tail swished idly behind him. He decided to cut to the chase and get the worst of this over with.

"I'm sure you dont want to be stuck in here forever- your... apprentice either. So I'll just repeat my question from yesterday again and we'll see how it goes from there. Where is Master Tulas? Andara? This, Sanctuary?"

@Raydo

 

[Silas Rin]

There would have been a time long ago, that the gaze of a Jedi Master, even one of such stature would have been extremely unsettling. He was no longer that scared youngling. He had seen the Jedi Order, its good and its bad. Knew that even the legendary Masters were prone to error.

He sat quietly while Fennex tried to get a read on him, felt the Force stir softly around them. Silas again made no efforts to hide his intentions. "Ralaa is on Andara, yes. Or at least was when Loa and I left for here. That was three days ago now." he said calculating the time in his head. "Perhaps it was four..." he said losing track of his thoughts for a moment. "Either way, that is where I last saw her. Have you not be able to reach her?" he said assuming they would try and contact her after Silas had been captured.

Having answered the fox's question he picked up the tea again and drank from the cup.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

Fennex nodded, whiskers twitching, as Silas answered. It was a good start, and Silas may have revealed more than he intended. From what he was gathering from Silas response and his general demeanor, the Jedi was starting to piece together the puzzle. Fen shrugged as Silas asked his own question in response.

"I haven't tried," He replied simply and honestly before taking another sip of tea, "I wanted to see what you would say first."

It was true. As he had explained to the Knights he'd brought onto the team, calling Master Tulas and asking probing questions directly would have been not only pointless, but dangerous. Fen needed more information before he spoke to her- information he believed he now had, or at least had some idea of. He set the bowl back down on the table and formulated his thoughts for a moment before asking his next question.

"We both know why you were exiled," He began, reaching out to Silas for the responses he didn't know he was giving, his little black eyes unwavering, "So tell me... How much trouble is Ralaa in?"

@Raydo

 

[Silas Rin]

The day prior the same Jedi had feigned worry about the same Jedi he now all but accused of wrongdoing. "If you are referring to the codes I used to gain access to this academy to attend the funeral of Eivor, then she should be in no trouble. I took them, without her knowledge and acted solely on my own. I will also add that I did nothing to discourage Aliyah's invitation and let her think it was perfectly acceptable for me to come here." he said maintaining eye contact with the Jedi.

He would gladly explain his reasoning behind his action, but he suspected this Jedi had already made his mind up about him.

"If you are asking about her actions of as a Jedi?" he said pausing again "In all of my dealings with Ralaa she has acted in total compassion, selflessness, and bravery. It is my opinion she has done nothing deserving of any trouble." he said. "Though I suspect that opinion holds little weight here." he finished.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

Fennex leaned back in his chair, paws clasped in his lap, nodding. Silas was doing a good job of answering questions directly without saying too much, but the Master Jedi could feel the emotions behind the words. What people didn't say was often just as important, or more so, than what they did say.

"Well, given your disregard for our code and teachings, I'll take your opinions with a grain of salt, true..." Fennex started, still reclined in his seat, "but I believe you- she always means well. She's an excellent Jedi."

He paused for a few moments and leaned forward to pick up his tea before relaxing in the chair again. He swirled the contents idly as he watched the exile, disturbing the particulates that had begun to settle to the bottom and wafting the spicy aroma through the room.

"So why do this to her? You know what a relationship with you could do to her standing in the Order. You dragged Lydia down with you already, now Ralaa too?"

It might have sounded harsh or even bordering on mean spirited, digging into old wounds like that, but Fennex was genuinely curious. He'd read Silas' file. He knew how things had gone that first time around- how vehemently the would-be exile had defended his actions. Fen wanted to know how and why (or even if) someone would make the same mistake twice.

@Raydo

 

[Silas Rin]

"and yet you lose your feigned worry for her safety so quickly and move to accusations. I have given means of which to contact her and confessed that I stole the codes from her." he said reaching the bottom of cup of tea. "If you have further to say about the matter, you will have to do so with your Jedi." he said placing the cup down

His eyes narrowed slightly but his emotions remained in check. "If only I had 'Dragged Lydia down" with me..." he said trailing off. "Perhaps she would be alive to this day." he said looking away from the fox, eyes growing distant as he remembered the woman from his past before turning back to the Jedi sitting across from him. "But she isn't. Her life was thrown away like so many Jedi from my past. In the name of what? A hundred year war that has only led to another war."

He sat up straighter again, clearing his mind of the pains from the past. He ignored the veiled accusation of Ralaa and moved on. "Which brings me to why I snuck back here to honor a friend whose life had been thrown away in a similar manner." he said pausing briefly before moving into his story. "When Eivor and I had first met, she, like others before her, had come to attempt to recruit me to the growing group of individuals who now refer to themselves as Sith. I declined, but we talked for a long time that day. I sensed she was looking for a way out of the dark path she had gone down. She left the night on the verge of turning away but was not ready. The next time I saw her sometime later, she had found a place within the Jedi. You all were quick to call her "Redeemed" but she was no different. She still fought the same war, faced the same demons, just under a different banner." he said pausing again. "Perhaps if I had been more diligent, wiser, her life could have been different from Lydia's."

"When I heard of her death, it was the least I can do to honor the friend who I had failed to save." he said locking eyes with the Jedi. "from you." he finished, eyes wet with forming tears.

"Now." he said collecting himself "I have answered your questions, given reason for my actions. You may wish to see ill intent where there none, but it will not be hard to find many instances where I have aided your Order throughout the years, despite my philosophical issues with your teachings. I would ask that you allow me to complete the task of finding the crystal that even now calls to me through the Force and let me return home to my children."

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

Fennex frowned as he listened to everything Silas had to say. It wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for, taking a shot in the dark over a hunch like he had, but it wasn't meaningless either. However much Silas may have thought he had his emotions under control, his words were full of them. It was clear that this was not going to be terribly productive, unfortunately. He could have invasively probed Silas mind, but it would take great effort and be dangerous- not something he would want to attempt without discussing it and recieving assistance from the other Masters. What he had learned from the exiles too-carefully chosen words would have to be enough. He sat in silence with the man for a long moment, mulling his response...

"I can think of no greater insult to your friends than to say they chose to throw away their lives." he said quietly, eyes still locked with Silas.

Never one for lectures and speeches, nevertheless Fennex felt a nearly irresistible urge to lay into the exile; tell him how wrong he was about what people like Lydia and Eivor gave up their lives for, how many others were likely still alive due to their choices, to point out how self centered his attachment to them was, and how he seemed to have spent his entire life in denial of that, too prideful to admit he was wrong, yet trying desperately to make up for it with his good deeds. But it was no use, Fennex knew. You could never beat someone over the head with something they didn't want to hear- they had to discover it for themselves. The Fox just sighed and shook his head. Being a Jedi wasn't always easy.

"You and the girl will both remain at the Academy for the foreseeable future. There's not a single good reason for you to go crystal hunting with her here," Fennex finally responded, hopping down from his stool and admonishing Silas much less than he probably deserved, "You've put the girl in enough danger for now, and you're not remotely qualified to train her. Every moment she spends learning from you is a chance for your naivety about emotional attachments and the nature of the last century of conflict to lead her down a path of corruption and darkness."

Fennex gathered up his decanter and finished off his tea before stuffing the cup away as well. He turned for the door, nailed paws clacking on the stone flooring, but couldn't help but look back at the former Jedi, disappointment clear on his face.

"You might mean well, Silas, but that's not enough... We'll discuss your continued detention with the Council once I've retrieved Master Tulas."

@Raydo