"I was gone for three days. How did things escalate this quickly?"
After the Consular had taken care of the clearly insane Jedi Master through whatever space magic she had at her disposal, the delegates could get on with their jobs. Since Master Sidonie had never gotten around to turning every delegate against one another, they were all still ready and prepared to negotiate a (temporary) ceasefire to the civil war.
That was why they had gathered on Mount Sendoth, after all.
Every sign pointed towards it being a lengthy process. After all, it was a planet-spanning war with three different and diametrically opposed factions. Naturally, this kind of discussion would take a while.
Luckily, I was not a delegate and thus not obligated to stick around and listen. I didn't even have any standing to send a delegate since 'my' ancestral lands were currently occupied by the Killiks. The Varalica lands would need to be liberated at some point, probably by me personally if I ever wanted to claim them for myself, but that was a problem for later. For now, I got to reap the benefits of homelessness and could get back the Thul Estate.
I had to get a few answers out of the rest of my little coalition before planning our next move.
As I made my exit from the conference, secure in the knowledge that I had done my part and given the most anti-imperial factions of Alderaan a bit of additional incentive to come up with a peace deal so they could turn a Harrower into a meteorite shower, the Little Jedi fell in beside me. Yeah, the bugs were biting, the sunlight was blinding, and I had an odd feeling of disconnect from my body doing anything, but life was good.
This whole venture to hunt down Darth Angral was looking more doable by the day!
More importantly, there was a swirling storm of refined strength in the Force stuck with the other delegates for the foreseeable future, and I did not have to deal with them. I did not want someone that strong anywhere near my barely shielded mind any longer than absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, our speeder - borrowed from House Ulgo with no idea or plans on how to return it to King Bouris Ulgo - delivered us to the Thul Estate in record time. Granted, that delivery was the work of the Little Jedi, who did not trust me to operate any kind of heavy machinery.
The joke's on her. I got to relax for a little while.
Well, as close as I got to relaxing. The bugs had a way of pissing on my plans. Still, I got a front-row seat to the beautiful vistas of Alderaan. Snow-capped mountains, forests of every shade of green, verdant fields of colorful flowers and golden crops… were it not for the bugs, I would loved to cruise around the skies for a good while.
Well, the bugs weren't the only reason I couldn't do that.
I had responsibilities now.
With that lovely reminder hammered into my brain, we soon landed back safely at the Thul Estate on a landing pad that was framed on all sides by tall hedges and planter boxes filled with pale violet flowers. Props to House Thul, they sure knew how to decorate.
For a moment, the Little Jedi and I sat there, not quite ready to leave. There was an air of almost privacy, here. Away from prying eyes and without the noise of the airspeeder to drown everything out, it was peaceful.
"... I really don't want to deal with this," I declared, refusing to budge from my seat. Charging in head-first into a situation that could very easily get me killed was one thing. That kind of life-or-death situation would either end in great success or see me killed. The former was good, and I would not be in a position to care in case of the latter.
This kind of situation was far more likely to cause some unpleasant ripples.
"I really don't think you have a choice," the Little Jedi pointed out. For emphasis, she mimicked my posture, relaxing into the upholstery of the seat that was far too large for her. The sight was almost enough to make me chuckle.
"Yeah, I know," I admitted. "I need to check in with Natia to find out what I owe to House Thul. I need to honor that debt to House Thul, whatever it is. What I want does not matter."
"When was the last time you did something because you wanted to do it?" she asked, glancing over towards me.
That was a very good question, one forcing me to think for several long moments. Ultimately, my answer was not that long ago. "Giving you a lift to Nar Shaddaa. Right before we met up with my allies."
"You wanted to be alone aboard a small ship with a Jedi Shadow?" she asked, raising a single narrow brow.
"I wanted to have you around," I said. "Still do, as a matter of fact. Believe it or not, I appreciate your company."
"And you still asked me to be the one to kill you?" she asked, and whatever good cheer I had felt promptly rolled over and died. The Little Jedi really could not read the mood, could she?
"Who else can I ask?"
"Did you never consider the fact that maybe I don't find your company absolutely repellant?" she asked. "That maybe I don't want you to die? That I am willing to make my life more difficult to keep you alive?"
"Little Jedi, if you keep saying things like that, we're going to figure out what Alderaanian tabloids are like," I joked.
"Little Sith, you need to get it through that thick skull of yours that your life has meaning to other people," she countered, her voice deadly serious.
"That's a nice sentiment," I said. "Let's see how it holds up when my eyes turn yellow and I start calling for blood."
Quick as a thought, a small hand grabbed my head and twisted it to the left to face a pair of icy blue eyes. There was no mercy to be seen there, not a hint that their owner would ever yield or budge so much as a hair.
"I have made my choice," the familiar tones of the Little Jedi said with steely determination. "You don't get to choose for me."
For several long moments, I could not quite find the words I needed to say.
"I may have been a tad bit hasty…" I eventually managed to squeak out.
"Well, how about that, you can learn," she said, letting go of me. Moving without hesitation, she popped open the door of the airspeeder and stepped out. "How about you repeat that trick with whatever Lady Thul wants from you? I'll see what I can find out about what Lord Nefarid's been up to."
Without looking back, the Little Jedi stalked off, leaving me alone on the landing pad for a few minutes.
There was something I was missing, I was certain. Unfortunately, my brain did not have the necessary processing power right then, so I chose not to dwell on it.
"Trouble in paradise?" a not-entirely unfamiliar voice asked. Blessedly, even my sleep-deprived mind was able to put a name and face to it before I turned around and came face-to-face with the annoyingly oversized Sith Apprentice called Bybon.
Wait a minute, didn't I usually come up to his nose?
A second glance revealed that he stood on the grass surrounding the landing pad, a bare few centimeters lower than the duracrete pad I stood on.
Correction: the duracrete pad the airspeeder stood on. I was still in my seat.
"I object to whatever it is you're implying, Bybon," I grumbled, stiffly climbing out of the vehicle and stretching aching joints. "How are things running on your end?"
"As smoothly as one might expect when you don't charge headfirst into lethal danger," he said smugly.
"So you've killed another Sith Lord?" I asked, knowing full well that he had done no such thing. The Little Jedi didn't know anything, which meant nothing had happened. Assassinations were her area of expertise, after all. "Commendable."
"No, Lord Nefarid still eludes us," he was forced to admit. "It's only a matter of time, however. And Natia has managed to win over Lady Thul. Provided you can deliver what she promised."
"The brilliance of frontal assault has been proven once again," I said, my tone very smug until my mind picked up the last third of what Natia's ally had said. "What's this about me delivering something? Am I a courier now?"
"Natia didn't tell you?" he asked, lightly hopping up onto the landing pad. Idly, I noted that this was not a very good position to be in, should Bybon wish me harm. Eh, nothing I could do to change that now.
Besides, a show of trust could hardly hurt.
"Natia preferred to repeat rumors out of the back of a tabloid magazine rather than directly tell me what Thul support cost me," I said with a sigh, leaning back against the airspeeder. "I don't suppose you'd be so kind?"
"She hasn't told me, either," he answered with a shrug. "No more than she told me what you offered her in exchange for her help, either."
"Mildly annoying," I muttered.
"Yes, borderline treason with no good reason tends to be rather upsetting," the rather unnervingly buff Sith Apprentice said, standing easily close enough to cut me in half should he so choose. And should he draw his weapon. He was easily better trained in the Force and with a lightsaber than me, to boot.
Wait a minute…
Was he trying to intimidate me?
He was doing a shit job of it if it took me this long to realize it.
...
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