Chapter Forty

Taylor would say that, on average, her perception was pretty decent. It wasn’t so much that her senses were sharp--she suspected that she was no more than average there, and maybe worse in some places--but more that she paid attention.

Too many people saw and heard things without being conscious of what they’d perceived.

It was a simple but common flaw, one that she’d had no choice to learn and rectify.

Once, not listening to the chatter around her, and not seeing who was there, could lead to an ambush by some schoolyard bullies. Later, as a villain and hero... well, being aware of her surroundings had been worth plenty then.

Her powers helped. A lot.

Not just the tens of thousands of eyes and senses she could borrow from her insects, but the ability to pay attention to each individually at the same time.

It made paying attention to her own senses so much easier.

So when one of the jedi reached for the sabre on his belt, she saw it. She saw him bring it to a low guard, and she knew when his thumb tapped on a small nub on the sabre’ hilt to turn it on. The lightsaber’s hiss and hum came just as she finished naming herself. “I am Darth Khepri,” she said.

Taylor slowly turned her head towards the Jedi, and even is she was wearing a mask and visor that hid her face, she stared at him.

“Jedi Master Saesee Tiin, Jedi Master Coleman Trebor,” she said. “Have I insulted you? If I did, then I say sorry. Basic is new to me. Maybe my words aren’t kind.” Without breaking her gaze from the jedi with the lit sabre, she bowed a little.

“Stow the sabre, knight,” Jedi Master Saesee Tiin said with a small wave to the side.

“But, Master Tiin, she’s a sith.”

Taylor expected the reprimand to continue. For the Jedi master--who had been sensible so far--to order his subordinate to put away the weapon. Instead he turned his attention back onto her. “Is he correct? Do you identify as a sith?”

Taylor finally pulled her gaze away from the knight and back to the two Jedi Masters. “I am here to offer the assistance of the separatist movement in order to help save lives from the actions of a terrorist organisation,” she said. “I came here ready to help. Unless me being a sith means I can’t help, then I don’t see why it matters.” Her words were punctuated by the constant and continuous hum of the Jedi’s sabre.

“Be that as it may, the sith and the Jedi have had a long and adversarial history,” Master Saesee Tiin said.

“I can see why,” Taylor replied. “We’ve barely met and one of yours already seems ready to attack.”

Taylor hadn’t spent enough time in the wider galaxy looking at alien faces to be able to read them well, but... well, if Master Tiin had been a human, than the expression he wore for a split second would have read as ‘mild embarrassment.’

“Knight, stow the sabre,” the Jedi master said again, and after a brief pause, the Jedi flicked the sabre off.

“Thank you,” Taylor replied. “Now, before all of this, I was extending an offer to the Jedi and the Republic. On behalf of the Separatist movement, my comrades and I would like to help you track down and take care of the Roshu Sune.” She gestured vaguely to said comrades and hoped the Jedi wouldn’t look at them too deeply.

The two Jedi masters moved in synch, hands folding into the long sleeves of their robes. Jedi Master Coleman was the one to speak up next. “That is what we are here for. Any information you can give us would be greatly appreciated.”

“I can offer a lot more than information,” Taylor said. “We have the location of the main Roshu Sune base, the names of several of their members, and are ready to take them on right away.”

She didn’t mention that not taking them on now would be a mistake. The Roshu Sune weren’t very well organised, and she wasn’t impressed by their actions, but she was certain they would be moving the cells sooner or later. The longer they waited, the harder it would be to take any of them on.

“We would gladly accept that information,” Jedi Master Coleman Trebor said.

Taylor’s eyes narrowed behind her mask. “And would you act on it?”

“We’ve only just arrived,” he continued.

“And you expect them not to know that and to simply choose to sit still and wait?” Taylor took a deep breath. “My offer for assistance stands. But if the Jedi and the Republic don’t want to fight these terrorists, then we will do it ourselves.”

“Are the Roshu Sune not associated with your movement?” Master Tiin asked.

Taylor swiped her arm aside in a denying motion. “That’s slanderous. The Separatist movement is one that was borne of issues with the way the Republic has chosen to act. We do not and will not support terroristic actions on any peaceful world.”

The Jedi masters looked at each other, communicating wordlessly for a moment. “You would act on your own?” they asked.

“I would act on my own within the bounds of the law,” Taylor said. She had no idea what those laws were, but she presumed that they were at least slightly logical. “Do you want the help, or not? I don’t mean to put pressure on you, but time is passing, Jedi.”

***

Jedi Knight Ferey watched the sith lord from afar. He hated seeing her speak to Master Trebor, but there was nothing he could do now. He’d been reprimanded for trying to do something already, and he didn’t dare push things further.

In a way, he understood. The sith hadn’t yet done anything. His actions had been rash and unbefitting of a Jedi.

And yet he could feel the respect he’d earned from some of the other knights. The sith wasn’t to be trusted, and while he sensed that the two masters leading this expedition were still weary, they weren’t weary enough in his opinion.

“Master?”

He turned, and found his padawan looking up to her. The teenager was reaching that age where some padawan became difficult, but Ferey had been lucky so far. His padawan, a togruta, was a curious boy whose curiosity was only beaten by his respect.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” he said as he patted his padawan on the shoulder. “But keep a hand close to your sabre, and an eye on the sith.”

“Master, what’s a sith?”

Knight Ferey stared across the spaceport. The Darth herself was retreating for the moment, towards a simple rented speeder. Her... apprentice was talking to the masters still, and she seemed inordinately cocky and smug. He could feel her in the force, like a burning little beacon of malevolence and... pettiness, really. He wasn’t so worried about the apprentice.

“The sith are the ancient enemy of the jedi. We... do not talk about them much anymore. We thought them all defeated a long, long time ago.”

“Then how do you know she’s a sith?” his apprentice asked.

He noticed that he had the attention of some others around them as well. Knights and padawan both, so he spoke up a little. “The sith are force users, like us. Though while there are many across this vast galaxy with a connection to the force, the sith are unique in how they use it. Or so I’ve gleaned. Recently... there was a Jedi Master. Qui Gon Jin, a fantastic jedi and diplomat. He met one such sith lord and was defeated in combat. The sith was felled as well, but the master was lost. They are dangerous.”

His padawan nodded, then asked another question, as he always did. “How are they dangerous?”

“She carries a lightsaber, the same as we do, and while her presence is subtle... it is there. The sith use the force in ways that any proper Jedi would find unnatural. They have no control over their emotions, but instead use their anger and hate to become more powerful. Be careful, padawan, of both the power of the sith, and their temptations. The dark side of the force is real, and it favours the sith, few as they, hopefully, are. Now, go on, I think all of the padawans will be working together, best not be late.”

The last was true. With the heightened danger they now knew of, there was no way they’d bring their padawan along with them. The younger padawan could help the Republic security forces, but having them at the front seemed unwise now.

A fellow knight slid up next to him, and he noticed her attention on the sith. “What should we do?” she asked.

“Keep a cool head, trust in the force...” He rubbed a thumb over the hilt of his sabre. “And prepare for trouble.”

***