"I am sorry. You have suffered greatly. I did not know. My mother was still very young when she had me."
The duchess seemed to cling to this sympathy like a child. It was manipulative, yes, but that was one of the few tools left to a woman in her position, and one of the only ways she knew of to make her voice heard. "I will pay the stipend," she enthusiastically agreed, perhaps even overdoing it a little in her relief.
She must have thought we were here to kill her, Ben concluded.
Or something worse.
Yet despite everything, it seemed this whole horrific affair was at last coming to a close. It wasn't a perfect happy ending, but it was perhaps the best they could hope for.
Days later, Oukranos once again found himself kneeling in Master Jai's quarters at the Temple on Coruscant. This time the light filtering through the blinds that of dawn rather than dusk. Jai was still pacing in front of the windows, though he looked more at ease, his brow no longer furrowed.
"Your report was very thorough, Master Oukranos," he said, pausing in front of the Pylantian. "And I am pleased with how you and Knight Ascania handled the situation. But I am left with a few key questions nonetheless."
Oukranos said nothing, waiting. He already had an idea of what questions he would ask.
"What did you think of Cora? Will she make a good ruler?"
"
I believe so," he replied. "
She is capable of leadership, if unwilling."
"The best leaders are the ones who don't want to lead," Jai mused aloud. "And what of the atmosphere on Ukatis? Is there any truth to the rumors of a revolution brewing?"
"
If there were, I saw no sign of it. But the circumstances are ripe for political and social change." He held the man's gaze, master to master. "
If we involve ourselves now, we might guide them away from the violence and extremism Hapes is bound for."
Jai was already shaking his head even before Oukranos finished his sentence. "You know that we can't do that. The Order must remain impartial. If we go meddling in the politics of planets, we would be overstepping our bounds."
Oukranos didn't respond. It was useless to argue with someone who could see the future, knew when people died in another part of the galaxy, and could sense whatever emotions he felt.
"How did Padawan Khal fare during the mission?" Jai asked.
"
He did well," Oukranos said. "
He was quiet most of the time."
"Like you." Master Jai's faint smile seemed to indicate it was a joke, an attempt at lightening the mood. "Any culture clash?"
"
Some. But not as much as you might think." He had not mentioned his argument with Ben in his report. That was something he would have to handle as the boy's master. "
I believe it was a good experience for him, to see how it is when the shoe is on the other foot. But I am not sure if it changed his way of thinking. If anything, it likely reinforced his beliefs about men, while somewhat challenging his beliefs about women."
"It's going to take time." Jai changed the subject. "We will be questioning this
Blaise the Magus tomorrow. I'd like to launch a more thorough investigation into this Tophet you mentioned. Do you still have the token?"
"
It's in the vault in the archives." It was, in fact, stowed away inside a box coated with nullification resin in his quarters aboard the
Vonnuvi. Oukranos didn't believe Master Jai actually intended to follow up on the Tophet cult; in fact, he didn't think he would even bother to check that it had been safely stowed away in the vault. It was yet another thing that was too
political to be dealt with, and thus would just be swept under the rug. If something was going to be done about it, Oukranos would have to do it himself.
Jai nodded in approval, unaware of the lie. "Even residual Dark energies can prove an insidious threat. Thank you, Master Oukranos."
