The Masks we Wear

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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The echoing sound of his footsteps as he walked through the pristine halls of the Jedi Temple were almost eerie to Aryn as he wandered along. He'd been among the Alliance's military for some time, but the council of the NJO had apparently finally found it necessary to call the Alliance's new general to an assessment. He had not been a member of their order, and in fact it was well known that Aryn had trained himself, so assuredly some members of the council were cautious of the new general, they wanted to make sure of course that they were not dealing with someone easily-corrupted or someone already proficient in the dark side, especially considering the position he'd stepped up to take.

Aryn had no idea who exactly the council had appointed to meet with him, but he was appreciative at the very least that he was not being dragged to an inquisition by the entire council. Standing on ceremony in front of so many force users awas always strange to him, and he preferred to avoid it whenever possible. Sighing, he came to a balcony just outside the council chambers themselves, wandering over to the edge as he idly leaned against it, looking out over the immense cityscape of Coruscant, awaiting his assigned 'evaluator', of sorts.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

"It's impressive, isn't it?" she said, coming up behind the man. She joined him at the balcony, looking out over the cityscape as well. Taeli didn't feel the need to say anything more at the moment, just let the silence stretch out and admire the view. From here, you couldn't even tell that this world had been a battle site just a few short years ago. The liberation from the One Sith had devastated the planet, but much had gone into restoring the world and its infrastructure. Including the restoration of this temple in light of the events on Sullust, but it was only proper that slowly but surely, the Alliance would gravitate towards Coruscant again. They didn't call this world the center of the galaxy for nothing.

"Jedi Master Taeli Raaf," she finally said, giving him a soft smile. "You must be Aryn Teth. I hope the summons you received didn't unsettle you any. In light of recent events, it's only a precaution that we interview Force Sensitives such as yourself."

It was a not so subtle way of saying she would be his interrogator, for lack of a better term, but she didn't outright say she was. It was more of an informal meeting, and what better place than their current location.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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Aryn couldn't help but bristle a bit as he heard the voice over his shoulder. Years ago he had always hated walking the halls of Jedi Temples, and he'd had more than a few patronising and cautious encounters with masters, testing if Aryn knew back then of his connection to the force. He certainly didn't believe that this encounter would be the same, but it had more or less built up a kind of habit in his system. Turning his gaze over towards the Jedi as she joined him, he watched her for a moment, reaching out with his own force signature to tap hers, feeling hers as the tendrils of his own wrapped around it, leeching upon it as it did from all things. It was the first and most noticeable thing of all for Aryn, he drew in all aspects of the force around him, he fed upon them, whether he knew it or not.

With that unintentional first impression already made, he gave a nod as he looked back out towards the cityscape, finally responding to her initial question. "Breathtaking, I'm from Eriadu myself, grew up near the Carrion Plateau, so getting used to the 'big city' is still taking some time." He chuckled in a polite, almost diplomatic way. Since joining the Alliance's high command, Coruscant had become his home, he'd organized an apartment on the upper levels, and while he had begun to settle in, the immensity of it all was still taking time to settle in.

As he finally saw her smile, and the master introduced herself, Aryn gave her a nod and gently returned the smile. "I expected it, more or less, if anything i'll just be glad to be done with the odd looks, it's like everyone here expects me to be some Sith spy." He chuckled at the absurdity of his joke, shrugging as he reached back to clasp his hands gently behind his back, watching her closely as he stood alongside her. "Where should we conduct the interview? No cells or lightsaber confiscation I need to worry about?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

"The Grand Marshal can be slightly paranoid about infiltrators, but his policies have stopped such actions before." Or so he thought. "Now, this balcony is fine for an interview," she replied, still smiling warmly... even as she made a mental note about this man. His signature in the Force was reaching out towards her, tendrils trying to wrap around and leech strength from it. Now that was very interesting indeed, to find someone with such an innate ability to do so... well there were possibilities there that she would keep to herself for now. But, she would be following his career with great interest. That said, she did draw her signature in so he couldn't leech off of it for now. Outwardly, she kept the same easy expression on her face.

"So, tell me a little about yourself," she began. "Apart from being raised on Eriadu that is."

She laughed a little at that, mostly to put him at ease around her. She didn't want to make uneasy after all.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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Aryn gave a gentle nod as he watched Taeli, he agreed that these interviews were worthwhile, and certainly didn't view it as an unnecessary interrogation of any sort - well, tried not to anyway. He appreciated at least that Taeli seemed to be making an effort to put him at ease. He figured that doing so was mostly to ensure her job was easier, but regardless, the relaxation was much more to Aryn's liking than any particularly in-depth and official interrogation. As she drew her force signature away from his own, Aryn didn't even notice, he had been feeding so passively, that his signature simply latched on to the many others which lingered around the temple, drawing the force out and through himself.

He chuckled at her joke, turning his gaze back to look over the cityscape again as he considered her words. Leaning forward somewhat, Aryn gently set his hands on the railing as he looked out over the immense lanes of traffic. "Well, what would you like to know in particular?" He questioned initially, in case there was anything, in particular, Taeli was looking to know, before he spoke up once more. "I worked as a freelance pilot for a while after leaving Eriadu, ended up taking up jobs with the Rebellion. Eventually, I was captured by the Empire..." He lingered there, and his eyes flicked over to her then, as if to see if she'd noticed something he had not intended to let slip, before he continued. "Found out I was force-sensitive a while after that, and decided to take the hard option of teaching myself, rather than joining an order." He shrugged, looking back over towards her.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

Oh she had noticed his slip, and it would be a topic she would broach later. However, she felt for the sake of easing into painful subjects, it would be best to focus on establishing a constructive dialogue. She patiently waited for him to finish, nodding along as he mentioned how he had trained himself. That was really the major worry for the Grand Marshal and other Masters in the NJO, that perhaps that self training had involved steps in a darker direction.

"Sounds like you've had an exciting life," she said. "I can say, before I discovered I was Force Sensitive, I lived on Lorrd and was very bookish. Didn't really travel off world, was far too invested in studying for university. So, what can you tell me about this training you did by yourself?"

She was honestly curious what he had done to train, and where. While the whole point of the interview was to determine his path, unlike the rest of her colleagues here, she was always curious about alternative training. She had studied with the Theran Listeners, the Fallanassi, and the Baran Do... and of course the people who started her training in the Force in the first place.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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Aryn chuckled softly as he heard Taeli comment on the nature of his life. He similarly appreciated as she spoke up to explain at least a brief part of her own history. The fact that this was not a one-sided discussion certainly helped Aryn to relax some more as he began to properly enjoy some comfort despite the official nature of their meeting. He had not even been bothering to pay too much attention to Taeli's observant gaze as he stood there, keeping his gaze mostly focused out over the city, as though it were to calm him, before continuing to speak. in response to her question.

"My training was pretty sporadic, mostly based off what I could find from holocrons lying around the galaxy." Realizing the fact that his initial answer was almost certainly not going to satisfy Taeli's curiosity, Aryn spoke up again. "I spent a while on Ossus, after the Silver Jedi were forced off-world, searching the old library for whatever I could find, ended up finding my crystal there too." He reached down, gently patting his side where his lightsaber sat. "After that i've wandered to a number of different worlds to search libraries or other places of power, Commenor, Tython, Taris, Malachor..." He brushed over the last one as casually as he could. There had been no lies in Aryn's words, though it would have been a stretch to say he'd told the whole truth, he just hoped that the admittance of Malachor would stop her from prying too much into the origins of his discovery, and training.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

"My aren't you well traveled, and well versed in lore to go to worlds significant to both Jedi and Sith," Taeli laughed. So the young man had been to Malachor had he? How... very interesting indeed. "It sounds like much how I had to learn myself. My master was... absorbed in her own studies and projects, certainly more interested in them than in teaching me. I got by and rose to a Master of the Force on my own, traveling and collecting knowledge. So I can imagine your own travels have given you a certain... freedom in subjects to explore."

Time to, unfortunately, press onto a touchier subject.

"I apologize if this is awkward for you, but because you did mention Malachor, I will need to know what you did and possibly learned or experienced there," she continued. "You have to understand that place has a tendency to warp people, and with the Sith back in control of the world, well... questions might be asked. Best to just nip those in the bud, hmm?"

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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Aryn nodded as he listened to Taeli speak up in response to his explanation of the places he'd been to for his training. The fact that she grew to her position on her own was comforting to him, he had occasionally held the concern that by doing things on his own, without any one individual to definitively refer to as his master, he would never truly be able to attain any reasonable position or strength in the force. He felt as though he'd already defied that concern, but hearing Taeli confirm it still helped bolster the man's confidence. Still, he saw the flash of concern over her face as she switched over to a much more serious topic, one he was not surprised to hear her shift to.

As she questioned his time at Malachor, Aryn sighed. It was a topic he had long debated with himself, just how much to share was the problem. He had not learned anywhere near as much as he would have desired, but he knew enough to at least explain the basics. Aryn paused for a moment, clearly considering his answer before he sighed, deciding that honesty was his best option. "When I was in Commenor I learned about an ability I have in the force, apparently one that's particularly rare, enough so that I could only find one or two cases of other force sensitives having such a similar ability throughout history, apparently one of those individuals was linked to an academy on Malachor called the Trayus Academy." He paused, as if looking for any recognition on Taeli's face before he continued. "I found a holocron there, but I have been unable to open it yet, I think it has some more information on the ability, but I haven't had any luck in opening it." He paused before quickly speaking up again. "Before you ask - it was a Jedi Holocron."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

Ah, that would explain when she had on Malachor herself that she had sensed something even more odd than what Savan had done to the Trayus Academy. The woman had been known to collect artifacts, so perhaps she had obtained a holocron and hidden it away within her own sphere of influence before her death. Regardless to Taeli though, she was intrigued about what this rare ability Aryn had that he would need answers for. Perhaps his early unconscious attempt to leech off of her own presence was it? If so... oh he would be a great piece in her chess game.

"Interesting that you find a Jedi holocron in one of the darkest known places in the galaxy," Taeli said. "Whose holocron was it? I ask because you never know with Sith. They have been known to fake our holocrons before, to slowly lure Jedi down the dark side."

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

​

Taeli's concerns had been considered by Aryn already, and the sagely nod he gave in response to her comment seemed to confirm that as he watched her. Aryn had not understood why he had found the holocron on Malachor, knowing what he did of the world's history, he knew it was something unlikely to discover at best. Luckily, he had been able to learn enough from the holocron's gatekeeper to at least get a general idea and an understanding that it wasn't a trick or fake as Taeli suggested. Keeping the holocron gently in his hand, he glanced back up from it towards Taeli, shrugging.

"According to the gatekeeper, I believe it belonged to a Jedi who referred to herself as 'The Exile'. I don't really know a lot more than that, but apparently she left the holocron there after some journey of her own." He shrugged as he looked up towards Taeli, somewhat hoping that the name would ring a bell to her, and that she would be able to shed more light on the object which had for now, continued to puzzle Aryn.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

Not even bothering to conceal her surprise, her eyebrows rose up into her hair for a moment. To find an artifact of the Exile, and on Malachor of all places, was shocking to say the least. No, it was likely... no definitely not a trick crafted by a Sith. If there was hierarchy of Jedi that Sith would never want to remember, the Exile was near the top for what she did to the Sith Triumvirate. She must have left it on that world in case other Jedi stumbled upon the Trayus Academy as she highly doubted Savan would have collected it before.

"That's one description for what the Exile went through," she said, gingerly taking the holocron in her hand, looking it over. "According to our recovered archives, the Exile's name was Meetra Surik, and she was the right-hand of Revan during the ancient Mandalorian Wars. When that conflict came to an end, she went into exile for her role with the final battle at Malachor, cutting herself off from the Force. She eventually returned to the galaxy, and led the fight against three Sith called Darth Traya, Darth Nihilus, and Darth Sion. After she defeated Traya on Malachor, she disappeared into the Unknown Regions in search of her old friend."

What she didn't voice aloud, as she knew it from Sith records, was that Meetra had found Revan and died at the hands of the Emperor Vitiate.

"That is a very valuable and powerful artifact you recovered," she said, handing it back to Aryn. "Meetra was regarded as one of the most powerful Jedi of her time, and she an unnatural knack for forming Force bonds with individuals."

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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So, she did know about the Exile, more than Aryn had been able to gather thus far, certainly. He'd heard stories from odd sources, mixed accounts of some intensely powerful Jedi. He listened intently, watching the holocron in Taeli's hands before he reached out to take it back off her, taking in the story she told about the Exile. Revan was certainly a name he knew, Aryn had studied the man and the Mandalorian wars himself in taking his role, the man himself had been somewhat of an inspiration for many of the General's tactics. The connection to the Exile, he figured it could easily have been a coincidence, but then again, the force was rarely so simple as that.

As he took the holocron again into his hands, he looked over it, eyes widening subconsciously as she kept speaking. Hiding his surprise was not something Aryn could have done in that moment if he had even remotely expected it. He had at least vaguely grasped his abilities, but the fact that he shared it with Surik, with the Jedi who's holocron he'd discovered. Progressively it was more evident to Aryn that his trip to Malachor and discovery of the item was perhaps not so much of a coincidence as he had initially expected. "She developed Force Bonds easily?" He questioned. There was no point in Aryn's mind of trying to hide his curiosity, his surprise had been clear enough, and he certainly didn't doubt Taeli's ability to put two and two together. "Don't suppose there's any info in the Jedi archives as to how?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

Ah, that got a strong reaction from him, she thought. And it had baited his curiosity, all the better. She hadn't been wrong. This Aryn Teth was going to be an excellent asset, if properly... guided. He was already partway down the path by serving in the Alliance military. All it would take was a few carefully placed challenges, a few... lessons, if that was the proper word, and she could very well see a glorious future ahead of him.

"Unfortunately, no," Taeli said, putting on an apologetic look. "If we had the writings of the Jedi Masters she sought out during her conflict with the Sith Triumvirate, the Jedi that judged her at the end of the Mandalorian Wars, we might know more. Masters Kavar, Atris, Zez-Kai Ell, Lonna Vash, and Vrook Lamar, from what I gathered, are the Jedi that oversaw her training and would know most about the type of Force Bond she was able to create. If I had to wager, their writings are probably on the same worlds that Meetra Surik traveled to during her quest."

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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Had Aryn known he was being baited, he figured he still would have followed along with where this story was taking him, things had worked out too perfectly and even if he'd had some indication that he was playing into someone else's game, his curiosity still likely would've gotten the better of him. He listened curiously to the names, only recognizing Atris from the archives he'd found on Commenor of the old Mandalorian Wars and the period following the Jedi Purge. Aryn was unsure that the New Jedi Order would send him on the mission, as far as he believed, he wasn't even officially a member of the organisation, so he figured it would be best to ask carefully.

"What worlds are those, exactly?" He queried, trying his best to hide it behind idle curiosity as he palmed the holocron in his hand still. He made a mental note regardless of how their discussion went to investigate the Triumvirate conflict some more. He was invested and connected to this all now, and by now believed too strongly that he had begun to follow this trail for a reason. At this point, regardless of whether it was with the assistance of the NJO, he was determined to investigate this himself.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

She had him. He might not realize it, but she had him. Curiosity, it was always a useful tool she had found. Pique their thirst for answers or knowledge, frame it in a way that it would be an important quest for both them and the Jedi to grow, and all she had to do was watch and offer guidance and assistance. A few obstacles in the way, carefully chosen, and by the end... well she would be hopeful for the end results.

"Um, let me think for second here," she said, tapping her finger on her chin in thought. "If I'm remembering this correctly, Surik visited Telos, Dantooine, Korriban... um... Nar Shaddaa, oh there was one more... it's escaping me here... oh, now I remember, Onderon and its moon Dxun."

All carefully laid out for him, all phrased just so. She left off Peragus II because, frankly, no one wanted to travel through a debris field of asteroids that might explode at the slightest provocation, and Malachor because he had already been there.

"A lot of those planets are under the Sith Empire's sphere now though," she continued, looking regretful. "And Onderon, Dxun, and Nar Shaddaa are not places someone should ever travel to alone. You're likely to be eaten by a monster or stabbed and dropped from a pedwalk for a few credits."

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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Mentally, Aryn took notes of each of the worlds. He recognized most of them, in fact, all of them. Many had been places he had read Revan visited and others were important enough in the galactic scheme of things today for him to recognize them. Still, he couldn't help but figure it was odd how spread out they seemed to be. None of the worlds seemed to have any remote connection in his mind, but he supposed if the Jedi Masters she'd found there had been trying to hide from the Triumvirate at the time, it was best for them to be spread across the most un-findable places in the galaxy.

He figured there was wisdom to her words about not going alone, he had originally intended on going to Malachor alone, until he found an unexpected ally. Had that not been the case, it was unlikely Aryn would have found the holocron in the first place, much less that he would have been able to make it back to Coruscant to even have this discussion. Still, those Aryn would have trusted to bring on such missions would be limited. Worse came to worst however, he did imagine he could drag Dewbacca along. By her wording, he was still unsure if she was giving him official permission to travel to the worlds in search of the artifacts, but for now he figured it worthwhile to avoid the topic, in case she did end up barring him.

"Of course, the interesting places are always dangerous, huh?" He chuckled idly, passing it all off as a polite jest.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

"They wouldn't be interesting otherwise," she responded, giving him a small wry smile. "Now, hypothetically, if you were to go these worlds now, the trouble you might get into with the Order and the Alliance High Command might be... significant. But, if you were acting for... say the Jedi Inquisitors or a senior archivist... well, no one would fault a few expeditions on your part to help them, now would they? Of course, they would need to be kept in the loop on where you were going and what you find."

She wasn't about to outright say it for him, because she wanted him to say the words to her. He didn't need her permission, which was going to be the lesson here, but she was hoping he recognized tacit approval to go, if he reported back to her directly on his movements.

"Now, I see no reason why you shouldn't be a member of the New Jedi Order or the Alliance military from our discussion from today," she continued. "I'll be filing my report to the Grand Marshal and Supreme Commander that I see you are fit to serve in both and aren't a danger to either."

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

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The New Jedi Order Temple, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member='Taeli Raaf']​

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So, she did wish him to look into things. Giving her a wry and knowing smile of his own as she spoke, Aryn nodded his head. He had intended to investigate things on his own, but if he was to have some reinforcement considering the problems his journey could cause among high command. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave a brief, thoughtful expression, idly glancing around to confirm the two were alone before he spoke again. "So, if I was to go looking into all this, it would be in my favour to keep you in the loop? Hypothetically, of course." He nodded as he spoke, as if just confirming an idle thought that had passed through his mind.

He did smile at her last comment though, he was pleased the questioning had been fairly minimal, being past the 'test' itself, Aryn didn't even think to consider that perhaps letting Taeli come to that conclusion had been a little too easy, in his mind he was simply pleased to be done with it all, and now he had much more ahead of him to focus on. Establishing which of the worlds to visit first would be difficult, his duties with the Alliance now were considerable, and knowing who to trust with all this would be even more difficult, still, it was a goal Aryn knew he now had to set his mind to, for better or worse.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Aryn Teth"]

"It certain wouldn't hurt, theoretically of course," she said. "And hypothetically, if you kept me in the loop on such a quest, I would be able to provide covert aide and resources such as a stealth ship or credits for you to draw upon. Such a mission, that would go so deep behind enemy lines, would be seriously frowned upon and any requisition request might not go through. Sadly, that is the reality. I would very much like to add the full account of the Exile's quest to find the Jedi Masters, and their writings, to the Archives, but oh well... maybe when the Sith Empire collapses."

She could see and feel it. He had already determined he was going to be leaving on this journey. Now, he just needed to take the final plunge. His naivety and curiosity would be his undoing... but what an agent he could make for her agenda.