M4-78

Tave Drajunas Dig Site

Landing Pad

Current Time 0915

After Kiani disembarked from the shuttle, she went to work locating her gear bag and reported to the quartermaster where to find her tent and where she would have to erect it. She was told to report to Kar'Avan and given his current location. Then she was relieved of her gear bag and told it would be inside her tent when she returned. Kiani took a moment on the way to Kar'Avan to take in the beauty of the planet. It was like her home planet in many ways, but it wasn't. Oddly enough Kiani stopped and took her boots off to walk through the grass. It was her peculiar way of becoming attuned to any planet she visited. After a few moments she made her way to the tent in which Kar' Avan was to be. The smell of freshly brewed tea emanated from within. Being polite she tapped on the frame of the tent. " Kar'Avan. I'm here."

"Indeed," Karin confirmed, watching as Kar'Avan smoothly prepared the tea. The actions were seamless, well-practiced, careful, and calculated, but still almost second nature. "My mother has a patch of Alderaanian T'iil plants in her garden at her home on Erigorm. The original plant was a gift to her mother's father and her family has been slowly growing the crop ever since. It has been years since last I had tea."

"I'm glad I could provide some homely comfort, then," Kar'Avan said, maneuvering carefully around the teacups and saucers to grasp the kettle in his hands. There was a peculiar way he went about it, ginger and reverential, as though he feared the slightest misstep would render the entire set to dust.

Intrigued, Karin focused on the teapot, opening her mind once again, querying the Force for the history of the set. Specters flitted around the table, rising and seating, arriving and departing, obscured faces of the countless guests this set had served. The shades that remained all stood around the kettle in Kar'Avan's hands. One after the next, they prepared the team to serve their unremembered guests, then repeated until they faded, replaced by someone new. Karin watched half a dozen owners come and go, laughing, talking, serving, none of them she recognized. The last owner seemed the most distinct, a woman with rose hair wearing a blue silken dress. Once again, Karin did not know who she was, but the clarity with which she appeared implied some measure of importance to the set's history. But this woman, too, faded into nothing, and the specter that took her place resolved into the form of Kar'Avan. With that, Karin closed the door to the past she had opened, returning her focus to the present.

When she did, she still felt the Force at work at the table. Karin scanned the pot and noticed it was steaming in Kar'Avan's hands. It appeared he had called on the Force to expedite the boiling of the water. While novel, Karin was not sure it would have a positive impact on the tea; the slow boiling of the water in the kettle, while not intentional, was still welcome because it gave the teatime to steep. The aroma was progressing nicely, however, and the calm with which Kar'Avan went about this stage of preparation indicated it was not done on a whim. The subtle sweetness of the smell took Karin back years.

"More than you know." Karin gave her delayed response with a deep, wistful sigh.

Kar'Avan released his grasp on the Force, moving his hands to the kettle's handle and lid, pouring the ready tea into first her cup then his gracefully, gentlemanly. It occurred to Karin that the two of them very rarely had tea together; she would have to rectify that. She herself possessed several blends she wanted to share in kind.

"So, tell me about your mother," Kar'Avan prompted, setting the kettle aside and retaking his seat. "She seems to have a good taste in tea if nothing else. Few can get their hands on Alderaanian T'iil plants, even before the Empire's little...demonstration."

"Yes, she--"

Karin felt the Force presence five steps before it approached the tent. It was familiar but unknown. She had sensed it made planetfall and since there had been no sounds of conflict, she deduced it was friendly. Karin was narrowing the list of possible candidates when Kar'Avan bid the presence to enter. Karin turned to watch a woman enter and recognized her immediately.

"Another time, then," Karin told Kar'Avan before moving to greet their guest warmly. "Hail, sister Jedi."

Karin removed her gauntlets and clipped them to her sash before offering a hand to Kiani, looking down at the new arrival; standing at just over one hundred and eighty-eight centimeters in her boots, few humanoids were taller than Karin. The Dantari looked almost confused for half a beat before taking Karin's hand firmly and shaking it.

"You know me?" The sentence was somewhere between a bewildered interrogative and a confident declarative.

Karin bowed her head slightly for a moment. "I am Lady Karin Aaliyah of House Manand, the head Archivist. One could say it is my duty to get to know you. Part of my role is the curation of this organization's records, including personnel files. Yours passed across my desk several months ago." Karin heard the soft clinking of china behind her, the sound of Kar'Avan preparing another place setting. Karin gestured to an empty seat at the table. "Come, join us. Kar'Avan had only just poured the first round when you arrived."

Kiani smiled at Karin. She was used to looking most men in the eye, more or less. Karin stood at least ten centimeters taller than the Dantari, which was something new to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, then, Master Archivist, " Kiani said as she shook the woman's hand firmly.

Kiani walked with ease and grace to the table at which Kar'Avan and her were seated a moment ago. Kar'Avan, ever the gentleman, stood as Kiani entered. " Welcome, Kiani. How are you finding the planet?" he asked.

" It reminds me a lot of my homeworld, Dantooine, " Kiani replied. Her mind drifted back a moment as she recalled running barefoot in the Matale plains, which brought a genuine smile to her face. Kiani looked at Karin. " I hear you're something of a free exchange of knowledge kind of person," she commented. Kiani always prepared for a mission by doing her research, especially on the people she would be working with on the mission.

Lady Karin Aaliyah was once a Jedi who served in the Archives of the Jedi Temple. She was renowned for her near-obsessive devouring of facts and history. Her drive was exhausting when it came to archeological missions. Karin was almost a kindred spirit to Kiani.

Kiani's curiosity and intelligence were questioned early in her training as a Jedi. It seemed that her cultural background was going to hinder her in many ways. Gradually Masters Karna and Uunns watched as Kiani's curiosity led her to want to learn. Later, during a series of tests to gauge how intelligent she was, the results floored just about everyone. Kiani was in possession of a near photographic memory and was a polymath, she loved to learn for learning's sake. After that, every Jedi Master found an apt student for their teachings. Kiani excelled at everything she put her mind to learning and was willing to teach others everything she knew, including her people's history and culture. Kiani wonders what she can learn from Karin on this mission.

" So, this dig site is thought to be the last of a series of sites that will provide Tave Drajunas with the missing pieces of their technological puzzle? " Kiani queried.

"For all our sakes, I pray it is so," Karin answered solemnly, cradling her teacup in her hands to investigate its contents pensively. "Though the engineering department has not been forthcoming with their reports on the salvaged technology, what my Archivists have been able to decipher of the recovered documents from the previous ruins paints a frightening narrative for this 'Titan Project'. This is corroborated by my own investigations, which imply that had this project succeeded, Darth Mekhis could have single-handedly won the war against the Old Republic. Our only saving grace was that Mekhis was a quintessential Sith; her hubris condemned this project to failure from the very beginning. Though, not without cost. At this juncture, we have no means of formulating an accurate death count, though I suspect it to be upwards of thousands of test subjects alone, never mind the mass culling of the research staff at intervals. Such ill-gotten power cannot be permitted to fall into the hands of the Sith once again or those of others of ignoble aim."

"So, you're not for free exchange of knowledge. You'd keep dangerous knowledge out of the hands of those who could abuse it," Kiani stated conclusively. She gave a series of small nods as though she were drawing more conclusions with that comprehension.

"You misunderstand, sister," Karin corrected. "Though only partially. I will be the last person you will hear deny anyone knowledge. You lose nothing by sharing a fire. But I also advocate tirelessly for completeness. The importance of context for any information is too vast to be put into words. Information is not inherently dangerous, but like anything it carries risk. Acting on incomplete information can lead to ill-preparedness. When I share knowledge, I share as much as I can, noting the caveat that it may not be everything and that the recipient may understand fully the possible dangers of their work. Still, there are some who ignore that danger, focusing solely on the gains to be had."

"People like my peers," Kar'Avan added, breaking his silence. "I use the term lightly. Outside times of total war, they are bound by little more than a common creed they believe promises ultimate power and are encouraged by the histories of people such as Darth Mekhis who were able to ostensibly do great things without the restrictions and self-denial imposed by the Jedi Code, the whole time overlooking the fact that they never fail to conspire in their own downfall. The pursuit of a goal in the face of adversity is admirable, certainly, but the degree to which the Sith do it is usually suicidal. Throwing away greatness for greatness's sake." Kar'Avan shook his head disgustedly and went back to sipping his tea.

Karin gestured towards him in agreement. "Victims of their own ignorance."

"You feel pity for them?" Kiani asked, a modicum of incredulity in the delivery.

"No more than I feel for any other life lost. There is value in everything, a lesson to be had. Nothing is wholly without merit, however small. We must learn to separate the good from the ill, glorify the former, and learn from the latter. Even the most despicable among us serves a purpose: a living example of how not to act. Everyone on Erigorm learns that before they finish their third year of education. That is, of course, not to say that purpose absolves them of responsibilities and consequences of their actions. Just because such examples of negative behavior exist does not mean they should be congratulated for it. Thieves and murderers must still stand trial. The Sith receive their just reward for their wickedness and cruelty. Not soon enough, but it comes."

Kiani gave a wry smile. "Do your soliloquy often or am I a special case?"

Karin chuckled warmly. "It is an expectation of my position that I am able to speak at length on a topic for demonstrative and exposition purposes. Verbosity is the norm for the Court even if it does not translate well to personal conversation. It is something that is difficult to transition out of after one becomes acclimated to it."

"I can tell," Kiani noted teasingly. "So, what's the plan? I assume we arrived late for a reason."

"Ordinarily, we would progress through the ruins slowly, clearing obstructions and restoring structural integrity to permit safe study and passage of the ruins. However, this excavation is under an unseen time constraint," Karin instructed.

"How long?" Kiani asked with a quizzical raised eyebrow.

"However long we can work unnoticed. This planet is well out of the way, but that does not discount someone happening upon us by chance. In that event, we will evacuate the dig site as expediently as possible, withdrawing as many artifacts and documents as we can extract before we, regrettably, destroy the dig site. It pains me that such measures are taken, but Kar'Avan has made it clear he wants no record of these ruins, or our presence left behind for others to find. To this end, Kar'Avan, myself, and several others -- including yourself should you wish to join us -- will lead a preliminary expedition into the ruins to note the locations of any potential intelligence and recover artifacts directly related to the Titan technology. After this expedition is concluded and the artifacts and information are secured, the excavation will continue as normal."

"Smash-and-grab, then," Kiani summarized.

"Essentially," Kar'Avan confirmed.

"Though, preferably, without damage to the facility. We do not want to erroneously conclude that this was the last facility because we destroyed evidence of another," Karin added.

"We will be careful, Karin, but we have to balance the ruin's safety against our own," Kar'Avan stated.

"I am aware. Nevertheless, we are still conducting initial observations of our point of entry using surveillance automatons. Meredith will report when that is completed. Until then, there is little to do aside from finishing the tea. We should not be long."

Kiani pondered a moment everything the Karin had just spoke of. Though she understood what Karin's standpoint was on completeness of exchanged information and the risks involved of incomplete information; Kiani rarely shared all of her knowledge on certain things for the reasons of safety. In her mind someone has to reach a certain level of competency to attain certain types of information.

This was readily apparent when she was first brought to the Jed Temple by Master Karna. The started slowly with her focusing at first on her language barrier. The ability to communicate effectively was obviously a desired quality before showing her how to levitate a rock or Force push a training bot away from her.

Master Chor Uunns often said to her, "Attaining power for the sake of having power is often the quickest way to lose one's life, " That saying often still reverberated through her mind on missions she had completed where someone was trying to attain more power than they either needed or were capable of handling. Most of these missions had dire consequences for the seeker of power. You lose nothing by sharing a fire. Karin had said. While Kiani understood that she meant it in the most positive of ways, there again was a downside to even that. You don't share a fire with those who are prone to abuse it. It's like handing youngling a thermal detonator and expecting the youngling not to activate it, then toss it at innocent bystanders. Unless you have trained them to understand at an extremely early age to understand the dangers. So Kiani completely agreed with Karin's viewpoint on understanding of information exchanged.

Kiani was also surprised at Kar' Avan's insights on the Sith. His ruminations about how his people often orchestrated their own demise through the seeking of greater power was very much a blindsiding comment. Kiani had to admit she often felt that way coming up against the limited few Sith that she had encountered. They always seemed to be planning ahead for their day as absolute ruler of the galaxies with nary a thought about who or what they would come up against in attaining that goal. It seemed that their plans never considered the possibility that they would fail, because they were taught failure meant death.

To Kiani the possibility of death was a glaring bright star that could never not be seen. Growing up in a primitive culture and facing hazards that most of the galaxy had some sort of defense against or technology to protect them was a constant challenge. The young Dantari half breed wasn't fearless or reckless, but her courage and determination were born from the acceptance that she wasn't guaranteed her next breath and she would always have to fight for her future.

Even now after facing so much adversity in her life; she fights for a future worth having. Peace in the galaxy. Kiani however knows that peace will never come without understanding everything she can about everything she can learn about, but there is a safe way of going about attaining that knowledge and survive to be able to pass that knowledge along in time.

From what little time she has been with Tave Drajunas, Kiani understood that they operated relatively apart from the rest of the Galaxy. Quietly they have gathered information and tech from the past to eventually take on the Sith controlled Federation to ring about peace. One of the main reasons she had decided that any interaction with the rest of the galaxy required her assuming the alias As'Kani Starchylde. To protect what little of the Jedi Order that was left everyone needed to believe Kiani was dead.

The apparent need to do this mission as quickly and as safely as possible came with certain risks. Could they find everything they were looking for? Was what they were looking for worth lives in the first place? And would the benefit of what they were looking for be worth it? These thoughts ran through Kiani's mind.