Several years ago, his master, Darth Sidious, had sent him to the Jedi Temple as a spy. He was not to be seen or sensed through the Force, a feat quite difficult to accomplish with Jedi Masters such as Yoda and Mace Windu around. But he had managed to pull it off.
He poked about, gathering information about training techniques, locations of Jedi throughout the galaxy, Force-sensitives that the Jedi were tracking but had no interest in training, and other such things. Mostly trivial, but the words spoken in the supposedly-secret Council meetings were, more often than not, of great importance. He even went so far as to input a program into the library computer to allow his master access to their data, but would be invisible to all but the most intense scans. All this he did without being detected.
Or so he thought.
One day, as he rested briefly beneath a staircase in a lightly-travelled part of the Temple, he heard a small soft voice speaking to him.
"Why are you here, young one? The Dark Side I sense in you. Strong with it, you are." J'Ral turned to see Master Yoda staring at him, the dwarven figure looking him over as if he were an oddity in a zoo.
J'Ral quickly stood up, his hand going to his lightsaber but not drawing it yet. "I am here on the orders of my master. That is all I will tell you."
"Tell me more, you do not need to. Spy on us, you were sent to do. Knew you were here, I did." Yoda nodded. "Great hope I see for you. But only if you listen. Hear my words, and tell of your presence, I will not."
J'Ral nodded and sat down. "Alright; I don't see how I have a choice."
"Not here." Yoda said, motioning with his walking stick. "Follow me." The diminutive Jedi began walking away. J'Ral quickly stood and followed.
They went downs everal corridors, some empty, some packed with Jedi or workers. None of them seemed to acknowledge J'Ral's presence. "For many years have we trained Jedi." Yoda said. "Guard againt the Sith, our mission is. A thousand years ago, a Jedi Knight I was. Fought Exar Kun and his soldiers, I did. When the war ended, I began training Jedi in case a threat had survived."
"You mean like myself and my master."
"No. Not you. Much good do I sense in you. And your master, I feel, is weak in your eyes. Old, decrepit. Without an apprentice, helpless is he."
"Not exactly helpless, but he would not stand a chance against any of the Masters here." J"Ral caught himself. "Hey! Why am I telling you this? You are my enemy!"
Yoda chuckled. "Guides you, your heart does. Evil is not within you. The Dark Side is all you were taught. Know of the Light, you do not. Teach you, I can."
For some reason he could not explain, J'Ral spent several hours each day conversing with Yoda, learning things Sidious had seemingly hid from him. When he received the signal from his master weeks later ordering him to return, he felt a certain sadness that he would not be able to speak with the Jedi Master any more.
"Leave this place, you do not have to. Stay here and learn, you can. A powerful Jedi rests within you. Nurture him, we will."
J'Ral sighed. "Master Yoda, I do not believe that my master knows of our conversations. But if I do not return to him, then he will figure it out. He may be old, but he is anything but senile."
"Return to me later, then. Much I have to teach you. Maybe one day, join us, you will." J'Ral nodded, then walked out of the Temple. Mace Windu stepped out from behind a column.
"Do you really think we can trust him?" the dark-skinned Jedi asked. "He is a Sith, after all."
"Not Sith," Yoda had replied, "but a Jedi who knew only one path. Presented with a choice, make the right one, he will."
The alarm indicating an imminent jump to normal space shook J'Ral from his revelry. I did go back to see him, he thought, several times. It was enough to make me reconsider my life. This mission that Lord Sidious sent me on will be my chance. I shall find this Maul, take him to the Jedi Temple, and wash my hands of the Dark Side forever. His shuttle left hyperspace and Dantooine loomed before him. He keyed in the automatic landing sequence, then went into the cargo hold to prepare his equipment.
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(Posted Fri, 03 Sep 2004 10:08)
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