CHAPTER TWO
❝ inflection point ❞

A short way from the Central Temple stood the small village that housed the Shapers of Kro Var. Cobblestone pathways sprouted from an ancient fountain, dividing the land into the four territories of each clan. While the land belonging to each technically extended to the ends of the planet, three of the clans had their villages situated in relatively close proximity to the fountain. The Fire Clan, however, was located further back into their territory. It was a place Alysia had grown up in and now visited as infrequently as possible.

She currently lived inside one of the houses in the Air clan sector, having been sorted into it as a child. During the first few years of her time as Jedi Watchman, she had stayed in the guest suite of the Temple, but after a while, it had seemed natural for her to acquire a more permanent residence.

It was a white, dome-shaped building, identical from the outside to all the other Air shapers, but inside, the house was decorated in an eclectic style fully her own. As a resident of the Jedi Temple, Alysia's habit of keeping more belongings than permitted had made her widely disapproved of among the Temple monitors. With the loss of anyone monitoring her, the habit had only grown. Trinkets from her travels could be found in every corner, and books overflowed from the shelves carved into the walls. Buried at the very bottom of a stack was an old, leather-bound binder filled with notes.

She sat in an armchair staring at it and wishing, not for the first time, that she had simply let it burn years ago. Not that it would have mattered, by now the words were painfully engraved into her consciousness.

Her desire to know the prophecies of the Jedi Order had been an indulgence only Qui-Gon had ever truly understood. Her own Master had believed it was pointless, that the future would arrive when it did, and worrying about it would only lead to more problems. Alysia hadn't understood the truth in that until it was too late. Even now, she wasn't strong enough to resist the urge to uncover the secrets the future held.

After a moment she stood up, crossing the room in two steps and snatching the binder into her hands. She began to flip through the pages until she came to the one she was searching for. Her face went ashen white. It was just as she remembered.

On a parchment scroll, scribbled hurriedly in her scrawling print, was the prophecy she had copied from the Jedi Archives years prior. She could practically hear the badgering voice of Obi-Wan telling her to hurry up as she attempted to write it down before they rushed off to meet their masters.

Only through the sacrifice of many Jedi will the Order cleanse the sin done to the nameless.

Alysia closed her eyes, attempting to mediate, but the voice of Count Dooku kept replaying itself in her head. She had no idea what he had meant, but it had succeeded in unnerving her. It had been years since she had been in contact with the friends of her youth, but surely if they were truly in danger, she would have been able to feel it.

Right?

Suddenly visions of a rust-colored arena began to swirl around like a sandstorm in her head, blaster fire and the sound of Jedi screams creating a furious ring that chilled her to the bone. The whir of heavy machinery and a blazing, nearly unbearable heat battered down on her. She caught a flash of auburn hair that caused her to gasp audibly. Neon lightsaber blades of every color swiped all around her.

The sound of a throat clearing caused the vision to dissipate. She opened her eyes to see that Claj and Athena had arrived and were hovering in the doorway.

"Are you alright?" Athena asked, eyes wide. She took a cautious step forward.

"I will be," Alysia sighed, leaning forward into her chair. Her head ached and pounded as she wondered if the vision was of the past or future. "Once we have a plan."

Athena sank into the couch beside her. She turned and looked directly at Alysia. Never one to hold back, she said bluntly, "I think you need to call the Jedi Council."

"I'm not sure," Alysia said, shaking her head. "I know something has to be done. But we have to be careful. Nerezza will never follow the Jedi and too many people agree with her. Bringing the Jedi here will only lead to civil war amongst our people. The casualties would be inevitable."

"Alysia." Athena's voice was strained, breaking slightly as she said, "Can't you see? There's going to be civil war either way. Casualties are already inevitable. All we can do right now is try and stop this before it escalates into something we can't control. The Jedi are our best chance at that.

Alysia was silent as she considered. The truth was that she had never wanted the guidance of her old masters more than she had now. Yet she also knew that bringing them together would be a perilous interaction that required a delicate hand if it was to be successful. If the Jedi were too aggressive, the Kro Varians would be offended, and any hope of alliance would be lost.

Claj, who had been pacing back and forth, now stopped in place. He shifted uncomfortably as if preparing to say something he knew would not be well received, running fingers through his tawny hair.

Finally, he paused, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. It was painfully silent until he said, "Perhaps the others are right and we should join the Separatists."

A disbelieving scoff slipped from Athena's mouth. The raven-haired woman narrowed her eyes in his direction. "Please tell me you're kidding," she said.

Claj looked at the ground, unable to meet their eyes. "Not this time," he said. "If we continue to oppose them, Nerezza, Typhon, and Echidna will destroy us without a second thought."

Athena crossed her arms, anger flashing across her normally composed face. "What exactly do you think will happen if we join the Separatists? What do you think Nerezza will do with all that new power she obtains?" she asked. "She'll turn the Kro Varians into an army."

"You can't be sure of that," Claj protested half-heartedly.

"No, Athena is right," Alysia interjected. "My mother is dangerous. We have to do something now, or we'll find ourselves powerless to stop them." She turned to Claj, "We can't join the Separatists."

Before anyone could say another word, there was a knock at the door. All three Council Members exchanged looks.

"Come in," Alysia called.

The door opened, and Alysia let out a sigh of relief as Axel peeked in. There was a cautious expression on his face as if worried he was interrupting, but Alysia quickly waved him in.

"Axel, good. Shut the door behind you."

He turned around and closed it before walking over to join them, hands tucked into the pockets of his guard uniform. "I have some information for you," he said, looking intently between all three of the others.

"Yes?" Athena asked.

"We've managed to get a signal through to Ryloth," he informed them, "and they're going to send aid our way."

All of the council members let out a collective sigh of relief. Ryloth was one of their strongest allies, and they would need their help if they were going to defeat the Separatists.

"That's good," Alysia replied. "Nice work, Axel." Her head tilted curiously, "How did you get a signal through?"

"The transmission range was short enough that it was able to go undetected," Axel explained. He paused before adding, "If you want, I can have them pass along another message."

Alysia nodded, a plan beginning to cement itself in her head. Perhaps she didn't have to send a message to the entire Council. Only those she trusted to help her negotiate. "Yes," she said. "Ask them to send a message to the Jedi Temple for Jedi Master Maia Mayrose."

His eyes widened. "You want me to contact the Jedi? Are you sure?"

"Yes," Alysia affirmed, "We need help here, and I need to talk to someone I trust. Something Count Dooku said," she trailed off, "well, I think there's a lot more to his agenda than he's led us to believe."