At the end of that particurly strange meeting, long after, Anakin was sent away. As he was not a member of the cil, the currently present masters decided to watch the security camera captured footage of that duel.

  What they saw only strengthened Anakin’s statement and observations. The sheer skill and trol of the young apprentice made the cil feel uneasy. The entire room sunk into a thoughtful sileer the holo video ehis silence was much more self-aware and sober than the ones before it.

  This time, Obi-Wan was the one who broke the silenbsp;

  “I wonder, is there a possibility that what Vokara reported as a typical childish behavior could actually be the truth? I feel that the girl didn’t even take my ex-padawan seriously. You see her roll her eyes here and there throughout the duel. Creating the impression as if she was merely going along with the necessary antics of an unruly teenager. It’s quite humorous actually, if we overlook the more w implications…”

  Yoda looked at Obi-Wan with apparent surprise in his old eyes, yet he did not say anything else. He was carefully analyzing this new possibility.

  In another chair, Ki-Adi-Mundi was doing the same. He was a very traditional type of Jedi Master. In the meetings such as this, he mostly teo listen. Hearing out the other masters’ more intuitive suggestions.

  He was much more fortable on the side of logical analysis. It was rare from a jedi to not be trolled by his or her intuitions, but he decided to listen to his logi most of the situations.

  It was more of a part of his race characteristics than a personal choice.

  He uood as a cerean he had many small binary brains that made his kind natural in putations and logical analysis. Thinking of many varieties of different things at the same time was as on as breathing air for him.

  But today, he felt that there was something very importahat didn’t make seo him. His intuition that he generally used to igold him that there may be an ao this in the words of Kenobi. He still wasn’t pletely up to date with yesterday’s happenings iemple, so he decided to ask.

  “Pardon me, Master Kenobi, may I propose a question to you?”

  “Naturally, ask away, Master.” — ‘He answered.’

  “What was exactly the thing that Vokara Che, the temple’s lead healer, reported?”

  “Ah, of course, we haven’t had the time to share those details yet. There was a small ihat led to Master Windu asking Vokara to che our new guest.”

  “Master Windu also asked her to try to figure out something new about her, while she ossibly too tired to think straight.”

  “She reported ter that she asked what her rank was in their order, and the girl answered with a childish glee that she was a master. Oher hand, she also told her that their order was an only children’s sect. Therefore, we thought of this as a lie, or a purposeful attempt to fuse us. I am beginning to lean towards the tter. But seeing how skillful a fighter she is, there is no reason why she couldn’t be as good with her lies, too.”

  Yoda stopped Kenobi’s line of thoughts there.

  “No, master Kenobi, I have faith in our abilities, that we would be able to see through this girl’s lies. What she told us in the cil was true. We would have se least the attempt of diversion; but there was not su most of her words.”

  Windu nodded, saying.

  “However skilled she is, there is no way a kid as young as her could so easily deceive our eyes. If that were to happen, we may as well give the gaxy to the sith.”

  He thought over his choice of words, then tinued.

  “Oher hand, Vokara is known to be biased with children.”

  This was the time where Master Ki-Adi-Mundi politely took over the discussion.

  “I think that I found a possible e that may or may not lead us to an answer.”

  Everyone in the room looked at Master Mundi with silent curiosity.

  Yoda urged him to tinue.

  “Enlighten us with your thoughts, then, Master Mundi.”

  “Thank you Master. It will be my pleasure.” — ‘With that he started his expnation.’

  “I sensed a troversial statement in Anakin’s report and the cil’s presumption until this moment. The cil was stating that there posed master of this girl called Nizzal Grey.”

  Everyone o this prelude.

  “In Anakin’s report, he stated that when he praised the girl’s supreme skills by using a standard jedi gesture namely, your master must be proud of you. The girl dejectedly agreed by saying he would be. This means that she indeed had a master that was a male; yet he is no longer alive, or at least she believes so.”

  There was a plete silen the cil room. The masters were thinking over Mundi’s analysis, yet they could not find any errors in it. Every piece seemed to fall into the right pce; even the force seemed to agree with this clusion.

  The first to react was Master Shaak Ti.

  “It seems to be a perfeswer; allow me to praise your outstanding intuition. Master Mundi. As they say, the devil is indeed hidden iails.”

  He nodded. Appreciating the heartfelt pliment.

  “Yet I must say that there is a possibility that this was just atempt at misdire.” — ‘Shaak Ti added softly.’

  Mundi nodded again.

  Yoda chooses that moment to add his own points to the discussion.

  “It is indeed a possibility; but from what I have seen, however good the girl is at hiding her presehat didn’t help her holding back her tongue. She, in the end, is still a youthful spirit, which we use to our advao learn more about her.”

  Windu o that saying.

  “She is too impulsive. Her childish nature is still strong and livid. She didn’t learn proper emotional trol like Jedi do.”

  Obi-Wan added to that.

  “Yes, her emotions are much stronger, much closer to normal people, who did not receive any formal training on trolling them, but she still has an unbelievably firm trol over the force, as if her emotional state is pletely separate from the surrounding force.”

  “Well, we didn’t see her genuinely angry yet, but based on the reports of the Jedi Shadows, we sent to tail her. It seems this is the only expnation. To use the words of the shadow, the force surrounding her is alike to a still pond, until the moment she wishes otherwise.”

  Kit Fisto began to talk.

  “I am curious. Did she also notice the shadow following her?”

  Obi-Wan answered.

  “No, or she didn’t show any signs that would indicate differently. She overlooking them wouldn’t be a surprise with that many force signatures stantly moving around the temple. She might have sehe shadow’s presehan thought of it as a temple guard patrolling the corridor.”

  Kit Fisto nodded, realizing the possibility, yet he also gave voice to one of his doubts.

  “True enough. Still, it is still hard for me to prehend. How could she bee a master so young?”

  To that, Shaak Ti gave an enlightening answer.

  “We know nothing of their order’s tradition. It is possible that her master died, and she simply ied his title.”

  Many of the masters nodded eagerly to that idea.

  Kit Fisto didn’t let up on the argument so easily.

  “That is true, but her skills say otherwise. What if she earhe right to be a master?”

  Shaak Ti had no ao that question.

  Yoda, oher hand, seemed to realize something. His eyes were closed and his face seemed unnaturally troubled. Soon he began to talk.

  “There is an old, sith ritual that could make someone look youhan his or her current age, and there was one more that could stop yeiirely. Both of these rituals require an exorbitant amount of life energy, especially the tter, and that is usually drained off from i victims.”

  There was a dire silen the room.

  “Speak of this. We shall not. Observe her, we must. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, I ask you to bee her substitute master and find out the truth about her. If she is indeed a sith, you must try to capture her alive. This is a fiven opportunity to learn more of our old enemy, or to find a possible ally against them.”

  Master Windu nodded, agreeing to the grandmaster’s proposal.

  “I agree. She o be monitored either way; she pose a great dao our order.”

  Master Mundi and Fisto also o this.

  Shaak Ti turowards her currently very unfortable friend. She gave him a predatory smile, ohat was menag yet at the same time g. Those smiles were signature marks of the togrutas.

  “Obi-Wan, you got a nerentice, and a feisty one of that, too! You know, I am somewhat jealht now...”

  Obi-Wan finally awoke from his surprise-iupor, then said hastily.

  “Oh, you have her all you want! I am not really fond of the possibility of training a potential sith! Master Yoda, you have surely realized that this idea is doomed from the very beginning. Do I o remind the cil that my master was killed by a sith, before my own eyes?!”

  Master Windu interrupted Obi-Wan’s sudden rant with a pair of furrowed brows.

  “pose yourself, Kenobi; you are in the presence of the Jedi High cil, he less as a member of that.”

  Obi-Wan seemed to realize his mistake and forcefully calmed himself.

  Seeing the situation stabilize, Yoda answered Obi-Wan’s question.

  “Master Kenobi, you don’t have to remind us of the unfortue of your Master Qui-Gon Jinn. To be more precise, that is the exact reason why I trust you with this important mission. You were the only one who fought and killed a sith here. Your personal history with this matter will allow you to ha with the proper care. You should not be biased even if your oppo hides behind the face of a child. Although, I sincerely hope that this is not the case.”

  The others nodded.

  Kenobi saw this happening and asked one more question as a st-ditch attempt to get away from this new heavy responsibility.

  “Do I have a say in this?”

  Yoda answered with stoiality.

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  Obi-Wahed out a very long sigh, as he said weakly.

  “Oh, boy, that girl is even more troublesome than Anakin was...”

  Shaak Ti suddenly looked at him with the smile of a cat that had eaten the ary.

  “Ti, stop looking at me like that... You should know that gloating over others’ misfortune leads to the dark side.”

  She blihen said ily.

  “Thank you for the advice, Master Kenobi. I will meditate over it.”