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Leo gawked out the viewport as the spaceport grew before him. It was bustling in a way that even Coruscant wasn’t. It was far from the calm serenity of Tython, and he couldn’t help but stare. Flashing lights, whizzing speeders, and aliens of all species as far as the eye could see. He even saw a pair of wookiees wandering past. It was rare to see other wookiees off Kashyyyk.
“I know Master Erland and Master Vesemir have already spoken to you about following my lead while we’re on Nar Shaddaa,” Lambert said. “However, there are some rules you will need to know before we set out. Firstly, stay close to me at all times. If you are out of sight, you are too far. Secondly, try your best not to stare. I know it’s going to be difficult, when you aren’t used to this kind of place, but if you look out of place, people will take notice, and they will try to take advantage.”
Leo nodded, eyes wide as he took in what Lambert was saying. He hadn’t had any plans of going off on his own, but he hoped that Lambert would let him explore a little before they had to leave.
“Relatedly, try to walk with confidence,” Lambert continued, bringing the ship in to land. “If you look like you know what you’re doing, most people will believe it.”
Getting such valuable advice about the galaxy outside of the Temple was an experience Leo was grateful for, even though Lambert’s words made him anxious about the planet.
“Is Nar Shaddaa really that dangerous?” he asked, glancing nervously at the busy spaceport. He suddenly missed the Temple and its quiet.
Lambert sighed. “It can be, yes. And the places we will be going are dangerous. My contact can’t meet us anywhere that either of us might be recognised, and that leaves very few safe places to meet. I swear to you though that, if I think that the situation is becoming unsafe for you, we will leave immediately.”
Leo shook his head, ashamed at his own cowardice.
“You said that your contact had information that is vital to the Republic,” he argued. “Isn’t it our duty to see this through, no matter what?”
Lambert stood, placing a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “I have a duty to you, as well as to the Republic. A plan can be changed. A harmed padawan can’t.”
Leo did his best to follow Lambert’s advice as they disembarked and made their way through the spaceport. At the very least, the times he couldn’t help but stare he made sure to furrow his brow so that he looked less like a wide eyed youngling. A benefit of his heavy fur, he supposed, was that his expressions were difficult for humans to read.
They took a speeder taxi to the Red Light Sector, where Lambert led the way to a packed out cantina. It was a dingy, neon lit hole, and its denizens likely wouldn’t have been out of place on a register of the galaxy’s most wanted. Leo took a deep breath, centering himself in the Force as Lambert strode confidently through the crowd. It was clear the Jedi Knight knew what he was doing, and Leo would not allow his doubts to distract from their mission here.
The back room Lambert led him to was tiny, the table and chairs taking up most of the limited space available. It made Leo feel awkward and oversized, though he was still only a few inches taller than Lambert, and had a lot of growing left to do.
“One last thing to cover before my contact gets here,” Lambert said, gesturing for Leo to take a seat in the corner. “He is… likely not what you expect. I ask that you have an open mind. He has been an… ally to me in the past. I would call him a friend, even. He’s a good man, in spite of what he seems.”
Leo took another deep breath, releasing his doubts into the Force. He had been entrusted to Lambert’s instruction, and he knew that Master Vesemir trusted his former padawan, for all they differed in opinion at times. Lambert would not allow him to come to any harm that could be avoided.
A scantily clad young twi’lek man brought them drinks, flirting outrageously with Lambert as he set them on the table. It was fascinating to watch Lambert transform from a Jedi Knight to a gruff underworld rogue, smooth talking and flirty, utterly confident in his place here. Leo was sure he would never be so comfortable among smugglers and thieves, but Lambert seemed to blend in seamlessly, at least to Leo’s untrained eyes.
Lambert’s friend didn’t keep them waiting long. The next time the door opened, it was to admit a towering figure dressed entirely in shades of black and dark blues. A deep hooded cloak obscured the figure’s face as they took stock of the room’s occupants.
“You should have warned me that you would not be alone,” the figure said, voice distorted by some sort of mask. Everything about him screamed “danger”, and Leo could make out the shape of a weapon hidden under the cloak.
Lambert shrugged. “The Council asked me to bring a padawan with me. Leo is advanced enough to be expected to learn from those who spend little time in the Temple, and it’s past time I passed on some of my knowledge of the galaxy.”
The hooded figure tilted their head in acknowledgement, then reached up to remove their mask, placing it carefully on the table before flicking back their hood.
A Sith.
Leo felt himself recoil in shock as red skin and dark hair were revealed. Lambert’s contact, his friend, was a Sith pureblood.
“Your padawan will, I’m sure, report every detail of our meeting back to your Council,” the Sith sneered. “Or do you expect me to believe you will keep this to yourself?”
His Shyriiwook was not the worst Leo had heard, though it needed some work.
Lambert shrugged again, looking incredibly casual in spite of the situation at hand.
“Look, if the information you have for me is as big as you say, the Council will need to know where I got it from anyway,” Lambert said, leaning forward in his seat. “Tell me what you found. You said this could save entire planets.”
The information that the Sith laid out for them, if he was not lying to them, was indeed the sort that could turn the tide in the Republic’s favour. It was well known that the Sith Empire wished to provoke the Republic into outright war, but the things that Lambert’s Sith friend described… Leo felt ill at the thought of them. Superweapons that could wipe out entire fleets, and plans to destabilise the Republic with sleeper agents who may not have even known their own true allegiances.
Lambert thanked his friend for the information, and left a comm code for the Sith to contact him on, then he and Leo retreated back to their ship to contact the Jedi Council.
“We will return as soon as possible,” Lambert said to a frowning Master Erland. “The information I have been given is not suitable for discussion over unsecured channels. I intend to depart this evening, after we refuel.”
The droids had only just started refuelling their ship when Lambert’s communicator beeped twice and then fell silent.
Lambert’s head snapped up from where he’d been reading through the documents his Sith friend had smuggled to them.
“Aiden is in trouble.”
The Force sang the truth of his statement, and Leo felt it urging him into motion. Someone was in need of help, and so it was his duty to act.
Lambert hesitated when Leo followed him from the ship, but did not argue against his involvement. That alone spoke to the faith Lambert, and by extension Master Vesemir, had in his abilities.
They found Aiden in the Corellian Sector, where he had clearly been pursued by the group that he was fighting when Leo and Lambert arrived. Aiden was holding out well, given that he was facing down another Sith, two Imperial soldiers, and a pair of bounty hunters in Mandalorian armour. Still, it was clear that Aiden was injured, and beginning to lose stamina.
Lambert flew into the fray with a cry, cutting down the larger Mandalorian easily. Leo hurried to join him, moving to defend Aiden’s flank.
When it became clear that the tides were turning against him, the unknown Sith made one last calculated attack, shooting lightning at Aiden before making his retreat. Aiden fell with a pained scream, distracting Lambert long enough for their adversary to escape.
Leo longed to give chase, but he understood that he could not. He was not strong enough to fight a fully trained Sith warrior alone, and he was better served remaining with Lambert and Aiden, defeating the remaining enemies.
The Council questioned Leo about the events on Nar Shaddaa for what felt like hours. They wanted to know every detail of the meeting with Aiden in the cantina, and of the fight against the other Sith. Lambert had already been through his own questioning, and Leo feared that he had been censured over his actions.
“This is a highly unusual situation,” Master Erland said gravely. “Having a Sith housed in the Jedi Temple leaves us vulnerable. If this Aiden is a spy for the Sith Empire, then he cannot be allowed to roam free. If he is truly sympathetic to the Republic, then we cannot allow ourselves to be cold toward him.”
Leo nodded. “I understand, Master. But Aiden is injured, and needs our help to recover. Do we not owe it to him, and to ourselves, to help him, and to show him the way to the Light?”
Erland stroked his chin, considering the padawan’s words. “There is a wisdom unique to younglings, I find. He will be watched closely, young one, but you are correct that we have a duty to all beings. The Dark Side is strong, and its call is difficult to resist, but everyone deserves the chance to try.”
It was with those words ringing in his ears that Leo found his way to the gardens.
By one of the serene pools, surrounded by greenery, Leo found Aiden meditating. There was a kolto patch strapped over one of the Sith’s eyes, and another was peeking out of his sleeve. Leo sank to the ground beside him, wondering what Aiden thought of the space. It must have been very different from what he was used to, but Leo struggled to think of what the Sith Temples must have been like.
“Come to babysit?” Aiden asked, sounding amused as he cracked his one good eye open to glance in Leo’s direction.
“Your Shyriiwook could use some work,” Leo replied teasingly.
They sat in silence for a moment, appreciating the beauty of the gardens.
“Can I ask… why did you decide to help the Republic?”
Leo was shocked at his own boldness, asking a question that Aiden had likely already had to answer many times before, to people with much more authority than him.
Aiden’s shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh that, to Leo’s ear, sounded far too resigned for a man that couldn’t be much older than Lambert. It was the sigh of a man who knew he was doomed to whatever fate was before him, and the rest of the galaxy doomed with him.
“I have a cousin,” Aiden said, watching the soft rippling of the pond as a petal drifted down into the water. “He has shown a great deal of potential, and has been sent to train on Korriban. The training there is brutal, and many don’t survive. The ones who do then have to find a way to survive being apprentices to scheming Sith Lords. I was poisoned twice in my apprenticeship. Attacked by rivals more times than I cared to count.”
Leo felt Aiden’s sorrow and anger resonating in the Force, crackling like lightning around them.
“Our training kills more of us than the Republic could ever hope to,” Aiden continued. “My cousin is more likely to die at the hands of another Sith than on a battlefield. Supposedly, this makes us stronger. I cannot see how that can be true.”
He turned to face Leo, pinning him in place with those terrifyingly gold eyes.
“The Sith Code starts by claiming that peace is a lie. Our entire philosophy hinges on that single phrase.”
Leo was beginning to see why Aiden had chosen to turn against those teachings.
“When I first met Lambert, I thought to corrupt him. I wanted to seduce him to the Dark Side, as though that would disprove the doubts I had. I was a fool. He is at peace with himself. Have you noticed that about him? He knows who he is and what he wans to achieve, and he is at peace. I envy him that.”
Leo could relate to his envy of Lambert and the cool confidence he displayed.
“So you are aiding the Republic to be more like Lambert?”
Aiden chuckled ruefully. “I suppose you could say so, yes,” he hedged. “The Force sings to me when I’m with him. It never spoke to me quite the same before I met him.”
His tone mixed awe and devotion, and Leo wondered how long the two had worked together.
A throat clearing interrupted Leo’s musings, and he turned to find Master Erland waiting nearby, hands tucked into the sleeves of his robes.
“It appears, young padawan, that we will have to continue our discussion at a later time,” Aiden said, a faint smile on his lips. “The Council wishes to speak with me, now that it’s clear I won’t keel over and die at a moment’s notice.”
Leo watched as Master Erland led the Sith out of the gardens in silence. He had been warned against the Dark Side all his life, but nothing had truly illustrated the pitfalls of it like a single conversation with someone who had lived in the Dark. He knew now that he could not allow himself to fall to the temptations.
He settled into meditation, more determined than ever to learn from those around him and master the Light Side of the Force.