Reconstruction [Day 10, Mid Afternoon]

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

Jun-Tsu stood observing the repairs going on high above the court room floor. Mechanics, engineers, and laborers produced a muffled din as they worked at clearing debris and reconstructing the mostly blown out wall and some of the upper floors. During court yesterday, they had hung decorative banners to mask the repairs necessary to make full use of the tower, but now, as the teams worked, the wounds of insurrection were laid bare.

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Strange, ain't it?" The large presence emerged from the entrance and glared at some guards before joining her. The Armour of the First Wrath showed no evidence of the final battle, its owner seemed completely recovered as well.

"Change. Feels good though." He gave her a respectful nod, but none of the fawning reverence that others had begun to display. Rath had no time for such things.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"It haz itz momentz, zhough perhaps it iz eazier vor you zhan vor I," she drew her eyes down from the construction to look out over the mostly rebuilt balconies, balustrades, and seats. Two short days ago, the entire chamber had been rocked by explosions and chaos, and she felt as though she could still hear it all faintly echoing off of the very walls. Perhaps it was all still here.

"But I knew zhe cozt, und zhe pain, of mein choizez. Now ve juzt zee iv zhey vere truly zhe right v'onez." A couple of steps brought her to the edge of the Emperor's dais. "Tell me Lord Razh, vhat do you vant? Vhat iz it you truly dezire? Your pazzion zhat guidez your struggle."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

Jo'ren nodded in agreement. "You've been thrust into public adulation. Me? I can still do what I like, go where I please. I don't envy you the attention."

It was a loaded question that she asked. Still, he answered it truthfully. "I wanted to be the most skilled warrior of my generation, like Exar Kun before me. Like that Lightsaber savant we sealed away on Korriban. I've achieved that. So what do I truly desire now? To master the force. To crush the Jedi. To walk my own path."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Admirable," Jun-Tsu nodded as she folded her hands into her sleeves, looking to the massive Sith. "Vhat any true Zith vantz. Doez zhat mean you'll be looking to take a plaze among zhe military, az a general perhapz? I ztand by vhat I zaid. Ve vill need poverful Zith to lead our armiez to wictory. Zoon ve vill be marching to var v'once more, und you hawe vought in many convlictz ower zhe yearz. Ve could uze you greatly."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

He thought about that for a few moments. "Perhaps. I don't play well with others Jun-Tsu. I'm not a fan of administration either." A shrug of his shoulders followed. "That said, I've learned a lot about leadership. And I've been working on some... Let's call them special projects."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Var be it vrom me to keep you vrom your ozher vorkz, I ove you zhat much. Ztill, ve vill be lezzer for zhe lozz. I underztand zhat your goalz may not be zhe zame az zhe Empirez, but a zingle Zith, ewen zhe Emperor can only do zo much az a zingle being," Jun-Tsu looked back up at the contruction team.

"I understand zhe mentality of ztriking out alone, to challenge zhe galaxy az a zingular, unbound being....but I alzo know zhe ztrength of coordination, iv not cooperation. Zhere are veatz of pover it took yearz to mazter myzelf, zhat vizh zhe ztrengzh of mein zizterz und I combine, ve vorked vizh eaze. Ewen vhen wery young."

"Zhere are great miraclez of zhe Forze ve can make in tandem zhat ewen now are beyond mozt. Zhe tranzpozition of matter acrozz planetz, zpeaking vith being acrozz zyztemz," she leaned closer, her voice a whisper, "manifest bladez of zhe Dark Zide to kill ewen immortalz."

"Ve are ztronger togezher."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

He considered that for a while, watching the repair work closely. "It's the eternal problem we face Jun-Tsu. Yes, we're stronger together. In the end though we find ourselves betrayed at the moment of triumph. Every Sith of note. Time and time again."

A small sigh escaped his lips. Frustration at his own thoughts perhaps. "Some of them fucking deserved it though. Mentioning no-one in particular."

That at least brought a wry smile to his lips. "I'll consider your request. With enough flexibility it might be possible to combine that sort of leadership role with my projects."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Ewen iv you do not accept zuch a place, I do hawe anozher offer vor you, v'one vhich may speak more too your....independent ztreak. Und may speak to your dezire to begin to learn zhe deeper myzteriez of zhe Dark Zide." She walked back from the edge of the platform, her robes and draping veil sliding along the polished metal with a soft rustle.

"Mein duties now hawe me bound here, to zhe Empire, to Korriz, mein home, Ziozt, vor politickz, und Korriban, vor ztudy. I cannot seek out zhe great myzteriez of zhe Dark Zide az I v'once hoped. Zo, I zeek zhoze who, in zhe name of zhe belowed Dark Mozher of zhe Zith, may reach out to zeize zhoze myzteriez, zhoze relicz, und tomez, und lezzonz, und bring zhem to me zhat I und my acolytes, zuch az yourzelf iv you accept, may benevit from zhem. Grow vrom zheir knowledge. Ztrengzhen our v'onenezz vizh zhe Dark Zide."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

Jo'ren smiled at that request.

"You know, that's the sort of request I can really get behind." He laughed pleasantly. "I don't see why I can't help you out in my travels. It sounds like a worthy quest. Perhaps in exchange I can learn about Sith alchemy from you and your sisters? All the greatest Sith were practitioners."

His thoughts turned to all the infinite possibilities of the future.

"We're going to do great things."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"It iz mein hope. No matter vhat you may hear, und no matter vhat ozherz may zhink, vhat I did, vhat ve did, vaz, in mein eyez, alvayz about prezerwing mein Houze, mein vamily, und mein daughter. Vere it not vor Darzh Arya I doubt wery much I vould be here right now. I zought only to end a zhreat to zhe Empire. I vould hawe been content to ztep azide und return to Korriz to liwe out mein dayz in qviet contemplation, but zhat vaz not mein deztiny."

"But I zuppoze it matterz little, hiztory iz now mein judge, und it vill zay az it villz az the millennia pazz. Vizh any luck zhe era of Houze Farro vill be looked upon kindly, vizh a noble end zhat giwez rize to zhe next epoch."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Whatever happens now is better than the alternative." He shrugged and looked at her closely.

"History's just the lie we all agree on. I promise you this Jun-Tsu, I'm going to tell you what I think. Not what I think you want to hear. We won't always agree, but that's kinda the point."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"I zuppoze ewery Empire needz itz truthzayerz. Zo long az it iz done zo in priwet. Our regime iz too new to brook disagreement in public. I'we enough dizzenterz already to deal vizh on a regular baziz. Perhapz zhe day vill come vhen I can truly dewote meinself to zhe Dark Zide," she sighed taking up her seat on the dais to the left of the Empress' throne.

"But zhat day iz zertainly not today. Ztill, I am zertain zhat I can arrange to hawe you instructed properly on zhe vayz of alchemy. It vill take time, und zhere iz much to learn. I began lezzonz vhen wery young und hawe only progrezzed zo var in mein own ztudiez."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Of course. I'm not interested in public discourse, I'm talking about conversations like these." He watched her ascending the steps to the throne and taking her place. Better you than me.

"Anyway. I hope you get that chance. I'll look forward to my lessons." He could picture Lord Savas' reaction.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Hawe you any adwice bevore you leawe to vherewere it iz you vill go? I may not hawe your counzil for a time, zhough I vill giwe you a private communication channel to contact me."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Don't rely too much on the Regent and Baras. Hand pick your own Empress's guard. Use people completely loyal to you and Vas-Tsu, so probably from House Farro."

He gave her a rather more insightful look than she was perhaps used to, at least from him. "But my number one all time best piece of advice is this: Don't believe everything you think."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Adwice I zeem to be getting vrom ewery direction. I dare zay mein alliez are trying to tell me zomezhing about vhat zhe zhink of mein beliefz. Az zough I hawen't been derided by zhe Zith of zhe core vorldz mein whole live vor mein vamilie'z unique....beliefz."

"Ztill," zhe offered a faint smile and a nod, "I vill take it under adwizement."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

He chuckled. "Hey now, don't take it the wrong way. I'd say the same thing to anyone who seriously asked me. It's the best piece of advice I was ever given."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"I zuppoze if zo many cloze counzilorz all over zhe zame adwice, who am I to not accept it. It vould be wain ztubbornnezz to keep on, vizhout at leazt azzezzing zhe merit of zuch counzil. Und, indeed, zhere are timez vor revlection, und I an zhink of no better zhan az ve begin anew."

She sighed, "I zometimez vonder, zhough, iv perhaps mein live vould be easier iv I had but not accepted Darzh Arya'z offer, und zimply done az ve did, zhen returned to Korriz to liwe qvietly under zhe rule of, who knowz who. Perhapz in anozher future it may hawe been Malguz, himself, traitor az he iz, who might hawe zeized zhe day. Had he but chozen more prudently."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Of course it would have been easier. But the easy path is not what drives us Jun-Tsu. We do what must be done. You've brought your house out of obscurity. We've saved the galaxy." He left out what it was that he had accomplished individually.

"I try not to dwell on what ifs."