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The other Jedi joined Tiin a moment later, taking their fingers out of the glowing yellow water and moving back to their seats. "No hint there was of the Dark Sider's presence…" Master Yaddle mused, looking searchingly at Master Windu, who had not felt any hint himself during the memory, though he did not know if such a thing would have carried over to the watchers.
"Not one," Mace said, nodding his head as he both acknowledged and agreed with the importance of Master Yaddle's point. "It was a sign of a level of Force Stealth that I would say is even higher than Tholme's or the Dark Woman's. I didn't think that was possible, but then again," he chuckled rather ruefully, gesturing at the pensieve, "I have run into several things that I hadn't thought were possible of late."
For the next few moments the council talked about the lightsaber duel, dissecting the Dark Side user's form and style to see if they could figure out anything about his past. Some of them commented on what had obviously been an excellent showing by Obi-Wan against the Dark Sider using Soresu.
Yaddle pointed out that the weapon was similar to one that Exar Kun had created, which was later used by two of the Generals from the New Sith Wars. "Hard to master it was, but deadly offense and defense in one. A lack of Force techniques the user can use while wielding it, a weakness in the form."
Despite having been the first to exit the pensieve, Master Tiin discerned that there was a hint of Dathomiri footwork here and there that pointed to something of that heritage. But it was in the assassin's distant past, nearly trained out of him, so couldn't be used as a lead.
Master Yoda did not take part in this discussion, instead having closed his eyes, searching his memories. The image of the enemy's tattoos, the black and red mass covering his face, had sparked some recognition from him which Master Windu's description of them back on Naboo had not.
Eventually it was decided that Master Tholme and Master Giiett would be sent out to try and determine where this Dark Side user had come from. As a council member who had proven he could keep secrets, Giiett was a natural choice for his mission, as was Tholme, one of the few Jedi Shadows. They would further induct the other five Shadows into their mission as quietly as possible.
At the same time Master Yaddle and Master Pouf would work with Master Jocasta to go through the archives to see if there was any hint there about this Dark Side user. In particular any unexplained deaths would be followed up by the field team, as would the location of the Lost 19.
They were talking about perhaps getting the Dark Lady to help the field team despite her not being a Jedi Shadow, when Yoda spoke up and everyone turned to him automatically. "A Dark Brother he could have been."
The Dark Brothers were a Sith faction from the New Sith Wars who had survived the war's end. They had popped up around four hundred years afterward, and had done quite a lot of damage to several Core and Mid Rim star systems. Yoda had been involved in hunting them down, having just become a Jedi Master. That battle had been made worse by two Jedi falling to the Dark Side due to anger at their master's death against the Dark Brothers, and had badly damaged the Jedi Order's reputation in those worlds, a perception that continued to this day.
"Tattoos and other markings, match they do," Yoda finished his tale. "Style and control do not. Stealth, far better than the Dark Brothers had was this one's."
"Yet that would still fit," said Master Pouf thoughtfully. "After all, if one of them had survived surely he must have learned Force Stealth. Hiding would've been his best defense against us even after he or she began to rebuild the brotherhood."
"That could also be said about an actual Sith," said Master Tiin bluntly. "What if it was a Sith? A real one trained and empowered from birth in the Dark Side? From what I understand from the history texts about them the Dark Brothers were but imitations of the Sith. Would it not be better to assume that there are other Sith out there and prepare for the worst?"
As the rest of the High Council fell silent at what could possibly be called the Order's worst nightmare given voice, Mace opened his mouth, only to close it once more, saying nothing. He had been about to say he was certain that the Sith could not return with the without the Jedi knowing, but there had been too many times of late where his certainty had been proven false for him to still cling to it. It was time to perhaps embrace that uncertainty, at least in some small fashion.
"It…isn't an impossibility. But then, if so, what is their plan? How many of them are there? Where could they have been hiding?" Master Koth asked.
This caused several moments of debate from the council, which ended as Master Yoda spoke, his voice cutting through the debate like a lightsaber through butter. "Why, reveal themselves to us now, should the Sith? Assume it was chance, dangerous it would be to."
"True, it would be incredibly arrogant for any Sith to believe they could have defeated all three of you then retreated with no one having caught a glimpse of them," Koth mused, looking over at Mace. "It is not like we made any great secret that you would be joining the mission to Naboo, my friend."
"They could've been after influence with the Trade Federation," interjected Master Gallia, speaking up for the first time. "The Neimoidians are prone to arrogance and corruption. They would be a prime target for such."
Master Yoda had noticed that both Master Gallia and Master Bilaba had been noticeably silent for most of this discussion. They were still badly shaken from the revelation Aayla's memories had forced them to face, which, Yoda reflected, was understandable. But if it hampered their ability to do their jobs on the High Council, something would have to be done to aid them in finding their equilibrium once more.
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