"Jedi Knight Ky Narec, Jedi Padawan Asajj Ventress," Max Vizsla said with a slight nod of greeting, "I came here to negotiate with the two of you."
Ky Narec returned the nod and introduced himself. "I am Jedi Knight Ky Narec..."
Beside him, Asajj Ventress quickly followed suit. "I am Jedi Padawan Asajj Ventress."
After flicking a glance at his apprentice, Narec continued, "And whom do we have the honor of addressing?"
"Mandalorian. Max Vizsla."
"And what matter does Your Excellency wish to discuss with my apprentice and me?"
"The two of you will work for me for ten years. In return, I will help you sweep away the warlords and unify this world."
"Your Excellency, forcing growth before its time may not prove a blessing for this planet or its people."
"Every extra day of war means more dead. Ending the chaos sooner is the greatest mercy."
Ky Narec nodded. He turned and extended a hand in invitation.
"Lord Vizsla, let us sit and speak at length."
"This is the Way."
Max removed his helmet and followed Master and apprentice inside.
"Master Narec," Max said as he set the helmet down on the table and took his seat, "I assume you know of the Lost Nineteen?"
"Yes." Ky Narec nodded. "I do, but—"
"There are twenty now," Max cut him off.
"Ah..." Narec looked genuinely startled. "Have they added me?"
"No." Max shook his head. "The Jedi Order has likely forgotten you already. The twentieth is your idol—former Jedi Master Dooku."
Ky Narec was so shocked that he rose to his feet without realizing it.
"Master Dooku?! How could that..."
"The Jedi blindly obey the corrupt Galactic Senate and, in doing so, have betrayed the Republic they claim to serve. Count Dooku, being a political idealist, was deeply dissatisfied with this but powerless to change it. Three years ago, in utter disappointment, Count Dooku left the Jedi Order and became the twentieth of the Lost."
"Haa..." Ky Narec let out a long sigh. "May the Force be with him."
"This is the Way. May the Force be with us."
After an instinctive glance at the lightsaber on Max's belt, Ky Narec asked, "Are you a descendant of Master Tarre Vizsla?"
"By Mandalorian custom and tradition, yes."
"You were a foundling adopted into Clan Vizsla?"
"I was."
Ky Narec asked curiously, "Have the Mandalorians reconciled with the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic, then?"
"Heh. Not at all. The old grudges remain—and new ones have been added."
"So there has been war again?"
Max studied Ky Narec for a moment, then said with a faint, knowing smile, "There has been war again, yes, though perhaps not the sort you imagine."
"Oh?"
"Thirteen years ago, the pacifist New Mandalorians launched a full-scale civil war against the traditional warrior Mandalorians. They utterly defeated them and drove them into exile from Mandalore itself."
"Wait a moment," Asajj Ventress cut in, raising a hand. "Pacifists completely defeated warriors?!"
Smack!
Max slapped the table and pointed at Asajj Ventress as he turned to Ky Narec.
"You see? Even your apprentice knows that makes no sense.
"The ones who incited the largest civil war in Mandalorian history were the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. And the ones who helped the pacifist New Mandalorians win it were also the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Even now, hundreds of thousands of old Mandalorians are scattered across the galaxy, unable to return home."
"Their intention," Ky Narec said after a moment's thought, "was likely to prevent warrior Mandalorians from taking power and dragging the Mandalore sector—and the galaxy—back into war. The intent was good. The methods..."
"That is not even the worst of it." Max waved a hand dismissively. "Master Narec, times have changed. You have no idea what the Jedi Order has become."
Clap, clap.
Max gave two light claps. Christopher Wren understood at once, took out a portable holoprojector, and began playing a compilation of reports on the Carnelian Incident.
Just as Max had expected, Ky Narec's expression grew darker with every report.
After the full compilation ended, Narec asked in a grim tone, "Lord Vizsla, are you telling us all this because you want my apprentice and me to leave the Jedi Order as well?"
"Hah..." Max sighed and shook his head in one smooth motion. "Master Narec, I fear the situation may be even worse than you imagine. The Jedi Order is about to fall."
"Heh." Ky Narec gave a small laugh. "Lord Vizsla, the Jedi Order has stood for more than twenty thousand years. During that time—"
"Master Narec," Max interrupted, "do you know the Jedi in those news reports—Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
Ky Narec shook his head.
"I do not."
"Fifteen years ago—the very year you became stranded on Rattatak—your close friend Master Qui-Gon Jinn took a thirteen-year-old Jedi youngling named Obi-Wan Kenobi as his apprentice."
"This..." Ky Narec spread his hands in disbelief. "How could Qui-Gon Jinn have trained someone like that..."
"Do not misunderstand, Master Narec. Do not assume Obi-Wan Kenobi is some poor student, unfit to represent the Jedi Order. In fact, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Master Yoda, and the Jedi High Council all place great hopes in him. They consider him one of the finest Jedi of his generation."
"You saw the Padawan beside Obi-Wan Kenobi in the reports, didn't you? Anakin Skywalker—the prodigy whose midi-chlorian count surpasses even Master Yoda's, the Chosen One of prophecy. If Obi-Wan Kenobi were not among the very best of his generation, why would the Jedi Order entrust Anakin Skywalker to him as a master?"
Ky Narec stared at Max for a long while. In the end, he spoke in a complicated tone.
"Lord Vizsla, the things you are saying..."
Seeing that Narec was still searching for the right words, Max simply cut in.
"Are hard to believe. Aren't they?"
Ky Narec neither spoke nor moved.
"That is all right." Max waved it off. "In time, you will have ample opportunity to test whether my words are true."
"I have brought two Marine regiments and two starfighter wings. I will place them under your command and your apprentice's, to help you crush the warlords, end this age of chaos, unify all of Rattatak, and build a new society of peace and development."
"I will cover the military expenses," Max added. "Rattataki lives matter. So do the lives of my soldiers. I only ask that the two of you, as Jedi commanders, wage this war well."
"In exchange, once this is done, I ask that you work for me for ten years. During those ten years, none of the work I give you will violate the Jedi Code. And once those ten years are over, you may do as you please. I will not stop you."
"And when that time comes, if we choose to return to the Jedi Order, you will not interfere?" Ky Narec asked.
"When that time comes, if the Jedi Order still stands," Max said with a smile, "then be my guest."
After exchanging a glance with Asajj Ventress, Ky Narec took a deep breath and made up his mind.
"Agreed."
PS: Ky Narec and Qui-Gon Jinn were close in age. As Jedi younglings, they studied together in the Heliost Clan.
PPS: It was not only Qui-Gon Jinn and Ky Narec who admired Count Dooku. At one time, Count Dooku was the idol of the entire Jedi Order.
"He was one of the most exceptional Jedi I have ever had the privilege to know."
"Of the Lost Twenty, Count Dooku was the last—and the one whose departure caused the deepest pain. No one wished to speak of it. His loss was unquestionably immense."
—Master Jocasta Nu
PPPS: The Lost Twenty, also known simply as the Lost, were Jedi Masters who left the Jedi Order because of ideological conflict or for other reasons. The first to walk that path was the Umbaran Jedi Master Phanius—who would ultimately fall and become the Sith Lord Darth Ruin.
When Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order, she was still only a Padawan, and so she was not counted among the Lost Twenty.
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