Star Wars: Lost and loging

She would have given away his last name, but something made her wonder if she should, so she stopped. And it wasn't like the Order didn't already have that information anyways. "What else can you tell us, Master Secura?"

And there was the question she was dreading.

What to volunteer to the group of people before her?

The group, whose opinion at one point, despite her own mischievousness, rebelliousness, and tendency to cause trouble, had meant more to her than anything else. That had changed though recently, especially with the treatment of Ahsoka. But Ahsoka's current treatment was merely just the most recent decision that Aayla could find not an ounce of logic in.

She had seen the torment her own Master was forced to undergo in the name of acquiring information on the Sith. Quinlan Vos had acted like he had fallen to the dark side, but she couldn't tell if it was an act anymore, and she highly doubted he could either. Her eyes flicked to his hologram briefly.

To the Council, he was a casualty of war if lost, and not the father-like figure who had saved her from a Wampa that had killed the Hutt that had just purchased a scared four year old Twi'lek slave.

"I can tell you that he is indeed a Force user." Aayla confirmed, speaking carefully.

"Is he a Sith?" asked Mace Windu.

Aayla shook her head negatively almost before she consciously processed the question. "No, I don't believe he's a Sith."

"How can you tell?" inquired Master Saesee Tiin a slight hint of scorn in his voice.

Aayla narrowed her eyes. The Iktotchi was notoriously stubborn and unforgiving when it came to anyone he viewed as following the Dark Side or as betrayal to the Order. He had been one of the chief accusers pushing to expel Ahsoka Tano, and her refusal to rejoin the Order definitely didn't sit well with him.

Aayla had long had an adversarial relationship with the horned Jedi Master. She felt he showed no compassion, and followed a very narrow interpretation of Order Doctrine. He was also absolutely unforgiving. To this day, he refused to call her former Master by his name, still always referring to him as 'the renegade' even after he was readmitted to the Council.

"Well, the hold full of rescued slaves that we're currently transporting to safety is hardly the actions of a Sith Lord or the follower of one. Slaves I might add that Harry saved entirely on his own and of his own volition." Aayla replied with a hint of snark.

"That proves nothing" scoffed Master Tiin.

"Yes, that's true. It's quite apparent evidence means nothing to this Council after all," Shaak Ti muttered, though everyone in the room heard it.

Irritated at the question, as much as who was asking it and the doubt that it directed at her own judgment. Though Shaak Ti's sarcastic comment nudged her own rebelliousness, she glibly replied, "Well, I did ask him for his Sith Membership card, and he didn't have one. Though that might've been because their application form didn't have enough questions on it to amuse him and interest him enough to fill it out completely to the end."

"Though I neglected to ask him if he was a Sith in secret! I'm sure he'd just blurt that out to me, so I guess it's still possible." Aayla said with a bright tone.

"The smart remarks are hardly called for Master Secura," Mace Windu said in a reproving voice.

"Oh, I apologize, Master Windu. But I believe my record speaks for itself, and if a member of this Council shows me and my abilities no respect when I report my findings, then I hardly feel it's necessary to stop myself from responding in kind." She snapped back once more before managing to stop herself with a deep breath.

That drew some indrawn breaths from all around the room, and Master Tiin swelled up slightly intending to shoot off a sharp reply but he was cut off by Master Windu. "Enough. We have enough things to deal with; we don't need to bicker at one another!"

His voice brooked no argument as his gaze observed the council chamber, almost daring someone to contradict him. Even Aayla who was one of several dialed in remotely felt the power of that gaze through the holocom connection. The only one who seemed immune or unaware was Master Yoda, whose eyes were closed and didn't even seem to be focused on the proceedings.

Once Mace was certain that there were unlikely to be further interruptions, his eyes focused on Aayla once more. "What can you tell us Master Secura? Where is he from? How was he trained?"

Aayla frowned as she considered the question, "He has not told me much at all. He doesn't trust me, and was aware of my mission the instant I approached him despite me not saying a word. And Ahsoka has been even more close mouthed. She refuses to talk about whatever he might or might not have shared with her."

"Very little surprise coming from someone who abandoned their responsibilities to the Order." muttered Master Tiin.

"He has caused a disturbance in the Force at least once more or at least a series of small ones, though only Master Yoda sensed it this time. It was not long ago, very briefly." Master Windu said cutting any reply Aayla would have made off and turning his head to stare with a fixed expression at Master Tiin, almost daring him to say anything more.

"I'm not sure what might have caused that Master Windu, though as I said bounty hunters were chasing Ahsoka, and he managed to capture several of them and free their slaves." Aayla replied diplomatically. While she wasn't being entirely forthright, it was true, she wasn't entirely sure which of Harry's actions had caused it. A niggling sense in the back of her head kept Harry's words ringing in her mind.

"Upon our exit from Nar Shaddaa, we were attacked by two ships. One of which was piloted by Cad Bane. And Ahsoka mentioned that Aurra Sing was supposedly in the area as well. Though I didn't see her. That is another bounty hunter who I swore should be in prison at the moment, especially since I was the one who put her there, and Master Tholme nearly died aiding me while doing so." She said changing the topic slightly.

The council exchanged looks clearly unaware that particular bounty hunter and threat to them was out of prison.

"Cad Bane isn't likely to give up gunning for Ahsoka." Anakin observed quietly, a tone of frustration in his voice at the frequent escapes the Duros bounty hunter had managed in their many encounters.

"What can you tell us about his abilities?" Obi-Wan asked curiously focusing the conversation back at the topic at hand. His own irritation with Cad Bane no less than his former padawan's.

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