Star Wars_ Darth Bane 02_ Rule of Two - Drew Karpyshyn [102]
“How did Hoth deal with your headstrong ways?” Valenthyne asked, stopping to throw up his hands in exasperation.
“Your personalities are quite different,” Johun remarked. “Hoth often accused me of being too passive.”
Farfalla shook his head again and returned to his seat.
“Are you certain this witness is reliable?” he asked, alluding to the mercenaries Johun had wanted to bring forward ten years before.
Johun nodded. “All the details of his story check out. He calls himself Darovit now, but back then he was known as Tomcat. Records confirm he was recruited on Somov Rit by Torr Snapit, and he came with his cousins to join the Army of Light.”
“And one of these cousins is the girl he claims took his hand?”
“A girl ten years ago,” Johun noted. “She’d be a woman now. The cousin’s name was Rain. She was lost in an attack by the Sith shortly after they landed on Ruusan. She was missing and presumed dead, but she must have been found by this Lord Bane and taken as his apprentice.”
“I’ve heard that name before,” Farfalla admitted, leaning back in his chair. “It was mentioned in some of the statements given by Sith minions we took as prisoners. If I remember correctly, he was one of the last of the Sith to join the Brotherhood.”
Johun nodded. “Darovit said the same thing. He said Bane was always reluctant to follow Kaan. If he refused to join the rest of the Brotherhood in the cave, that would explain how he survived the thought bomb!”
“It’s possible,” Farfalla admitted. “But how did Darovit recognize Bane?”
“He defected to the Sith near the end of the war.”
Farfalla threw his hands up again. “A defector, Johun? A traitor to the Jedi? The Council will never believe this!”
“That is what makes his story even more believable,” Johun countered. “If he was lying he could easily have found some reason to explain how he recognized Lord Bane. But he has freely admitted his crime to me because he has decided the time has come to speak the truth.”
“And why is that?” Farfalla wanted to know. “Your report said he has lived as a healer on Ruusan for the past decade. Why did he suddenly decide to come forward now?”
“When I spoke with him on Ruusan I convinced him of the dangers the Sith represent. He wants to stop Bane before another war begins.”
Farfalla raised an eyebrow. “You convinced him? After a decade of silence, one meeting with you and he is ready to come forward? How, exactly, did you achieve that?”
“I didn’t use the Force to do it,” Johun protested. “Not exactly. I didn’t use the Force to compel him. I just made him more willing to listen to me.”
“You are making this very difficult for me,” Valenthyne said, reaching up with one hand to rub at his temple.
“I only ask that you speak with him yourself, Master,” Johun implored. “Hear what he has to say. Listen to him, and then decide if you will bring him before the Council.”
“Very well, Johun,” Farfalla said, nodding. “I will meet with him. Where is he now?”
“He wanted to learn more about the healing arts of our Order,” Johun explained. “Master Barra gave him access to the Archives.”
Valenthyne slapped his hands on his thighs and rose to his feet. “Then I suggest we go find him before I come to my senses.”
The general collection of the Jedi Archives was arranged in four long halls built off a massive central rotunda. Each hall contained a wide primary aisle, with hundreds of smaller secondary aisles leading off either side. Lining the walls of the secondary aisles were the stacks: trillions of datatapes and datacards arranged under millions of categories, topics, and subtopics. Access to the disks of a particular hall could be gained via any of the terminals built along the center of its main aisle. Each terminal was equipped with a master index to help those seeking knowledge on a particular subject to find the proper hall, but to make things easier each hall also represented a specific, though very broad, branch of knowledge.
The first hall, the one all visitors passed