"I was...I thought I fell asleep." He checked the chronometer once more to find that not more than a few minutes had passed from their initial departure from the planet. It seemed as if their journey had taken much longer to get to the planet than their return...was there an error in the device or was something much stranger going on? He shrugged the feeling off, chalking it up as a side effect to the mystifying, near nightmarish words that pounded through his head just a couple of moments ago. 

Well, not just his head. Aria had encountered the same pain and phrases, further emphasizing that a Force bond might have actually manifested itself between the two. Or maybe it was a side effect of spending a prolonged amount of time on a planet teeming with unchecked power. In any case, he agreed with Aria's premonition:
"Something's off. Maybe it'll be good for us to get somewhere quiet and refocus ourselves. I don't think we'd be in very good shape to talk to the Masters." He shook his head in a vain attempt to remove the tingling that shot through his brain. 
"Just a couple of hours left. Probably should get some rest." 

______________________

It wouldn't happen. It couldn't. 

He sat on the edge of his bed, head buried in his hands, the walls of his quarters seeming to close in on him, suffocating any chance of hope. To think that they would leave a galaxy that had relatively known factors and return to such chaos was unfathomable. But he, no THEY, had to evaluate the chain of events with an eye towards the real instigators. It started when they arrived on Tython, greeted by a packed temple filled with Jedi of all ranks buzzing in discussion. The rumors were that the Council was having a heated debate about how to handle the widely broadcasted peace talks between the Republic and Empire. Both sides had publicized it on the holonet very quickly and stressed that these talks might bridge the gap between the two parties. Those who were near the Council Chambers when the announcement came heard fierce yelling coming from within, some of them attempting to check the disturbance out, only to be shoved aside an angry Master Soto, who had entered the chambers with a couple of the other Council members. They had been locked in discussion for almost an hour and any attempts at the Knights trying to restore order were met with apathy, seeing as the Knights assigned to guard the Temple were themselves lost in thought or checking the Holonet on their personal datapads for any updates. The lack of order was strange to see, but understandable. This was the first time any sort of event between the Republic and the Empire occurred without the Jedi involved. A few more minutes of waiting passed before the doors to the Chambers flung open, Master Soto screaming:
"AND THIS IS WHY THE JEDI WILL NEVER HAVE A PLACE IN THE GALAXY!" Jaws hung open along with a few gasps as the young Master surveyed the mass of Jedi, her dark blonde hair waving in defiance as she craned her head around, eyes piercing whoever met her gaze. 
"You all deserve better than this." She firmly stated before forging her way through the crowd. Masters Satele and Bakarn emerged with narrowed eyes and scowls, the latter barking:
"All of you to your quarters, now! Knights on duty, punish any who disobey the curfew!" As the Jedi dispersed, Satele's eyes met Yerbol's and Aria's. Without a word, she motioned for the duo to follow her. 

They were thrust in the center of the Council, Masters Bakarn, Satele and Braga situated in the three chairs nearest the center of the half-circle pattern the seats were organized in. 
"What did you find?" Bakarn asked curtly, prompting the duo to recount their experience on the Sith home planet. The Council's faces remained stoic throughout the entire recollection, even when presented with the holodisks that they found in the archives. When they had completely exhausted their story, Braga was the first to speak:
"This is a deception." 
"Explain." Satele retorted. 
"How is it that recordings of a massive conspiracy within both Empire and Republic could be so easily obtained? True, what these two experienced must be meditated upon, but we cannot assume that this is nothing more than a red herring."
"A red herring? Master Soto was on one of those recordings. She was the one that lobbied for us to not join the peace talks, she was the one who encouraged us to pull all Jedi representatives from the Senate as a show of 'good faith' in lieu of the recent attacks on troopers." 
"This could have been manufactured." 
"It falls too easily into place.' Satele mused, pausing a moment before adding: 
"For months the three of us have seen how Master Soto can easily exert influence over others. Ever since we appointed her Master, she has been elusive about her methods, but we've allowed it due to the results." She blew out a sigh. 
"Even if a portion of these recordings are true, we must consider apprehending Soto and interrogating her for more information." She looked at the two standing in the center of the room.
"Go back to your quarters. We will speak to you again when we have decided a course of action." Yerbol wanted to object, but knew that trying to might actually cause him physical harm, so he simply nodded and left, guiding Aria through a number of winding hallways to his quarters. 

Speaking of Aria, it had been about forty five minutes since they had gotten back to his quarters when she had suddenly vanished. He had been checking his datapad when he looked up to find the room vacant. 

What kind of trouble was she getting herself into?