"I can try; I'm not sure they'll believe me." For that matter he's not sure he believes the whole story here. "It'd help if I could see more of what I'm supposed to be telling them about, probably."

"Of course, that's all I can ask.  But - mm - how do you mean?  What do you want more information on...?"

"I haven't gotten to see most of the people you say need healing? And, uh," ...if he points out that he doesn't know if the other Sith is actually dead rather than being in cahoots do they kill him about it, probably not but they maybe go kill the other Sith to show him, which is... fine, it's fine, dead Sith are a good thing, but it does mean seeing the dead Sith doesn't actually mean much... "anything else like that?"

"...Right, we can arrange for that."

...Did he not...no, he was asleep by the time she walked past Tuscias' corpse on her way out of that cesspit.

And she can hardly just tell him.

She hates being this good at the mind arts.  Too many ethical and practical dilemmas.

"If you want to know anything about what brought us here, or the rescue mission - I can't disclose everything, too many secrets and not all of them mine, but I can get you a copy of the public-information mission report and annotate it a bit with what you know."

"They'll probably have seen that but it might help, yeah."

"Well, yes, the whole point is that it's the information that couldn't possibly not be known by the general public.  Though I actually rather do doubt that the average Jedi has the time to have eyes on, say, random Empire-internal anti-piracy operations."

"Oh, yeah, if it doesn't say it's about him or you they probably won't know. Uh - oh, how did you get my lightsaber, is there anything I can show them about that?"

"Found it in the possession of some pirates.  I've no idea how they got it, though I suppose I could look."

It doesn't make sense at all that they'd steal it and then give it back but it makes more sense than them just happening to have it. Probably he should have been worrying more about what that implies. This is a line of thought that gets him murdered if he follows it right now, isn't it. "I know you're busy but it doesn't really make much sense, as is."

Makes more sense if you're using it as a tracking device, but she's not going to tell him that - not right now, at least.

"...Well.  Yes, of course it doesn't.  The whole point is that I am not a normal example of a Sith, no?  No matter what I must make my public image be."

So she did some weird Force stuff about it. That's still pretty weird but at least less weird. "Okay, I guess I can go with that."

"...Let me put it this way, in fact - I'm doing this because I too listen to the will of the Force, and, well, this is what it decided it wanted, for whatever reason it does that."

"...I have no idea how they'll take that. I guess if it's true they'll take it well." Crap, is this the part where he gets murdered.

...He doesn't appear to be dead.  She doesn't even seem to be upset with him.

"Well, that is what I'm hoping I can prove."

"Okay. Well, that's everything I can think of." And he doesn't, actually, have to figure out if it makes sense, he just has to get the best evidence he can to the Jedi who should be making that determination.

Elcie hands Rafiik a datapad five minutes later.  It isn't networked, and it has both the public timeline of events in general that are pertinent to how Darth Kalbetis found Rafiik - with Rafiik-specific information added, like 'lightsaber recovery' noted under 'anti-piracy operation' - and Darth Kalbetis' camera footage from the raid - fighting Tuscias and rescuing Rafiik, up until they reach medevac.

That does seem useful. Kalbetis has gone off to do her own thing, so he takes the time to watch the video; he's really not sure at all how he feels about Tuscias having really been killed. On one hand the guy tortured him but on the other hand... death is bad.

He doesn't have long to stew on it before Pradnakt shows up to start working, anyway.

...She knows.  Believe her, she knows.  But she and the galaxy both could not afford the price of keeping Tuscias alive.

With everyone working their way down the list in order of severity, it may come as a surprise when Kalbetis' last patient of the day is Rafiik himself.

"Not that I'm complaining, but are you sure?"

"Yes.  It's necessary."  Because she can't be holding this over him.

"Okay." It's not like he prefers to be all messed up.

It's a pretty quick job, anyway. When they're done with the alchemical problems Pradnakt checks whether there are any scars or anything that he'd like to keep - there aren't - and suffuses him with healing to deal with the aftereffects of the poison and generally patch up anything that might need it.

Good.  It's done, and he can think on what Darth Kalbetis said this morning in peace.

He has been, and about the letter, too. (He's never gotten a letter from a droid before; it's like this place is trying to be as weird as it possibly can. It's kind of charming, aside from the part where there are Sith and he can't stop looking for the catch.)

He's decided, at this point, that he'll go back with the Jedi if they go back immediately: it's clearly not safe for him alone out here, and he certainly isn't going to trust his growing fondness for the Sith over the judgement of his elders if they think it's a trap. If they don't, and if it's not a trap - he's not sure; none of the options really appeal. Maybe he'll see if he can figure out how to get to Hutt space or the outer rim or something where he doesn't have to worry about being kidnapped again.

If he narrows down his choice to going back to the Jedi or staying with Pradnakt and Kalbetis, though - it's a hard choice, but one he finds he does already have an answer to.

It's an answer he finds himself liking a little better when Pradnakt invites him back to her ship for the night, pointing out that he doesn't need the med droids' services any more; he was expecting to be put in an out-of-the-way berth somewhere, not the Sith's personal ship. It's more tasteful than he was expecting, and the room she shows him to is downright nice, the Sith-black accents fading into the background next to the blue striped bedspread and handmade wall tapestry depicting an abstract cityscape with an aurora overhead. There's a little bowl of wrapped candies for him on the bedside table, too, and a framed poem:

“We're going,” they said, “to the end of the world.”  
So they left the speeder where the river curled,  
And we scrambled down beneath the bridge  
On the gravel track of a narrow ridge.

We tramped for miles on a wooded walk
Where dog-hobble grew on its twisted stalk.
Then we stopped to rest on the pine-needle floor  
While two ospreys watched from an oak by the shore.

We came to a bend, where the river grew wide  
And green mountains rose on the opposite side.  
My guides moved back. I stood alone,
As the current streaked over smooth flat stone.

Shelf by stone shelf the river fell.
The white water goosetailed with eddying swell.  
Faster and louder the current dropped
Till it reached a cliff, and the trail stopped.

I stood at the edge where the mist ascended,  
My journey done where the world ended.
I looked downstream. There was nothing but sky,  
The sound of the water, and the water’s reply.

[source]

He's not sure how he feels about it, and he's starting to think that might be the point.

He finds that he can't sleep, staring at the ceiling trying to come to any kind of conclusion about any of his questions, and in the small hours of the morning he gives up and slips out to take a walk around the Cloak.