, which confuses Kalbetis for all of five seconds for approximately one second.

Cute.

"We've agreed that the best way forward is to put all our cards on the table," Pradnakt starts. "These are Daisy and Nine, my crew."

"...Elcie, you've been scheming, haven't you?"

"...Now whatever could have given you that impression, Mistress?"

"I can't think of anything I could have done to get them to trust me in the last five minutes."

"...Nonetheless, I do hope that I will prove worth the risk."

"I hope so too. We never had much of a land holding and we've already wrapped that up, so our primary goal now is just making sure as many of us come through this all right as possible; I suspect you can help with their part of that. For our part," she nods indicatively at the other Sith, then stops herself: "or, for your part, rather - I don't get the impression that the galaxy would be better off if the Jedi got you, or the Hutts. Does that need discussing?"

She.

Blinks.

"I...  Do not immediately think so.  Though I will...  Be considering whether it should be."

"I'm certainly not going to just let the Hutts get me.  Even if they try to get a Jedi to do it."

"...Mistress, I hope you will forgive my saying this right now, but you really, really need to stop blaming yourself for not making a miracle occur sooner by sheer force of will."

"They made it out like we were the ones with all the power but that was never really true," she nods. "It's a whole new world with the Empire dissolving."

"The truly unfortunate thing is that I know that.  Some of the worst victims of the Sith Empire were, themselves, the Sith of the Empire.  But - now that it is all coming apart, it still feels like I wasn't good enough."

She - exhales, frustration evident in her voice - and in the Force, if Pradnakt is paying attention.  "It's not really fair to me to try to compare my efforts to those of a literal outside context problem, but -"

She seems to contemplate something for a moment.

"You don't know anything about me, do you?

"I suppose it's better that way, no preconceptions based off of the rather intentionally misleading public image I had to put up to keep the rest of the Empire from deciding I was exhibiting too much compassion.

"But - well.  There's the crux of it.

"Someone was powerful enough to stop it.  And I wasn't.  I've failed in the one blasted goal I've had ever since the Academy by default.

"...at least the Empire's been stopped.  It's cold comfort.  But part of me just can't stop thinking that I didn't do enough.  That I made too many compromises.  That I let too much pass because I was afraid that stopping it would get me killed.  That...

"That too much of me became entangled in the power structure to let me escape blame for everything it carried out, I suppose.  Even as I only engaged with that structure because that was the only way it looked like I could tear it down.

"It's a funny piece of history, you know, that the Sith Code was forged in a slave revolt.  And then, the Sith, the species before they were the religion - they threw off the yoke of the Dark Jedi, only to learn nothing and promptly forge new chains for themselves."

"I don't know anything about you, no - I've been a hermit for most of the last twenty years. If you've been trying at all that's better than I ever managed."

"...I'd call that a success too.  You got out."

...That looks like a good sign.  Perhaps even this is why the Force was insisting on this contact so much, though she'll likely never know.

...She's not going to disturb the fragile equilibrium she now has by attempting to put words to any of that.  But it's likely that Pradnakt can feel her relief-resolve from all the way over there.

"It's a little more complicated than that but ultimately a success, yes." She drums her fingers on the armrest for a moment, considering. "As to how we might come to terms with the Jedi - I'm a healing prodigy, with all that implies."

"...I'll just show you mine, shall I?"

Kalbetis' Force presence... shifts, as if it's rotating along an axis not known to be perceptible to mortals, as if there is a guard she has been keeping up the whole time from habit and instinct and she is now bringing it down, and...

She still feels like a Sith.  Her presence is like a riptide, dragging the universe in its wake, not the placid oneness of a Jedi.  But her presence, as much as it carries the indelible mark of a heavy, weeping Darkness, is now shot through with a flickering, resurgent Light.

"...I was one of the few of us who could reliably insinuate ourselves behind enemy lines, as was, for all that I never dared test myself against Tython, but...  I suppose I have my pride, too.  I can't stop being a Sith, whatever that means in the Empire's ashes."

"I have to say, it's rare to see the Force get something this right. I suspect we have a lot to teach each other. And, yes - I can't really imagine what it would be, to not be a Sith. But that's not the only thing either of us is, is it."

"If anything, I might hold that I am many of the things I am - chain-breaker, leader, visionary; someone who looks at the world and thinks it could be better and sets out to make it so - because I am a Sith, more than despite it or as a distinction from that part of my nature.  Then again, I'm pretty sure that I am so full of heresy that I could make someone who had really bought into the Empire's teachings on things like rule through fear and backstabbing spontaneously combust from sheer indignance if they were forced to sit through a polemic articulating everything I believe."  She permits herself a small, interstital chuckle.  "But yes.  There are more things than Sith that we are, and I daresay that there are many things we can learn from eachother, Lord Pradnakt.  I look forward to it."

Her presence shines brightly with hope-hope-HOPE.

Oh, thank the Force.

(Quite literally, in fact.)

"...That was well done.  Should we perhaps discuss the options we have to open channels, then?  Being as it is finally resolved that we should?"

"I don't have any resources a random mundane wouldn't, as far as contacting Jedi. I'm not sure we want to jump right into that, either. I may be able to pass more thoroughly than you can but I can't do it for long."

"It was before my time, but I am reliably informed that on one occasion my mistress kept up a guise for several weeks due to various mission complications.  Regardless.  We do not wish to expose either of yourselves directly to the Jedi until much later in this process - when we have established that they will not stab first and ask questions never.  The matter in question at this moment is in what contexts we arrange for evidence to be found of you two - or, of how you would like to present the tale of yourselves - or if we would rather send an envoy to Tython directly - metonymically or actually - without laying particular background impressions first.  There are reasons it might be preferable to avoid telling tales, that mostly become a matter of how paranoid we expect the Jedi to be - if presenting ourselves with good intentions would introduce more doubt."

"Yes, I can - shift the Darkness - inside, away, however you wish to think of it - as much as I can the Light, though it is heavier to bear - but we already did game out a lot of this, though under the assumption that it would be only myself in contention, and - with my resources, it is approximately never our best play to personally announce ourselves to the Jedi.  Only if we stumble upon an ongoing galactic disaster of the sort where everyone with sense will work to stop it is outright breaking what is approximately our 'cover' a reasonable play, and I don't see any of those looming.  The question is more - of what means we use to ensure they find out about us, in a way that gives them time to get used to it before we risk personal contact."

"I'm not certain we want to try for personal contact at all. You know more about them than I do, what do you think, would they come investigate if they heard of a couple of unaligned lightsiders minding their own business on a planet somewhere? Or - I suppose the real question there is what you want to avoid about exile, I don't know that I'd mind it if it meant we were safe."