...right. Okay.

Do the Jedi seem to make a habit of various-degrees-of-brainwashing people? Can she find anything on why they thought that was preferable to attempting to kill Revan in a more traditional sense?

The Jedi Council doesn't seem to publish internal memos that might shed light on their decision-making process in a form that Bar can retrieve.

Joy. If she wants to know she'll have to go ask.

(Bar, you are such a good friend, thank you for your help.)

Does she want to go ask?

She does like Occlus. Knowing more about Sith culture just throws them further into relief - they've been respectful of her. They've been careful of her, even. They're distant, yeah, but living as a fighter during a war will do that even before taking the effects of the culture or the magic system into account. Their people seem well taken care of, from what she can tell - she might go back and observe that a little more closely, but she's pretty confident in her impression there; Occlus is inclined to cooperate, work together with people, not to the degree she's used to seeing at home, but at least on the higher end of what she's seen from humans. Certainly as Sith seem to go, and even as humans in general go, Occlus is a pretty decent one, as far as she can tell.

She doesn't want Occlus to die. She doesn't want Occlus to have to worry about dying. She probably can't do much about the other Sith, in that regard, at least directly, but the Jedi seem like at least a slightly more tractable problem.

And the other Sith... really should not be left to keep doing what they're doing how they're doing it. She doesn't have a personal attachment to hang that feeling from, but it's still people being hurt; just because she doesn't know them doesn't mean they don't matter. Her people mattered, back when it was them and the elves; she would have wanted someone to do something about that, if they could. The situation isn't so different here.

...and, there she goes. Yeah, she's not going to be able to walk away from this one. All right. How does one find Jedi to talk to? Do they have, like, a place, that she can get to by sneaking onto a spaceship or something?

Their current headquarters is on a planet called Tython, deep in the galactic core. No ships departing from anywhere she's already been will be going there, it's going to be at least a two-, more likely three-or-more-step journey.

Yeah, but 'core' means 'populated', doesn't it? She can totally do a portal to a random crowded spot in that universe. Or two or three, if the first one is unfavorable. Bar can probably even match the view from her portal to various tourist brocures to identify what planet she's found.

Hm. If Tython had cities, she'd aim for spots with the right climate to maybe find it, but it doesn't; she'll try whatever gives her the best chance of finding a nearby planet with a spaceship heading there, instead.

The first portal she opens shows her a vastly extensive cityscape. Buildings stretch in all directions, farther than she can see. Bar is able to identify this as the Coruscant skyline, the capital world of the Republic. The Jedi used to have a temple here, until the Sith destroyed it.

Not bad, she'll take it. (Bar, a map of the city please? Thank you.)

How recently was this temple destroyed? If it was recent enough that they're likely to still be upset about it, she'll head on to Tython, but if not it might be worth seeing if she can find some Jedi just here.

It was some twenty-odd years ago. She might be able to find a Jedi, especially if she concentrates her search around the Senate building, which is that squat mushroom-shaped one.

Twenty years ago is iffy, but if she'd have to wait more than five days for a ship to Tython, or if getting there would take more than ten days total, she'll give it a try.

She's not going to go look for a Jedi to talk to now, in any case. First - unless doing it now would mean she misses a ship - she needs to go talk to Occlus.

Occlus: still at the ruins. The kobold can catch her outside, if she goes now.

Excellent, she'll do that then. She has a good enough mage-sense map of the place to avoid appearing where she'll startle anyone.

Occlus notices the sudden appearance of a kobold while she was walking to the mess tent and changes course to go over to her.

Convenient.

She nods a greeting and gestures that they can continue to the mess tent if Occlus would like. "I'm thinking of going and trying to talk to some Jedi," she starts with, as they're walking if that happens. "I think I might be able to get them to... back off, a little, if I talk to them when they're calmer. I want to make sure I don't accidentally lead them to you, though, and I'm not sure what I need to be careful of to avoid that."

She wants to... talk to the Jedi? Why in the galaxy...?

Occlus will walk back towards the tent. "With your magic, you won't have to worry about a ship leaving traces, so I suppose you're principally worried about information security?"

Nod. "This whole universe is new to me; I don't know what things might turn out to be unusual enough to be clues, and I don't know enough to make up a story about where I'm from and how I know what I know - and how I don't know what I don't know - that isn't just the truth."

"Don't talk about me by name. Don't talk about this temple or what happened to that expedition." Occlus gets a tray of food and sits at an empty table. "Bring whatever mental defenses you have."

Nod. "I don't have the name of anyone here; kobolds don't use them, I'm not in the habit of asking. I don't know the name of the planet, either, or the other one's." Follow follow, portal, food. (If Occlus seems interested in it she offers her a piece.) "Avoiding talking about the temple and the expedition will be harder without a story to replace it, but I expect I can manage it or I wouldn't be going. Mental defenses..." subtle shudder. "Yes; I was doing some reading back at Milliways and it's obvious I'll need some protection there. What I'm planning to do is enspell myself to automatically teleport back to Milliways if your kind of magic is used on me; could you help me test that to make sure it works before I go?"

"It will need to have an exceptionally quick response time, but yes, I can help you test it."

Nod. "Thank you. I do expect it'll be fast enough, but I have a backup plan for if it's only close. It's definitely good enough to stop me from talking, though, I've used similar spells before." Nom. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"If you do mention you made a deal with a Sith, you can expect to be treated with suspicion at the least. That alone may be cause enough for them to attempt to examine your thoughts." Occlus has finished with her food, she stands to put the tray away and walk back outside.

Nod. "That's easy enough to work around." She teleports the remainder of her meal away and stands. "I can cast the spell to test now, if you're not busy."

"Very well. Do you wish to test other sorts of influence besides the mental?"

She considers. "I'm not trying to defend against mental influence in particular, and I think I have a good enough idea of how your magic works to get everything - it does seem to be all one thing and just applied differently. But checking for weird unexpected things is always a good idea."

"Tell me when you are ready, then."

It only takes a few moments. "Ready."