Theed

Raylia rolled her eyes at the mask on his face, her nimble fingers closing the book in front of her. "It is not carnival, nor is this a fancy dress party. You're in a peaceful city, on a college campus with lax security and you're wearing a mask. You're actually drawing more attention to yourself than if you just walked in here, because now everyone will remember that a strange masked man walked into the library. Masks make people feel threatened. Take it off and put it away, let me see your face, Zik."

The blue master folded her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for him to comply with her request.

She smiled gently at him, crossing one leg over the other. The scar was much less noticeable than the silly hood and mask set. His early time among the Sith seemed to still color his personality but she was surprised that he believed Adi would be the one to reach out to him. "The Council of Knowledge was a long time ago. Adi is on the high council now, he is occupied. I am here about something else. Something a little more hands on. Something I think would be up your alley. The Shadows are tasked with covert missions to hunt down Sith artifacts, or Sith targets. They operate outside the official capacity of the Jedi Order for the betterment of the galaxy. It sounded like something tailor made for you."

A cloud passed over her face as she took a bracing breath. She shook her head, her tchun creeping over her shoulder to drape around her neck. "We don't have all the figures yet. Taung's attacks on Carida and Sernpidal alone killed 32 million. We have missing Jedi everywhere. Ossus was sacked and destroyed. It's going to take some time before we know the true extent of the losses. The Jedi are hurting. Yavin and Ossus hit so soon after we just rebuilt the Coruscant temple after the Dark Tide attack."

Raylia rose from her seat, crouching down in front of him. She reached over and pulled his chin up to look into her emerald green eyes. "There is absolutely nothing that you could have done that would have changed the tide of this war. Do not even entertain the thought. We cannot dwell on the what might have been. Be mindful of the present. These are still dangerous times and we have enemies who would prey on our weakened state." She laid her hands on her thighs to balance herself as she knelt, her lekku laying down her back. "I wouldn't read more into this than is there. I have been appointed to the Council of First Knowledge. The Shadows fall under their purview. You have been drifting, you have need of purpose and direction and something with less authority. This offers you a way to do what I know you would rather be doing."

She stood up from the floor, handing him a datastick. "After the Sith Empire fell on Korriban a couple years ago, our sources detected information that pointed to a small group of Sith who were trying to track down a journal that belonged to Palpatine that detailed some findings he made from the days of Sorzus Syn. We need you to find the journal first. We think it might have been stolen and made its way into the hands of an Imperial collector. We don't know who is banking rolling the Sith hunters, but our trail ended at Dromund Kaas."

She smiled back at him, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "Well, that is comforting. Life has not been easy for me but I have done the best I could with what the Force has given me. That is all I can ask for." At the mention of his men, she shook her head, seriousness taking over once again. "I'm afraid you can't do that. You are being asked to become a Shadow. They are assassins, spies and thieves for the Jedi Order. You must be able to blend into your surroundings, to move undetected in a crowded city street, to slip in and out of places unseen and perform your missions without getting caught. If you are, the Jedi Order disavows all knowledge of your existence. You cannot accomplish this wearing masks or having an entourage of professional military operatives. I'm sorry, Zik."

Almost as if to illustrate her point, a security guard knocked on the door of the small study room. Raylia moved to the door and cracked it open a peep, looking out into the hallway. The man exchanged words with her quietly before she closed the door and turned back to him. "I would suggest you take your cloak off, stuff it in my bag, and along with that mask and walk out of here with me right now. You spooked quite a few people walking in the way you did."

The pair walked out of the library and off campus through the city streets until they found a cafe. They took seats outside and she handed him the jacket and mask back, tucked in the folds of the cloth. "There you go. As for the other stuff, I would not trust others to bring in the things you will be asked to retrieve or destroy. You'll know where to take them. We have repositories all over the galaxy. That stick also has the name of a contact in the Shadows if you need supplies or resources."

They finished their afternoon tea, chitchatting for a little bit. Raylia had not seen Zik since she was married to Jen-Dai, which seemed like a lifetime ago to the blue skinned beauty. She was glad to hear that Zik had been with Adi. At least he had not fallen too far from the light. It did Raylia good to know that, at least. She looked off in the distance, reminiscing about the old Council of Knowledge on in the hills outside of Theed. So close and yet so far. "I should go. If you need anything, the university here has my contact information as does the University of Coruscant. Good luck, Zik."

She gave him a gentle peck on the cheek before they parted ways. "Be careful out there. Take care of yourself." Stepping off the street, she head off back towards the university, getting lost in the crowd.