Chapter 21: The Masquerade

At first, the dance appeared no different, though waves of heightened sight and sound filled her senses. It was a mesmerizingly elegant scene, yet aside from a slight buzzing in her head, it was still the same. Rey shook her head, frustrated, and grumbled, “What do you mean? Look closely.”

Primidian sighed, slightly disappointed, and added, “Try looking at their faces.” The Jedi Master did so, noticing hundreds of polite faces of dozens of different species. Still not seeing anything astounding, her brow wrinkled, and Primidian continued, “This may seem like a normal ball, but I feel it more a masquerade. Everyone’s behaving nice, but their politeness masks their true feelings.”

Having been given the answer, Rey nodded and gazed back at the crowd. She almost squinted as she relied more and more heavily on the Force to see what lurked behind these masks. At first, there was nothing, but after a few seconds, the shadows from the hovering orbs of light began to play tricks with her. These shadows intensified around people's mouths and eyes, leaving only their dazing faces behind. Rey nearly gasped as a thought flashed through her mind. These shadows were of the Dark Side.

Suddenly, it was as though a veil had been lifted, and the creeping shadows turned into a dark fog covering the room floor. The elegant paintings on the roof lost their color, while the golf artistry became blurry and dull. Rey shivered as the darkness around the faces of the guests faded, though with the shadow gone, extremely exaggeratedly hideous expressions of greed, desire, anger, craftiness, and many other fighting emotions appeared before her. It was like the hall had suddenly become full of demons.

Her vision didn't stop at this. Soon, threads of dark mist rose from the floor, sometimes connecting people together, and from this link, blurry outcomes appeared. Rey saw vague buildings, people, and events, but it was all too obscure to make sense of. On top of this was the assault of whispers, of which she made out only garbled bits of shouting, cursing, and medical laughing.

It was a storm of darkness so deep and unfathomable Rey feared it might consume her. A few people stood out in the darkness, cloaked in a faint white mist, one such person being Minerva. The vice-chancellor's face had also been warped, but she looked solemn and pious rather than hideous. The dark tendrils could not connect with her and instead tried to wrap around and intangible her. Another such person was Finn, but his face was warped by continuously switching between calm and anger.

After a few more moments of observation, the darkness seemed to notice her observation and began to rush toward her. In a start, Rey turned to the Admiral and found his body, as usual, cloaked in blankness. With the darkness closing in, she tensed up and blinked, at which the room suddenly returned to normal.

Primidian gazed at her sympathetically as she slowly managed to get her trembling under control. Looking out to the crowd, he spoke, “People often wonder, if the Jedi of old were so wise, how did the Old Republic fall.” He then turned his head and met the Jedi’s eyes, “You tell me, Master Skywalker, despite your clairvoyance, do you feel any more enlightened.”

Rey was still in shock and mental panic but managed to shake her head, “It was so dark.”

The Admiral nodded but corrected, “It is dark, my dear. Just because you are no longer looking doesn't mean the darkness has gone.” In a grim tone, he added, “The Dark Side may be wielded by Sith, but it is present in all people who possess impure thoughts and motives. The only individuals who can truly exist apart from its influence are Jedi.” With a serious gaze, he added, “True Jedi, who have been properly trained and have had years to train and resolve themself. Both you and your friend Finn have a long way to go.”

Having only just processed the magnitude of her vision, she clutched Primidian’s forearms and blurted, “Is there a way to stop it. It's the Dark Side, it's evil. If I can get rid of it, then…”

The man interrupted with a sincere tone, “Then nothing will change.” Gesturing with his head towards the crowd, he clarified, “The Darkness can corrupt, but unless it is Force-sensitive beings or orchestrated by someone, the process takes years. These people invite the dark side into themselves with their actions and choices.”

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Feeling deflated, Rey lowered her head and mumbled, “ I could barely see all this evil when it was right in front of me. I'm useless.”

Primidian sighed softly, “Rey, don't be so hard on yourself. You're young and inexperienced. Your teachers have taught you well; in time, you will learn to harness your gifts. ”

Rey gazed into the Admiral’s golden eyes, feeling a little better, but was assaulted by a sense of deja vu like she had been when they first met. She tried to reconcile with this emotion but couldn't quite place it after considering she could only conclude the Admiral made her feel, similar to how Minerva made her feel. The Jedi nodded at this and sighed, collecting her thoughts, “So this was what you meant by perspective.”

The man nodded, “Yes, I feel these peace talks are not a matter of the ex-Imperials fighting against the New Republic. But us…” He nodded to Rey and then gestured with his head to Minerva before adding, “And them.” At this point, he looked out at the crowd with a solemn expression that radiated coldness.

Rey nodded at this, though it was more a gesture of conviction than agreement. She still didn't fully trust this man, but Rey decided the Admiral could be her ally based on this recent vision and how Minerva treated him. With a firm expression, she spoke, “Alright, I’ll work with you for the sake of peace.”

Primidan's face lit up with joy as he nodded quickly, “Excellent, together we will bring order back to the Galaxy.”

Rey didn't like the sound of this. In her mind, it was the people who brought order, peace, and prosperity, while the people in this room stood in the way of that. If they all happened to die of heart attacks, she would certainly feel sad for them, but the sadness wouldn't stop her from celebrating afterward for a couple of days. She nodded, “Just don't push it .”

Primidian nodded again, “Of course, I'll only request what is necessary to convince the public.”With a sly smile, he added, “When this ball ends, it seems one masquerade shall end while another will just be beginning.”

Ignoring the second part of the man's words and feeling in control, the Jedi added, “And I want to tell my friends about our arrangement.”

The Admiral shook his head at this blatantly, “Minerva is fine, but not your two general friends.”

Rey almost stopped dancing at this point, looking the man in the eye angrily and cautiously, demanding an explanation, “Why, they’re my friends. I trust them.”

Primidian nodded at this and said, “Indeed, you can trust them, but can you trust their mouths.” Rey considered this and felt sheepish; the Admiral continued, “If General Poe gets wind of it, he will leak it to General Finn, and if he hears of it, he will knowingly or unknowingly reveal it to the Chancellor.” The man gave a knowing expression, “The Chancellor is a righteous man who longs for peace but more so for revenge and justice. He would not support our sacrifice for peace and would try to stop us no matter what.”

Rey looked away and mumbled, “I can't say I disagree.”

Primidian nodded, “You're very wise, young Master Skywalker.” He added with a more serious look, “You will not disclose our allegiance.”

Rey swallowed and glanced at Finn, who was off in a corner, looking irritated by all the fancy dancers. In her heart, she knew it was wrong to hide the truth from him, but she also knew her friend. He was upright and believed in fighting for what was right, always, and in everything. He would often neglect the big picture in favor of spontaneous action. During missions, it had almost gotten them killed, but now it concerned the future of the Galaxy. She hated it, but she knew the Admiral was right on this account, though she promised herself once the peace talks were over, she would tell everyone everything. Reluctantly, she nodded, “Fine, Poe, and Finn can wait, but I'm telling Minerva today.”

The Admiral nodded, “She will certainly be surprised, though I think she will also be very proud of you.”

The Jedi appeared depleted and refuted him, “Don't say that, I don't feel proud about this at all.”

Primidian chuckled, “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for us to decide. We must simply do what we believe is right.”

Rey nodded in agreement with this. She glanced around the room again and suddenly realized they were the duo farthest towards the end of the hall. With a confused voice, she asked, “Arnt we go too far inside the hall.”

Surprised by this, a smile appeared on the Admiral’s face as he chuckled, “Of course not. I'm the host, after all.”

Rey blinked at this and verified, “You planned this dance.”

Primidian nodded, “Of course, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Few people could swim in my social circle even if I wasn't the host.”

This sounded a little arrogant, but the man was an ex-imperial. She tried to be polite and asked: “So why did you choose this place? It's really beautiful.”

The Admiral smiled at this, “Your father thought so too, as did your grandfather. As for why, this building hosted several balls back when the old New Republic first rose. You could say it's traditional.”

Rey didn't hear this last part as she mumbled, “Grandfather.”

Primidian sighed and asked earnestly, “Rey, if I may? Do you like art?”