With a thump, the freighter settled into the ISD's docking bay.

And that was it.

Vodo turned to Qive and smiled slightly, and without another word, without so much as a hint of his next action...

.. he turned and walked out of the cockpit, and then down the ramp of the Barloz-class freighter onto the floor of the ISD docking bay.

Leaning heavily on his walking stick, Vodo stood at the bottom of the ramp, and waited patiently for Qive, who undoubtedly thought the Jedi Master was trying to make a break for it.

"Now what?" He asked pleasantly.

"Greetings Master Jedi."

Appearing at the edge of the docking bay was another cane-wielder, though he didn't lean nearly as heavily on his crutch as Vodo. Dark, tinted glasses hid his eyes, and his ebony hair fell unnaturally straight over his pale facade. He wore a blazing red suit, brilliantly tailored and immacultely well kept. Flanking him were a pair of black-clad soldiers, their heads totally encased in oddly shaped helmets. They held large, lethal looking rifles across their torsos. As Tir Esias stepped forward, cane extended slightly in front of him, they followed in lockstep.

"You are excused Qive. Thank you for your assisstance."

The massive Gen'Dai lumbered past Vodo and disappeared down a corridor.

"Welcome to the Noir Soleil."

Tir Esais stopped a few feet from Vodo, and the two soldiers accompanying him stoped simultaneously at his side.

"I'm so glad you could make it. I've hear many things about you Vodo Baas."

Vodo continued leaning on his stick heavily. One thing he enjoyed the most was using his cane to feign weakness. It gave him the element of surprise if forced into combat. So many enemies had made the mistake of underestimating him.

Vodo closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, expanding his Sphere of Responsibility (Force-awareness) outward a full hundred meters in all directions. He could feel the induvidual crewmembers of the ship working on their various tasks, as well as the numerous snipers hidden throughout the hangar. Apparently, this person wasn't taking any chances.

Vodo didn't blame him.

"I wish I could say the same about you, Mr....?" He replied in his grating voice, metting the other's cool gaze evenly.

"Esias. Tir Esias."

He'd felt the sudden, but subtle, surge of power as Vodo tapped into the ancient power of the force. Reaching out with his own power, Tir Esias felt the edges of Vodo's sphere, expanding out over the docking bay. He touched the edges of the sphere, feeling the power that radiated from it; power more refined that any Tir Esias had ever experienced. He had known Vodo Baas was a powerful Jedi. But, when he actually felt his power, Tir Esias began to understand exactly what that meant.

Raising his voice, he called out to the numerous men stationed in the docking bay.

"I have everything under control... the Jedi is our guest and will be treated as such."

From around the docking bay, other black clad soldiers stood up, though they were different from the two helmeted figures standing next to Tir. They lacked the strange helmet (with its glowing red visor) and bulky combat armor. They wore military looking black fatigues and berets, and had stern, cold stares plastered on their faces. Each held a huge blaster rifle with an extended barrel.

"Precautions. I mean no offense, Master Jedi."

The snipers were some of the Union's finest. However, after feeling the extent of Vodo's power, Tir doubted if they would have done any good against the diminutive Jedi Master.

"Please, follow me. We are expected for dinner."

Tir Esias spun, his cane outstretched ahead of him. The two helmeted soldiers spun in unison a second later, and stayed in step as they paraded after him.

Click... click... click

The dull clicking noise of Vodo's cane echoed in the near-silent docking bay as he hobbled along next to Esias. He noticed how Esias moved his own cane out in front of him.

"You are blind?" He asked.

Tir Esias paused for a moment, and the two soldiers stopped a step behind him. He turned to face Vodo, his head turning in such a way that he would meet the alien's gaze.

"If you are inquiring in the physical sense, then you are correct. Though I am sure you know, there is more than one type of sight."

He moved his head away from Vodo.

"I have been blind since I was but a year old."

He turned and the group continued down the corridor. Occasionally they passed crewmembers in brownish uniforms similar to those the snipers had worn in the hangar. The also saw a few more men dressed in black, sans the huge sniper rifles. All of them seemed to be cut from the same mold: tall, built men, with piercing stares and a neutral expression set on stone upon their faces- almost a cold stare.

After making a shot trip down a turbolift, Tir Esias led them through a bulkhead door, into what appeared to be a small, upscale restaurant. The two soldiers peeled off and stood at attention at the inside of the door well. Tir Esias, moving slowly among the chairs and tables, took a seat at one of the tables already set and said to Vodo.

"Please sit."

At that moment a server droid came out of a concealed door at the back of the smallish room. As it approached Tir Esias arranged his napkin in his lap then said,

"We have quite the selection of cuisine, Master Jedi. I give you my personal assurance that my chef is unmatched in culinary skill outside the Galactic Core."

The droid arrived at the table, ready to take their orders.

Vodo said nothing more as they made their way through the bowels of the ship, to, what it seemed, was a resturaunt of some sort.

The place was mostly empty, save a few off-duty crewmembers, who seemed to enjoy, on some level, filling the "stone-faced soldier' stereotype. Vodo ignored them, as well as the server droid.

Keeping his Sphere extended to where he could sense everything in the room, he leaned forward in his chair and then pulled back his hood, revealing his hairless head and long, funnel-shaped face.

His yellow eyes bored into Esias's skull, "I did not come all this way, sir, to eat dinner with you. Why don't you tell me what I'm doing here."

Removing the hood of his jedi robes, Vodo was attempting to show he meant business. An effective gesture 99 percent of the time, some of the drama was lost simply because Tir Esias didn't see him do it. He made a dismissive gesture in the general direction of the serving droid, his face stoic. Tir Esias had not had his vision long enough to study facial gestures, and therefore those he did make were not the reflexive gestures of most humans; rather they were consious actions.

Tir Esias smiled.

"Straight to the point then. Vodo Baas, Master Jedi, I have brought you here for a singular purpose."

He stood up, the napkin sliding from his lap. He bowed quickly, then straightened.

"I ask for your training in the ways of the Force."

Vodo did not stand as well.

He did not bow.

He did not make any move at all.

He simply sat there in silence. He allowed his momentary flash of annoyance over being brought this far with no answers pass quickly.

This was certainly interesting news.

"I thought as much." The Jedi Master said. Looking up at the blind man with little more than curiosity. He could feel that this man was Force sensitive, and he knew a little about it.

"Why should I?"

Why should I?

And so Vodo had asked the most pertinent of all questions. As a Jedi Master, Vodo Baas was no stranger to teaching. In fact, one of his most important tasks at the Jedi Haven on Naboo was to ensure that another generation of Jedi would go forth into the galaxy. But Tir was not a Jedi Padawan. He had not gone to Naboo and pledged himself to the nascent remains of the once great Jedi order. Nor did he intend to. So what reason was there for Vodo to expend his valuable time and energy to train someone who was not bound by any rules or codes that governed Jedi; who was not willing to dedicate his life to protecting truth and justice?

"Because Master Baas, I have something I think you will be interested in obtaining."

He reached into his suit, and produced a small cube. The exterior of the cube had been textured to resemble something carved out of hardwood, giving it a very natural look. Considering who had made it, that was not surprising.

"This Jedi Holocron was made by none other than your namesake, Vodo Siosk Baas. It's changed hands numerous times since its creation... but very few people have been able to get it open. The person who I obtained it from had never figured it out. For some reason though, I don't think that will be a problem for you."

Tir Esias put the holocron down on the table.

"I propose a trade."