You drop down silently just outside her sight. "Hello, Maul," she says. "I was hoping you would join me."

For all that she may be an archivist now, she is still a Jedi. The lightsaber that hangs from her belt is tangible proof of the fact. "Master Nu," you greet her as you step where you can see each other.

"I imagine you were hoping for Obi-Wan," she says. "He's currently offworld."

"I don't suppose you'd tell me when he's returning?" you ask.

"I don't know his schedule. I imagine it will depend on how well his mission goes."

Sidious and his war. Kenobi is dancing to Sidious's tune without even knowing it, and now this has rendered him unreachable. You snarl. The Republic Army's encryption is so far too good for you to break consistently enough to discover Kenobi's location.

"I just finished with the University's chief librarian," Jocasta Nu says, ignoring your plotting. "With all the available Jedi pulled to the front, the archives are looking quite empty. I'd hoped that archive droids would be able to ease the workload of the remaining staff, but apparently the technology isn't there yet."

"I find that hard to believe," you say. "It can't be that hard to file datasticks to the appropriate shelves or to ensure all digital records are indexed for database searches."

"It isn't, but that is a tiny portion of the job. We mostly help various Jedi with data searches, both formatting and finding obscure, adjacent records, and explaining complex things for people in a way they find helpful."

"Do Jedi really need help with search formatting? One would think they learn it in the crèche." You certainly learned it early enough. Sidious would electrocute you if you failed, and seldom provided any data packets on anything other than the target. Your success was predicated on your ability to find information on the targets' inner circles, the locations they inhabited, and the local infrastructure. Eventually you made yourself a little database so you could read up on repeat locations while your holonet searches were running.

"Initiates are generally inexperieced with it," Nu points out. "And as we use the Kroth/16 database structure-"

"Why."

Nu smiles, sharp like a deep sea fish whose bioluminescent lure has drawn prey to its teeth. "It was the newest standard 1500 years ago, when we last did a database migration. Of course, that is a rather long time to go without an update, so I decided to migrate the database to something more ... functional." Her smile grows tight, like Sidious's when he was displeased. You reflexively shift your weight back. "Then Dooku decided to invade the Republic and all my archivists are getting slaughtered by battle droids. You see my issue."

A migration that lasts over a year? How much data is there in the Jedi Archives? "Please tell me you're at least going to something useful, like the Hyperion coding."

"We considered that, but in the interests of making our successors' work easier, we chose Tellvenn. It has export functions that are more forward-compatible."

You recall the name and that it wasn't necessarily terrible. You'd have to go over the structures and their pros and cons to recall why you chose Hyperion for your own little database. "And its import functions?"

"Adequate enough. Kroth/16 is the issue."

That sounds right based on the testimonials you recall reading. "And you wanted a droid to do it all for you."

"Indeed."

"I suppose you'll have to do it all by hand."

Nu gazes at you appraisingly. "You know much more about database structures than a layman."

You bare your teeth at her. "Why should I explain myself to you?"

She smiles with infuriating calm. "Because you might be pleasantly surprised."

This does not feel like a trap in the Force. Barter for Kenobi's location is not an option, but then again, you can't see how Nu or the Jedi could use the knowledge of your research habits against you. They must be able to guess most of it already.

"In Sidious's service, I was in charge of my own research when required to eliminate targets. I set up a Hyperion database so I wouldn't have to repeat location searches in full." You do not like how satisfied Nu looks. "I always use multiple diverse sources and cross-reference. You will not be able to deceive me by making the top result on holonet search something fraudulent, Jedi."

"Good," Nu says. "Would you like a job?"

Your thoughts grind to a halt. This must be a trap. There is no way she can mean it. "What."

"I cannot complete a dozen tasks at once all by myself. I need someone to supervise the database migration from Kroth/16 to Tellvenn. You certainly know enough to understand the motivation to do so."

Her offer is, quite frankly, insane. Has she forgotten you are a Dark Lord of the Sith?

Nonetheless, there is a certain appeal to it. For one, access to the Jedi Temple means access to Obi-Wan Kenobi. And it would make his jaw drop. The emotional suffering would even be entertaining to watch, you wager.

Do you treat her offer with all the dignity it deserves or take her up on it?