Everything could be broken down into numbers, variables, probabilities. Everyone could be dissected and analyzed by a critical mind. Introduce this setting and the subject acts accordingly. Introduce this tidbit and the subject’s response is predictable. Ald was an exception to the rule. You can’t take the square root of a negative number unless dealing with imaginary numbers – the exception to the rule.

Ald’s strength in the Force varied with his mood. Happy Ald was relaxed and strong, angry Ald was tense and stronger, and sad Ald was loose and weak. A string of numbers and letters filling pages upon pages for three of the simplest moods. Calculations. Variables. Percentages.

He didn’t pick up this post on a whim. This was all a calculated move. Watch the apprentice, appraise his abilities, when he became a viable threat eliminate him. Standard infiltration and enemy removal. Standard undercover op. Non-standard target. Non-standard variables. Always calculating, even in his sleep. It tore at him, on some level, as the personality of the Sith he was sent to monitor shone through. But he had a mission to complete and the mission was the priority.

He went back to his calculations, his charts, his graphs. Ald’s happiness had been on a steady rise, but now he was fluctuating between angry and sad. Hm. Strange.