Adenna Alluyen

Adenna ate politely while the ambassador spoke. She wasn't completely hungry, but there were several tasty offerings here and it would be rude not to partake. There were many in the Galaxy who did not have the luxury of a table full of appetizing food, so it would be a disservice to them to waste what was prepared. "One drop raises the largest of oceans," she responded warmly. "We, right now, are in need of soldiers willing to make a stand. It doesn't matter how many or how few: all who are willing to fight are more than welcome." She took a sip of some wine and replaced the goblet on the table. With a slightly more serious tone, she continued "The Jedi stand for the Light and will always do so. There is a constant struggle against the Darkness that every one who takes up the blade or blaster must wrestle with. I am aware of the toll that this war will take on the Jedi and I embrace it so that others do not have to. Our brethren in the Imperial Knights take this duty quite seriously as well, though admittedly they prefer rather harsh responses to any taint of darkness. I understand that the Jensaarai have had struggles with the Jedi in the past and have trod closer than some Jedi would like to the Darkness, but it is the opinion of past Jedi scholars that your Order is not corrupted as the Sith or Nightsisters of Dathomir are." Adenna's blue eyes stared straight into the Sarlacc's large red eyes and all semblance of casual friendship left her face, replaced with the rigidly hard intensity that could only be commanded by one forced to lead and make difficult decisions. "I do not intend offense, but I would be utterly remiss of my duties as leader and guardian of the Jedi Order if I did not make sure one that I wish to welcome into our ranks would not become a poison to taint and destroy what we believe in."

It saddened Adenna to sense the barely contained disdain coming from her counterpart in the Imperial Knights. She had hoped that this would be an opportunity for her to finally sit down with Master Eleison and discuss future moves and her own plans for the war, especially with the arrival of another potential ally. The leader of the Imperial Knights hadn't seemed much interested in working together since she recovered from her ordeal on Coruscant, but Adenna wouldn't force the issue. As long as they were still focused on fighting the Sith, it would work. The Jedi had needed some time to organize and rebuild, but it would be their time soon, and with new allies, they would be more ready than ever. She used the experience of the last year and a half as Grandmaster to hide her disappointment both on her face and in the Force and remained congenial yet also dignified. There wasn't quite enough food here to serve a battalion, but it was a reception meant for diplomats with plenty of food that would match almost anyone's tastes. Most of the moderately large room was empty, but there was a table set near the throne where the former master of this hall used to recline that had been set for them. She didn't recognize the one called Mantis, but gave a quick bow of her head when he spoke of having met her before. Many had seen her in the past and, try as she might, she couldn't recall every one. "I am glad you are here," she said warmly while they were seated. "The situation in the Galaxy is indeed dire, but I do have faith that the forces of Light can stand against the current evil we are facing. There have been Grandmasters in the past who do not embrace the Jedi's role as warriors against evil, but I am not one of them. I know the Jensaarai have a long tradition of being warriors and am glad for it. Even if we have differences in theology, I believe there is always room for alliances with all who serve the Light and eschew the Darkness."

With some of their plans set, Adenna realized the exhaustion that was hounding Sandy and, belatedly, dismissed the new Master to get some much needed and deserved rest and relaxation. Sometimes, after being cooped up in this office for so long, she forgot how stressing and draining combat and field work was. She missed that aspect of her role as a Jedi, missed it so much she was now determined to go back to it and the front lines. She had been needed here on Nar Shaddaa building up the Jedi's forces, but now it was time for her to go to the front. News reached her of new arrivals wanting to see the Jedi's leadership. This was especially intriguing since she had long wanted to bring all of those who serve the Light into one unified group. Leaving the newly minted Knight Koon to show his potential by initially greeting them, she quickly had data and intelligence information on their group forwarded to her datapad as she headed towards one of the reception halls. She knew very little of their group and needed to know more before meeting them. When she arrived at the hall, she noticed the preparations. The entire Rebel HQ had once been a Hutt palace that had been heavily renovated. This was once some minor Huttling's feasting hall that had now been converted to a reception area. It wasn't too large, but neither was it too small. Food was already being rushed into place for their guests, and Adenna was going to meet them here. She would not undermine Kel Koon by swooping in at the hangar, but would let him escort their guests here so they could all see what the Jensaarai wished.

Adenna smiled at the response. She was glad to see another Jedi willing to stand up against evil even if it meant sacrificing themselves. Knighthood had long been more up to the one training the Padawan, so she was happy to accept it and confirm the promotion. Masterhood was far more difficult, but without a functioning Council, Adenna and those others who had been working at the training center here on Nar Shaddaa had been sufficient a group to promote Sandy to her new position. "Those are noble words and I am proud to hear them. We need every Jedi possible to stand against the evil in this Galaxy. Come with Master Sarna and I then. We are about to embark on the Jedi's first true offensive campaign since the disaster at Onderon. We will be striking hard and fast at enemy shipping, supply depots, and any place that is vulnerable. I want to draw the enemy's attention back to their own weaknesses rather than on ours so that we can fill in those gaps with strong new men and women such as yourself."

Adenna appraised the newcomer to her office. She had only read of Kel Koon's name on the reports of those sent to the Eternal Vigilance, she did not know much about him. However, she had said that she trusted Sandy's word when it came to Imperial Knight Darkfire, so why shouldn't she do the same for this one? She had faith in Sandy's judgment otherwise she would never have promoted her in the first place. "If you believe him worthy, then so be it," she replied to Sandy with a nod. Turning to the Kel Dor, she said, "Come, Knight Koon, and tell me: how do you see yourself contributing to the Jedi Order as a Knight?"

After all was said that needed saying and done that needed doing, Adenna and Sandy returned to her office to begin debriefing the new Master. Now that the younger woman had ascended, it was time to give her access to more of the confidential information that those of her new rank were entitled to. The situation facing the Jedi and their Rebel allies was dire indeed, and while Sandy had known some of it, she didn't quite know it all. The situation in the field was quite grim, though it wasn't impossible. Losses following the Mandalorian Crusader's campaign were heavy, but nothing compared to the attacks and losses incurred by the Sith Empire's expansion. One of the greatest weaknesses of the Galactic Alliance was that instead of having a centralized fleet, it preferred to keep a very small fleet and rely on local and planetary forces to supplement it. After Coruscant, hundreds of systems had surrendered without a fight to the Sith, taking with them their local planetary defenses and recalling elements of their fleets that had been with the former Galactic Alliance. Those losses were doubly painful because every ship that the Rebels lost was added to their enemy. The Jedi had taken heavy losses at Onderon and elsewhere. Attrition from those Jedi who refused to actively fight on moral grounds further gutted the leadership and experience of the Order. New recruits had been found in the last year and a half, but those took time to train and teach. Almost three quarters of the entire Jedi Order was comprised of Padawans, with an especially critical shortage of Masters able to lead them. It was for that reason Adenna herself had stayed on Nar Shaddaa for as long as she did: someone needed to help train the latest batch of Padawans. The Raid on Kuat was underway, though facing stiff resistance. Mon Calamari was lost entirely from plague, internal divisions, and the Sith invasion. Corellia was under threat, but that had been pulled off to defend Kuat and would likely return in strength after that raid was over. There were multiple smaller conflicts developing throughout the Outer Rim and the Mid Rim regions as the Sith consolidated their dominance there. Rumors of expansion and reoccupation of Coruscant were not good for the Rebels, either. Defections and surrenders reached Nar Shaddaa almost daily to the point it was difficult to rely on the future loyalty of almost a third of their current holdings. Many systems who currently were loyal to the Rebels would quickly surrender if the Sith turned their attention to their planets. The situation was quite dire, but there was hope. Actions taken when she became Grandmaster were beginning to show fruit. Military contracts and recruitment drives had matured and new ships, weapons, supplies, and recruits were readying. The demonstration earlier had been but one of many successes of the last year and a half. Economies had fully transitioned over to war production and the results were promising. The Sith had been preparing for war for many years before launching their attack, now it was the Rebel's time to catch up and take the war back to their foe. Every month, more and more efforts matured and readied themselves so that, assuming they held onto the shipyards and systems, the Rebels would become stronger and stronger as time went by. They needed to hold onto the planets they had lest the recovery come too late. "We need to start taking the offensive," Adenna summarized. "We have ships and men, though fewer than our enemy. That means we must be careful where we attack and how we do it which is why the Kuat Raid is so critical. If we can steal ships from the enemy, it helps us while denying them the fruits if their labor. We can't keep operating as traditional opponents facing our opponents head on, but must switch to a guerrilla style war. It is a messy, dirty, and uncomfortable aspect of war many feel is less honorable or glorious, but it must be done to survive while more of our resources and efforts become ready. "I am taking our latest fleet and armies out on a series of raids over the next month. Our goal is not to oppose their fleets or take over their planets, but to simply cause destruction to their war effort and shipping lanes. We will steal what we can thus denying them those resources while enriching ourselves. We will destroy what we can't take forcing the Sith to take the time to rebuild. We will become privateers, raiders, and an invisible shadow constantly striking and threatening. We won't fight large battles, but will hit them where they are weak and where they can't protect themselves. The Sith Empire has grown large and spread out from their successes, it is now time for us to exploit their over extension and hit where they aren't expecting it. Doing so will slow their industrial and economic expansion while forcing them to focus on defense instead of attacking our systems." She paused and looked at Sandy once more instead of the myriad of holos showing charts, graphs, numbers, and maps. "I want you to come with me, to lead our ground forces. We won't be invading planets, but I anticipate taking enemy ships, raiding some factories and supply depots, and possibly deploying resistance cells in the planets we are able to. Some of our raids will be quick and destructive, others may give us time to land and consolidate what we otherwise would have to destroy. You have proven yourself in the field, and I want you at my side."

Adenna sat in silence as Sandy gave her report, her emotions and response kept hidden through both Force and eyes. She had learned how to take news of all stripes with the utmost impassiveness and control, both as a way to maintain an even keel and simply to not give any potential opponents any hint of her thoughts. She was displeased to hear of the loss of the old Jedi refuge, but some things could not be helped and the Force willed sacrifice and loss at times. For the rest, she would take in stride: the strategic side of her that had been forced to the forefront seemed to almost always overrun the human side of her that felt. Command was never a luxury or a thrill, it was a true sacrifice of self for the needs of the many. After Sandy finished, there were several moments of silence as Adenna absorbed the report. She activated her desk console and entered several quick notes and a command, then sent them out to their appropriate locations. When she looked back at the pair, it was with eyes bearing the weight of a woman far older than her own thirty-three years and a face etched with more worry than most mothers of five. "I am saddened to hear of Fynn Relmis. I had lost touch with him as we had so many other Jedi and had no idea he had fallen. At least you ended his suffering." Her blue eyes fell upon the silent Imperial Knight whom Sandy had spoken of with praise. "I have not followed Knight Darkfire's career as you have, so I cannot speak to his worthiness. Still, if you deem it true, then I shall make the recommendations, but the Imperial Knights still hold their own council and have yet to rejoin the Jedi Order." She stood up and, with a slight sigh, said, "You have completed your task, but now I shall ask more of you." Gesturing for the two of them to follow, she set out of her office and led the two through the maze of hallways and turbolifts until they reached the depths of the complex. After several minutes of walking, they turned a corner and were presented with a long, straight hallway that ran at least fifty meters before opening up into an open catwalk stretched three hundred meters supported by cables attached to the giant ceiling. The hallway had no windows, so they were not able to clearly see their destination until they reached the opening where hallway gave way to an elevated catwalk thirty meters from the floor. Once there, their eyes beheld a cavernous room a hundred and fifty meters wide and three hundred meters long with a ceiling at least fifty meters tall. This was the giant foundation of the Rebel Alliance Headquarters, supported by massive pillars placed strategically throughout it that somehow, failed to minimize the true scale of the place. Though there was plenty of lighting, for now, the harsh floodlights were dimmed so that the entire room had an even glow of light without being overwhelming. Hidden to their eyes was the fact that there were dozens of massive hangars attached on all sides of the main room. Adenna didn't pause as she reached the opening, despite the spectacle that was now before them. Within this room stood twenty thousand soldiers wearing the colors of the Jedi Order Armed Forces, all arranged in formation at battalion strength arrayed on each side of the catwalk. The battalions were further organized into regiments while each side represented an entire division. Spaced between the formations of soldiers were various and assorted assault craft, armored personnel carriers, artillery cannons, and even a few drop shuttles. In front of each regiment, a Jedi Knight stood with lightsaber drawn and ignited in salute in front of them. As soon as the trio entered the room, the sound of twenty thousand boots banging together at attention echoed out. Without word, Adenna continued to stride across the catwalk all three hundred meters until they reached the far side where the catwalk branched out into a balcony. There, on either side of the elevated balcony, six other Jedi stood with light lightsabers in salute waiting for them. Adenna made her way to a small podium, gesturing for Sandy and Aiden to pause at the entrance of the balcony. When she reached the podium, the sound of boot against boot again echoed out as the assembly turned to face them. Adenna looked out over the army that had been assembled for four seconds, before beginning. Her voice echoed out through the room, but not blaringly loud. "For a thousand generations, the Jedi Order has stood against evil," she started. "We have not always succeeded, nor were we perfect, but to be a Jedi always meant being willing to fight, suffer, and sacrifice to protect others and ward against the Darkness. It is our sworn duty to stand up against the corrupt and evil and to protect the weak and innocent. Fathomless numbers of battles have been waged over countless worlds in a never ending series of wars, and millions of Jedi have given their lives in this duty and we continue to do so today. We have always stood at the front, been in the trenches, gone where none wish to go, and fought whom none else could stand against. We of the Jedi Order have the Force to comfort and guide us and to help us complete seemingly supernatural feats. We are called brave, heroic, and inspire awe in old and young alike. "Yet, throughout this all, we have not stood alone. History holos rarely show the bravery of those who have fought along side us in our darkest hours, who also took upon themselves that same sworn duty we have embraced. Famous Jedi decorate the halls of museums and light up the pages of textbooks, but they were never alone. "During our wars, our struggles, and our tribulations, the Jedi had allies and friends. Those not born with the ability to touch and use the Force still took up arms along side the Jedi. People from all walks of life heeded the call, left their families, and joined our cause to fight evil beside us. They didn't have the Force to protect them, yet they charged into the fray nonetheless. In truth, they were the brave ones, the heroes, and the beings whom history should never forget. They may have fought under different names, names such as the Republic or the Rebel Alliance, but they fought on with equal valor. "Today, I salute you: soldiers of all walks of life who heeded the Jedi Order's call for aid. You put your lives on hold, volunteered to serve, and now are ready to fight along side the Jedi against the evil of the Sith Empire. You took the oaths to serve the Light, to hold yourself to a higher standard than even our comrades in the Rebel Alliance, and to be at the front of the fight with beings that hold terrifying powers. "For months, you have been training, preparing, and steeling yourself for the war that is to come. You join tens of thousands of beings just like you who are already in the field, and are followed by tens of thousands more who will soon be where you are. You come to serve, to fight, and perhaps to die for the cause of the Light, of life and justice, and hopefully one day, of peace." Adenna paused, then gestured at Sandy. "Before me stands a young woman who has fought from an age that no being should ever have to fight. She has joined me before she was even able to truly call herself a teen and fought through hells and darkness. She has risen through it, despite taking grievous pains and injuries. She has not just served, but taken charge and led. She has earned her place among the Jedi of storied tales, and has earned her place before you." Adenna gestured for Sandy to step forward even as she herself left the podium. When she spoke again, her words were not amplified, but rather meant only for those Jedi on the balcony with them. "Sandy Sarna, you have served without complaint, you have fought with valor, and you have remained true to your calling. You have stood firm even when those around you, including myself, have failed you. You faced your darkness and inner demons and you have conquered them. Though I have been cruel to you and abandoned you, you still remain true to the Jedi way. Though the Dark Side has tempted you, you stayed true to the Light. Your path has not been easy, but you have continually prevailed. You have not only earned my respect, but the respect of the entire Jedi Order and those of these before you who have come here of their own volition. "By my authority and responsibility as Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, with the enthusiastic and unanimous support of those Jedi you see here, I do hereby proclaim you to have earned the rank and privilege of Jedi Master and shall henceforth be known as Master Sarna." She took out her own lightsaber, ignited its orange blade, and held it in front of her in a salute. As she did, the dozen Jedi stretched out their blades towards Sandy, confirming their support and recognition. The assembled troops, remaining in solemn silence, began to pound their fists against armored chests, the sound of which filled the chamber and echoed in grandeur. After holding the salute for half a minute, Adenna stilled her blade and returned it to her belt. She embraced her former Padawan, whispering into her ear, "You have made me proud, and humbled me. You have earned this many times over." She returned to the podium and resumed, her voice once again amplified, "To all of you, I now present to you your new commanding officer, Master Sandy Sarna, the newest of a new generation of Jedi willing to sacrifice themselves in the service of the Light to protect the innocent from the evil that faces us. For her many actions leading men in multiple battlefields throughout the Galaxy, I do hereby confer upon her the sacred duty of leading you against the Sith Empire. New ships have been built and new crews trained. You shall be the army that fights in the trenches, the battlefields, and the streets of this war. You shall be the beacon of hope to an oppressed and terrified people, and at the front shall be this woman. I have no doubts that she shall lead you well and that you will stand firm against the encroaching Darkness so that it may be driven back once more to the edges of the Galaxy." More fists clashed against chests as the Jedi stilled their blades one by one, then with a bow of their heads, formed up beside Sandy. Adenna retreated from the podium to a door at the rear of the balcony, followed by Sandy, the dozen Jedi, and finally by Aiden. After another fifty meters of walking, they came to an intersection with a door that led to a fairly large but empty briefing room. There, the Jedi, all Knights or Masters who had volunteered to serve with the armed forces knowing the risks, congratulated Sandy. Some of these men and women had fought along side her, others had only had the pleasure of training with her. Still, all of them knew of what she had done and were overjoyed at her elevation. Adenna, having already spoken her own words, stood back and let them celebrate in their own way, waiting for Sandy to be free and come to her.

As much as she was beginning to come to view these four walls and a desk as a sort of second home, Adenna also despised it. Partially because she didn't want to feel inclined to spend more time here, she had mostly neglected to decorate it with anything more than a couple of holopanels constantly streaming data from the war and other Galactic events. There were a few moderately comfortable chairs on the side walls, but most people preferred to stand. While she understood the Grandmaster had to have an office and serve some sort of administrative function, she was frustrated at how much time she was required to stay here instead of being out training the new recruits and Padawans or preparing for the next strike against the Sith. Still, there were times when she was able to make some good use of being stuck in this office. Today, at least, she had some interesting guests. A slight smile teased her lips as she saw Sandy Sarna walk in with Imperial Knight Darkfire. "I am glad to see you have returned from your mission," she said with no trace of sternness. She added some sarcasm and dry humor to her next sentence, "While I am sure you are overly eager to write up a nice, long report for the Archives, why don't you give me the short but complete version of what happened?"

With the fate of Kyrie Eleison still uncertain, there was little more for the mixed Jedi and Imperial Knights to do but trust the Force. The Imperial Knights stationed a vigil over their fallen leader in the hopes that she would waken one day, but for Adenna, she had to focus on her other responsibilities. As much as they all would have gained from having Master Eleison rejoin their ranks, they needed to focus elsewhere on the war at hand. For these weeks, Adenna focused on improving her own skills and readiness. She had felt the darkness and pure despair that had taken over Coruscant while scouting the ruined planet. If the Jedi were to have any hope of stopping such a force, they would need to harness the Light Side to its fullest and build themselves to an army. Though there would be many who resisted among her ranks, she needed to build and train those she could to better serve in this war against the Darkness. When not attending meetings and overseeing the consolidation and building of new ships, supply lines, alliances, and the establishment of bases, she was focused on training with and teaching Jedi from her experiences in combat. Small unit tactics had been her specialty on Thalassia and she had seen and fought in multiple battles. She brought in non-Force sensitive soldiers and officers to share their expertise. Over a hundred Jedi had answered her initial call for Jedi willing to fight. Most of them were Padawans or Knights, but there were three other Masters who were willing to learn and fight. Those Masters and Knights all brought experience and skills of their own to the larger group and so everyone learned from the newest Padawan to the Grandmaster herself. It wasn't just personal combat that she taught and learned from, but also small and large unit tactics, military strategy, and leadership. There simply weren't enough Jedi in the Galaxy to stand against the Sith alone. It wasn't enough for Jedi to just charge into battle alone, they needed to learn how to be leaders and officers so they could lead the thousands and millions of men and women who were joining the Rebels and Jedi Armed Forces. Slowly, as the Jedi grew stronger, their resources grew. Ships ordered at the start of the war were being finished and crews trained to operate them. Soon, there would be more ships to join the fight against the Sith Empire and Adenna would head out onto the field to fight. Until they had enough troops and ships to fight directly, she would lead a raiding party through the enemy's lines to strike at over extended supply depots and shipping routes. She would become the fly in the ointment, the constant nagging whine in the ear of the Emperor, and a constant reminder that evil wouldn't be able to rest easy. She would raid and destroy enemy resources where they were weak while taking what she could to further enrich the Rebels. It would be a bloody campaign, but evil needed to be punished and the Jedi needed a lightsaber to cut through the Darkness and bring back the Light.

Adenna had always been able to utilizing with no more or less ability than the average Jedi, at least, that is until she had her encounter with Jidai Geki on Coruscant years and years ago. Since the infection with the same nanites that plagued his body, she had been opened to a whole new world of being able to heal and repair the body on a level most Jedi healers would sacrifice their own arm for. As result of that experience, she had taken a greater interest in healing and learned more and more about it until she had become, if not a master, a highly skilled practitioner of the arts of healing. With a Jedi Master Healer and three of his best companions in the room, Adenna didn't need to take center stage in the odd procedure that was taking place. Still, she could contribute and choose to do so with all of her own skills. Layering Jedi upon Jedi focusing on the two bodies in question multiplied the affect of the already powerful healing affects as each was able to focus on one particular aspect while directing even more and more of the Force's healing powers into their patients. Leaving the Imperial Knights to focus on the spiritual elements of this procedure allowed the Jedi to focus entirely upon the physical healing. They worked for quite some time to the point that Adenna was confident that they had managed to save the weakened body of the unknown girl who's body Kyrie had been inhabiting, but whether the dead body of the Anzanti would accept the Imperial Knight's spirit or even be functional after was still a mystery that would rely upon the will of the spirit going into it.

After their mission on Coruscant, Adenna and the rest of the team plus an old ally returned to the safety of the Rebel capital. Taking a shuttle down from the Justice's Mandate, Adenna and the rest of the team went straight to the medical wards. While there weren't any major medical issues among the surviving members of the team, they still needed to be checked out briefly before returning back into the rest of the population. The med bays on the Mandate had taken care of the worst of the injuries and this was mostly follow up, though with one exception. Adenna had spent the trip back carefully pondering how to address the issue of Kyrie Eleison and the soul switching. She was not fond of the concept of possessing any being's body no matter how it came to be, but she was especially leery of going into the body of one who was killed. It smacked too much of the Sith and their profane arts. Even then, she had to realize that a true ideological purity would not help them in this dark time. She was frustrated with the extreme purity her predecessors required and needed to be careful that she herself didn't follow down those footsteps and alienate allies. Keeping the Imperial Knights close was the only way to possibly bring them back into the fold of the Jedi Order and healing the rift that pointlessly divided them. They needed that sort of unity to fight their true enemy: the Sith. With some trepidation, she contacted the various Jedi healers and Imperial Knight Exorcists to assist in the transition. If they were to do this, they would do it right and with as many safeguards as possible.

The team began to break their makeshift camp as Adenna activated her recall beacon with her code. In the time it took for their pilot to respond, they had managed to ready up and load their meager provisions. Everyone ate a double ration of food simply to be ready in case there was a problem or crash landing and they lost their food. She could sense the eagerness and anticipation of withdraw from the scouts and troopers that made up the ten surviving members of the exploratory team. Even within the battle hardened veterans, this had been a very trying and depressing mission that all were eager to leave behind and she couldn't blame them in the least. As they made their out of the ruined office building and to a suitable pickup zone, Adenna began to pick up an elusive presence of hunger and anticipation that was wholly different than what their party was feeling. In an area as large and full of hostility as ruined Coruscant, she couldn't quite tell if it was Mandalorian, Sith, or something else, but they had definitely attracted attention and she didn't like it. With a quick triple tap on the shoulder of one of the most able of her trooper escorts, she alerted him to potential danger without letting on to any observers that the party was aware. They made it to a suitable if not exposed location that would work for a pickup zone. Adenna gestured for the team to fan out and take defensive positions, but before they could take action, Kyrie lashed out at something with an ability that reminded Adenna of powers wielded by those consumed with the Dark Side. Now was not the time to decide what she felt about that because the master of the Imperial Knights delved into a level of their Exorcism that fascinated her as she had had fairly minimal experience with that craft. It seemed that Kyrie had plans for this wretched creature and, as much as she disliked the thought, Adenna had the feeling that it was an useful occurrence. "Very good," she said with only a little resignation. Before she could say anything further, Kyrie collapsed with blood pouring out of her mouth. Adenna took two steps toward the bloody form before the Force spiked with danger. Her lightsaber whipped out on instinct and ignited in its orange blaze just as sniper fire lanced out at the team from across the vast cavern that was once a speeder lane. One of the scouts was hit in the shoulder and fell hard to the duracrete. There were no cries of panicked alarm, but rather of quick instructions as the team instantly worked to triangulate the source of the sniper fire while looking out for other threats. More shots shot out from the original source, but with less affect. "Cover Master Eleison!" she told Skyshatter while she took action blocking the shots while the team returned fire. It didn't matter who was firing at them, they needed to end the threat. She could see their rescue shuttle approaching and hoped it would get there in time before they attracted too much attention. It didn't matter at this point, because at least three more attackers joined the original one with sporadic and scattered fire. There wasn't much cover on the exposed rooftop, so the team kept moving and firing until they could get behind Adenna and her lightsaber. One of the troopers was hit in the hip and collapsed, but kept firing from his fallen position. When the shuttle got close, its pilot landed between the team and the attackers with its shields angled to that side. Now that they had cover, the team collected their dead and wounded and loaded onboard. For good measure, the shuttle's armament blasted into the other building causing secondary explosions and a reduction of fire aimed at them. As soon as the team and the body of the young woman Kyrie had downed were on board and the doors sealed, the shuttle blasted up for orbit at full speed. With the hyperspace coordinates pre-programmed, all they needed to do was escape the gravity well of the planet and angle themselves to make the jump to safety and the Justice's Mandate waiting in the blackness between stars. Though the Sith fleet scattered in orbit, they were largely ignored either due to the Sith appearance of their ship or due to the large volume of ships coming and going from the planet. It took a few nerve racking minutes for them to clear the planet and see the streaks of hyperspace.

Adenna wasn't too concerned about the cloning process. Even if Kyrie's own body's DNA was lost, there were ways to craft new clones that would be more suitable and not previously occupied by someone. She was more concerned with the mental state of the leader of the Imperial Knights. She suspected it would take some time before Kyrie would be able to lead the Knights anywhere. She would offer whatever healers of both mind and body that the Jedi Order could spare, though she wasn't sure they would be accepted by the insular Imperial Knights. It was now fully dark, so if there was a good time to evacuate, now might be it. At the minimum, it may hamper any hostile eyes from visually seeing who was boarding their shuttle. They needed to get Kyrie some medical attention that they weren't going to get here in the ruins of a desolated planet. She activated her homing beacon sending a highly encrypted signal to their shuttle. The pilot they left behind would receive the message and come pick them up as soon as they reached an appropriate area. "We need to get out of here," she announced. "With finding Master Eleison, our mission changes and now we need to evacuate and return to our allies both for proper medical care and to report what we see here. Let's go find a place for our shuttle to pick us up and pray to the Force that we can get through orbit without the Sith seeing through our forged Idents."

Adenna wasn't too surprised to hear Kyrie's words and from her own contact with the Imperial Knights, had some small idea of how that taint would weigh upon them. She didn't judge it as she herself had strayed more than once and recognized that in the face of evil, sometimes dark things had to be done to stop it. She wasn't completely sure what happened, but she had been pondering a possible solution. "If you were summoned into this body and if the soul of the girl is still present, then it seems to me that she was and is still alive. If that is true, then you controlling her body is an abomination that is nothing but the Dark Side incarnate," she said calmly and without any anger or accusation. It was simply a fact as she understood it. "I wonder if it is possible to separate your soul out from this body and allow you to guide into a proper vacant clone of your own body. If such a thing were possible, you could end this abomination, free your own soul, and allow this possibly innocent girl to re-assume her own independence. We need to get you off Coruscant and back to someone who has more experience in these matters, possibly one of your Imperial Knights. If we can separate your soul out, we can then care for this girl as she needs to be."

Adenna nodded at Eleison 's decision, appreciating and respecting the practicality of it. Without discounting what the junior Imperial Knight could do, she had an inkling of what Skyshatter was offering and feared it would also have left him drained. It was best not to risk exposure, especially since Adenna herself knew some things that would help in the long run, even if they weren't as quickly effective. Considering the vomiting, she also didn't offer the stim as it would only make things worse. "Gavand, Morguesen; assist our friend here," she ordered and two of the team stepped forward to offer assistance. She wanted Skyshatter less distracted since he could also use the Force. To Eleison, she said, "I am quite proficient at healing and some refreshing abilities, Skyshatter and I can assist you when we are in cover. We will seek shelter immediately, and the skills are not overly noticeable at a distance." The group, now thirteen, slowly retreated from the scene of carnage and moved into a large building complex to seek shelter for the night. As they went along, Adenna gave Eleison small amounts of their nutrition powder mixed with purified water from her canteen. She didn't want to overwhelm the woman's system, but realized she needed to start getting some nutrients. Since coming across her, Adenna had decided to cut their original two week mission short which meant they had extra rations to offer. They had been here for six days already, but getting Master Eleison back to safety and linked up with the Imperial Knights now took precedence. Having their respected leader returned to them would drastically boost morale within both the Imperial Knights and parts of the old Imperial Remnant. The building they were using seemed to be some sort of office or company headquarters and had not been too heavily looted since it had few things useful for survival. Even then, it was still dismal and not exactly a place that Adenna would want to retire in. Still, it would function and seemed to be mostly void of others, though they placed motion sensors around the camp and constantly kept guards on watch just in case. As they set up their makeshift lodgings and sent a trio of troopers to locate water for purification, Adenna took more time to look at the myriad of issues plaguing Eleison's body. Malnutrition was the worst, though various cuts, scrapes, and some minor infections were also present. Basic first aid and food would take care of most, but what concerned the Grandmaster the most was the mention of something about souls and this not really being a body that was her own. She didn't know too much about possession and soul transference beyond moving into an empty clone body: that was a field that bordered too much on the Dark Side and had fairly little practical use for her to have studied. Even so, she was aware of a few things, especially when it came to physical healing and part of that included calming the mind and soul. "We can easily repair and refresh your body," she said, "but I admit to fairly little knowledge regarding the soul, possession, and transferring your essence. What happened to bring you into this body and what might be done to ease and soothe any discord and strain?"

It definitely took a moment, but when Adenna looked at the woman with the Force and not her eyes, there was a familiarity between them. They had met once on Kashyyyk for Kirlocca's funeral, but had Skyshatter not mentioned the name, she would have had a difficulty recognizing the girl in front of her. It hadn't been an incredible time ago, but judging on whatever happened to Eleison, she had clearly been out of things and not able to keep track of time. With a slight smile of amusement, she responded, "Welcome back to the fight, we presumed you had died on Kuat. There is a lot we need to speak about, but for now, we need to get to a safe place. This fight will likely have drawn unwanted attention and I would rather not be here when it arrives to investigate." They were way too exposed here and there was no telling who had seen this fight. "Are you able to walk? I can give you a stim if you want."

The days grew worse with each passing step forward. Nights were no better as then you didn't have to focus on where to put each step or watch for threats ahead and could dwell on what was happening. The worst part was that, throughout it all, Adenna simply didn't have any sense that they were going towards something or any conclusion. It seemed that their team was simply on a never ending quest through hell. She tried to subtly encourage and boost the team's morale with the Force, but even that was difficult to do when she herself was so down. They were scouting out a place to spend yet another night when they heard the blaster shot ahead. That occurrence was not in and of itself a rarity on this planet, but Skyshatter leaped into action and charged towards the sound. Adenna bit back a small curse under her breath as she and the rest of the team followed. She hoped that there was a good reason, perhaps a nudge in the Force, that caused the Imperial Knight to charge recklessly into danger potentially exposing the presence of their team. When they arrived, they saw a teen aged woman clearly being accosted by a mixed group of thugs but fighting back. Skyshatter quickly dispatched the remaining thugs. Motioning for the team to secure the perimeter, Adenna turned her focus onto the girl Skyshatter had helped. There was definitely a strong sense of the Force from her, but it wasn't the raw natural power of someone so young. It was far more refined and honed, something she sensed from a fully trained wielder of the Force, and it was almost familiar at that. She remained silent, letting Skyshatter continue taking the point that he had already began.

The devastation of Coruscant pierced Adenna to the core of her being, but she refused to allow herself to show or dwell upon those emotions. This was neither the time nor place to truly contemplate those things, and a Jedi needed to be centered and in control at all times. Perhaps it would make the men and women with her feel she was too cold, but they needed to keep focused on this mission until a more appropriate time to process everything presented itself. She could feel the constant misery and despair rising from the planet and wished that she could help in a more substantial way, but with the massive Sith fleet in orbit and Rebel resources stretched thin taking care of the mass of refugees from Coruscant and other planets affected by the Sith and Mandalorian invasions, they simply didn't have the ability. As cold as it was, the smaller number here had to suffer so that the greater number in the rest of the Galaxy might one day see freedom. If the Rebels and Jedi attempted to throw all of their resources here, it would irrevocably destroy their hope to face the Sith and one day liberate the thousands upon thousands of worlds under their brutal grasp. She hated that truth, but it was the direct result of the complacency of the Jedi Order and corruption of the Galactic Alliance. That had to change so that it wouldn't happen again. Knight Skyshatter's words reached her and she considered them. She did not sense anything yet, but that was because she was shielding her Force presence to an area no more than a couple dozen meters around her. If any Sith sensed her on this planet, it would certainly doom them all. There could be any number of stranded Jedi or even Imperial Knights left on this planet. If one was alive, it would be helpful to recover them for multiple reasons. The largest would be the fact that any Jedi who had been here through the invasion would hold far more intel than this one mission could provide, though there was no denying the benefit of rescuing another trained ally and the inherent boost to morale that may also provide. "You could be correct," she responded. "Do not open yourself up further at this point, but I see no reason why we couldn't begin our scouting in an eastward direction. If we come across one of our comrades, then the Force is truly with us. If we do not, then we will still be carrying out our mission." With the scouting team loading up their various and assorted surveillance gear and weapons, they began to carefully pick their way through the abandoned and damaged buildings towards the east. Nothing irreplaceable was left on the shuttle: all of the data it had collected had been transferred to small storage devices and distributed to all of the team so that if even one survived, it would not be lost. Every night, they would share whatever data had been collected that day among themselves. To help them survive, each of them carried two weeks of extremely compact dehydrated nutrient pouches that didn't taste very good, but if mixed with water would fill the stomach and keep the body in shape. The hope was to eventually return to their shuttle, but if they weren't able to make it and had to find another route out, their mission could still be completed. Only their pilot and two security/sentry droids remained in the shuttle, waiting for a mundane but very specific signal to attempt a recovery. Each of the scouting team had a beacon that could be used to summon the shuttle if the correct password and biometrics were input. Still, despite that, the pilot was given orders that if he didn't hear from the rest of the team in three weeks, he was to leave and attempt to escape. As the first few days passed with fairly slow progress, they began to fall into a rhythm. They tried to hide from any survivors which wasn't as hard as Adenna had feared it might be. These people were traumatized, constantly plagued by terror and threats. The sound of anyone coming was enough to make most hide. Even then it wasn't always possible to avoid everyone. Sometimes, people couldn't hide or, worse, didn't care if they were discovered and killed. Those were the worst because, as much as they wanted to help, the team simply couldn't. They couldn't take them along nor could they spare rations. Seeing the terrible condition of the planet, Adenna couldn't even bring herself to issue hollow, empty promises of salvation. For most, the only thing she could do was carefully use the Force to nudge their attention away and numb their anxiety. By the fourth day, even the hardest of the shock troopers and recon rangers in the team were clearly shaken. There was very little chatter among the team even when it was deemed reasonably safe to speak. Adenna spent many hours silence attempting to process and store what they were seeing and feeling while struggling not to let it split her heart asunder. In some ways, this was the hardest mission she had ever been on, yet she was glad she came firsthand instead of sending someone else. If she were to lead the Jedi Order and help the free people of the Galaxy remain free, she needed to see what would happen should they fail. There hadn't been too many rampant reports of Sith atrocities yet but there were plenty of stories of individual brutality, slavery, extremely harsh punishments for any violations of "order," and an overall sense of authoritarian control over more and more of everyone's lives. It may be true that this iteration of the Sith Empire wasn't as overtly cruel as those of the past, but it was far from optimal. Even Palpatine's Empire had planets and societal circles that thrived and enjoyed his rule, but beneath that crust of order, wealth, and structure was a foundation of massacres, torture, brutality, and suffering. This planet wasn't directly the result of the Sith Empire, but it well could be what happened to planets that resisted in the future. For now, it seemed to her that the Emperor Exodus was content to portray himself as an almost benevolent authoritarian only wanting to bring order to chaos. Such tactics were ingenious as many planets that might have resisted were mollified and elected to join. She wasn't so sure how long this phase would last if the Sith were in complete power and Exodus no longer needed to restrain himself. How many planets would be stripped of life to fuel some Sithling's lust for power? How many slaves would be needed to build his war machine or vain monuments to the Sith's glory? On the other side of the proverbial coin was a harsh lesson in what happened to even the "good guys" who grew complacent and allowed themselves to let their guard down. This was a failure of the Galactic Alliance an an isolated, insular Jedi Order that refused to fight evil directly. However this Rebel Alliance played out, Adenna was determined to do everything she could to ensure that it learned from the lessons of the past and kept its guard up while staying true to the concepts of freedom and liberty as well as the Light Side. Failure to do so would only lead to another Old Republic collapsing into the Galactic Empire or the Galactic Alliance giving way to the Sith Empire or Mandalorian Crusader brigands. No, with each passing hour on this ruined planet, she steeled her resolve to fight as long as needed while constantly guarding herself and the Order entrusted to her for corruption, complacency, and compromising morals.

With a small flash, a small shuttle formerly in the service of Black Sun reverted from hyperspace over the former Galactic capital. The ship had been refitted extensively to better suit the needs of the strike force while maintaining a profile and signature matching what had been observed from other Black Sun shuttles that had been turned over or absorbed into the Sith Empire. Most of the modifications composed of an immense array of both active and passive sensors and recording devices: the team didn't want to miss any sort of intelligence data they could glean while here. They were using a freshly made and intercepted identity sent from loyalist agents within Kuat's shipyards where thousands of ships were being made. Even so, it was always nerve wracking in the first minutes of infiltration missions while the fourteen individuals inside waited to see if the enemy would pick up on their presence. Adenna deliberately kept her Force presence as minimized as possible to avoid detection by any Sith in the system. They were mostly relying on the vast numbers of ships coming and going from a rather impressive amount of Sith activity. Adenna and other Rebel strategists had been wondering what was occupying the Sith over the last few months after Dark Sun Station and as she gazed out the viewport, she suspected she had at least a partial answer. As the minutes passed by and they continued to approach the planet Adenna began to relax slightly. Though they had no idea what faced them on the surface, it would be particularly ignoble to be destroyed in orbit before they even touched land. Adenna's heart broke to see what happened to the once glistening city planet. She had spent a lot of time here and to see the utter destruction visited it and the cloud of enemy ships controlling its space and surface left her struggling to contain her righteous anger. These were actions done by evil beings, both the Sith Faust and the Mandalorian Crusaders. She wished that there had been something the Jedi Order could have done, but that was not possible. It was folly to look to the past, she could only look to the future and fight the enemy to do what was needed to prevent this from happening all over the Galaxy. They were eventually directed through various automated signals to a region that seemed to be on the edge of heavily devastated cityscape and slightly more stable ones. As they grew closer, they could see plenty of signs of recent combat or destruction, though they had no way to knowing how or when it occurred. They managed to find a fairly abandoned looking rooftop that seemed stable enough to land on. As they touched the surface, their pilot kept the repulsorlifts active and very slowly lowered their effectiveness until they were sure the roof wouldn't collapse on them. Once that was done, it was time to depart. "Remember," she said as the ramp lowered, "we are here primarily to observe and record. Unless needed, we will not expose ourselves even if there are innocents under attack by the Sith. As much as we may want to interfere to safe a few dozen from death, doing so would likely bring a vastly increased Sith focus on the area which would probably result in even more deaths. We must be wise, use restraint, and gather the information that will help us when we eventually return to liberate the planet once and for all."

When her alarm went off, Adenna reluctantly waved her hand over its sensor to silence it. Though it was only 0500 local time, it was time to get ready for her mission to Coruscant. She waited a few minutes, mentally preparing herself for what lay ahead. She missed Tobias: it simply wasn't the same waking up to an empty bed. Though she still stood by her decision to send him into semi-exile for the sake of the Order, it still hurt her personally. She arrived at the hangar at 0552 ready to launch. She saw Knight Skyshatter there waiting, as well as a dozen hardened veteran Shocktroopers specializing in infiltration and small unit tactics. They boarded the captured shuttle and, once everyone was secure, left Nar Shaddaa's surface, then atmosphere. They passed by the growing fleet of Rebel and Jedi ships until they approached the Republic class Star Destroyer Justice's Mandate and docked with it. Even before they exited the shuttle, the capital ship began orienting itself for the jump to hyperspace.

Adenna was pleased to hear this. "Yes, I do intend on taking the fight to the Sith. I refuse to bow to their evil nor allow it to go unanswered. I don't expect your undying loyalty, only that we fight together against our enemy." She stood and said, "We will be departing tomorrow at 0600 from hangar C24. We will take the Justice's Mandate most of the way there, then the captured and reprogrammed shuttle to Coruscant itself. I look forward to working with you on this mission and pray the Force is with us all."

Adenna was glad that the Imperial Knight had arrived so promptly. She definitely appreciated the military precision sense of urgency that the Imperials and the Imperial Knights exhibited from her time fighting with Thalassia's anti-slavery military units. The contrast between his crimson armor and her own blue robes was also striking to her, but it wasn't the outward appearance that mattered, it was the inside and motivations of the individual swathed in that attire. "Just Master Alluyen," she said, though she despised the title itself. To her, "master" was a hearkening back to the days of her childhood surrounded by the presence and threat of slavery. Still, the rest of the Galaxy and especially the Jedi Order didn't have those same connotations to the title. As much as she hated it, she realized that it was necessary to bear the title if not out of a desire for respect to herself, but for respect of the position and Jedi Order itself. Titles and ranks were important to keeping order and the chain of command, so she bore it. She gestured for the Knight to sit. "I am glad you have come and realize you may not be exactly thrilled about being called from your comrades and working with a Jedi. I take no offense to it as I myself still have lingering reservations at times when I work with Imperials. Full transparency: I fought the Empire and still bear a scar from being shot by Stormtroopers. Despite that, I realize that there is a far bigger threat and compared to our duty to oppose the Sith, whatever comparatively insignificant differences I may have with Imperials or the Galactic Alliance or even fellow Jedi need to be put aside." She pushed a few buttons on her desk's holoprojector causing a display of a broken and shattered planet surrounded by red icons representing ships. "This is Coruscant, once the capital of the Empire, then the New Republic, then the Empire again, and finally the Galactic Alliance. Right now, it is in utter ruins and is being occupied by a substantial Sith fleet. It doesn't take a genius to figure out they are wanting to claim it to gain further legitimacy as the 'proper' rulers of the Galaxy. We need to know what they are doing and, just as importantly, see the plight of the countless billions of innocents still trapped on the planet. "I intend on modifying and making use of some of the captured Black Sun shuttles we took over Dark Sun Station to land myself and a dozen troopers serving the Jedi Order on the planet so we can see firsthand what is going on there. I have talked and worked with some of your ranking officers in the Imperial Knights and with Rebel Command and you have been assigned to come with me as a sign of solidarity. "I do not suspect this will be an easy mission, but it is critical and it is important that I do this and with an Imperial Knight. I am tired of this pointless rift between our Orders and want to do everything possible to bring us back together. As the leader of the Jedi Order, I also need to be proactive in this war lest I become just another armchair general. I won't force you to come along this mission. If you wish, I will rescind my request and ask for another Imperial Knight to join me. However, if you do agree to come on this mission, I will be your commanding officer and expect my orders to be followed just as you would any other member of the Imperial Knights. Dissent among the ranks won't help anyone down in enemy territory."

Adenna had been so busy working with the Rebel Alliance over the past few weeks that she began to feel guilty as though she was neglecting the Jedi Order. She had never been one to believe in tightly controlling others, but rather giving them a bit of freedom to go as the Force needed. Events in the Galaxy had come to a slight lull with both the Rebels and Sith focusing on consolidating their territory, but she had the sense that there was going to be a need to fight soon. For now, she was content on allowing the Jedi to focus on training and bonding with each other, but soon, all who were able would be called to war. With the Empress off negotiating with the Sith, Adenna was hesitant to launch a major offensive, but that did leave some other options. One thing she wanted to do was to pair off some of the newer, recently promoted Jedi Knights with more experienced fighters, and that included herself. There were several Jedi here on Nar Shaddaa who were waiting assignment and a sense of purpose and she needed to find them that. Plenty felt the call to serve and fight for the Light and it would be wrong to deny them that opportunity. One of the things she really wanted to focus on was working with the Imperial Knights. Despite passing their exorcism test, there was still a good deal of distrust between the Imperial Knights and the Jedi Order. She needed to find a way to bridge that gap through example and could think of no better opportunity than to work directly with one of their number. After a small bit of bouncing around between various members of both the old Imperial Remnant and the Imperial Knights themselves, she finally found someone with both the authority and the willingness to work with her. They eventually consented to send a Knight Skyshatter to work with her, though they were not exactly thrilled with the idea. Adenna realized there would need to be some diplomacy here, but felt she could handle it. It was far more important to fight the Sith than for her to take offense at any sleight from their allies. She sent an invitation for Knight Skyshatter to come up to her office so they could get a sense of each other.

Adenna accepted the offered hand and rose to her feet. The Force levels in the room began to dispel and return to normal. Despite the relative shortness of the experience, she was drained. Even so, she was inwardly pleased at the results. Though she had been confident that she would pass the trials, there was a very small amount of her that was concerned that there was a lingering taint from Jidai Geki that might still need purging. She was relieved that it seemed her inner demons had been removed and all that she faced were the normal temptations experienced by everyone. She was also pleased at the openness of at least these men to working with the Jedi Order once more. Their cynicism was quite evident in her recent interactions with various members of the Imperial Knights in how they viewed the Jedi Order with disdain and skepticism. When they first left the Order, she had thought that it was only a bad thing as it divided able warriors who could oppose the Sith, but she understood it when faced with Jedi leadership that refused to fight against evil. That was not the case now and it would never be for as long as she was the Grandmaster. It was time to heal that rift and bring back all those who served the Light under one unified banner to oppose the Dark that the Sith championed. She nodded in acceptance of the Inquisitor's words. "It is my desire to bring the Imperial Knights back within the Jedi Order so that we may fight our common enemy as one unified force. Divided, we are both weaker and the Darkness is made stronger. This is something that I wish to remedy so that we, like the Galactic Alliance and Imperial Remnant, might become one once more. I understand and respect the unique nature of the oaths you take, so I would happily make accommodations to preserve the Knight's teachings and traditions. Speak to your leaders and relay what you have learned here, then tell them that I wish to meet with them to see if we can come to an agreement that would add the strength and discipline of the Imperial Knights to the history and resources of the Jedi Order." The Grandmaster bowed briefly to the Imperial Knights, collected her lightsaber, and exited the room with purpose in her steps. She couldn't control how the Imperial Knights took her message, but she had made the first move to bridge the gap and end the schism that exists between them. It had cost her dearly in the form of Tobias, but her personal sacrifices were necessary for the betterment of the Jedi Order and, on a wider scope, the Galaxy in general. She had lost her right hand, but her hopes were that it would gain her an army of battle hardened warriors ready to stand against the Darkness and do what was necessary. Perhaps, in time, even Tobias could be redeemed and rehabilitated to return to the fight once more, though she suspected he had his own plans to wage the war against the Sith.

Adenna wasn't familiar with the methods in which the Imperial Knights were connecting to and amplifying the Force, but she had read that they could be done. It was a fascinating method, but one she would explore at a later point. For now, she needed to put her attention toward the proceedings at hand, not the mechanics behind them. “My Lady, are you a slave to your passions?” It was not a simple question, nor was it one that she would answer simply. "I am a slave to nobody and nothing," she said a tad bit coldly, even if it was rooted in reflex. She had been around enough slavery and fought enough of it to take a casual offense at the suggestion, even if she knew it was not intended as such. She did not miss the inference, though. She paused a moment and considered the actual question, "I do experience emotions like any living creature does, including passion." She sighed and relaxed her shoulders. "I have struggled against hatred, fear, and despair many times in my life, but in my time as a Jedi, I have learned to contain and control those and other emotions and prevent them from ruling me. The trite answer is to say that I surrender my emotions and passions to the will of the Force, but that is what young aspirants would say." As the pressure of the Force amplification began to increase, Adenna could feel it beginning to pulse in her inner ears. She spread her robes and sat down cross legged in the middle of the slightly glowing lines. Knowing the point of this exercise wasn't simply to interrogate with words, but to discover through the Force and self inflection, she sighed and delved into her own sense of the Force. She opened her mind, intentionally and deliberately not excluding any of the Inquisitor's encroachments into it, but also not inviting him in if he choose to remain separate. She had nothing to hide from him and knew that if she did, he would likely latch onto it and uncover it anyway. "I view the Force as a living thing, something that is natural and eternal. It predates sentience and will exist long after the last sentient creature perishes. As such, the Force itself does not have a light or a darkness any more than an untapped forest does. We, as complex and often self motivated creatures, do most definitely have a connection with the Light and Dark. When we reach into the Force for guidance or to mold it to our will and use it, we do so with an intent that is either pure and light, or selfish and dark. "It is us sentient creatures of flesh and blood that created the Darkness, and our own nature that constantly draws us to selfish and evil uses of the Force. Similarly, those who resist that call have embraced the Light by denying our selfish and corrupted wants and desires to instead serve others and embrace life and peace. I constantly face the temptation to give into my own passionate hatred for the evils of this Galaxy by unleashing all of the truly terrible powers that I was born able to connect to. It is always a desire to lash out at all of the evil we face in the Galaxy and it will forever be present in any who have a mind to think." She paused a moment, realizing the heat in her voice had risen slightly and retaining her calm center in the Force. The amplification was beginning to create an almost throbbing sensation in the back of her head, a sign that the Force was swirling more around her. "Even then, I cannot allow myself to fall into that trap and become what I fight. "You question my ties to Master Vos, and you are right to do so. I do love him and that love does guide me throughout my life, but I do not let that love or any other emotion control me. I do not shut myself off from emotions and feelings to cause them to fester, build, and explode in an unpredictable and uncontrollable eruption. Instead, I recognize them for the natural part of life that they are and allow them to work in conjunction with my mind and my sense of the will of the Force to direct my decisions. Some Jedi elect a path of pure serenity and abandonment of emotions as much as they can. That path is not for me because I recognize its inherent unnaturalness. For those whom it works for, I wish them the peace they seek, but it is not something all may achieve." There was more, much more. She had not always been able to control her emotions and passions. "I have teased the path of Darkness before," she admitted. "When I was younger, more foolish, and less experienced, I did use the Force and my righteous wrath to bring down unrelenting terror upon the slavers and other scum that had infected my home for decades." Images of bodies hewn and charred from lightsaber and blasters scattered on ships and in remote bases filled her head. She had led task forces that showed very little mercy upon the slavers they relentlessly hunted. It was a time when, filled with her own self righteousness, Adenna had believed that the intent justified all actions no matter how dark they actually were. She had always had a very strong will, one clad of the hardest steel and now honed to a razor edge that she turned against injustice. She had flirted with the line far more than once and willingly courted the Dark all the while cloaking herself in the appearance of the Light. She had emerged damaged and tainted, deluded that her actions had not touched her. She had continued this all the while battling the infecting taint that came from her psychic battle with Jidai Geki all those years ago. During her time on Thalassia and shortly after, the tendrils of the Darkness had rooted deep within her, claiming parts of her soul that would forever remain damaged. Blood, liters and liters of it, flowed behind her as she had carved her way across the Galaxy in pursuit of justice against the Darkness she herself was all but embracing. She never fully embraced the Darkness, but she toyed with it in the hope and delusion that she could use it against those who were even darker than she without being sucked in. "I was a terror and I loved it." Her voice was distant while violent and destructive images danced before her mind. Her physical eyes were shut to the world even as her inner soul opened to the horrors of her past. As the images grew more and more vivid, attaching scents and sounds to the sights, her voice grew more powerful and full of venom, more heated and wrapped up in the events themselves. "I crushed evil the same way they crushed the innocent. I turned their tactics of terror and aggression against them. I used their weapons, their ships, and their money to root them out and slaughter all who didn't immediately surrender themselves. We were even better than them because I could use the Force and they couldn't stop me. Sometimes, we didn't even give them a chance to surrender, but simply went in with weapons hot destroying everything that stood in our way. I knew that my Jedi teachers would be appalled at what I had become, but I was doing it for a good cause and didn't care. It was madness and I loved every moment, I became the very nightmare to those slavers that they had been to me as a child. I existed to bring justice and that justice knew no mercy or compassion, only vengeance. When it was done and I could find no more slavers to kill, I left and went to the rest of the Galaxy where I found a new foe, one even more worthy of being destroyed." As everything within her soul screamed for her to continue down this path, to accept that violent and death filled path of vengeance in the name of justice, she opened her blue eyes and the bloody scenes fizzled away into nothingness. She had faced those times and cast them aside before, deep within the caves of Ilum when she had recognized the Darkness within her and abandoned it along with the taint from Jidai Geki. "I was on the way to becoming something worse than even the Sith: a woman driven by a self deluded sense of righteousness to do extremely terrible things. At least the Sith are honest with themselves in that they embrace the Darkness, I wouldn't even have been able to be that honest. Instead, I realized what I had become and choose a different way to bring justice to the Galaxy." Scars of those times would never fully disappear and Adenna accepted that. She knew that she would never be fully able to set aside the lightsaber, that her purpose in this Galaxy was to be the sword against evil. Any who took on that mantle would forever be touched by that role, never to go back or rest idle while injustice existed and harmed others. There was no lessening of the steel clad will that drove her, but it was honed and directed to a different path. Her voice was steady at this point, unwavering and full of deliberate intent. "Righteousness is a virtue, but it can also be blinding, a tool of the Dark to fool those who would not otherwise trod its path. I recognize the need for passion in all people because it is what drives them to improve and simply live life. Without passion of some sort, life has no meaning or purpose and people give up. As users of the Force, we must constantly recognize those passions exist, but keep them guided and under control." She was definitely far from perfect, but she had cast off her own delusions and viewed both her self and actions in the brightness and honesty of the Light. She would fight the Darkness, but she would refuse to become the Darkness. War was a necessity, but the sacrifice of herself and her own peace for the sake of the innocents in the Galaxy was something she accepted. The Force, once pounding within her head, had become a single solid tone by which she could once again anchor and center herself. She returned to the room and reigned in her openness to the Force. When she spoke once more, her voice was cool: dispassionate to any who heard only with ears and weren't able to sense the vibrantly intense purpose within her soul. "I will lead the Jedi Order and all who wish to follow me in the fight against the evil of the Darkness. Some of those who follow me might fall to the deceptions that I myself was nearly lost to. When they do, I will give them the opportunity to return to the Light and re-purpose themselves, or I will do what must be done and prevent them from becoming what they set out to oppose by any means necessary. I will never know external peace myself because I am a warrior destined to constantly oppose evil. When the war is finished and some semblance of peace and justice is returned to the Galaxy, I will hand over the reigns of power to a new leader, one who can function in peace. I will then lead all of those Jedi who fought but were scarred by the struggle to a place where we can attempt to find our own serenity and there we shall stay until the Force calls us back to fight the Darkness once more." Having said her part, she bowed her head and remained there waiting to see if her Inquisitor had further questions for her.