Sandy Sarna

Quiet purges. Sandy frowned as the Sith began their retreat. Having cost the Jedi little except the loss of a village and the death of a few Jedi Knights. For the loss of several more sith and many battalions of men. She still did not know what the objective had been, but this reinforced her belief that they were either just toying around here in the Rim or that they did not yet have enough force to deal with the Bastion of Nar Shaddaa. But that day would come. Fire would consume that city as it had consumed coruscant it was surely only a matter of time. As she walked slowly back to the temple she pondered what the woman had said. They were no democracy, which was true. Their rebellion was no rebellion of the corrupt galactic senate which had dismantled the GA fleets and left the way open for the complete destruction of the Galactic Capital. She considered the Imperial Remnant a necessary thing, something that had survived and built the rebel alliance from the start. And with the failings of the galactic alliance, who could blame the galaxy for firmly rejecting democracy? Sandy certainly never cared for it. But the death squad purges bothered her. There had been rumours of such things when the Remnant first took the planet, mostly slavers and large scale drug runners. But those had halted years ago. Still, it was worth a conversation with Aidan. Plust that would mean she got to see Aidan. She grinned widely and continued her walk around the perimeter. If there were still Sith here, the jedi would root them out.

The Force felt different, but why Sandy did not know. “There was a hope, I think, that you would not look here. We were wrong as we often have been and innocents paid the price for that. ” Sandy shook her head sadly, her right hand still lightly resting on the edge of her belt where the clip of her lightsaber was notched. Her clear green eyes looked into the dead and reflective visor of the Sith’s helmet. She wished for a moment that she could see the other woman’s face, to discern how she really felt. So she probed with a question as she took another step forward. “But why do you care? Too many innocents have already died here, and though you may wish to pin their deaths on our historical incompetence, I would challenge you to come and see the destruction your men and fellow Sith have already laid here on innocents.” She waved her arm towards the distant smoking village then looked back at the Sith Warrior. This woman was an enigma. Not much younger than Sandy herself, but full of power. What had brought her into the clutches of the Sith? What decisive tale of woe?

“The engines are being warmed up, as soon as you can get everyone aboard we will launch them in intervals of ten minutes. Nar Shaddaa.” She answered the question of the apprentice before the young girl could even ask it. “Now, you are in charge here…” Her voice trailed off as she heard as much as felt the touch of the familiar mind. She let her eyelids flutter closed as she straightened, opening them again to see the scared face of the young masterless apprentice. “Keep them safe, and launch no matter what. If you see Sith soldiers, launch as many as are full. I will see you at Nar Shaddaa, Force willing. Be safe.” She placed her hand onto the girls head, giving her a bit of reassurance which the apprentice returned with a quick hug and a shameful tear covered face. Sandy understood, the girl had lost her master some six months before, and she had not yet conquered the fear and loss from that. But she would. Force willing. The girl would not be alone here after all, as there were many Jedi and rangers setting up for the perimeter defense. Only when the apprentice had made her way to the cluster of refugees did Sandy tap into the force, letting herself feel the flow, and letting her mind reengage with that of the Sith’s. She sent a memory of a glade a kilometer away, one of the makeshift landing zones the Jedi had cleared from the forest to help in the medical distribution to the refugee population. It would likely still have a lot of supplies and equipment, but it would not be occupied. Sandy began to run, her bare feet making little noise on the undergrowth. She did not wear the armour that Kyrie had given her, the same armour that had saved her life at the Maw. If she had time she would have dressed in something more traditional, but she had come from training and still wore just the lightweight tunic top and matching form fitting shorts. Her long handled sabre clipped neatly into her belt. She needed no other weapons or armour, because the force was with her. Even if this was a trap. She slowed her pace and walked into the glade, which was still stacked with boxes and debris. Her eyes searching for this Sith Lord.

Just as the plague on Mon Calamari had heralded the Sith Invasion, so too it was repeated here. Sandy felt a wave of all too familiar nausea roil through her. It was not the chaotic stench of plague and death but a sharp pang of murder. Fresh murder, eminating from the villages that spanned for miles around the Jedi Temple. Those very villages she had spent the last month helping heal from the plague. The heat of sudden tears in her eyes caused the jedi master to wipe at her eyes as she rushed after the Grandmaster. She nodded as Draygo went to her X-Wing, wishing in her heart that Aidan was there to fight beside her. But she had other things to do than fantasize about things that would never come to pass. She flagged down one of the masterless apprentices and together they ran towards the closest villages to help begin the evacuation of the civilians into the large medical cruisers that were still parked at the landing pads. There was much to do. She and apprentice Gieverra arrived at village ‘Mistia’ less than ten minutes later. A holdout of Coruscant Refugees, and they greeted the two Jedi with fear in their eyes. “Let's get you out of here now. Grab what you can and get to the transports!”

Sandy responded with a deeper bow then was probably customary and went to grab her datapad. She would have preferred to pull a sheaf of flimsiplast and lay them all out on the table, but datapads, like all technology had its uses for fast and efficient research. She retrieved it from her bag and walked quickly back, her bare feet making little noise on the padded floor. She felt an involuntary smile creep over her face as she heard Leena’s promotion and turned it into a full smile when she was back within eyesight of the Grandmaster and newly minted master of healers. She silently handed the datapad with her research over, most notably the explanation from the possessed children calling the Entity “Grandfather.” That alone was nothing, but mixed wit the maggots, and the entropic nature? All roads seemed to lead to one of the gods. Those old beings that had terrorized the old galaxy during the age of heroes. Or some thirty years before. “Well done Leena, you deserv-” She coked her head to the side, for there had been something strange. A spike of terror perhaps? But she could not place it. She expanded her presence outwards, taking in a breath of air as she did so and caught a flash of the darkside. Evil intention and eviler deeds. “Grandmaster, there is something here. Something evil.”

What are we harvesting? The telekinetic blow slapped into Sandy’s legs right above her ankle which threw her legs out from underneath her in a very effective strike. Sandy flipped forward, using whatever momentum she had left to throw herself into a somersault away from the Mon Calamari. She kept her saber outstretched away from her, and flipped herself back up into a crouch. She snapped the lightsaber off and gave the other woman a hug. “Well done! See it's totally possible to do, though I bet it will be harder in an actual fight with the Sith.” She turned and bowed deeply to the Jedi Grandmaster, and mother of her long time love interest. “Grandmaster, I am so glad that you have come.” But there was something else here now, some other malevolence that she could not identify, distant but persistent and she raised an eyebrow to Draygo.

Her own lightsaber came on with a definite snap and it's pure white light came to mingle with Leena's steady blue. She lifted the blade high so that It was at a steep angle beside her right ear. She spared a glance for Kadi, then charged right at Leena. She was no expert swordsman herself but she knew how the sith fought. "They come in a relentless attack. Not unfocused not a wild strike but precise. They focus their wild and their anger into brutally Strong blows." Though she was not striking to hurt these were very real weapons and she began relentlessly strike at the young Jedi Knight. Blow after blow, using the force to guide their speed and precision. "I Cannot demonstrate their powers, for I cannot carry that evil inside me. But know that they will be equally as brutal. A flying knife, a bolt of lightning, the scourge of fire. Now create distance and use those techniques I showed you in the cafeteria." She charged again.

The thought of an untamed acklay waltzing about the youngling quarters made Sandy’s eye twitch, but before she could focus on the problem she dismissed it. A foolish fear, this young woman was trustworthy, and though she had not met another naturalist since the Cerean master she had grown under at Gala. She looked back to the Mon Calamari and patted her shoulder. “Do not put your cares away so easily, though commendable, these are cares and concerns that should be a part of your life because they make you who you are. Accept your concerns, and you will find yourself a Master of the Order or healers. And Leena…” She cocked her eyebrow and grinned. “Let us practise a bit on your combat. I want to see if there is anything else I can help with. ” She gestured towards the entrance. “And Miss Kadi, you and Juro can join us.”

Sandy opened her mouth to respond and heard another unfamiliar voice interject, she spared a glance and gestured to the newcomer to join them at the cafeteria table. “Knight Kadi is it?” She flashed a welcoming smile, “This is a vital debate, and strikes to the heart of our current ecumenical movement within the Jedi Order. I will respond first with a story then you may interject as you see fit.” She let her eyelids flutter closed as she began to bring many bad and horrendous memories to the surface of her mind. It was her job as one of the Jedi Council to answer this question, and hopefully Knight Kadi would agree, but if not there would be much to learn here. “We live to serve the people of this galaxy, we live to protect them and to heal them. While some Jedi, especially those that departed our order in the Imperial Schism of several years ago, believe that we exist as a sword to cut through the Sith, that is not the truth of our order. We exist as both the last bastion of conscience and the last sword to defend the galaxy. We do not exist to serve the Republic, the Alliance, or to Democracy itself. All of these things are Anathema to our mission. They hinder our mission, for they put us above the people we serve. We heal first, but in the course of our service we must also defend the People. For the power of the Darkside is that of gods, it corrupts and maims, it consumes all before it. And the People are most vulnerable to it. Look at this plague we fought here on Felucia.” Or to the cradle of slavery on Thalassia. That she did not say. “Innocents were defenseless before its wroth. Do you believe this Darth Mavenger will stop if he gets the chance to seize it all? Does anyone? Power corrupts, and it will corrupt him and those that follow him until they are creatures that they themselves would not recognize. I saw it in the eyes of some of the Darkest Lords while I was an apprentice. They became paragons of their sin, leaving their humanity long behind.” She could feel the tinge of emotion behind her voice. “You have been given this gift of power, Leena. All of us here have been given that gift, and it is our great dignity to use that power for the defense of what is good and right and defend the people. You have an affinity for healing, but in the last moments of resort I have no doubt you will need to draw your saber again to defend those that you love. And you will do this by instinct because you love and you live to serve the people. I am not saying that you must make a habit of killing or to even kill, but you must learn to fight. For in time you will need it.” She sighed. “When I was a very young teenager I had much the same approach as you, and when it came time for me to use my powers and my blade I could not.” She shivered at the thought. “And I was broken for it. I nearly lost my soul because I did not have the desire to see my convictions through. I failed the men on my strike team and I failed myself. Many people that did not need to die, are no longer alive because I did not have the training or the conviction."

Sandy inclined her head in acknowledgement then walked with the girl to the cafe, grabbing a quick bite to eat and doing her best to hold back a grin as her companion slowly slipped back into her self confidence. "Tutaminis is a powerful tool, if dangerous to the user. I used much the same technique at the reactor on Scarif. Though not as direct as absorbing a lightsaber blade. Let me show you something that might help aide you from ever getting within range of the deadly blade of a Sith Warrior.” She motioned to Leena to attempt to strike her with a fist. She held out her own hand and summoned the force to aid her. On the first strike she formed a shield, much akin to the type she had used on scarif to protect the party but incredibly localized. She flung it up in front of the young woman's fist then threw it forward. Though it did not stop the blow itself, it greatly slowed the attack. As if the girl was striking through jelly. “This conserves our power, and allows them to waste theirs. Distance is our ally.” She took another bite of salad, and gestured for Leena to strike again. This time letting a tendril of the force form another fluid force field and lightly tapping Leena’s solar plexus with it. Not enough to knock the wind out of her, but to demonstrate that she could have gone much farther. “Defensive play is the Counselors greatest advantage. But that does not mean we let them attack without a countering offense. We do not try to kill our enemy, but we must subdue him. Killing is the last and most evil of our tools, which you already know. Knocking the air out of a Sith Lord’s lungs is enough to pause a fight long enough to disarm or subdue them. Sometimes.” She grimaced and took another bite.

Sandy sat in silence, letting the younger woman's words and feelings explain the whole of the short time they had not seen each other. In a way they had both died and had been reborn. She listened and placed her pale and freckled hand on top of the Mon Calamari’s. She extended her presence to let her feel that she had many of the same thoughts in the past. “You did not fail the force, and nor did the force fail you. I reject that feeling. A fight against the Sith and their evil is not an easily won war. Many Masters have failed harder and even fallen in their quest.” She hesitated, letting her thoughts coalesce into something that she could express without blabbering on. “You were brought back because you have not yet fulfilled the force’s desire for you. Or at least that is the traditional saying.” This was always a dangerous aspect of the Living Force. “Not to say it directly controls you, we all have conscious choice, without it we could not be alive. But I would say you have not left your complete mark on this galaxy Leena. Or at least this appears to be the will of the force. Question it, doubt it, that is what makes you who you are. But you must come in time to accept it, that is the path of the Jedi. We accept the limitations of ourselves and our knowledge. Something brought you back, perhaps it was love for your friends, perhaps it was a desire to finally rid this galaxy of evil. You must find that thing, and embrace it.” She smiled wanly, "Now let us get something to eat so we can face the day with energy."

If Mon Calamari were capable of flushing, Sandy had no doubt that Leena was doing her best to suppress one. The force, though usually a calm pool, was rippled with the deep waves of doubt all around the jedi knight. Sandy reacted in the way she knew best. She threw her arms around the Mon Calamari and gave her a loving hug. The younger woman always had the harsh scent of the ocean air around her, and for a girl who had come from the slums of an arcology world, Sandy found the scent relaxing and refreshing. When she finally broke the embrace she looked straight into her eyes. “Doubt is a natural part of life Leena. To deny it is to deny yourself.” She gestured to the bench beside them. “Tell me everything from the beginning and spare not a detail. However harsh or ugly it may be.”

A message arrived through encrypted datapoint for The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, Armiena Draygo Grandmaster, I write you this report with some degree of urgency. The plague (See attached photos and virology page) that was reported here has subsided. However, that is the only good news I have to report. The disease originated from some dark side entity which when confronted fled before we could capture or damage it. It has left a wake of destruction in the refugee populations that have settled alongside our temple, with casualties of up to 90 percent of some villages. The plague itself bears some resemblance to the outbreak seen at Mon Calamari that opened the path to the sith conquest of that world. Some residual digging through our archives here point to something locked behind top secret clearance. When I accessed the documentation it referred to something called the ‘chaos gods’, which I find myself most unfamiliar with. If you find time in your schedule, I would like you to come to Felucia and to help me identify the cause of this malady. Yours in friendship, Sandy Sarna. Jedi Master

Sandy watched as the newly knighted Jedi climbed into his starship and within a few moments disappeared into the atmosphere, then headed to hyperspace. She had not known him long, but he had performed admirably, and was a good tribute to all of his prior masters. Some of which had long departed the galaxy. That sober thought brought Sandy Sarna’s thoughts back to her own past, to Aidan. She smiled wistfully, saying a small prayer for his good health and the future of their relationship. Then she looked down to her torn and bloody robes, and the tunic that had been worn for days on end in the murky heat of the jungle forests. And she needed to write her report. Which for some reason grossed her out more than her dirty robes. _______________________ Grandmaster, I write you this report with some degree of urgency. The plague (See attached photos and virology page) that was reported here has subsided. However, that is the only good news I have to report. The disease originated from some dark side entity which when confronted fled before we could capture or damage it. It has left a wake of destruction in the refugee populations that have settled alongside our temple, with casualties of up to 90 percent of some villages. The plague itself bears some resemblance to the outbreak seen at Mon Calamari that opened the path to the sith conquest of that world. Some residual digging through our archives here point to something locked behind top secret clearance. When I accessed the documentation it referred to something called the ‘chaos gods’, which I find myself most unfamiliar with. If you find time in your schedule, I would like you to come to Felucia and to help me identify the cause of this malady. Yours in friendship, Sandy Sarna. Jedi Master _______________________ Finished with her writing, she let herself touch the force and felt another familiar presence. Leena? Sandy tied back her still wet hair, slipped on a lightweight tunic and shorts, and went in search of her friend.

As the machinations fell around her Sandy could feel the sudden release in the force, as if a fist had let go of her heart. Though the tiredness, the heartache, and the headache persisted. They were no longer aggravated by the darkness of the force. To say to the planet was cleansed was not true, but that hunger, that evil desiret was gone. And it left no trace except for the hundreds and thousands that had strangled in its foul grasp. She took a breath and marveled That she did not need to cleanse the air as it entered her body. Though it still smelled of the rotting jungle It was clean, she had never smelled something so nice. She felt a smile creep across her lips. Then she deactivated her lightsaber and went looking for the Apprentice. "Jackson?" She called out until she found him. She gave him a grateful smile. “You did very well, you used your training and your wits to free this planet from evil.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. “You have earned the rank of Jedi Knight. When we get back to the shuttle I will transmit your new rank to the council. And Jackson, I am very proud of you.”

Her blade moved swiftly as she cut the beast in twain then with w second strike cut it apart. The pure white blade of her lightsaber cutting bone with ease filling the air around her with the harsh smell of burned bone and ozone. She reached out to the Apprentice in the force and felt his determination. He was holding himself well. As a jedi should. No fear, only the force. She smiled. Then let the force flow through her and into him. He and Leena would not be alone in this fight. She could vaguely see other animals approaching, but her blade was steadfast, and Orephon likeways.

Sandy slowly stood from where she was kneeling and sighed. She was tired, and it showed on her face, in her walk, and in the slight slump of her shoulders. She had been here for days, surrounded by the endless death, breathing the contaminates, and finding little success. But that voice was something new. It was the voice of those whispers she had felt in the back of her mind since she had arrived, was it the voice of the forest? No, because it was familiar. It was the same voice she had heard on ruined planets since she was a little girl. But never before had the words been this clear. They had been clear in the maw as well. What had the Togorian said on Thalassia? She couldn’t remember, the trauma had broken those memories into irretrievable shards. The memories stirred in varied levels of opacity, the most harsh of the abuse so bright and clear, while the small things seemed to be seen through a fog. She shook her head. And slowly walked to Leena. She placed a hand on her shoulder, and nodded. “We must find the voice. It is not the forest, it is a someone or a group of someones.” She could taste the smell of rot on the back of her tongue. “This is something ancient and malevolent. The darkside has lain here for an eternity, undisturbed even as we built a temple on its threshold. There is little wonder that it has finally woken up.” Danger flashed down her spine as Leena Tapped into the lightside of the force and Sandy, almost as a reaction brought her lightsaber up. And all around the darkside began to flood. "Apprentice, get back to us now!"

Sandy did not move, though there was a significant threat, these were innocents. Not matter what they were possessed by there was no way she would draw her lightsaber, so she would need to find another way. She drew in another breath of vile air, and let her eyes fall completely closed. She took another breath, letting the force fill her again, and she could feel the strength leave her legs as she began to pull at the force, to direct it through her. There was pain now, pain from the harsh crash of her knees onto dirt and cobble, but she was not in danger. Leena and the others were getting away, and distraction enough for this horde. Another breath, and the force was so thick in it that she could barely hold the breath in. She forced herself to speak, her thin lips forming the words slowly as she touched every tired and diseased mind. “Sleep.” It was a desperate measure. For whatever had possessed the children would not easily give up its control. But she dove past that control, letting calmness and peace penetrate where there had only been decay. One by one the children dropped where they stood. Some into stuporous sleep, some giving up their decayed bodies forever. But that other presence did not go away. If anything it was heavier than before. As if the Jedi had finally caught its attention.

One of the Jedi Knights on the surface near Master Sarna lifted his comm and snapped a reply back to the new arrival. “Copy that Transient Plunder, please find Master Sarna at coordinates I am transmitting now. May the force guide you through the jungle.” He dialed a quick transmission to the shuttlecraft, and then sent a notification to the Jedi Master that she had another apprentice heading her way. __________ That news at least brought a grim smile to the lips of Sandy Sarna as she stood on the edges of the village. She waved to Orpheon to keep his distance, and she stepped forward towards the shuddering circle of maniacs. Their dance continued unabated even as she took another step, and then another until she had nearly reached them. Then she took a breath, tapping into the force, and was nearly overwhelmed with the stench of the darkside. It was tasteless at first, disguised in the rank air of decay that permeated the rest of the village, but then it turned to almost a thick bile in her throat. She nearly stumbled back but then let her inner calm overcome it. Another breath, and she had expelled the shadows from her. Then she truely tapped into the force, pulling it through her like a screen, eliminating the darkness with each breath. Stretching her presence about her until it touched the first dancing child. He screamed in a terror that caused the dance to grind to a halt. All eyes spun unto Sandy and Orpheon. Half lidded eyes, sightless eyes, and some had been clawn from their sockets. Leaving dark voids that saw without seeing surrounded by long dried blood. But there was one that did not flinch away from the presence of the Jedi Master.

Sandy let her green eyes linger on the Chiss’s red eyes, her mouth set into a small frown. Not disappointment by any means, but one of concern. As she laid the child back onto the medical cot, she let her concerns be fully known. “A full purge of the darkside is a dangerous act. Sin eating even more so. Darkness is a natural part of life, and though we may desire to purge it with a holy fire, I would recommend releasing it. I do not know your training or your background, but you do not bear the uniform of an Imperial Knight and do not have the support system to go toe to toe with the darkside in such a way.” She said this with little reproof, she was not scolding the man, but merely warning. “Now let us venture further into the mire of this planet. There is another village up the dirt road. Another refugee camp. And from the scouting reports, likely just as filled with death.” They walked as the medical speeders began to pack up, and it was not much longer than an hour until they could smell the next village. Rot. Decay. Death. And the dark side. “Stay beside me.” She whispered as they walked through the undefended gate wincing as the full smell of the place hit her nose. Bodies lay strewn and bloated on the dirt paths between the clustered houses. She reached into the force, searching for those telltale signs of human consciousness, and found a small cluster towards the center of the village itself. The signs were confused, almost tainted and not the same as the girl before. These were more alive. And in the village they found a troupe of the survivors. Dancing in a great circle around a fire. Laughing like their lives depended on their mirth.

Sandy let her tired green eyes find his and let a soft smile spread ascross her lips. “Of course.” She gestured to where the medical orderlies were clustered around several of the other survivors, and indicated two of the jumpseats that were next to the stretcher marked for the victim he was carrying. When he had set her down Sandy put her hand on top of his, her oice low as she spoke, and the force moving through her into the child. “First we must touch the living force, let it flow through you, through your center. Now guide it.” She moved her other hand long his arm to where his heart lay. “Gather it, and let it expand throughout the rest of your body. This malady is of the darkside, isolate where it gathers in yourself. Then exile it into the flow of the force.” She watched him. Then placed her hands back onto the small child. “Watch and feel what I do. This is much the same but we must use a bit more of ourselves. We must overwhelm the darkness in her, and guide the shadow from her.” The force stirred again. So much so that the jedi master’s hands began to glow from it. The light flowing from her hands into the small shivering form. “Guide it to where the disease is manifesting.” The glowing lines traced the child’s bloodflow, gathering in pools along her organs and lymph nodes. "Then draw it like poison from a wound." Slowly building, until finally Sandy drew it back out of her. The darkness banished before the light. But it took its toll and the Jedi Master was left even more exhausted. For while they might be able to treat an isolated case here and there, they had not found the heart of the disease. For that was in the forest itself.

Another human child lay choking on vomit at the back of the small temporary shelter, more a mix of discarded fibroplast containers than any kind of house, Sandy scooped her up and held her close as she walked out of the dim and reeking hovel. The only survivor of a family of seven. And from her fibrilic shaking, this one did not have much time left. The disease had already progressed to such a level that the skin above the welting sores under the girls arms was starting to deteriorate, mixing the acrid smell of vomit and sweat with the sweet sick of decay. The girls spasmodic movements slackened as Sandy pressed her close, walking her back towards where the mobile medical depot had been set up at the edges of the village. It was a strangely long walk. Lonely and barren. The close packed shelters strangely silent except for the buzzing of flies. Another village of refugees devastated. Where had these come from? The remains of the scavenged bulk cruiser that made up the central meeting area of the village could have been from anywhere. But the lone mass driver round that still was logged in the aft section marked it as either from Coruscant or Chandrila. Another swath of victims of the Sith and the Mandalorians. They had sought safety amongst the jungle, and had found a terrible death instead. She ducked to clear one of the overhanging branches and waved one of the MediCorps who stood beside the speeder in his white robe. He gave her a nod and bent back over his patient. Sandy saw from a side glance that a lone Chiss was approaching the village on foot. She held up a hand to stop him but lowered it just as quickly, feeling that he was a force user, and one that carried the equipment of a jedi apprentice. She turned the gesture into a wave for him to come closer, she pressed the dying child into his arms and led him to the medical transports. “Three survivors out of maybe a hundred. Stay calm, no mask can stop this plague, it is born by other methods. Access the force and use it to strengthen your immune system. Then when you have done that, join me in trying to save this girl’s life.” She let her green eyes flicker to the blood that coated a part of his uniform. Not human at least. "And remember to draw your sword at the very last. Do not rely on it in this jungle of death." It was not the most friendly of greetings, but it was all the Jedi Master could manage after two days of this work. She pressed her hand onto the girls head beside the crook of his arm and began to pull heavily on the living force. The dark side lay like a thick blanket over everyone and everything, but the living force was still alive here. Just smothered.

“See if you can get some rest.” Sandy placed a cool hand on the forehead of the sweating human child, he was shivering despite his temperature as his body struggled with his malady. She could sense the dull ache of his pain, and the sweating pustules that formed along his lymph nodes. Horrifying pain, and he continued to cry softly as she soothed him with the force. Letting him fall into a dreamless sleep. But as she pulled her hand away from the child’s head, the force moved in its undetectable current, flowing and beckoning to the Jedi Master as if the small hairs on the nape of her neck were being tickled by a wind. It was a familiar presence, one that she had known fairly well during a recent mission to Scarif. She let her pale green eyes close and reached back out in the force. Leena The situation was much worse on the ground. And even the breathing apparatus that she had placed over her mouth and nose were unlikely to stop whatever this was. And the thundering presence of the dark side echoed throughout the planet.

She gave his stern face a loving kiss until she could feel the set of his jaw fall away into a smile. Only then did she break away, matching his smile with her own before she squeezed his hand. “I love you Aidan, don’t forget it.” She looked at the waiting shuttle, but knew that he had his own journey to pursue. His own order had different objectives, a different life. And they could always see each other again in a few weeks. Right? Her heartstrings fluttered in anticipation but she smiled warmly, then turned and strode into the shuttle. Leaving the Imperial Knight behind.

A message arrives for Leena from Sandy Sarna