Leena Kil

Leena listened quietly. She shook her head as her apprentice spoke with such conviction, such surety in an uncertain future. Feeling the pain that radiated from her apprentice, Leena allowed it to wash by her, leaving her soul untouched. Feeling it, her demeanor turned solemn. Such pain the healer knew could be healed by the force in an instant; but for her apprentice, this was an important opportunity for growth. To overcome the darkness and evil that had beset her, Keenava would have to let go and plunge herself into the healing energies of the force time and again. Such a task might take years, but it was a necessary one. It was not one to pick at when emotions were so fresh. Pulling a deck of Sabaac cards from within her robes, Leena smiled at Keenava as she began to shuffle, ”There is much to learn about the depths of goodness the force offers. Together, perhaps we might find it.” Dealing out the cards, Leena began the game. ((Next post will be on Ilum))

Jedi Starfighter Corps To go where they dare not Coming off the tails of the great war with the Sith Empire, the Jedi Starfighter Corps returned from a frontline combat role to that of guardians, protectors, escorts, and explorers of the space lanes. Government Affiliation: The Starfighter Corps is one of the most visible arms of the Jedi Order. While governance of the Corps remains entirely within the Jedi, the Corps is often found working alongside local, planetary, and regional governments to seek peace, justice, and the preservation of life and civilization. To this end, the Starfighter Corps will enter into agreements with governing authorities and abide by their edicts (so long as they remain in line with the Jedi way), working alongside their military and security leadership. Membership: Membership within the Starfighter Corps is entirely voluntary and only Jedi in good standing are allowed within the ranks. The Corps maintains a military structure within the ranks of the Jedi. Ranks such as Knight and Master still hold authority due their position within the order, but members willingly submit themselves to Corps leadership. Jedi who show proficiency in piloting, star-faring, or technical aptitude are heavily recruited to the Corps, although any Jedi having completed their apprenticeship is allowed to request membership. Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and aptitude tests administered. Jedi Apprentices who are training under a master that maintains active membership in the Starfighter Corps is considered a de facto member with the rank of Pilot. Rank Structure: Pilot: Any non-commissioned or probationary member of the Starfighter Corps regardless of if they serve in a frontline or support role. Master Pilot: Commissioned Jedi who have attained the rank of Knight or higher within the Order and have been assigned a permanent role within the Starfighter Corps Squadron Leader: A veteran member of the Corps who serves primarily in the role of a pilot, having shown expertise and proficiency in the use of space-faring craft. These members of the Corps can be assigned to lead squadrons of pilots on missions for the Order or be assigned to liaise with allied military or security factions. Technical Sergeant: Veteran support officers of the Corps and Jedi Order. These are the beings that ensure that the fleet of various Corps-owner craft always operate at peek performance. They lead teams of technical pilots and support staff. Technical Sergeants are sought after for their skill and knowledge the galaxy over, rumored to be able to enhance craft well beyond their original specifications. Flight Captain: These Jedi have seen countless missions and combat actions. They command entire groups of starfighter squadrons. When large Jedi actions are called for, it is the Flight Captains who lead the Corps into the unknown. It is also the Flight Captains who routinely lead escorts of dignitaries and high profile heads of state when called upon. Support Commander: When large assets of Starfighter Corps materials are moved across the galaxy, it is the Support Commander who sees this operation go off without a hitch. Masters of logistics, wizards of repair, and leaders within their own right, this rank and role leads the support staff of the Corps. Commanding the entirety of the Corps’ transport fleet, Support Commanders are the quintessential unchallenged masters of rapid and safe transit. Colonel of the Corps: The leader of the Starfighter Corps, this member of the Jedi reports directly to the Jedi Council and is responsible for the oversight and command of the Corps. Leadership: The head of the Starfighter Corps is the Colonel of the Corps. The Colonel is often advised by an array of Flight Captains and Support Commanders who each oversee specific aspects of the Corps. The Colonel reports directly to the Jedi Council who oversee any military action taken by the whole of the Order. The day-to-day function and majority of the operations of the Corps are overseen in a military fashion by appointed members within the Corps. Common Tasks: Planetary Protection: The Starfighter Corps will often supplement existing planetary militias by a show of force, routine protective patrols, and, if needed direct confrontation with hostile powers that seek to oppress the people of that world, those traveling to or from, or seeking shelter. The Jedi recognize that fielding an entire space and air protective branch is impossible to do adequately for some governments. Other times, outside forces are simply to great and will overwhelm local defensive systems. It is at times like these that the Corps will proactively step in on behalf of the Jedi to render protective aid. Fleet maintenance and advisement: During the war not only were countless fighting beings lost, but so were civilians and craftsmen, the men and women with the technical knowhow and artistic talent to keep all manner of craft from air taxis to deep space explorers up and running. With the fall of the Sith, and as the galaxy works to rebuild, the Starfighter Corps is there to help keep the skyways and spacelanes not just safe, but operational as well. Escort and Refugee Transit: In an interconnected galaxy such as ours, often times the need arises for dignitaries and common citizens alike to transverse far and wide across harsh planets and hostile space ways. Be this to attend a key vote or seek a better life for one’s family, the Stsrfighter Corps acts in the interest of peace and the preservation of life. Fighter craft from the Corps will provide escort to singular and multiple unarmed or lightly armed transport craft and, at times, will provide full escort, ships included in the case of emergency, of individuals whose presence is required to be or not be at a particular location in the galaxy. Transport: The Starfighter Corps has the ubiquitous honor of serving as the main transport mode for the Jedi Order and as such will take to arranging and providing for the safe and quick delivery of peoples and cargoes be they from generous benefactors or to ravaged worlds in need. Air Support/Superiority: Even now, with the threat of the Sith diminished, rogue elements, warlords, pirates, and dark siders haunt the shadows of space erupting without a moments notice to lay siege and waste to unsuspecting and undefended populations. When this occurs, the Starfghter Corps can muster at a moment’s notice to deploy to these wartorn regions to support local defensive postions, besieged shelters, and lend their aid and outright superiority against these oppressors. The presence of these Jedi often turn the tides of battle as an assured air superiority is transferred from the oppressors to the Jedi and those they aid. Space Mystery Investigation: The deepest mysteries of space still hold undiscovered and forgotten truths, secrets unknown to the galaxy at large. In combination with the Exploration Corps, the bravest among them, those with an unhindered lust for the unknown and those called by the force beyond the edges of the map, journey out into the void of space to investigate anomalies, search out strange communications, and render safe the chaos that exists in shadow. Anti-Piracy: Often alongside Sovereignty-aligned craft, and even sometimes on their own, the Aces of the Jedi Starfighter Corps will proactively take the fight to pirates and slavers, all those who seek to gain from the suffering of others. NPC Members available for RP: *Designed NPCs used in the RP as reoccurring persons can be added here as time progresses.

As the ship settled into faster-than-light travel so did Leena. The Mon Cal sat back as she listened to @Keenava Dira speak. In their corner, they were isolated enough; but not so much so as to not hear the hustle and bustle of the ship’s occupants. “There will be a lot that we have to do once we reach Ilum. We will have long days and late nights building up the ruins of an ancient repository of peace and learning. The will of the force calls us to a greater than our individual selves. The good of the Jedi, of all force users, rests in some small part with you and I.” Pulling her own silvered saber hilt from within her robes, Leena held it up for them to regard. ”I do believe though, that we can find time for some lightsaber crafting and purification.” Regarding the light as it glistened from the hilt, Leena paused to ponder it in it’s simplistic intricacy before she spoke. She chose her words carefully. ”The life of a Jedi is not an easy one. In some ways, it is more difficult than that of an acolyte to any number of hedonistic religions and orders. Such a life requires dedication, discipline, and sacrifice. Personal attachments can cloud one’s dedication to the force. Even a Jedi’s only or most prized possession,” Leena twirled the hilt in her hand as she lowered it to the floor and let it roll across the uneven deck plating. ”they must be willing to lose at a moment’s notice. If the force wills it,” she called the weapon back to her hand, it rattling uphill back up into her hand, ”it will return to her. To become a Jedi, you must completely turn these attachments over to the force. Otherwise, those same things, or people, that you value will become the very chinks in your proverbial armor where the darkness will weave it’s tempting Diathim’s song.” Leena returned the weapon to her robe. As a healer, her usage of the Jedi’s stereotypical weapon was limited. She had even considered giving up the weapon altogether; but even she understood the value placed by any myriad of warrior-types to their weapons of choice. Even the Jedi themselves, back to times of antiquity, made exceptions for the elegant weapons that had become their trademark. “I do enjoy the peacefulness offered by the vast wilds of the galaxy, untouched by the machinations of civilizations. Alone against the wind and storms with nothing but the force as my companion. When that is unavailable, I find a rousing high stakes game of sabacc more enjoyable than a Jedi probably ought.” Leena chuckled at her own confession. It was true, even if the opportunities of late had been limited. On the frontline MASH units Leena had served with, sabacc with the wounded or visiting command staff was a welcomed and enjoyable distraction from the horrors of war. As these memories, both warm and unpleasant flitted across her mind in a moment, Leena realized just how long it had been, how much had occurred the galaxy over. ”Much has happened these last few years. The galaxy is a new place and the shadows of the old still linger.” . . . Leena began, before continuing into a lengthy explanation of the happenings of the galaxy. The fall of temples and worlds, the campaigns of the Sith and the Republic, it’s fall, and the Imperial Remnant’s rise to power. Leena told stories of the front line battles she had undertaken and the amazing healing she had seen perpetuated by the force. She wondered as to the disappearance of The Spider and even the entire politicization of their order. The whole of the history of the galaxy as she knew it flowed from the chatty Mon Cal’s mouth. All the while, the home-built craft slipped smoothly, mostly, through the in betweens of real space with only occasional bone jarring rattles that randomly tormented the whole of the ship.

The cramped interior of the so called “corvette class needle ship” was something that would look more appropriate half buried in sand and presented to the rare ignoramus Tatooinian tourist as a wrecked out Jawa sandcrawler. The entire thing seemed haphazardly, if not expertly cobbled together from no less than 5 different generations of ships, cast off war equipment, derelict rescue and mining vehiclrs, and at least two dozen different moisture vaporators from half that many manufacturers. Every square inch of free space was piled with a variety of random quote unquote junk, bits, baubles, and salvaged debris. What was not piled high was converted into makeshift quarters for the overflowing population that seemed to inhabit the somehow space-faring tribe of squirrely Squibs. Calming down the hysterical spy had taken more than a few minutes and a lot of touching to convince her the Jedi were friends. Name dropping the leader of the group, Reaper Joe, had sealed the deal. Getting off planet had been way easier than one would have expected for such an eclectic group of practically pirates. Ducking beneath a tangle of swaying and sparking wires than hung even lower than the already low bulkheads of the needle ship , Leena tried to plaster a smile on her face as she tried in vain to keep up with the floppy-hatted green pirate leader, Reaper Joe as he led Leena and her apprentice @Keenava Dira through the craft, parting cramped hallways of junk and the dozens upon dozens of his fellow beings that tinkered with it. “As you can see, we have made a many-variety of serious top-notch high quality repairs and upgrades to Sith Hunter Prime after the great scrapping of ours and any age.” Joe gestured at a panel of blinking lights. “Our sacred blood-bound agreement of healing and reciprocation has cost us greatly high amounts of immeasurable values, but with greatest costs has come even greater chance for expansion in a galaxy much ripened for the harvesting with unwatchful eyes of stringently governmental spy-spy oversight.” Joe shimmied between a narrow gap in the bulkhead into an adjacent hallway, pausing as he watched Leena eyeball the space and shake her head. There was no way she or Keenava were fitting through that gap. ”We’ll catch up High Captain-Commander” she nodded, waving Reaper Joe onward. The Squib offered an all too untrustworthy smile as he offered a mock salute “Aye! Next stop, non-stop, Jedi Base To-Be Icy Ilum and a future most glorious!” and then he hurried off out of sight. Leena paused, her shoulders relaxing as the Squib vanished from sight. She turned to face her twi’lek companion. “Well, apprentice-o-mine,” she joked, her voice singsongy like the Squibs’, ”shall we find us a place to bunk, . . . somewhere aboard the, . . . uh, . . . Sith Hunter Prime?” Weaving through the ship, Leena saw nore of the same, the entire craft seemed to be built around maneuvering thrusters, tractor beams, and access ports. Any spare room was dedicated to salvaged space debris and anything else the Squibs thought might be valuable to someone in trade. The whole of the ship was filled to the the brim with Squib whose own ships had been lost over Nar Shaddaa, even their escape pods salvaged or melded into the hull of the home-brewed craft. Still, at the end of a rather haphazard and uneven narrow pathway adjacent to a purring Hapan fusial thrust engine, they found some solitude. Righting a toppled crate that, judging by it’s label once held Imperial blasters, but was now apparently brimming with excess R1 unit photoreceptors, Leena settled onto the seat. ”Now,” she waved at another crate for Keenava, ”I am sure you have some questions and Ilum is still a few days out. Perhaps we can settle in and work on a bit of unorthodox training. Such an unorthodox place does not present itself every day.” The Mon Cal smiled warmly. Outside, the ship accelerated rapidly away from Falleen before lurching to hyperspace and Ilum at the far end of the trek.

Leena set off, back into the slowly awakening city. She pulled her cloak around her shoulders before donning her traveler’s hood. She was not trying to hide, outright; but, truth be told, she was exhausted. As such, any undue attention she could avoid was worth it. Still, she was looking forward to getting back to Jedi business proper, not politics or positioning or trying to wrangle the Jedi’ position in the galaxy, just simple clean hard work. It was refreshing and after the long trek of war, Leena was ready for a simple and clean challenge. And then her comlink chirped. Leena let out an audible sigh as frustration tensed across her shoulders. Who is it now? she wondered as she took a deep calming breath before releasing it in a slow exhalation before reaching for the communication device. It was if on cue. Leena almost chuckled as a smile splayed across her weary face. Squibs. Short, chatty, and a downright pain at timed, the Jedi Grandmaster could not help but like them. A bulk of them had been vaporized alongside Jedi and Republic forces proper over Nar Shaddaa and still their tenacious spirit lives on. A translucent blue floating head materialized over the communicator. Beneath his oversized large-brimmed hat, the Squibian commander, Reaper Joe, smiled out at the Jedi. ”Ahhh most esteemed lady healer of the mighty Jedi. From far-off distances and forbidden most secret trade routes much word rumors came to us of a shadow stronghold of Sith slimelords to be attacked for the liberation of oppressed greenies. Even now elitest of elite forces of the Squibian Salvage Forces are combing the planet to look for,” the commander paused as he chose his next words carefully, ”survivors. Imagine my most shocking of surprising surprises to learn that you are here as well.” Leena smiled. Wherever there was conflict, wherever there was a chance to scrounge something of value from others’ junk, the Squibs inevitably found their way. Like trans-galactic Jawas, they plied the hauntingly empty spacelanes. ”And a good morning to you as well High Commander,” Leena inclined her head in greeting as she digested everything the small rodently being had babbled. ”What can I do for you?” ”Our newly minted most indomitable fleet requires most secretive of retrofitting and we have much salvage to offload in preparations for ventures beyond the edges of Known Space. It is imperative that we return to the ice world of Jedi secrets and pick our brother and sister engineering Squibian masterful craftsmen up with due zippy speed. Once,” he added, ”we finish obtaining any needed supplies from this ripe world.” Leena sighed as she chuckled under her breath. This was an opportunity to get back to Ilum, to help Keenava best her demons and refocus herself too. ”It would be an honor to accompany you when you depart; but first, I must find my fellow Jedi. She . . . “ The Squib warlord cut Leena off before she continue, ”Oh yes, many many Jedi on the dark planet recently. Squibian Intelligence Assets report at least a dozen, many leading bands of frighty fright freedom fighters. I can direct locations to your transmission device and we can pick you up by the end of business day.” Before Leena could respond, her comlink buzzed, a slew of different planetary coordinates, some within the city and some outside appeared in the small comm readout. ”Many thanks comrade. I am sure I will be able to find my apprentice by then.” ”Excellent! We shall pick you up as soon as we have finished out top secret salvaging rescue operations.” Leena smiled as the transmission ended. She knew better than to question the strange green furred squirrel privateer/pirate or their methods. They worked all too often. If they knew she was here and where a dozen other Jedi or Imperial Knights, she had no doubt they had a way of knowing where she was and would be too. It was yet another mystery of the force. Checking the list of coordinates, Leena noted a pair not terribly far away. Something felt right about it. Tucking her comm away, Leena hurried off hoping to find her apprentice. She figured that had Keenava still been lying unconscious in the temple ruins Reaper Joe would have said something. She had hoped that the newly minted Jedi could find her way. As a former Sith, Leena figured the Twi’lek’s survival instinct was well honed. Still though, she had not found the Grandmaster yet. Making her way down the street, Leena lurched to a stop as she drew up short almost colliding with a short red furred rodent in black tactical gear. “GAHHHHHHHAAAAYYY!!!” the Squib operative cried out in shock as she whipped around in shock, “Can’t you see I am spying on the Jedis?!” she pointed down the street toward @Keenava Dira

Leena smiled, her fishy face twisting oddly as she warmly responded, her voice firm and full of love for the former Jedi. ”We are with you brother and we will stand beside the Alliance as equals. So long as the force wills it.” It was a simple statement; one Leena felt no need to expand on. The Jedi were not enemies with this new Alliance, nor was there a desire for any such thing. If peace could be found and maintained, all would be better for it. Nor would the Jedi become pawns of political currents as they ebbed and flowed. Such a thing had been done before and it always resulted in ruin, in suffering, devastation, and senseless death. Blindness to the truth. But these were things that did not need delved into. This Jedi and Knight knew such things and were able to find common ground. If they could do so, then there was hope for the galaxy whole. And while a young Alliance of unknown make and trajectory was not one the Jedi could blindly submit to, they would cautiously and eagerly stand alongside and help to nurture toward the light. They would adhere to their laws and customs so long as they were morally upright. To do so, was the Jedi way. The Mon Cal slowly turned to continue down the stairs and began winding through the debris field. ”Serve your masters well @Raphanel, serve the people, and above all, always serve the force. It lives and breathes through the galaxy; through you. I would be deighted to have you alongside us on Ilum, to work beside you and delve deeper into the endless mysteries of the force. I understand; however, should your duties call you elsewhere. A man of your rank and standing is needed a great many places in the days and months ahead. Your wealth would save many worlds. If you are able to provide transport for my apprentice and I, we will gladly accept.” She paused as she considered @Keenava Dira and all the former Sith had been through. She had come so far, yet Leena could still feel the fractured torment that raged within the Twi’lek’s chest. “She is troubled, like so many, by the demons of her past, of wars fought and innocence lost. In a way, she is analogous of the galaxy we now stand on the precipice of. By the will of the force, both shall be brought back fully into the light the stronger for it. Scars turned to gold.” Leena smiled as she began to walk away again, pulling the hood of her robe over her head as she remarked, a trickle of laughter playing in her voice. ”But I need to find her before the Squibs do. Bit rough around the edges those salvagers.”

Leena offered a slow deep nod in return. ‘Grandmaster,’ the term felt so foreign, so distant, and yet, somewhere deep in her heart the young Mon Cal knew the truth. She turned and gestured silently, bidding the Lord Commander to fall into step with her as they moved into the awakening city ”There is much to discuss.” She began, forgoing any sort of formal greeting. The young eyes of the healer gazing outward as if they saw beyond the destruction that lay before them. ”The people of Falleen will require a lot of assistance. Otherwise they will fall into want and come to see their freedom as an affront by the new Imperial dominion.” Leena wished that the new Sovereign Alliance had communicated with the Jedi before beginning their assault on this world. They had caught not only the Sith forces of Falleen and her citizens by surprise, but also the Jedi who had been infiltrating the world in an effort to purge the darkness from within. “The Sith are apparently not gone from the galaxy.” Leena gestured to the shellshocked world before them as evidence of the statement. ”Even if their empire is driven from the galaxy, their wizards of evil apparently lurk in the shadows even today. The beast that ruled this land cannot be the only one. It was Sith who destroyed your Hell Vault Prison was it not?” she asked, half rhetorically as she continued to speak, their feet carrying them around the corner of another city block. “It is not a Jedi’s place to rule. We seek to defend civilization, justice, truth, and light. These . . . Sith,” she almost spat the word, ”slaves of despair and destruction, must be found and stopped before they can gain another foothold. The welfare of these people, the people of this new Alliance, rests on your shoulders Commander; the shoulders of you and your brothers. To keep them from the darkness. That is your oath, lest the new light that rules this galaxy become an oppressor’s flame. We, the Jedi, will stand beside you in support of this cause; but we are not bound by the same servitude. We are called to a loftier goal, a holy calling governed by the force itself.” Leena stopped as they came to a wide set of stairs that cascaded down onto a once decorative brick promenade, now scattered with boulders and craters. ”Even now, there are Jedi seeking the Sith in whatever shadows they might be festering. To find them, to offer them redemption in this life or the next, that is our task at hand. To strengthen and protect the weak and downtrodden is our goal. And so our tasks are not mutually exclusive Lord Commander. As long as we both remain in the light, your Knights will have a friend in the Jedi.” Beginning down the stairs into the rising sun, Leena turned to look @Raphanel in the eye. “From here, I am called to the healing of a single ragged soul and the construction of a sanctuary for the Jedi and those who serve the cause of light; to heal, test, and equip those who safeguard all peoples of this galaxy and beyond. And what of you my friend? Where will you go next? Would you join my apprentice and I as we journey to the windswept world of Ilum?”

The Mon Cal’s footsteps rang heavy as she hurried through the mostly empty streets of Falleen. Smoldering columns of smoke and haphazardly swaying spires encircled the landscape, but amongst them, she could feel hope. Hope radiated from souls free from their bondage and slavery; hope for a new and brighter day, and each one that followed illuminated more. Leena smiled as she felt this very hope in her own heart as well. It urged her tired and weary body forward. The Jedi’s aching bones spoke of the toll the purification this world has taken upon her, upon all of the servants of the light who stood arm in arm to pluck this world from the maw of destruction. As she moved, the sounds of a stirring world began to creep into the still morning air. The sounds of a people who were both joyous and cautious. Freedom was theirs, but along with it came a terrible toll and a world in need of rebuilding. In the shadows of doorways and still standing buildings, through the charred and broken remains of storefronts and shelled out vehicles, the people of Fallen began to pick up the pieces. They would need help. Of course they would. The assault by Imperial forces on the world had left it battle scared. Skirting about a still smoking crater, Leena shook her head. This was not the way of the Jedi; nor would they be beholden to it. The Jedi hurried on, her brown travelers robes scorched and covered in dried mud and ancient gray dust. Onward, toward her next task and the rebuilding of not just a world, but an galaxy and an order so manipulated and twisted by the magics and abuses of the Sith. Eventually, after winding her way across the war-torn city, the Jedi Healer came across the band of Knights, former Jedi and other light-siders who had taken a different calling, yet one still bound to the light. Stopping a short distance off so as to not intrude, Leena awaited an opening. Realizing the solemness that comes amongst a brotherhood in the aftermath of conflict, she was content to remain silent, meditating quietly, head bowed in reverence to the gravities of war even upon those who sought it’s end. When the moment was right, the Mon Cal would speak, her warm voice heavy with the weight of the office she now bore and the tiredness of a resolve that had been pushed, bent, but remained unbroken. “Lord Commander, a word.” Leena would wait for the leader of the Knights and when he could afford the chance, would walk with him into the ruins of a coty reborn to discuss that which the future held, not just for themselves or their orders, but for the galaxy itself.

Across the whole of Falleen, the Living Force moved, blossoming in fonts of purifying power and light. At the eye of the cascading storm of purity lay the devastated temple, a temple formerly dedicated to the worship of The House of Dragons and their perverse god. The mount was bathed in light, great wings of purifying energy arched forth from there and swept over the world, driving shadow before them as it was extinguished in holy splendor. As each Jedi and light sider hidden upon the world meditated upon the cleansing waves of the light side of the force, upon goodness and justice and right, the sweeping cleaning tide grew as it swept across the world. From the battle weary guardians, a cleansing fire that gave chase to the darkness, devouring that in it’s path. From the ever watchful sentinels, an unblinking eye from which no darkness could hide. From the sage counsellors, warm light that bathed the world in healing energies. Leena felt the power of the force wash through her, over her heart, mind and soul in a tingling charged wave. It passed into her, over her, and through her, baptizing she and her fellow Jedi in the purity of their cause. It glowed a blinding untainted white as the crystals, attuned to healing, gave up their color and amplified the energies until they were visible from horizon to horizon, even from well beyond orbit. The Healer felt as every Jedi, every soul touched by and purified by the light, joined the healing trance and contributed to it. They were an Order bound together in a unity of purpose, to save the lives and very soul of this world, to be the watch guards of civilization and safeguard her from the darkness that lurked in the souls of every man. And given time, the entire world of Falleen became awash in the healing power of the light side of the force, the Cosmic and Living force intermingled to pull the world back from the precipice of destruction, to right it’s path and offer unto it a chance at redemption, a cleaned consciousness and heart free from the temptations and addictions of the dark side. The iron grip by which @Karys Narat iv-Adas and his false religion of tyrannical violence had not been loosened, but crushed until none remained but ash. Their presence, their power upon this world washed away, purified as if it had never been upon Falleen. And as the world seemed to awaken with the sunrise, the first rays of a new day dawned over the cities of Falleen. Leena slowly opened her eyes. The work of the Jedi upon this world was done, if for the moment. Weary and energized, Leena smiled softly. The people of Falleen had been purified of the cancerous dark side. Their healing now rested in their own hands, in the protection of the fledgling Sovereign Alliance. Glancing about, the stones that glowed so powerfully began to mellow, their colors returning to them as heat and light dissipated into the air. Leena saw @Keenava Dira lying there across from her, the newfound follower of the light sapped and drained by the battle of light and dark within her very soul. Leena reached out to brush a sweaty tendril of ash from the twi’lek’s brow as she whispered, “Rest easy apprentice, where we go, we will contend with these spirits who plague your every step.” Securing her saber hilt back upon her own waist, Leena slowly stood and began to collect the healing crystals spread throughout the devastated temple mount. Hefting the final crystal, Leena considered the deep plum color of the stone, striated by faint wisps of green and orange that swirled into the warm core. She felt the light of the force glow warm and comforting within. Stooping forward, Leena cradled the stone in the twi’lek’s curled hand, a subtle reminder of all that they, that she herself, had accomplished here and a message calling the apprentice to Leena’s side when she awoke. Righting herself, Leena considered the city all about. It was almost silent and yet, peaceful. Faint cries of birds, long silenced by the oppression of the dark side called out over the cityscape. The scars of battle were still visible between Leena and the horizon. Yet, the rays of the dawning sun arced across it all, bathing the city in warm hues of yellow, pink and orange. A new day was beginning for the people of Fallen. Slowly, Leena began to careful make her way through the rubble and down the stairs of the devastated temple. She would need to coordinate with the head of this offensive, a commander of the Alliance, or whatever they were calling themselves these days. Her fellow Jedi knew what to do. They would follow the will of the force until they met again. For now, the force beckoned clearly across Falleen, beseeching each Jedi to follow it’s guidance out into the galaxy to carry it’s will to the people. The darkness had been driven from the galaxy, and yet the need for the Jedi remained strong.

The force cracked like breaking stone as the light that projected from Leena’s hands clashed against the wickedness of the chanting of the sin-bound clerics. Even as the shadows were beaten back, a dark presence seemed to scurry for the heavens tearing at the roof, one final sacrifice, the ultimate end of any who followed the dark, as it fled into the cosmos. There was more pressing needs than pondering who or what fled into the night, what dark presence summoned by the Sith lingered on this world. There would be time for that later. For the moment, the entire temple seemed to shudder and rumble as the roof cracked and shattered, released from the unnatural powers that had held it together. Huge chunks of stone began to plummet downward, thundering as they shattered the floors, a rain of certain doom until Leena felt a tug through the force. The bulbous eyes of the Mon Cal Jedi turned from the suddenly fearful acolytes as their fanged deity deserted them. She beheld @Keenava Dira as she drew upon the light, upon the force, sending it out like an explosive spear of energy. The tumbling temple was blown outward, sending chunks of stone and sizzling remnant shadows into the night. A smile played at the corner’s of the Healer’s mouth. “I knew you had it in you.” Turning back to the cultists, Leena took a menacing step forward, her hands coming up in an aggressive stance; warm fiery light glowing in her palms. ”Boo!” The cultists, wide-eyes at what had just occurred, deserted by the god in their moment of triumph, their moment of need, flinched and began to scurry away. They fled as fast and quickly as their haphazard flight would allow, scrambling toward the city and whatever shelter there might be to be had; even as Jedi and Sovereign Knights culled the darkness. Across the world, pockets of darkness remained, tethered unnaturally to the hearts and minds of locals, royalty and commoner alike. Even as dark siders, consumed, and unrepentant acolytes warred futilely against the forces of order and justice, the darkness in their hearts still lingered; pockets of sin that could invite back the same fate that had, until recently, held this world in it’s firm grasp. Looking about the exploded temple ruins, Leena did not hesitate. This world was being consumed by a cancer, a cancer that if not contained, would undo all the ground gained here today. Their sacrifices would be almost completely in vain. She shook her head as she fished a weighty bag from her waist. Tugging it open, Leena fished out a single small-fist sized gemstone, a brilliant blue that all but glowed with a cool calm refreshing energy; and then a second. It was a fiery orange octagonal crystal that seemed to flicker with warmth and life. The master healer tossed the satchel to Keenava with probably a bit more force than necessary. “Place one at each corner of the temple mount. Allow the force to touch you, to flow from you to each stone and not from them. When you are done, take the final two stones and join me in the center.” Leena turned striding toward the center of the devastated temple, stepping over discarded aspergillum and chunks of temple. Fishing a comlink from her pocket, Leena quickly tuned it to what had always been a secure Jedi channel. Browdcasting across the city, she hoped her fellow Jedi were able to receive it. ”Brothers and sisters, this is Master Leena Kil, Healer of the Jedi Order. Turn your hearts to the world around you. Open your hearts to the light. Reach out. Take my hand. Together, and only together, can we save this city, these people, this world. We are the Jedi. We stand for the truth and the light. We fight for justice, for civilization, for life. Together, we shall prevail today.” Slowly lowering her hand, Leena allowed the comlink to clatter to the floor beside her as she sank into a cross-legged position on the floor, the very air about her beginning to shimmer with light side energy. Leena gingerly placed the two crystals she held on the floor, one on either side of her. They began to glow brilliantly catching and containing the energy as Leena awaited Keenava’s arrival across from her, to place the jewels on either side of herself, boxing the duo in even as the crystals on the permitter began to faintly glow; each crystal binding with the other creating a latticework of energy that caught and rebounded the glowing energy of the force, growing it exponentially as it passed from crystal to crystal and through the two Jedi until such a font of healing power could be contained no more and it erupted across the world to touch and cleanse every force user opened to the light side as it washed across the whole of Falleen bathing it in purifying energies and chasing the cancer of the dark side from every nook and cranny the world and her people had to hide within. A planetary reset, loosening the bindings of darkness and freeing the minds, bodies and souls of those imprisoned by the darkness, free at last to choose their own destiny; free from the chains of the dark side. And those that were entirely consumed by the touch of sin, of the fanged god, would be purged in plumes of cleansing light.

Leena hurried forward with her fellow Jedi. All about them, the unnatural night seemed to be waning, the gray hues of predawn rising over the world as the purifying rays of the light of the force pierced through the veil of iniquity in shocking reds, yellows, and oranges. Yet before them, a final bastion of darkness stood, unnaturally shadowed by the mysterious torrential funnel of blackest sin. As they neared the massive stone steps that led into the temple, Leena slowed. Cultic chanting could be hears from deep within; low, gutteral, and laden with evil. The smell of blood permeated the air. Looking to her companions, Leena slowly nodded. This was what they had come for, the font of evil that was even bow permeating the planet, a conduit atop a nexus that stretched invisible clawing fingers throughout the world below and the air above the towering snake-adorned parapets. “We put an end to this here. Now. May the force be with us.” The exterior of the temple was unguarded; but even now, the chaos of the world behind them was erupting. Bloodshed the world over would continue until the Jedi brought this sin to heel. Inside, who knew what they would come upon, what unnatural foes might present themselves. Leading the charge, Leena flit from step to step, her footsteps flowing light and cool as each footfall seemed to echo cleansing power into the area about each one. Calling upon the force, Leena began to gather it to herself. With each inch she pressed into the darkness, the cool cleansing aura of the living force seemed to radiate from her even more until she reached the top of the stair to stare down into the inky black hallway of coiled snake-like statues and glistening blood. From there, the light burst forth, unable to be contained. It surged into the temple like a crashing ocean touching all it could reach, illuminating the darkness? And purifying the latent tendrils of shadow and darkness with hissing cleansing waves. @Pinckz @Kadi Silan

As the eternal echoes of the force reverberated into silence, slowly, Leena opened her eyes. She felt the outpouring of force energy from her body. She had been but a conduit for the energy of the cosmos, for life, and while it invigorated her, her every nerve tingling with purity, she felt the raw drain of energy such a display had carried with it. Caught up in the torrent of the never ending oceans that made up the galaxy , Leena had to strain to not allow herself to be lost in the break as eternal met the present, washing the darkness away in a riptide of purifying light. From her crouched position, Leena slowly stood, stretching out her hands, arms and legs as she willed feeling back into the extremities. She surveyed the world about her. The chaos of the dark side boiled in the distance, an agitated swamp, even more lethal as it churned and was purged; a necessary event nonetheless. The Jedi would have to ensure that the people of Falleen, their people and culture, were not destroyed in the process. Around Leena; however, there was a stillness as the ash of a thousand fallen dark side wraiths were blown on the breeze, their tormented souls free to finally journey into the great beyond, to find peace now that their nightmare was over. The Mon Cal brushed a tear away from a bulbous eye, grief at the loss of life, even as the cancer of the dark side was culled. Sacrifices necessitated by the perversion of the darkness. The Jedi Master inhaled deeply, steeling herself as she remembered that these lives lost were not by their doing, but by the machinations of the disturbed and deranged, perverse acolytes of sin and evil. And yet, it was not wrong to morn the senseless losses the enemy had inflicted. Staring out at the gently wafting ash, Leena closed her eyes, bowing her head in a moment of solemn silence for the memories of those long since destroyed by the darkness, finally able to rest. As she did, the blinding barriers of light that separated the ash and the Jedi began to fade to a shimmer before dissipating on the breeze. The immediate threat of pressing evil over, the world beyond still cried out for salvation from the darkness. In the distance, like a beacon of twisted blackness, Leena could feel it; their work was not yet done. As @Keenava Dira loped toward her, Leena offered up a half-hearted smile; a smile, nevertheless, that shone in her pained watery eyes. She was proud of how the newly uninitiated Jedi had handled herself. Surrounded by darkness, Leena could only imagine how easy the temptation would be to revert back to past knowledges and old habits, even in the name of rightness. “Well done,” she offered as a sign of her approval accompanied by a knowing nod, “but our work is not yet done. The darkness still holds firm to this world. Even as the light seeks to extinguish it, I fear that the shadows of darkness will take root amongst the forces of liberation and good. We must guard ourselves, watch out for others, and extinguish the unnatural flame of shadows. Reach out, feel the darkness my friend. We must go to it and stop whatever profanities they are even now pouring upon the soul of this world.” Leena nodded toward the city in the distance, spiraling towers even now cloaked in unnatural shadowy clouds that seemed to crackle with dark energy. Somewhere within lay the font of darkness that even now corrupted the world around them. Looming to the others she pointed, “The force will be with us and guide our steps.” And with that, they set off, back toward the city and the temple of darkness within.

The Mon Cal locked eyes with @Kadi Silan giving a knowing nod over the din of the howling and moaning of the encroaching spawn of darkness. What had been was no more and would need to be dealt with; but that was only a salve in the moment. It needed done, but that alone would not suffice. Whatever, whoever, corrupted these souls, consumed their very lives needed to be found and stopped. The dark side was unnatural and there was no one beyond the naturalist who bound off to find the abomination. To heal the world and it’s people, Leena would be glad to have the Jedi’s aid. For now, she was glad to have Kadi searching for the font of despair. As Leena turned back to the closing horde, she more sensed than saw a shadowy form leap beyond her. Arcing through the growing cloud as it was bound about them, a snow globe of evil, Leena knew @Keenava Dira had found her way. Light and shadow, free of the clawing lust of darkness and yet hardened beyond steel ready to pierce the veil. Entrusting that the Wookiee, @Tharnanion, had the child in his care, Leena brought her hands together. A thunderous clap echoed throughout the encompassing snare of solidified light side energies, its glow casting twisted shadows of the hellspawn inward. She did not stop though, moving before the thunder could even clear the air. The field would sustain itself for some time, empowered by the forces of light as they descended upon this world, their powers being fed by the sphere of light and in turn feeding the energized shield with their righteous light. Leaping upward, Leena rolled backward through the air over the swinging arms of dark side shamblers as they grasped at thin air. Plunging back toward the decking, Leena was enveloped in a glowing spray of purity. Force energy crackled about her as she plunged back down at the horde amassing below. Landing like a feather at the last moment, the force whirled like a beautiful tempest about the Jedi Master. Leena’s closed fist lightly impacted the durasteel plating of the landing area and in that moment, the Living Force responded. An eruption of blinding energy leapt out in every direction, a cacophony of raw power bathed in light that billowed out with purgative energy. It’s purifying presence cleansed the cancer of darkness from all that it touched. It cut through and obliterated the shadows of the empty vessels of smoke that made up the Consumed until all that were left standing in a wide radius were the Jedi, agents of light.

The sea of light side energy crashed against the cliffs of darkness and as if a thousand years passed in a moment began to wear away the jagged edges of evil all around them. The purity of the sea never tainted as it cleansed they that stood against them in the tidal surge of the force. Leena felt Keeneva’s presence, familiar with the darkness and yet, set apart, fresh water poured into the sea, carve a hole in the jagged surrounding presence, creating a river by which the torrents of light could pierce the shadow. When the first agent of darkness attempted to breach the light, his body was enveloped in the cleansing power of goodness. Any that was tainted, poisoned beyond curing, was burnt away, like cancer before the scalpel and cleansing radiation. Leena’s face fell as the realization dawned upon her. These beings, so consumed by the darkness, had pushed themselves beyond the natural fall of sin until that disgrace was all that maintained them in this mortal world when they should have passed on long ago. Theirs was a false existence, that of unnatural binding to this mortal plane, one of slavery and suffering. They would know no else and to purify them was to scour their souls needlessly into the fires of purgatory. So as the army of iniquity began to turn, their fringes fleeing toward the city proper and their unholy temple which radiated with darkness, Leena knew what must be done. She looked at her companions and was reminded of their oath as Jedi. Theirs was a purpose greater than their own preservation and if their sacrifice could save a single soul, so ought it to be. “They must not be allowed to run freely in the city or many more lives may be lost.” And in that moment, Leena allowed the growing plume of light to fall, to linger on in the hearts of do gooders and and sizzle in the air as it clashed with the energies of darkness. All that remained was the healing wash of energy that Leena purged the not yet encompassing darkness from the girl that had fallen before them. Looking to @Tharnanion, the Mon Cal called out, “Get her to safety!” She waved at the child beneath her feet before looking to @Kadi Silan and @Keenava Dira “Stop them.” She waved at the fleeing queen of the damned. “The city must be protected, lest our brethren Knights be overrun.” Leena stepped forward, her hands weaving through the air as if parting invisible waters, weaving the force into the very air itself, drawing upon the same energies that had repulsed the army of ill intent. This time, however, Leena directed the energies beyond their small group sending a physically solid wall of glimmering light crashing down beyond the fleeing Sith spawn. A moment ago, when healing was still an answer, they had repulsed this army; now, the wall of light began to encircle them all, army of deranged Linorms and Jedi alike. This was a cancer that Leena and company would have no choice but to cut out if this soul of this city, this world, was to be saved. The ancient and proud Falleen deserved nothing less.

Leena smiled. She did not smile because of the words of contempt the halted aggressors showed, held at ring’s edge by the torrent of light side energy that even now dampened their surge of dark side strength. She did not smile because above and around them the floodgates of the newly reinvigorated forces of good cascaded to this world to wrest it from the maw of evil. She did not even smile as she sensed the presence of these shackled minions’ master draw near. No, Leena smiled, a warmth radiating from her rain washed form because there, nearby she could see them, Kadi and an unknown Jedi acolyte adding themselves to the battle of wills that even now threatened to spill over into the physical. For such a covert task, the force had called forth an inordinate amount of the greatest Jedi the Order had to offer, and Leena was pleased to be amongst them, old friends and new. And yet she could feel it. These twisted minds, warped by their master’s will and that of the darkness would not be so easily washed free. The darkness here, like a cancer, had metastasized to the very core of this world. What a blessing it was to have a naturalist here. With her aid and the will of the force, Leena knew this world would be saved. This world needed saved and to do that they would have to fight. How Leena hated to fight. True there were Jedi who excelled in the martial arts, some even thrived in it, drawn closer to the goodness and purity of the force in the midst of it. It was not entirely unlike the frontline surgical setups Leena often thrived in; but still, she was not fond of the art of war in and of itself and war had found her once again. Leena traded a look with Keeva and gave a knowing nod. “You’re a Jedi now. That does not mean you forget who you are or where you came from. You are a child of the light. Let it flow through you. Use what you know, combine it with who you are now.” Pulling the antique saber hilt from her robe, Leena pressed her former master’s blade into the twi’lek’s hand. She stared deep into the former Sith’s eyes, a deep aura of trust accompanying the green-bladed weapon. “I will protect the child.” Leena stepped back, the child straddled between her feet. The force was abuzz with energy. It crackled in the misting rain, bursting from every drop. It flowed through Leena, amplified as it passed into the world about them. Reaching her hands out, Leena felt the flow of the force as it washed over her hands. She let it guide her hands, spinning it in her hands, a jetty of power that as easily as it gathered was released back into the world by Leena in a blinding flash of blazing white light that would blind the foes of the light. If there was to be a battle, Leena would serve her brothers and sisters and the force and this, the opening salvo would show that. The force continued to flow through the Healer, energized and amplified as it touched the purity of her own soul. Leena concentrated on the light, the connections between she and every glimmer light that she could feel across the entire cityscape. She allowed the power to expand, to touch their hearts and minds and offer steadiness, encouragement and hope; to strengthen their resolve and implant the knowledge that they were on the side of right and would, in the end, win. The force would strengthen the soldiers who fought for freedom, to protect their families and world, against the oppression of darkness, quicken their responses and enhance their abilities to peak levels. With her hands held open palms upward before her, she sunk deeper into her battle meditation. She touched the city about them, empowering the forces of light. The child beneath the Jedi Master was bathed in purifying energies, the child’s mind, body, and soul awash in healing and purifying energies. The darkness would not be able to stand against the light.