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Nar Shaddaa - Rebel Alliance Headquarters


Raven Nasra

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“Got ya!” Leena chimed gleefully to herself as she settled back in the heels of her feet. She had been trying to reach a splint and had found herself just barely too short to grab it from the top shelf in the medical ward’s storage room. A brief tug of the force and the item went from being scratched at by her clawed finger to tumbling gently down into her open hand, joining the pain relief patches and wraps she already had tucked in the crook or her other white Jedi-robe clad arm. 
 

Pushing through the swinging doors that separated the expansive storage room from the triage bay, she shuffled along happily. The disinfected fresh smell of germlessness was a comforting familiarity to the Jedi apprentice; and although she was still an apprentice, bandaging strained limbs of two soldiers was not beyond her ability. With nobody else in the bay for the moment Leena has been left to tend to the two troopers herself. 
 

“You see. Two shakes of a Sarlaac’s tongue.” She chimed looking over the two humans before her, one nursing his shoulder and the other having limped in. Both had been sparing with the other and felt that the other one clearly had gotten what he deserved.

 

Depositing the supplies on a nearby empty med-cart, Leena set to work. She had bandages plenty of injuries, some far worse than this in her time before shipping out to Nar Shaddaa and knew that sometimes the mental bruising outweighed the physical injury in cases like these. Both would likely be as right as rain within a day or two, a little sure perhaps, but nothing serious; scans of the injured areas had already shown that. “You two fellows ought to be saving the rough stuff for out there on the field. I hear there is plenty of Sithly minions to go around. I’d hate to have to see you miss all the fun because of some training accident.” She spoke as she set about splitting the second man’s knee, chatting on happily as she went. “I’d venture most fighting doesn’t place somewhere that is hooverchair accessible. There ya go, just straighten that leg out as best you can. I don’t suppose you can tell me where you’ll be off to next can you? Gotta be why you are training though. You know it is going to come in handy in your next mission. Some Sith fortress of despair or ode to overused lightning epitaphs or something I bet.” As her webbed hands deftly helped the injured trooper stretch out his knee on the brace, Leena’s mind reaches out for the man’s mind and body; projecting a calm and relaxing presence and dulling the pain as the man grimaced when she began to wrap the splint to his leg. “I’d sure be nervous going into something like that. You lot are the real heroes, fighting for truth and freedom and light and all that. Say I bet there are some pretty nice looking Twi’lek girls where you’ll be heading; or maybe that is Zeltron. What do you think? Cannot day I see the appeal of those head tails myself, but to each his own. Like they say, plenty of fish in the sea.” Rambling on, Leena finished wrapping the man’s leg. Standing up from her stooped position she patted the trooper’s shoulder. “Couple of sea dew backs too I’d venture. But nothing you couldn’t fend off with a good pair of crutches. Which is exactly why I am not going to give you any!” She teased, knowing the trooper would not need them as he blushed slightly and his comrade chuckled heartily before grasping at his shoulder in pain.

 

“Now now, you just hold on there mister.”  She said turning to tend to the first trooper’s injury quickly pulling away his torn shirt with a flick of her scissors. “What’s the ladies at the cantina say if they knew you were in here getting a bandaid after you fell down?” The trooper shot Leena a quick glare before he smiled at his buddy’s chuckle. “Ain’t nobody said being tough wasn’t going to attract the girls, but at least go out and get a scar or something to show off. This sling,” she held up a white medical sling smiling, “just doesn’t scream look at how macho I am.” 
 

“Can’t you just, you know, like use the force or something? I thought you were some kind of Jedi. Aren’t you?” The trooper asked, rolling his eyes at Leena’s playful ribbing. He knew it was soft compared to what he could get from his command for he and his comrade’s tomfoolery.
 

“Oh? Well I suppose I could just chant in some ancient Shrii’wook and make snow fall here in the bay. Then of course I’d command you to eat the sacred snow and you’d be magically healed.” She teased, carefully threading. The sling about the man’s good shoulder and tying it off. “Alas, I am just an apprentice and the stars just are not aligned quite right. I guess you and gimpy are stuck with my less than sorcerer ways.” Leena smiles widely as she finished and patted the man’s back indicating he was done.

 

Picking up a datapad, Leena began to tap the appropriate buttons, logging the contact, speaking as if to herself, keeping one eye fixed on the two troopers. “Let’s see here. Two of her majesty’s finest injures in the chow line fighting over the last glass of Jawa Juice. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?” She asked , looking back up at the duo with a warm smile as she shoo’d them towards the door.

 

The men walked out smiling as they chartered amongst each other, shooting glances and chuckled at the newly arrived Jedi healer before they disappeared out the door.

 

Crossing her arms across her chest, Leena sighed audibly before speaking to no one in particular. “Not too shabby for my first case planet side.” Looking around, the healer-in-training uncrossed her arms and set about tidying up. “Gotta keep things looking tip top in case something worse than a bruised ego and a sprain come in the doors.” Picking up the scraps from her treatments, Leena deposited the remaining supplies on the med carts and waste receptacles as appropriate before pulling herself atop an examination table.

 

Folding her feet underneath of her and balancing her elbows on her knees with her palms outstretched held towards the ceiling, Leena closed her eyes. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat. There in the empty room, Leena opened her mind to the force, reaching out to feel her new surroundings. They were familiar. Medical bays of all sorts had been the Mon Call’s home for the majority of her life training with the Jedi. She let her mind wander through the air, feeling and touching every item. Everything was in its place. The darkness of the galaxy pressed at the edges of her consciousness; a galaxy embroiled in turmoil. ‘But here there is peace.’ She thought; and that was how she wanted it to stay. Here in her corner of the cosmos, there was peace. Even when the wounded and dying came through the doors, it was her job to be a beacon of light and a spirit of comfort and care; driving back pain, hopelessness, and the tendrils of the dark side.

 

And so, she sat, her mind wandering. It sought out any residue tendrils of darkness and exposed them to the light, vanquishing them and driving them from the room. True, there was not much darkness associated with a simple sprain and bruise; but even that could be all that the grasp of the dark side needed to cement its place in the wounds of the next badly injured patient that came through the doors.

 

”Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat”

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Leena felt the river of light flowing around her, engulfing her in its warm embrace washing away the dirt of the dark side. Within a short period of time the stain had tumbled away broken down and disintegrated upon the soft tidal force that the girl allowed to wash over her.

 

Opening her eyes, Leena sighed, her body relaxing. Stretching her legs out, she swung herself to the edge of the table just as a stranger approached. Blushing slightly, the girl pushed herself up to a standing position. “I am just a servant of the force Master . . . uh . . . “  she stammered realizing only after she spoke she did not have any idea who this inquisitor was, or even what he was. He clearly was not robbed as a Jedi. Although, she realized to herself, Jedi seemed to grab themselves in all sorts of attire these days.

 

“I am not sure what powers I can teach” she continued, trying to put the blunder behind her. “The ways of the force are a great mystery to me as well. I am just learning. If you really wanted to learn something you ought to go to the Jedi Temple at . . . Wait! Did you say the Empress?” Her voice rose in pitch at the realization of who Th e man had mentioned. “Who is the empress?”

 

Without a pause, the Mon Cal fell in line with the man, setting off to meet Revan. “No sense keeping her royal highness waiting,” she reasoned. “I’d be happy to meet her. I bet she is pretty old heh? Just needs a check up or something? I can’t imagine she gets put in too much danger. Well, maybe from assassins, but that is something they wouldn’t let an apprentice healer handle, is it?”

 

”Oh! Wait just a sec!” The apprentice hurried over to a counter and pulled the cupboard door beneath it open and grabbed her simple silvery lightsaber hilt. “If someone like an empress wants to meet me, I better at least kind of look the part” She muttered quietly sliding the weapon into her white belt and hurrying to fall back in line with Alekseyev.

 

 A few minutes later, they approached Revan and the rows of clones. Raising an eyebrow in shock at the sight before her, Leena paused leaving an uncomfortably large gap between she and Revan, pressing the heels of her palms together and bowing slightly as a show of respect. “She is younger than I thought,” she whispered before speaking loud enough to be heard, “You summoned me, my Empress?” Leena kept her head down, reaching out on the waves of the force, a smile crossing her fish-like face as she felt the step BFF glow of the woman’s presence in the force. 

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Righting herself, Leena tried to maintain a stoic composure, thinking it would be appropriate for such a meeting. ‘Imperial Knights . . .’ “I think I have treated some of  you! Uhhh . . . I mean your knights,” she responded with enthusiasm turning to embarrassment at her outburst. “You have good soldiers Empress.”

 

”Do you want me to look at your injuries? Those look like more than a mishap or two with a training saber.” Leena figures that perhaps the empress was looking for a way to heal her own injuries and she was more than willing to help. Having seen some lightsaber wounds in the past, she guessed that was probably what had happened. As much as her curiosity had her longing to ask, she didn’t, not yet; she was n officially treating her yet. “I’d be happy to do what I can. I am only an apprentice myself, but I’ve spent most of my life training under the great Healers of the Jedi. I’ve even helped someone come back into a cloned body after an unfortunate, and classified, incident of some sort.” ‘That nobody wanted to tell me about. I’m ok with that now though.’

 

Gesturing towards an exam table, Leena smiled warmly. Even if this was a high powered political figure, they were in Leena’s element and as the girl tried to steer the conversation further that direction, the nervousness in her chest relaxed. She was just another potential patient. “I might not know all there is to know, but I’d be happy to show you what I do know. If you really want to be a great healer you ought to go to the Temples. The dissipation is, uh, I think my meditating. Do Imperial Knights not meditate? Y out are probably too busy trying to cleave Sith Lords in half or something. As long as no other patients come in, I’d be happy to lead you in some meditation. First we should really look at your injuries though. I always find it harder to meditate and clear the air if I am nursing a twisted ankle or a bruised ego after I have to go train with my lightsaber.”  With that, Leena pushed up the sleeves of her white apprentice robes so they bunched behind her elbows and waited with a smile, one eye focused on Raven and the other scanning the room for any possibly needed medical supplies.

 

Edited by Leena Kil
Spacing

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With permission to proceed, Leena immediately reached for a tube of bacta paste. “I find that sometimes traditional medicine supplemented by the force yield even greater results.” Squeezing the thick goo across Raven’s face where her injuries stood out, she began to work the healing salve into the crusted wounds of the empress as she reached out on the waves of the force. Her eyes could see the injuries, but through the ripples of the force she could feel them; feel where the dead and injured flesh intersected with the healthy and where the body had already mounted its own defenses and reconstruction efforts. “You see, so many people think it has to be one way or another. The force or science, medicine or mysticism. I wonder why not both? All one needs to do is . . . Did you say you were a Sith Lord?”
 

Leena urged the bacta to permeate beyond the pores of the Empress’ wounds to reach deep within, beyond her injuries to where the Empress’ body was already fighting back. There she urged the woman’s body to dedicate itself to healing, to draw forth the energies contained within the deepest reserve pools in her body. At the same time, she opened her mind to the natural tidal forces of the force, seeking out for any signs of this supposed darkness, an island of resistance in what should be a sea of tranquility. She felt it, a reserve of darkness held under lock and key.  “I can feel it. There is something there. One just cannot allow the darkness to flow freely or overcome us. The ways of Jedi healing require a mastery of the light; that is what the masters told me.” Handing the tube of salve to Raven, Leena smiled, “Here. You keep applying this to your other wounds. Make sure you cover it completely. Even if it hurts, let it permeate the wounds’ deepest recesses. Open yourself to the force, feel as it ebbs and flows. Feel your heart. Each beat sends the life giving energies of your own body in a tidal surge of healing. Let them merge as one. There, in that moment, bind the two together.” As she spoke, Leena ran her hands mere millimeters over the top of each of Raven’s wounds gently tugging on the woman’s natural healing ability and encouraging it to respond to not only her’s but Revan’s touch. “At least that is how I understand it to be. I don’t really know that much.”

 

”You need to keep the darkness suppressed though. If even a sliver leaks out, it is like a drop of oil in a sea of purity. Pollution. Life is pure. Healing is the resurrection of purity. Driving away the darkness.”

 

Waiting for Raven to follow her instructions, Leena extended a warm wave of light side energies, a wave of peaceful purity untainted by the maelstroms of war, death, and destruction. Even then, as she stood her palms open by her sides facing the empress, Leena spoke happily. “Maybe when we are done you can show me some of the moves you used to defeat the hordes of Sith Lords. I think there are some training sabers somewhere. I have heard that some force users use combat as some form of meditation. Not exactly something I exactly understand, but I suppose to each their own. If you are aiming to be one of those,” she dipped her head backwards towards the knight keeping watch, “maybe that is your way too. You still need to know how to center yourself in the force, to find that calm eye in the hurricane and allow it to embrace you.”

 

Once Raven finished, Leena smiled and cheerfully continued, “And now we wait. The force can enhance the healing rate, but even I cannot heal wounds instantly. And these were inflicted by the dark side. I’ve seen those take a bit longer as well. But still,” she clapped her hands and stepped over towards Alekseyev and sat down on the floor cross-legged, motioning for Raven to join them, “Time heals all things. You’ll be as right as rain soon enough. Maybe we can do that meditation now. We can reach in and find that heart of darkness and purge it, together, the three of us; a knight,”  she placed a hand on Alekseyev‘a shoulder, “a Jedi,” she touched her own chest, “And an Empress.”

 

Resting her forearms in her knees, Leena waited for Ravan and Alekseyevand then closed her eyes. “You see, when we meditate we are looking deep within ourselves and yet feeling all that is around us. We allow the force to flow around and over us, like a stone in the middle of a mighty river. The strongest waves push us where the force guides, but we stand fast against the tides that move lesser stones. We make up the wall that holds back the tide, redirecting its power where it needs to go.”

 

”Just open your mind to it. Tell me what you see within. What do you feel? Feel it, sense it, but don’t let go of that calm center, no matter what swirls outwards.”

Edited by Leena Kil
Spelling errors. Stupid autocorrect!

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Leena opened her left eye to look at Raven as she felt the darkness rear its ugly head. Reaching out with the force, Ravenna sent forth a warm walled wave of light sided energies to bolster the wavering empress. She felt the commlink vibrate across the room, the distraction a minor frustration. Leena wanted to help the queen combat the darkness she still carried inside.

 

As the meditation abruptly ended, Leena popped from her seated position to standing on the floor in one fluid motion. Pressing a hand to Raven’s shoulder, Leena offered a warm smile, “The darkness is a pollution that spoils otherwise untouched and life-filled seas. Don’t worry friend, we’ll purge the darkness together.” 
 

Looking around the otherwise empty medical bay, Leena grabbed her pack of meager so-called personal belongings and scurried after Raven and her entourage. Falling in step with the knight and empress. The force seemed to be directing her. There was something about this woman and she was not yet healed. The medically oriented Jedi apprentice had sent still injured troopers back to their duty, never happily; still, she had to do her duty. This was different. Sending a fellow force-user back to fight that which was trying to claim her soul, could be murder. “Does your ship have a medical ward I could help in? I’m sure if you are going back to the front my services will be put to better use. Before then, maybe we could work on caging the darkness that still hunts within your mind. Maybe you can show me a few of your Imperial lightsaber tricks. I’m not the best with this thing,”  she held up the simple silvery saber hilt before setting it back atop her pile of clean robes. “I really don’t want to kill anyone though. I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve never even used this thing outside of the training chambers. I’m much more comfortable helping those in need. I sense that you are in need of my help though Empress Raven and while I am not one of your Knights, I am a Jedi. Jedi are sworn to protect the innocent, serve the force and others, and guard peace.” Looking back over her shoulder in the direction of the medical ward they had already left, she continued, “Besides, I was sent here from my temple post to provide medical services for the soldiers and saints seeking to stop the advance of darkness. It seems where you are going there is a better opportunity to do just that. I’d like to see as few martyrs as possible out of this war. And who knows, if you came back from the dark side, maybe together we can save others who have fallen into that web.”

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“Oh. Or maybe not.” Leena paused midstep as her comlink chirped. Digging it out of her pocket, she held the barely functioning speaker to her ear and listened, nodding her head several times before tapping a button on the link and dropping it back in her pocket and continuing as if nothing had happened. “It looks like I get to go home!” She bubbled enthusiastically. “Some industrial center on Dac is experiencing on outbreak of some virus that is giving the local doctors fits. They’re running low on bacta and requested that the Jedi send some help. Probably more my scene anyways than war anyways.”

 

”I suppose this is goodbye for now Empress.” Leena bowed slightly at the waist before turning and tried to walk back the way they had come while containing her excitement at going to the home of her people for the first time in memory. “Don’t let the darkness control you Empress! Mind your thoughts and we’ll work on it together when we both get back. You still gotta teach me some of your famous Knight lightsaber tricks.”

 

And just as she reached the end of the hallway, Leena caught her hand on the corner of the wall looking at the forms of Raven and her knightly entourage goi the other way. “Oh right,” she reminded herself, “May the force be with you!!” she shouted at her newfound friends before going around the corner and breaking into a dead sprint towards the loading docks.

 

Once she arrived, Leena found that the ship had already been loaded and coordinates set into the navcomputer. Nestling herself behind the one-man control system in the cockpit, Leena smiled and initiated take off. This would be easy enough; “Deliver the meds and help treat the ill. Easy enough for a Jedi padawan I think.”

 

And from there, the girl and her cargo of bacta and other assorted medical goods set off into the atmosphere.

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  • 4 months later...

Leena smiled as she hopped down off the transport, a spring in her step. It had taken several days to recover from her ordeal on Mon Cal and she was still not sure of what had all happened or the outcome. Passing out after her expulsion of force powers, the crew of the ship had spirited her to safety and helped arrange transport for her back to the Jedi.

 

Even as the chaos of what she did remember on Mon Cal played at the back of her mind, Leena couldn’t help but smile. She had survived. She had helped, somehow. Still, she needed to tell somebody about what had happened; the explosion at the hospital, the other Jedi, the Sith acolyte, the raid on the warehouse, everything. There was a darkness there, a darkness that needed the attention of more Jedi than just her and the two strange refugee Jedi.

 

Making her way through the Jedi compound on Nar Shaddaa, Leena pondered what came next. Maybe she was better fit for a hospital wing. Things tended to not explode there.

 

Rounding a corner, Leena came to an abrupt stop as she pressed herself against the wall to avoid running into a warrior Jedi, Sandy Sarna. “Oh! Excuse me Master Jedi,” she stammered lowering her head in reverence. “I was lost in my own thoughts and not paying attention to the world around me. You see, I, well, I just got here and was going to go report in on what happened. Then,” she sighed looking downcast, her voice falling with her emotions, “I thought I would return to the infirmary. Nothing tends to blow up there.”

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Leena blinked in surprise at the Jedi before her. Before she had time to object, the veteran warrior silenced her with a finger. ‘Scarif . . . healing . . . ‘ she pondered the request. She felt like an utter disappointment, but someone wanted her help and people needed healing. How could she not help. Before she could respond Sandy Sarna was gone. 
 

Lost in her thoughts Leena began to make her way down the corridors. Who was she supposed to report to even? Other Jedi were involved. Other Jedi were probably dead. That was more important than a medical checklist on the sick, dead, and recovered. Pondering it as she walked along, Leena turned the thoughts over and over in her head. She really had no other choice; she knew it. Such a report needed to be made to the Grandmaster. If someone, a Jedi, was still alive on Mon Cal and needed rescuing, the Grandmaster would be the one to arrange it! But where was the Grandmaster? Reaching out on the force, Leena could feel the calming waves of goodness and light ebbing and flowing throughout the base. “Uhhhhhh.” she wondered aloud.

 

“Seems a bit odd for a Jedi to drool on themselves in the hallway” a cool calm voice reverberated out of what had just been vacant space. The armored being caused Leena to draw back, startled; his armor bore a resemblance to the ancient Sith she had seen in the holocrons, but the shadowy signature he cast in the force was decidedly good.

 

 Oh! Uhm hello there. I did not see you there. Are you a Jedi? You don’t look like any Jedi I have ever seen. I’m sorry. I am just a bit distracted. We got attacked by the Sith and I was, well, lost in my thoughts. Do you know where the Grandmaster is? I need to report what happened.” She yammered until the armored being held up his hand to silence her. “I am not a Jedi, but a searcher for the truth and a disciple of light. You saved my life once on the battlefields of Coruscant. I am here now to ensure your life-saving efforts continue unthwarted with blessings from my order.”

 

 “Oh. Well that is a lot to take in. I cannot say I recognize you in all that armor though. Coruscant you say? I treated a lot of pretty banged up folks there.” Leena’s mind churned. The man seemed sincere enough. But where did he come from? It seemed too coincidental to be a coincidence. “I would welcome your company though mister, master . . . ahhhh, not-Jedi? I guess we’ll be heading off world tomorrow if you want to come with me. I need to go find the Grandmaster though first.” 
 

“Defender Mantis is my name. I would be honored to accompany you. Trust me. They will not even know I am there. Such is the way of the Jensaarai. The Grandmaster is in the great hall, if you were wondering.” 
 

“Oh! Thanks Master, errr, Defender Mantis. I’ll see you soon!” Leena turned and scurried off to find Grandmaster Adenna.

 

Entering the hall, Leena slowed, trying to maintain a level of decorum. Still, she couldn’t help be nervous. What she had to report was bot exactly good news and she. Really didn’t know the Grandmaster except for by site.

 

Seeing the leader of their order at the other end of the hall, Leena cautiously cleared her voice with a cough, “Uhhhh. Excuse me Grandmaster? Leena Kil, Jedi Apprentice healer here with a report from Mon Cal. I regret to inform you that things did not go well there. I fear that the world has fallen to the Sith and there may be Jedi captured or dead. The darkness on the world was, well, like nothing I have ever sensed before.” Leena launched into as much detail as she could remember about the ordeal; the hospital explosion, the attack on the refugee compound, the pits, the darkness, the floods, Nia and Mjan and their whole company. By the end tears streamed down her face. “I feel like a failure, worthy and capable of nothing more than serving as an assistant in the chemicalized sterile environments of Jedi healing centers; but Master Sarna has asked me to accompany her to Scarif too. What am I supposed to do?”

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Leena slowly nodded. It was not the response she had necessarily expected. The darkness had permeated the very pores of Mon Cal. Even if she had no memory of it, it was the home of Leena’s people. Maybe that was why she felt such a connection to it.

 

The Grandmaster clearly had bigger worries than Leena and her mission. That much was apparent; but to not even comment on the Jedi who were still there? Did they not deserve rescue?  Maybe they had gotten out and Leena was just not privy to such knowledge. They were, after all, undercover. Right?

 

Leena was not remanded to her quarters or to some obscure corner of the galaxy to heal others and mend agricultural injuries. Quite to opposite; she had been told to accompany Master Sarna to Scarif. Steeling herself in the force, Leena nodded in compliance and made her way out of the room, head held high. It could be the desperate times they were in, but she was still a Jedi. Walking down the hall, she felt the smooth silvery hilt of her signature weapon bouncing rhythmically against her thigh. The young Mon Cal smiled. Jedi or no, she knew her place in the galaxy. She was there to heal the broken hearted, to bind their wounds and to restore not only their bodies, but their souls. Perhaps, whatever awaited her on Scarif would allow her to do just that. And, perhaps, she ran her fingers along the hilt, she could learn a thing or two about combatting the dark on a physical plain from the famed Sandy Sarna.

 

Turning, Leena made her way to the Healer’s quarters where she could find new robes, and if she was honest, an extra set or two, rest, and peace.

 

Settling into her bunk, Leena crossed her legs, the backs of her hands against her knees as she leaned back and stared at the ceiling. This was her home. Here, she felt peace. Reaching within, the young girl felt the surging warmth of light in her chest. Inhaling, she drew on the light around her. Exhaling, she sent that light back out in an invisible cleansing surge pushing back any tendrils of darkness that dared creep into her domain of peace and life.

 

Leena did know how long she sat there, embraced in the warm flow of the force. What she did know is that when she finally awoke, it was morning and she felt refreshed.

 

Grabbing her extra gear, Leena hurried out of her quarters. If she hurried, she’d have time to grab breakfast before meeting up with Master Sarna for their mission.

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Leena smiled warmly as Sandy came over; before she could express her relief that they had left without her though, the Jedi Master turned her attention to the Jensaarai Defender standing a short distance behind her. She had not given much thought to the fact that he was NOT, strictly speaking, a Jedi, and that other Jedi may not know who, what, or why he was there. Swallowing the warm gloppy cereal in her mouth she tried to answer; but the Corellian man behind her spoke first. “I am a kindred spirit to the Jedi; a defender of justice, knowledge, brotherhood, and life. I seek truth where it may be found. I am a Jensaarai and my oath is to aid this Jedi, and by her, all Jedi, in the journey to bring about peace to the galaxy.” He kept his helmet tucked under his arm as he looked over the newly arrived Jedi. “And you need no introduction Knight Sarna. I have read of your exploits and trials. It will be an honor to stand alongside you both as we journey together.” Offering a somewhat warm smile as he looked at Leena and then back to Sandy.

 

Swallowing her food Leena continued, babbling to get the words that had been caught behind her breakfast out. “This is Defender Mantis. He is a Jensaarai. From what I understand they split from the Jedi a long long time ago, but not like the Imperial Knights did ya know? They came to help us beat back the Sith. Apparently I helped nurse Defender Mantis back to health back on Coruscant and he has been called by the force to come and help me and keep me from being swarmed by the forces of darkness so I can focus on helping to heal the damage the darkness has caused throughout the galaxy. Isn’t that right?” Leena glanced back at the older Corellian who was trying to track everything Leena had just spat out in explanation. 
 

“Well I . . .” 
 

“After what happened on Mon Cal, I couldn’t be more surprised and pleased with how the force provides. Apparently there are other Jensaarai here too, but they are on a secret mission or something. Need to know kind of stuff I guess. I guess I do not need to know. After everything, I just, I dunno. I’m glad to be going where we aren’t getting blown up, shot at, invaded, or hunted by something truly dark.” Pausing Leena looked around the room before leaning forward and whispering to Sandy, “Maybe we can talk about that sometime soon when there aren’t so many folks around?” Sitting back up she continued, “But I am done here and Defender Mantis finished, he said, before I even showed up. So let me take my dishes over to the wash station and I’ll be ready to go. I don’t even know what we are doing, but the Grandmaster said this would be a good mission for me.”

 

Trotting off to dump her tray, Leena left The Mantis and Sandy alone for a moment.

 

“She is young. Full of life and brightness. A guiding star amongst the cosmos.” 
 

As soon as Leena got back to the group, she would be ready to depart.

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  • 2 months later...

As the Jedi ship broke from hyperspace above the world of Nar Shaddaa, Leena roused herself from the restful trance she had been sitting in. The whole ordeal had been overwhelming, not the healing of Master Sarna, that was a bit above par for the course but something she was at least accustomed to; but leaving the planet. Had Master Sarna really knighted her? What did she do to deserve such a thing? All she had done was heal the Jedi Master. Master Sarna had done the work of saving Scarif, not Leena. That was a Jedi move for sure.

 

Still, having time to meditate on it, Leena had come to understand. She understood that she did not understand, but that was ok. She understood that sometimes the ways of the force were beyond what her mind could comprehend. That was ok. All she needed to do was ply her part in the greater picture. “I am one with the force and the force is with me,” the girl whispered to herself. She felt a warm glow in her chest, a reassurance of the rightness of her path.

 

Making her way towards the cockpit, the Jedi stood behind the pilot in his chair. “Can I use the comms please?” The pilot gave Leena a confused smile before handing over the mic. 
 

With a crackle it sprung to life, “Nar Shaddaa base, this is Leena Kil, uhhhhhh, Jedi Knight?” The title rolled off her tongue more as a question than with the confidence one ought to have with such a promotion. “We are returning from providing humanitarian aid and are requesting landing clearance to rendezvous with our fellow rebels.” Leena paused as the pilot held up a crumpled piece of paper for her to see. “Transmission code Beta Four Epsilon Epsilon.”

 

Soon enough, permission was granted to land near the Jedi compound and the vessel began it’s decent planetside.

 

Finding Sandy and Tali aboard the ship as it began landing procedures, Leena smiled and waved them forward, “We reallt need to go to the infirmary and make sure we do not have any residual effects from the radiation. I don’t really feel any, but the stuff can be a beast to sort out and it is probably better to be safe than sorry if we have a bit. No sense having something flare up half way through some ancient Sith tomb or fortress.”

 

Leena’s excitement at being back amongst the good guys was almost palpable as her light footsteps carried her quickly down the ship’s ramp to the surface of the world.

 

It did not take long to find the medical ward. Amongst the smell of antiseptics and bacta, Leena felt a different sense of peace. Even if she was a patient this time. Sitting there in a sterilized gown atop a gurney, the Mon Cal relaxed as two rebel medics began their scans.

 

Closing her eyes, Leena allowed her mind to slip into the flow of the force. The warmth in her chest glowing and growing as she nurtured it; reaching outwards, first to those who tended to her, then further to her fellow patients and other medics, and then beyond the walls of the ward to those going about the base. In each, even the darkest rebel souls, she could feel the light and drew it forth, nurturing it’s life giving warmth until it blossomed in an invisible warmth across the entire compound to invigorate and instill in each and every heart and mind peace, hope, and healing.

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Leena lay there on her gurney, the medics having cone and left, her body purged of any residual poisons from the radiation of Scarif that had not been dealt with prior. Now, she lay, her mind adrift in the expanse of light that enveloped the rebel base. In it she could feel the signatures of other Jedi, rebels, and others. In the myriad of emotions, desires and goals, some purer than others, she felt hope. True, it mingled with darker desires and emotions; even amongst the rebels there were those of darker inclinations. Still, they had a unification of purpose in their differences. Freedom, revenge, hatred, love, and more mingled together in that all encompassing desire: hope.

 

Leena could not discern every individual that was unknowingly cocooned and bolstered in the expanding aura of warm light side energies, but . . . She sat up, her eyes fluttering open . . . there was one that stood out. She had felt it come in from afar and it was different from the others. It felt pained, like the gurgling of a volcanic geyser that could erupt at an unknown time; all it needed was the right push. Dark energies seemed to rage within it, trapped and seething for escape. Yet, they were contained as if their existence fueled an immense beast of prey.

 

To say such a thing surprised Leena was an understatement. In all the dark passions that many rebels brought to the war, she had not felt this. This was evil. Evil that was caged but desired release. Darkness that could extinguish the glimmer of light that glowed in the chests of so many here.

 

Pushing herself from the gurnet, Leena grabbed for a fresh set of pristine white healer’s robes. Shimmying out of her flimsy hospital gown, the Mon Cal slid easily into the robes. They did not differ from the ones she used to wear, except they were clean. Nothing noted her ascension from Apprentice to Knight and Leena did not care. Affixing her silvery hilt to the white corded belt at her waist, Leena padded off out of the hospital wing, her bare feet finding assurance against the cool stone floors. 
 

The girl held the light in her heart, keeping the expanse of warming energies about her, connecting her to all around, bolstering them. Her focus was not on that however; instead she now hones her mind’s eye on the imprisoned font of darkness that roiled in it’s prison. The Jedi Healer did not know what to expect. She could feel the pain, that was enough. Someone or something here was pained in a way that none other were. It was her duty and deepest desire to not only salve such a wound, but to purge and heal it as well.

 

Seemingly wandering aimlessly up and down hallways and stairs, paths and lifts, Leena followed the maze of the rebel base seeking to draw herself closer.

 

Then she found it, rounding a corner into a landing bay, the Mon Cal Healer saw a cobbled together Ugly vessel, but that is not what caught her attention. There flopped on the deck plating was a woman. A Jedi? She had a lightsaber looking weapon didn’t she? Leena shook her head. This woman, if she was a Jedi, was in dire need. Leena had not ever sensed such a darkness from one of her own; nor had she ever sensed that she was approaching a wounded predator so closely.

 

Almost silently, Leena padded closer and closer to the downed woman, the warm light of the force emanating from her very core. With one hand on the butt ofnher saber hilt, Leena reached forward with her other to place it on the woman’s shoulder, the warmth of the force flowing in healing waves of calm from her fingertips. “Hello friend. I sense,” she paused, pondering how to put what she felt into words, “that I may be of some help to you. My name is Leena.” The words were simple. The usually talkative girl holding her tongue. Sometimes a calming presence was all that was needed. The words of a Healer’s lesson she learned long ago springing to mind ‘Proclaim the goodness of the force always; when necessary, use words.’ 

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Leena smiled warmly back to Kyrie, stepping back as Master Sandy Sarna entered. The flame-like apparitions of the Anzat’s cleansing fire playing harmlessly across her fingers as she held her hand up to regard the non-injurious flickers of light before they dissipated into the warm air. It was clear that the two knew one another. Was there anyone Sandy did not know? Leena was much more confined in who she knew; a casualty of a life spent in the healing halls across the galaxy. Even as the young Mon Cal faded into the background, the healing aura that flowed from her heart, mind, and body washed across the room like a soft tidal surge touching everyone, washing away the rough edges of pain and darkness grain by grain with each heartbeat-powered surge.

 

Leena nodded in agreement with Sandy’s assessment. The Sin Eater was like a wild animal, even though she was calm now, the darkness that gave such a dragon power would inevitably resurge. Even without the darkness, Kyrie was a pained beast.

 

The shock that flickered across Leena’s face was genuine as she struggled to maintain her composure. Sandy had pulled the Exorcist into a tight embrace and she could feel the emotion that radiated from it: love. With a raised eyebrow, Leena considered the situation before nodding with approval. Such a display seemed more relegated to Padawans and younglings; but what did Leena know of the world? Love was a strong positive force. Did she not love those she cared for on some level? A Jedi had to be wary of love though. With such a powerful emotion, there were always fringes of darkness that could more easily pierce the veil. Still, Sandy was a master and this woman, Kyrie, was . . . what was she really?

 

“Maybe we can get changed and go for a healing meditation before moving back out into the galaxy. Once we are centered, we can better take a stand against the darkness that creeps at the fringes.” Leena glanced at Sandy, with an urge of her eyebrows hoping to convey that she was trying to help the Exorcist before them. “There is an old Hutt garden near here. The darkness of this world is weakest there. If you get changed, we can meet there in a half hour and allow our souls to be cleansed, find peace, and center ourselves on what is truly important.” Leena offered a warm smile to the two, placing a reassuring hand on each of their shoulders and squeezing briefly in reassurance.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Leena turned with a warm smile. She was excited to get going, even if it was to a Sith world. The world, the people in it, they needed healing in body, mind, and spirit. “Hello there Genesis. I am Leena Kil, Apprentice healer, errrr . . . “ she paused catching herself as memories of her time with Master Sandy flooded her consciousness, “I guess I am a full fledged healer now. Still,” she offered a warm webbed handshake in greeting, “it is a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully this mission will go smoother than Mon Cal. No dark side monsters. No Sith invaders.”

 

”I know there is a sizable team of world healers and rebuilders preparing to go. I suspect that preparations will be done tonight and we will head out tomorrow. Want to ride on the lead ship with me? Maybe we can talk more?”

 

Leena waited for a response before scurrying off to see that the team of rebels and Jedi support staff were prepared and the last massive loads of supplies were prepped for loading into the massive transports. There was enough supplies to undertake the beginnings of reconstruction of a world. 
 

_______________________
 

The next morning, Leena carried a satchel of clothing and personally selected medical supplies aboard the makeshift command ship. Smiling to the crew, she found a a sparse quarter out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the ship and plopped her bag on the floor before sitting down on the bunk. Looking about, she smiled and let out a nervous sigh. “Here we go again.”

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Leena looked up with a smile at her fellow Jedi. “Uhhhh...I honestly don’t know. I think it is a sort of pick a bunk that is free sort of thing. You’re welcome to bunk across the way from me. I’d enjoy the company of a fellow Jedi. Maybe we can swap some stories or something? Most of mine are just in healing wards and field hospitals; but I bet you have had some adventures. It is nice to find another Jedi my own age to hang out with. Have you been a Jedi your whole life?” The girl rambled on, her inner warmth bubbling out cheerfully as she stood up to help her fellow find a room.

 

“Do you know if anyone else is coming with us? I mean there are lots of people; but anyone you know?”

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Leena raised an eyebrow as she smiled at the Jedi apprentice. Laughter was a welcome commodity nowadays it seemed.

 

Suddenly, Leena paused; her mouth hanging slightly agape as she felt the presence of the former Grandmaster wash through the area. She had not known the Wookiee very personally; but she had been a Jedi since her childhood and had seen him from afar several times. She had mourned the Grandmaster’s death and had doubted the rumors of his return. Yet, now she felt it. “Interesting . . .” 
 

—————————————

 

Leena stayed with Genesis whilst he got settled and as final preperations were made. Eventually she wandered off to check on the stores of medical supply and aid that she would be taking charge of once they got planetside. A rescue fleet was going to meet the Jedi at Chandrila and efforts were going to extended to help bring the world back to it’s serene peaceful existence. It was a massive undertaking, but Leena knew it was the most Jedi thing the Jedi had done in some time.

 

Soon enough, the rumble of the ships engines growled in the background and the Jedi aid was on it’s way.

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  • 1 month later...

The solid little ramshackle Squib-made corvette slipped from hyperspace and silently made its way towards the combined Rebel and Jedi headquarters.

 

As the trio of Squibs chattered excitedly, Leena looked down warmly at the planet. The Jedi seemed to have a knack for building bases in locations that had at one time been steeped in darkness. The slow reclamation to good was as beautiful a thing as the ever constant suppression of an incurable disease. Even now, Nar Shaddaa seemed to glow a little bit brighter.

 

Once landed, the small squirrel-like creatures departed with haste wanting to rendezvous with their brethren. Even if their clan had business arrangements with the Jedi and rebels and even a warm regard for Leena, they enjoyed the company of one another most. With the promise to be ready to depart as soon as Leena notified them, they were off.  
 

 

Aboard the Imperial Momship Formally Known As Admiral Sairdonga a mad chaos of organization was underway. Hundreds of Independent Squibian Spacers, and a smattering of other adopted-race members of their crews, not much more than pirates and salvagers aligned with the forces of good prepared for imminent departure and action. A swarm of smaller ships made their way from the surface to the MC75 Star Cruiser bringing supplies and removing anything of value before the upcoming campaign. Once the battle was over, the Squibs had every intention to salvage any and all wreckage of value from the enemy’s devastated remains. After all, it was part of the deal.

 

 

Back on the surface, Leena smoothly made her way through the bustling throngs of pilots, crewmen, soldiers and rebels towards the Jedi area of the base. She shook her head as she watched the preparations for war. She knew, for she had seen it firsthand too many times, that the excitement that now buzzed in the air had a way of bringing pain, suffering, and fear. It was the w of the galaxy it seemed. With a downward glance, the girl shouldered forward. She was not going to the front lines at this point. It seemed much of her Squibian companions were and it saddened her that some of her friends may not survive. The newly minted Jedi Knight had other business to oversee.

 

Making her way into the Jedi Quarter, Leena’s shoulders relaxed some. There was less hustle and bustle here, but still even the Jedi seemed to be preparing for the upcoming engagements. Leena opened her mind and heart up to the force, allowing the inner glow that she carried to stream outwards and mingle with the force signatures of so many others. She felt chaos and darkness, fear and doubt. They were ever present and only grew in times of conflict. Still, she felt calm and compassion, goodness, order, confidence, and light. They glowed even stronger. The righteousness of the light side easily holding the prowling tendrils of darkness at bay. It was to this peaceful cacophony that the girl lent her spirit to mingle and strengthen their cause. She pushed forth a calm confidence that would find recess in the hearts of any touched by it, instilling them with vigor and conviction. And still, she walked onwards, the inner mingling of the force with the exterior world invisible to the naked eye.

 

Leena wound her way through the haphazard streets. She needed to check  on the crystal stores of the Jedi. Crystals had many uses from lightsabers to healing and with the galactic wars upon them, they would be in short supply. Furthermore, finding someone to assist her in scouting the icy world would be a boon. As Leena looked around, she knew that Nar Shaddaa was becoming a ripe target; one that the Sith would eventually seek to pluck. Leena hoped to help avert some of the inevitable pain that would someday wash through these streets. Ilum was desolate and remote. Preserving and building a remnant of the Order there would ensure that even if the Sith conquered this world, the Jedi would live on, the flame of light would not be extinguished.

 

In her white robes and salmon skin, Leena stood out as a healer of high regard. The chromium plated hilt that swung freely at her waist, dangling from her white cloth sash was the only outward sign of her Jedi affiliation. Still, here amongst the Jedi, Leena felt at home, at peace.

 

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Leena smiled as she stepped into the room with the Jedi and possible Jedi-in-training. The small mouse-line creature skittered between her legs and she stepped widely so as to be sure to not harm it. 

 

She paused in the doorway as she took in the scene, not wanting to interrupt. The Chiss intrigued her. The man had a couple few years on the Knight, but his grasp of the force was rudimentary at best. Still, he showed promise. Leena wondered for a moment where he had come from.

 

“The force is a great ally and tool, but without refinement and dedication, it becomes little more than a hammer by which to subject those one feels is beneath them. As Jedi, we serve the force, and through it, others. That means we have to know the limits to which we can go. Otherwise we do more harm than good.” Leena paused, turning the words she had just spoken aloud over in her head, maybe she had learned something during all those years of Jedi training. Leena was an oddity amongst the Jedi of the day. She had spent the bulk of her life amongst the Jedi, inly having returned to Mon Cal, her home world, recently, and that had been in what was supposed to be a mission of mercy.

 

A shadow passed over the girl’s face st the thought of the chaos that had taken place on Mon Cal and her part in it. After a second she pushed it away with a blink, turning a warm glance towards the Chiss. “Amongst those readying for war is a dangerous place to be learning the basics of what it means to be a Jedi. Too many raw emotions. Too many temptations to turn a misunderstood power into a weapon without understanding the consequences. In war, there is darkness. It is a lesson learned well by all who partake. I believe that your kind,” she gestured kindly to Katakros, “know that well and as such exercise as much restraint as they do.”

 

Stepping forward, Leena extended her hand in offer to help the Chiss stand up, turning to look at the Jedi who had been instructing him, “If you would pardon my intrusion, and,” she turned to Katakros, “if you are willing, I would be happy to have you accompany me to a place steeped in the peace of the force. There you may dive deeper into the untainted waters that now touch your soul without the temptations of so much darkness whispering in your ear.”

 

Intenrnally, Leena rolled her eyes as she listened to herself, ‘Make a girl a knight and suddenly she sounds like one of those stuffy masters back in the Circle,’

 

  “It is, of course up to you, mister . . . ahhh . . . Chiss?” Leena smiled, realizing she was not sure what to even call the man she addressed. “My name is Leena Kil, Jedi Healer.”

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Leena smiled at the Chiss and happily motioned for him to fall in step with her as she bowed to the knight that had been offering training, turned and began to walk through the facility back out to the winding streets. 
 


“We will be traveling to an icy world. It might help to grab a jacked,” she smiled. “I have to arrange for a few supplies before we depart. If you want to grab your gear and something to keep your new friend warm and meet me at Docking Bay 23, we’ll be off.”

 

”Don’t worry about finding the ship, Defender Mantis will be there. Although, don’t bother trying to sense him in the force. Around here, even I cannot feel his presence if he doesn’t want me to. He is my friend and protector, even if he is not a Jedi.”

 

With a final smile, Leena turned and hurried off, her footsteps gliding her smoothly through the ever growing throngs of people that seemed to fill the streets.

 

______________________________
 

Back at Docking Bay 23, a Corellian shrouded in armor and white robes rolled his eyes beneath his helmet at the  squabbling trio of squibs that had recently returned to begin loading the freighter they had somehow managed to commandeer for their next voyage. The Mantis knew better than to question the short furred sentients about it. Their explanations usually resulted in nothing but a swimming headache. Still, he could not help but smile at their incessant jovial natures. Other beings saved for the galaxy by the work of Leena Kil and company and fulfilling whatever measure of oath or gratitude their kind deemed fit for the return of life or lives.

 

Even as the Jensaarai shrouded himself within the force, extending his presence within it to a microscopic level that mingled and mixed with the plethora of force signatures that scurried about the compound and beyond, The Mantis reached out. He could feel his ward, she was safe. Should danger befall her, he would be by her side in an instant. The Jedi did not hide in the shadows as his kind did and finding the bright spot in the force that was Leena Kil was not difficult. 
 

Standing with his arms crossed at the open hatch of the battered Naboo-made J-type diplomatic barge. It was not his preferred ship, nor was it the squibs, as was made clear by their muttering; although, even they could not help but admire the smooth features and chrome finish, worn as it may be. Unarmed and nonthreatening, seemed to be an insistence of their ward though, and one they would begrudgingly respect when needed.

 

Eventually, an unknown Chiss arrived in the docking bay. He seemed to be paying some attention to their ship. While it was a sight here amongst the rebels, the Defender still opted to approach, “Greetings. Might I be of service,” he paused sensing the raw force potential of the man before him, “Jedi?”

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The mysterious armored force user nodded thoughtfully. “You are in the right place then. Welcome aboard good sir.”

 

A short time later, Leena returned to the ship accompanying a grav-sled of supplies to include rations, cold weather gear, and deep wilderness survival and communications gear. Additionally, base infrastructure for a 2 bed medical treatment set up was wherled aboard alongside the other supplies.

 

Boarding the ship, Leena offered a warm smile and bow to the armored Defender, several kindly hugs to the ever-excited Squibian cadre, and a warm smile of welcome to Orpheon. “Best settle in my friend, it will be a bit before we arrive at Ilum. Perhaps,” she proffered a well worn leather-bound book, it’s pages worn and tattered, “you could look this over on the trip. At least it will offer some basics on the ways of the Jedi, our code, and ideologies of such things as life, The Force, and compassion.”

 

In short order, the worn Squibian craft lifted off from the safety of the rebel base and departed into the cosmos.

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