Carida

[Aelyn]

Aelyn was content to listen for most of the conversation, not having had any comparable experiences to the downright incredible war stories Aira and Raven were swapping. She was fascinated to hear Aira talk a little about Onderin Starlisk. He had been such a legendary warrior and fleet Admiral, but Aira's perspective of him was not what Aelyn had come to expect from the war, even despite her father having known the Jedi Master personally himself. It seemed like different people got different sides of him. It all seemed to reinforce the perspective she was coming to have of the Order from the inside, by studying the Code, whereas the picture the media had painted looked fabricated. Perhaps it made the public feel safer, knowing that such powerful individuals were out there fighting the good fight... but to Aelyn their true character, their compassion, made them greater than their military victories ever could.

 

When the Head of State addressed her, she smiled. "Actually I didn't even know I was Force sensitive until a couple days ago, when Master Cadan and I crossed paths on Chandrila," she said. "I really am just taking my first steps. It has all been a whirlwind, opening my eyes for the first time, so to speak. I'm sure you can relate, having had some training yourself."

 

Then the comm came in. Raven surprised Aelyn by playing it before them, apparently not concerned that it could contain private or sensitive details. She had a bit of a frown on her face as the message ended.

 

When prompted, she offered her advice. "CoreSec has always seemed fairly trustworthy to me," she said. "It's a little strange that they had a Mandalorian Commissioner for a while -- maybe they still do -- which combined with all the ex-soldiers they recruited always cast them a pseudo-militaristic light. But they did a lot to make the core safer after the war, and the news said they put away a lot of the major Sith players like Ar-Pharazon and Geki. I'm... a little worried about this new commissioner's lack of faith in the Galactic Alliance, but that might not reflect the whole organization." She honestly found them a little too militaristic. In a time of war, sometimes people fixated so much on how they could damage or destroy their enemies that they lost sight of the reasons they were doing it. She found that attitude distasteful in any circumstance, but it was certainly not a good one for a police organization. Still, they'd kept things pretty safe so far, even if there had been a couple of major events like Faust that they had deferred to the Jedi to stop.

[Aira Cadan]

The formal meeting ended, and Kirlocca left. I farewelled him formally. It had been good to see him, to get his perspective on all of this.

 

Raven suggested a meal, and I was happy to stay. We spent the first part of the meal catching up, swapping stories of the past, how we had met, and what had happened since then, reforging the bonds of our unlikely friendship. She asked about Aelyn, and I was glad that my apprentice was coming out of her shell a little now that she saw Raven as a human, not as solely a head of state. But business never really ended, not for someone like her, and the incoming message--played aloud in what I was certain was a show of faith and solidarity that wasn't missed on me--was from CoreSec.

 

Aelyn gave her opinion, and I echoed it. "I think CoreSec plays a valuable role. The Jedi can't protect everyone, and the local planetary authorities sometimes need the benefit of the bigger picture that a larger organization can give." I shrugged. "I haven't crossed paths with any of them, but I haven't heard anything negative about their results." I knew it was easy for an organization like that to slip into more of a secret police, but I hadn't seen any evidence that CoreSec was doing so. "Black Sun of course has been a consistent thorn in the side of peace and justice. I don't know what kind of 'alliance' this new commissioner wants, but I would think it would be in the Empire's favor to have this intelligence exchange."

 

It would be in the Empire's favor... Had I really just said that? The New Republic officer in me cringed. This was all still very strange...but then, Raven and I shaking hands in the ruin of the Death Star had been strange too. It was a shame that our brainchild hadn't worked. The Galactic Alliance was dead now, whether it recognized it or not, for with the Empire breaking away, the whole point of that governmental system was proved null and void. The galaxy was not united. But I was beginning to think that wasn't such a bad idea. Things had changed since the end of the war, and it felt like the Galactic Alliance wasn't what the galaxy needed anymore.

 

Well, as long as this didn't end in war, I was hopeful for the future. Planets could choose what kind of system they wanted to live under. I just hoped that none of the others would follow the Empire's example. If this splintered the galaxy into tiny cluster governments, that would make our job as Jedi much harder. And history had proved that when the Jedi couldn't do their job, chaos followed.

[Kyrie Eleison]

Change of plans…

 

Kyrie watched the swirling azure glow of hyperspace revert to the black canvas of realspace, pinpointed by reflected points of light from distant stars. She had guided the freighter to Cardia, after reports of the destruction of an ancient Sith temple had trickled through the holonet, hidden by the reports of terrorism on Coruscant. There was little she could do against casual terrorists, she was no police investigator.

 

Bringing up her holonet, she selected one of the common Imperial Comlink Frequencies. The stories of the Empire scared her, their horrific deeds told of in hushed whispers in dark corners. This Empire however, was newly forged from a revolutionary group that had broken away from the Galactic Alliance. Intergalactic Politics was about as interesting to her as the ballads sung on the gaudy stages of the Coruscant Grand Opera, and it was hardly relevant to her revanchist ideology.

 

She reached out into the Force, connecting to its songs as the planet began to occupy her whole viewscreen. The usual voices were silent, only a few strange languages filled her mind with dark thoughts. Ancient Sith Power lay here, and the voices it channeled into the Force were like an arachnid’s web, woven throughout the entire Perlemian Trade Route.

….Arac’hnch… Sha’grau… Voten’ba…

 

The words were singular, like the pulsing beacon of one a Rakatan Numbers Station, pumping codes across their ancient empire. A shuddering cold worked up her spine, and the young Exorcist cast aside the words, focusing instead on her inner fire, letting it strengthen her tongue, to fight away her stutter as she activated the comlink

 

“G-Greatings…”

 

...Blasting, Kriffing Huttslime!

 

Kyrie pressed on, tension growing like a wellspring in her voice

 

“Exorcist Knight K-Kyrie, requesting permission to l-land at the main I-Imperial Base, I-I w-would like to-”

 

The young Exorcist took a breath, cursing her stumbling words

 

“Aid in y-your f-fight against the Sith!”

 

Kyrie tossed the comlink into the co-pilot’s chair in building frustration. She wasn’t the model Jedi Knight, mindlessly stoic, and she hoped the Empire wouldn’t be too disappointed in her offer of assistance.

[Raven Nasra]

Raven nodded and entwined her fingers over her plate of thinly sliced Bantha filet alongside the finest cheeses. Her mind raced through the various news articles that she had read and watched about the Core Worlds Security force. They were formidable, though largely unproven except for their distant exploits on Thalassia. Alongside them, the Jedi, and the full Remnant, they could take on what little remained of the Sith. She looked to Aira with her large purple eyes. Not too long ago, they had been willing and able to kill each other, and now here they were eating, and discussing the resurgence of the Empire. No. Raven corrected herself, the Imperial Remnant. A different entity, a remnant that had yet to confront its past. There would be much to atone for. She smiled at the ambassador's daughter, “I wish you safety and strength in your training. I know that you are in good hands with my friend Aira. Perhaps she can someday teach me of the force as well.” She grinned and took a bite of the filet. Her mind wandering back to the Jedi Council member Kirolocca. She recorded a quick response to the Commissioner and looked to the Jedi who were finishing their meal.

“Will you stay here on Carida? Or will you soon depart?”

 

___________

 

 

Captain Jahn Masigner of the Caridian Defense Force looked at his control panel. It identified the incoming ship as registered to the Jedi Order and though he believed there was no threat, sent out a flight of TIE defenders to escort the Jedi to her landing pad. He smiled vaguely at her stutter. His own daughter suffered from that impairment, and he was glad to see it elsewhere than his own home. "Attention Jedi Vessel, You have been directed to land at Pad Alpha One Three One. Do not deviate from your assigned course."

[Aira Cadan]

I finished eating and patted my lips with a napkin. "I think we'll actually head out soon," I replied to the Head of State's question. I glanced at Aelyn with a smile. "I've got to keep training my apprentice." Then I turned my gaze back to Raven. "But we'll not forget to check out the health of your troopers before we leave Imperial space."

 

This had been a very interesting and excellent discussion, and the food had been outstanding as well. But there really was no reason to linger. Once any agreement between Raven's government and my order had been formalized, then perhaps I could return. I felt a strong desire to help Raven's dreams for the Empire come true, and she would need someone she trusted to be by her side. Strangely, I felt that perhaps the Force was calling me in that direction. Time would tell.

 

((Sorry so short...just moving along...))

[Kyrie Eleison]

The young Jedi Knight flipped the small freighter’s autolanding sequence to engage as she made her approach through the atmosphere of Cardia. Landing Pad A131 was visible on the horizon, and the autopilot locked onto its transponder, smoothing out the approach with nimble calculations by the ship’s electronic brain. As the freighter made its approach, Kyrie jumped from the pilot’s seat, running to the refresher to straighten up for whatever landing party decided to greet her.

 

She gazed for a moment into the mirror, studying herself, it had been some time since she had taken the time to focus on her personal appearance. Her black tunic was rumpled, its seams frayed from training. A yellowed stain had worked its way into the fabric from her constant sweating, something that never left it no matter how often the sonic-cleaner was applied. Her scars, one lining her jaw, another marring her forehead and cheek were less noticeable thanks to Roene, but gave her a battle-scarred air, which the Empire might expect from a warrior. Her black tousle of braids were similarly a mess, oily and almost dreaded.

 

With half-gloved hand she triggered the refresher’s sonic shower, and stripped slowly from her filthy garments. As she slipped from her tunic, she studied the scars on her back, the countless lashes of the Sith Torturer rippling her skin with raised furrows of scar tissue. Claw marks from beasts that she had fought in the arenas on Ord Mantell ran along her ribcage and hips. Her stomach bore several puncture scars from daggers, and the name of her former Sith Master was clearly etched into the flesh and bone beneath her right breast. He had signed his name with a dull vibroblade, and the scar from his signature traced its way down her stomach, the way a Hutt would sign a creditchit with a violent flourish, passing down between her legs. The Young Exorcist closed her eyes, shutting her brain from the oncoming wave of nausea and fear. Her body shuddered, but she gritted her teeth, setting her jaw against her gag reflex, stepping into the sonic shower.

 

The pulsing waves of energy, sound at a decibel too low for her ears to decipher, washed over her, vibrating the grime and sweat from her naked, pale flesh. As her body was washed, Kyrie focused on unknotting her hair, untying the braids, letting the black locks wind down her back in cascading rivulets. The sonic washed them of their grease, and she braided the raven locks into a single long Tarisian Braid, brushing her bangs behind her ears. From her travel bag, she pulled a sable tunic, slipping into the comfortable fabric, which caressed her skin with the feeling of soft leather-bound fabric. She afixed an armored chestpiece of pitted durasteel about herself, the colour of the Calamari Sea, and attached a similarly coloured cowl to her shoulders. She attached her long-handled lightsaber to her belt, covering it slightly with the cowl.

 

Into the Force, she pulsed out a greeting to the other Force signatures she could feel through the Song, before she stepped quickly down the lowering ramp to the awaiting parties on the landing pad.

[Aelyn]

As the conversation and the meal concluded, Aelyn gave the smile she so often wore. "Thank you for your hospitality," she said to the Head of State. "I can't wait to see your vision for the Remnant come fully to fruition."

 

She wished that there were some sort of guarantee that it would do so and remain true to the ideals she'd demonstrated. It was heartening to hear that this was not the Empire of old, and that she didn't have reason to think another war breaking out was inevitable. She just wasn't sure whether the whole government could be brought to reflect Raven's own disposition faithfully.

 

For now, she would watch and try to make good decisions. Becoming a Jedi was an opportunity to make a difference in a bigger way. All in all, she was excited and interested to see what the future held, and eager to find her place it all of it.

 

She just really needed training.

[Beck Pilon]

Beck finished reading up the records he had requested during the meeting. He had a name to go by instead of a number. The main donor of the Rebirth Project had been Beck Pilon, who died about a month after volunteering to help create the clones. He had no relatives or surviving members of his line, so the clone once called IC - 2487 felt it right to take it as his own name. Walking out of his quarters, he could see traffic around the station, to which was no surprise. From rumors turned fact, the Moffs had been ordered to change the command in a few locations, and the Head of State had come back to Carida to make her plans for the future of the Imperial Remnant. Beck wasn't sure about her yet, only because he had only read about her. He had only known Kain as his superior, the one who had the rights to the Rebirth Project. Although, he was certain that such a man would have no place under the current leadership, Beck still wished he was around and available to talk to. But such a luxury was not afforded to him right now. For now, he needed new orders. So Beck began to march his way towards the command center.

[Raven Nasra]

Raven bid the Jedi Knights goodby and provided them an escort to their ships. Raven’s hopes laid on their shoulders.

 

Raven sat and began composing a message to the troop commanders about a coming mission to the planet of Mykr to gather the force draining creatures for their upcoming assault on the next Sith Stronghold. She dispatched it marked urgent and went back to studying defense charts and commed the senior officer in charge of the watch. “Commander, would you escort Jedi Eleison to my office?” She stood and swept a stack of datapads into the drawer and stretched. She looked down at the mirror finish on the desktop and placed her gloved hand over her own reflection. She didn’t like the tired look in her own eyes. It was depressing.As the Jedi Knight Eleison, entered, she extended her hand in greeting. Her voice was a bit tired as she said, "Greetings Jedi Knight, I do not believe we have had a chance to meet before, what calls you to the Imperial Remnant?"

[Aira Cadan]

After saying goodbye to Raven, some Imperial troopers lead us to the clinic where the infected stormtroopers were. While we were on the way, I taught Aelyn how to shield her mind. "It's like a set of armor around your self, your mind. It protects you against other people reading your thoughts and emotions, as well as making it more difficult for people to use the Force to attack you." I could tell the stormtroopers were listening in with amusement and interest. I paid them no mind. I made Aelyn practice until she got it down, which wasn't that long, for she continued to be a quick learner. I hoped that even having the basics would protect her in case this disease decided to try and spread to us.

 

When we arrived at the sterile white clinic, I moved down the row of beds that held the infected, my Force senses outstretched, the datapad Raven had given me in hand. "How long have they been like this?" I asked.

 

A nurse replied. "Some just a few days, some almost a week. The fever seems to have no vector--it's not airborne, physically transmitted, or anything else we can detect. It's also always fatal, except in one case."

 

My head came up. "Do you still have this survivor?"

 

She nodded. "Yes, he's been in quarantine. We've been running a bunch of tests on him but can't figure out why he survived."

 

"Can I see him, please?"

 

She nodded, her sleek blonde bun not moving an inch with the motion, and waved for us to follow. The man was a TIE pilot, 23 standard years old, in the excellent physical condition I expected from a soldier. I made polite chit chat with him as I looked over his charts, but I had a feeling I knew immediately why this man was spared. A quick probe with the Force showed me that there was something different about this man versus all the others--he was Force-sensitive.

 

I thanked him and headed back to the other wing. I was relieved that this meant that Aelyn and myself didn't need to worry about catching the disease--nor the nurse who was with us for that matter--but it was grave for the other victims. Once we got back to the sick ward, I mentioned my theory to the nurse. "This disease seems to seek out non-Force-sensitive men and women and leave Force-sensitive ones alone. It makes sense for a Sith disease. They would want to protect any potential Sith, but wouldn't care about harming those who couldn't ever become one."

 

The nurse was startled. "So any Force-sensitive person should be immune?"

 

I nodded.

 

"Perhaps then it's something the midichlorians fight against?" she was almost muttering to herself. "Maybe we can work up a vaccine involving them...of course they're impossible to work with...blood transfusions..."

 

She wandered off, and I let her. It might help the future victims, but a vaccine wouldn't do anything for these poor men who were already infected. I was just about to try something, when I changed tack and turned to Aelyn. "What do you think, padawan? What do you sense about this disease and how we might stop it?"

[Aelyn]

Aelyn found herself able to grasp Aira's lesson without too much trouble. Especially having just discovered how easy it was to glean someone's surface thoughts through the Force, she was grateful that the technique existed to counter it. She suspected that it would take time and practice to refine the ability enough to repel a more advanced attacker, but now she at least had a foundation, something else to work on.

 

Her openness to the Force during this process made her more vulnerable, perhaps, to the new feeling that she started to pick up on as they approached the clinic. A sickening feeling crept into the pit of Aelyn's stomach, like a vile seed had been planted in its contents and had rapidly grown into a corrupted plant that filled her body. Standing near the infected soldiers was almost toxic, and she soon started to feel feverish. She quickly withdrew from the Force and was relieved when the sensation vanished.

 

While Aira talked to the survivor, Aelyn lingered over one of the infirm. She had no medical training beyond one first aid class, so all she knew from looking at the readouts on the computer was that many of the displayed vitals were well out of the range of what was indicated as normal for a human. She tentatively opened herself to the Force again, just a tiny bit, feeling more of a trickle than the powerful current she'd let sweep her away before.

 

Her senses told her what the machine indicated -- the man was alive and barely conscious. He was in great internal pain, and there was a horrible sort of resignation deep within him. He had realized he was going to die. He dreaded the thought of losing everything that he ever had been and feared what would come after. His sense of duty to the Remnant had faded away in the face of sheer practicality, and he now regretted going on the mission that would claim his life. But if he died, at least this agony would fade, and nothingness was starting to not sound so bad.

 

Aelyn swallowed and struggled to retain her composure, closing herself off from the Force again. She put a hand on the man's shoulder and whispered, "Don't give up just yet. My... my Master might be able to help you."

 

She overheard Aira's conversation with the nurse as the Jedi Knight came back over to her and asked for her opinion. "I... I don't know, Master," Aelyn said. She remembered her biology class. "Midichlorians are present in all people, not just Force-sensitive ones, right? I couldn't imagine a blood transfusion making much of a difference in total midichlorian count, but maybe the survivor's blood could be used to make some sort of vaccine? Or maybe my blood could help, if indeed I can resist the plague?"

[Kala Ianauria]

Kala felt her her ship respond to her touch, the elegant combination of Mandolorian design and Kuat manufacture creating a work of art as finely tuned to her as she hoped her lightsaber might one day be. Something that seemed to be actively trying to elude her from the very start as problems kept creeping into her life. She'd been told a Jedi did not seek adventure, but several other Hopefuls added their own corollary to that screed.

 

"Adventure always finds Jedi."

 

Take for example a simple trip to the Jedi temple on Coruscant. She went there, using the scant funds given to her by the order and earned after dividing the rewards for the criminals with the other slaves hoping to find a clue as to where Kyrie Eleison might be.

 

Instead she found what appeared to be Imperial soldiers scatted about shattered doors, decimated by internal defenses activated when they breached a lessor portal on a lower level of the temple. Her own ID kept her safe from the few still functioning, but a quick look at some available security footage and made it clear some of the assault force survived and moved to the lower levels of the temple.

 

A hint from somewhere far off told her the infiltrators, despite wearing Imperial uniforms, served someone else.

 

She found the answer to that on the first of the men who avoided being a casualty at the door. With his dying breath, he mentioned a single name, Korthos. A name she wrote down for later examination once she finished pursuing the infiltrators. What she found after finishing her pursuit chilled her to the bone, and drove her to chase Kyrie Eleison to Carida for help.

 

The pursuit itself took her deep into the temple. A trail of bodies led to a level marked 'Secured Vaults, entrance by Council permission only." Along the way, she learned from dying soldiers and dead soldiers P.A.D.D.'s and logs that they came looking for Vladmir Faust's journal. A quick look at the Temple's archive's told her that these men must not get away from the Temple with such an artifact.

 

She had hurried further into the depths of the vault, a sense of urgency making her feet lighter and her senses far more receptive to the world around her.

 

The cultists failed to find the journal. Instead, one of their number attempted to take a forgotten Sith holocron from its secured location and found herself possessed by the spirit of long deceased Sith Lord.

 

When Kala entered the correct vault, she found the final survivors of the team massacred. At the center of the pile of bodies, sat the lone survivor, fighting a war in her own head for possession of her body. Neither side could gain control and Kala did not hesitate, survival instincts and a scrap of Jedi training kicking in. She pulled her hold out blaster, already preset to the maximum stun setting, pointed the weapons, and pulled the trigger four times for good measure.

 

The female cultists immediately fell stunned beyond her own senses with the Sith spirit caught halfway between possession and fleeing from the body. It left the spirt helpless and unable to do anything else but glare impotently at her as she dragged the woman's body to the nearest carbonite chamber and dumped her in after filling the body with enough tranquilizers to down a Wookie.

 

She left the temple immediately, making sure to reset the defenses and drop the emergency door over the forced-open portal before leaving. She found the twins waiting for her in her own ship. Kala felt so grateful she did not ask how the twins managed to get the ship from its landing pad on Tython and bring it to Coruscant.

 

It hardly seemed to matter at all.

 

Now, she flew towards a berth on Carida in a slow, plodding course that needed several hours to get her to the right area. With spare time on her hands she took the time to compose a letter to Kyrie Eleison explaining that she came as a hopeful, hoping to find a Master and that she had a possessed, carbonite frozen cultist in her cargo hold which she transmitted to the Kyrie in the hopes the exorcists might be waiting a the landing pad with an answer to both her questions.

[Aira Cadan]

I nodded. "Good, but you need to learn to also start thinking as a Jedi. These medical experts will do what they can throw gah conventional technology, and we are here to add the metaphysical level of analysis."

 

I put a hand on her shoulder. "But you did good to think along the lines of science. Too often, Jedi think with the Force first, but there is much we can learn from so-called normal people. Cops, doctors, soldiers--all can teach us something and give us a new perspective. That new perspective may be the difference between victory and defeat--saving lives or losing them."

 

I turned back to the young man by whose bedside I stood. Reaching out with the Force, I probed him deeply. It was easy to see the disease. It was clearly wrong. The body was attempting to fit it but failing miserably. I frowned, wishing I had done more to study the art of Jedi healing when I had had the chance. I had always had a talent for it, though I hadn't applied myself well. Regardées, I had to try.

 

"With the Force, a Jedi can heal," I told Aelyn. "It's easiest to heal oneself, but it can also be applied to others. Very Jedi can heal to a certain extent, although some have more of a natural inclination for it than others do. I want you to pay close attention. I'm going to try to heal this man. If I'm successful, then his body will create antibodies that can fight the disease, and we can use his blood combined with the survivor's blood to create the vaccine that will cure the others and iradicate the disease."

 

I grabbed a chair and a small dish. Sitting down in the chair, I put the dish under the patient's right hand, then took his hand in my own. Taking a Depp breath, I immersed myself in the current of the Force. It was like a plunge into a crystal clear lake on a hot summer's day on Adumar. I swam in it for a while, adjusting to the depth and breadth of it, letting it take me as it would.

 

Then I turned my focus ok the young man. The Force showed me the disease and it showed me the solution, for both were born of the Force. I spent a moment treading in the current until I was certain that it was the will of the Force that this man be healed. Then, I knew I could go to work with a clear conscience. I had never doubted that he should be healed, but in situations like this I wanted to be sure.

 

Carefully, slowly, I began drawing the darkness out of the man, channeling it trough the fingers of his right hand and out into the dish I had placed there. In the meantime, I bolstered the white blood cells already fighting the disease, guiding their battle much as Master Onderin had used battle meditation to bolster his troops during a space battle.

 

It was slow and time-consuming. I was perspiring heavily, aware of nothing outside this ferocious battle. But the Force was on my side, and it offered unlimited power and strength. Slowly, the readouts on the monitors changed. The man'd fever broke. But still I labored. The disease was almost sentient, and it was fighting back. But I gave no quarter.

 

An hour later, the man was free and clear. I swept the rest of his systems, and noticed a small tumor beginning to form in his liver. After fighting the Sith disease, this one was easy to break up, and I sent it out too. Then, slowly, I pulled back into myself. The world suddenly felt smaller and bigger at the same time. Carefully, I eased myself out, and with a jolt, I was suddenly aware of my surroundings again.

 

I drew a long shuddering breath and opened my eyes, finding Aelyn standing vigilant beside me. "He'll be okay, now." I croaked. "Can you give this to the nurses?" I gestured feebly to the dish, which contained a small puddle of very dark black blood. "And can I get some water?"

[Aelyn]

At first Aelyn just looked on in wonder, hesitant to draw on the Force despite her curiosity. She'd had no idea that the Force could be used to heal someone. She wondered just how much medical knowledge was necessary, what kind of control would be required to meddle around at the molecular level. It seemed almost impossible -- the body was incredibly complex, and there were still things modern science didn't fully understand. Did the Force give some kind of insight beyond all of that?

 

As Aira settled into her work, Aelyn started to realize that she couldn't just sit around and wait. If this was part of being a Jedi, she would have to open herself to the experience. So she once again drew on the Force, at first a bit cautiously. The heaviness of the emotions running through the afflicted soldiers immediately came rushing back to her, and she almost shied back again, but resolutely opened herself further. Over and above that sickening mixture of desperation and resignation, she could feel Aira's presence, a supreme sense of serenity and certainty.

 

Latching onto her Master's signature, Aelyn immersed herself in the current and focused her senses on what was happening inside the soldier's body. There was a wealth of information there, all sorts of things she didn't understand. But there was a very clear sense of disharmony, like a natural equilibrium that was not being maintained. What Aira was doing was basically drifting her focus across and through the complex networks of blood vessels and organs, filtering and sorting what felt like tiny particles of chaos and disorder, the things that were disrupting the balance of the greater body.

 

After watching for a while, Aelyn worked up the confidence to join in. She was still experiencing some rather unpleasant emotional feedback through the Force, but she fought through it largely by directing her focus on her task, willing her efforts to make a difference and put an end to the problem rather than simply sitting by and observing it. She'd never been one to stand around and acknowledge a problem from afar when she could do something about it, and this wouldn't be the exception because of a little discomfort.

 

The process was slow going, but when finally it was done she got up and delivered the... muck to the nurse. Sweating from the concentration, Aelyn knew she must have looked a mess. "Not really sure what this is," she told the nurse, "but I recommend not breathing too close to it. We think that between it and the survivor you should be able to come up with something to inoculate the others."

 

She then hurried over to some nearby supplies and grabbed bottles of water for herself and Aira, then came back and handed one to the older Jedi. "That was something else," she said. "The Force seems to just... make a way for us to do things, even if we couldn't possibly fully understand how complicated the process actually is."

[Aira Cadan]

I smiled as Aelyn returned with the water. "When a Jedi works in the will of the Force," I said, taking a drink of water and then swallowing it, "things that seem impossible can happen." I took another drink. "The Force is all-powerful, and a Jedi is it's hands and feet." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But I've never done anything quite like that. It took a lot of out of me. The Force can refresh you and give you energy, but I was drawing on it too heavily and that can burn you out."

 

I put a hand on hers. "Thanks for your help in there," I said, nodding towards the patient. "I could sense you helping. You did well."

 

After a few more minutes, I rose. "Well, we've done what we can. I get the sense that these men will be alright now, and that the disease will stop spreading. I think our work here is done."

 

Aelyn and I headed out after checking to make sure the nurses had everything they needed, and were escorted back to Aelyn's ship. By the time we got back, I felt better, although I knew I needed a good nights' sleep to be back to normal. "Well, Aelyn, where do you want to go next? I have no plans now except to train you, and we can do that anywhere. We just need to stay off the grid like Master Kirlocca asked us to."

[Aelyn]

"I'm glad to have been of use," Aelyn said. "I'm already starting to see all sorts of unique ways Jedi are equipped to help people, and that more than anything makes me feel like I'm following the path I was meant to." She was nothing if not optimistic about the future. And not just her future, but about the Remnant, even though she knew that there were some big challenges ahead of Raven if there was going to be lasting stability. It seemed to her that the right people were in the right places to make everything turn out okay.

 

"Anywhere?" she echoed Aira. "Well, I did have a list of places I wanted to see after Chandrila. Borleias goes through a major meteor shower every year that I hear is spectacular, and the next one takes place in a few days. It was going to be my next stop before all of this happened."

 

It almost felt a little silly going back to what she had been doing. It had somehow felt so important to her just a few days ago to spend some time out in the galaxy before settling back on Coruscant into whatever day job she could manage. Now she was studying to be a Jedi and it seemed like she again had her whole life ahead of her. None of it changed her passion for travel and meeting different kinds of people, of course, but now she'd found a calling, and it was one that she felt so strongly about that she wanted to pursue it with every waking hour.

 

But if she had the ability to do both at the same time, like if maybe what she had been doing fit in some way into a Jedi's life? The very prospect of it seemed to chase away her weariness from the intensive healing process.

[Aira Cadan]

I sized up my apprentice. Was she asking because she was still clinging to her old life? Or was it just an idle choice, a why not type of decision? After a moment, I decided it was the latter. "Borleias it is then," I said.

 

We were soon at the Open Road. We climbed aboard, and I let Aelyn head to the cockpit. I stayed back and used the communications board to send a final thank you to Raven, along with my hopes of seeing her again soon. I didn't come out and say it directly, but a politician like my friend had become would know that I was personally interested in helping establish the Order's first Jedi enclave.

 

For now, though, it was time to see what would come next. Just before we entered hyperspace, I spoke through the Force into Aelyn's mind. "I'm going to get some sleep. If you want to stay up, I've got a datapad in my knapsack in the lounge that you can read; it's got some interesting lessons from one of the Jedi Masters of our time on it. Otherwise, we'll talk in a few hours."

 

With that, I crashed in the crew quarters, and was out like a light as soon as my head touched the pillow.

[Kyrie Eleison]

Kyrie’s emerald eyes caught the marching lines of approaching stormtroopers, their helmets like bleached skulls, scattered across an ancient battlefield, long picked clean by carrion. At the front of the squad marched an officer, her jet-black uniform neatly pressed, adorned with the olive-green service medal of Dubrillion and the glittering cylinders customary her rank of caption. The Exorcist bowed low, her cowl parting to expose the long handle of her lightsaber, several handbreadths longer than customary. The Officer’s step paused, and did the ranks of skulls. She could feel the officer’s eyes gliding over her battle-scarred form, and so she spoke to break the silence

 

“I fought S-sith t-to gain these s-scars. I b-bear them p-p-proudly.”

 

The officer’s face softened at her stutter, and she bowed back, her voice carrying the air of diplomacy

 

“Our Lady Raven awaits you. Please follow us.”

 

With that, the column turned on its heel as one, and began to march down a long corridor. She followed at a brisk pace, her long strides bringing her to the officer’s side. A chirrup from Kyrie’s comlink drew her attention, from a mysterious Kala. With nimble fingers she typed out a response, sending the landing pad coordinates and instructions to turn the cultist over to the Imperials for processing. She would have an apprentice. Slipping her comlink into her robes, Kyrie stepped through the opening blast door as its durasteel plating yawned open. Through it she could see a girl, perhaps half a decade older than herself. Her hair was a deep black, the same colour as the armor she wore, emphasizing the violet eyes the woman hid behind bangs of onyx. Her voice was stern and questioning

 

"Greetings Jedi Knight, I do not believe we have had a chance to meet before, what calls you to the Imperial Remnant?”

 

The young Exorcist bowed her head, before returning the violet stare with shining jade. With a half-gloved hand gestured towards the desk at which the woman sat. She spoke into the woman’s mind, not trusting her voice to carry her words, or that their words might be recorded.

“Empress, I have heard of your rejection of the Sith… I have fought the Sith for my entire lifetime. My order has failed this galaxy, and I believe your… Empire may be the only hope we have to stand against the rising darkness.”

 

Into the physical realm, Kyrie bound her fire, alighting the room with flame of pure white wreathing about her outstretched hand. It flowed like lightning between her fingers, alighting her armored body. The ebony rosary about her thin wrist glowed, outlined in silver.

 

“I am an Exorcist, one of the last of my Order. I stand before you as once Revan stood before the Republic, abandoning the weakness of the Jedi Order, offering my service to you. I will create at your will a new order... I wish to be your Imperial Knight.”

[Aelyn]

Aelyn looked around wildly when Aira's voice seemed to manifest in her head. It was one of the most bizarre things she'd ever experienced, yet another mystery of the Force that would take some getting used to. She furthermore had no idea how to respond, but thankfully it didn't seem like her Master needed one.

 

She was rather eager to absorb some Jedi wisdom, but like Aira, she was exhausted. Neither of them had slept since Tython, and they'd been to Chandrila, the Eternal Vigilance, and Carida since then. It was a lot of travel for one "day", and now that they had a natural period of inactivity during transit, she was eager to get a few hours of sleep. The trip to Borleias was long enough, since they had to go part of the way around the Core to get there.

 

The Jedi student made her way back to her quarters and lay down, picking up a small locket she'd received from a close friend on Coruscant. He'd always been a big dreamer, but had felt trapped by his obligations and his limited economic means. He'd grown up wanting to be as far away as possible, to find a job out in the Corporate Sector or Hutt Space as a pilot, shaving time off deliveries with daring hyperspace calculations along unknown routes, beating the record on the Kessel Run. As he'd grown up, he'd started to see those dreams as tragically impractical as he'd taken on more responsibility within the small business owned by his parents, and taken care of his mother through a long-term illness. Aelyn considered the time they'd spent together special, and now she thought of him every time she headed off on a new adventure.

 

Aelyn drifted off to sleep with the locket still in her hand. Inside was a picture and a few words -- To Aelyn. Take this with you as you go where I can not, and a part of me will be there too.

 

Meanwhile the Open Road hurtled through hyperspace towards Borleias and whatever awaited them there.

[Beck Pilon]

Beck arrived at the command center and awaited to be beckoned in. He however did not arrive after a Jedi, who seemed to have a slight arrogance about her. As she walked in, Beck smiled and laughed to himself. He found it entertaining the thought of an Imperial Knight. But such was the way of the know-it-alls known as Force Users. For now, he turned his eyes away from the main door and ignored the loud voice of the Jedi in the room with the Head of State.

[Raven Nasra]

Raven initially bristled at the name Empress. It held so many things unsaid. It spoke of totalitarianism, of the emperors of the old Empire. But she could not blame a Jedi just recently out of hiding for not knowing the proper vocabulary. She was bit taken aback with the girl asking to form the knights, but with the assurances from the Wookiee Master, Raven had no doubt that the girl was acting with permission from the Jedi Council. She leaned forward to give the woman a handshake with her bionic arm “I look forward to seeing you succeed in this my friend. I have a mission for you if you would like. The old Sith Temple here on Carida was utterly destroyed by the imperial fleet. If you would like to conduct a Jedi ritual to cleanse the place it would be most welcome.” She leaned to the side and activated the intercomm.

 

“Please show Commander Beck in, we have much to discuss about the coming military operations agains the Black Sun and the Sith Empire.”

 

She smiled at the man as he was brought in. "Would you be interested in taking a large force of men and ships to assist the CoreSec forces in their assault on Black Sun holdings? If you were, how many men and arms would you need?"

[Beck Pilon]

Beck walked in and returned the smile to Head of State Zinthos. Once he took the center where he should stand, Zinthos gave him his next assignment. With a grin like smile, he moved his black cape off his shoulders.

 

"Oh, Black Sun might have credits, but they have been seriously broken recently. A simple corvette class cruiser with the typical commando brigade should do the trick. Unless you want to clean house first try with no questions asked Ma'am..."

 

Beck now stood with his arms behind his back and awaited the Head of State to address him again.

[Kala Ianauria]

Kala found herself in the waiting room of Lady Zinthos’ offices, offered a seat while she waited for her new Master to exit from her conference with the head of the Imperial Remnant. It meant she had more time to reflect, more time to center herself and set her resolve for the journey ahead of her.

As she tried to find peace, a stray thought entered her mind and refused to follow the others into nothingness.

 

Her mother would hate this Imperial remnant, call it weak, call it a pale reflection of the true Empire led by fools deceived by Republic agitators who diluted the purity of the Empire with equality for lessor and debased types of inferior sentients. In essence, the same diatribe she’d heard concerning the Gallactic Alliance with the added dimension of this group of worlds calling themselves the Imperial remnant.

 

She was not her mother. At sixteen, she might not be able to verbalize her thoughts or even consciously understand her own motives, but the very existence of this office and her sitting her meant she was attempting to define herself on her own terms. In short, be the person she wanted to be instead of a copy of her hate filled mother. Kala focused and moved past those tirades and truly observed the people around her.

 

What she saw and to some extant felt through her fledgling connect with the Force were people efficiently conducting their various reports, receiving orders and acting upon them. While Imperial protocols were in place, many of the human centric policies seemed to be absent, as well as the oppressive fear and constant faction warring her Shadow had told her existed in the former Empire.

 

Instead, there was sense of both hope and destiny that seemed to guide the actions of the people flowing through the place.

She wandered what the meant for her. Her heart raced when she thought on the cause that brought her here, on the sense that bringing the possessed soldier meant more than just saving his life or separating the possessing spirit.

 

Upon landing, she’d caught a glimpse of Knight Eleison, one that conveyed a sense of power, purpose and peace simultaneously and on her command, followed her here where she waited while her new Master conferred with the Lady Zinthos. She felt no slight on being made to wait, having been taught Imperial protocol by an old droid whom claimed he had intact memories from the Old Republic.

 

A claim a young Kala had immediately put to the test upon when her governess introduced her to the droid and told her its purpose. The old droid, complaining bitterly the whole way, followed her to the droid workshop on her parent’s estate where an Iridonian retainer named Saeven greeted her warmly and without hesitation. Shadow, who’d followed her silently, stood guard over her and watched the proceedings.

 

Kala remembered demanding of the old man, “This droid thinks he came from the dirty Old Republic, make him tell the truth.”

 

Shadow’s quiet breathing halted abruptly, causing Kala to turn and look at her. Saeven might have missed it, but the two had been practically raised as sisters. Like sisters, they occasionally had different takes on various subjects.

 

This was one of them and every time it came up in her studies, Kala and Shadow took different sides with the same result. The conversation always ended up in a violent, no holds barred brawl.

 

Only this time, Saeven had been there and interfered. He simply reached out and picked up the two girls by their wastebands and held them up in the air like two quarreling cubs. When they continued to quarrel, to try and reach for each other and one of them accidently hit Saeven, he had simply strode across the workshop to an oil bath and dropped both girls in.

 

Both came up sputtering, soaked in oil and with a new target for their anger. Old Saeven had simply dunked them again. When Kala came up sputtering about going to see her mother, he’d simply dunked them again.

 

The third time got their attention, and both stayed silent, dripping oil all over the floor of the workshop while Saeven glared down at them reproachfully before speaking in heavily accented Basic.

 

“Young ladies do not fight about past. Learn first, then discuss.”

 

She’d looked over at Shadow, who shrugged. Neither knew yet what the Iridonian meant and neither was willing to be dipped in the oil bath again. It was only much later that Kala learned how much the man truly risked by laying hands on her at all. As for the lesson he taught them that day, her mother would have had him summarily executed for it had Kala ever said anything.

 

The thrill of the secrets Saeven and he old protocol droid revealed and the utter defiance they represented to her family’s rules elevated them to an extremely high status in her child’s mind.

 

“Come old friend,” said Saevan to the droid, “let’s let the young ladies have a look.”

 

“I do say, sir, will you be deactivating me?” said the droid with fear evident in its voice.

 

“No,” chuckled the Iridonian, just using this viewer to let the girls see your memories from the Old Republic.”

 

Kala remembered her and Shadow both taking an eager step forward to see whom had been right about the old Republic.

 

When they returned to her quarters several hours later, Kala apologized immediately to Shadow after having apologized to the old Droid and Saevan. She’d eventually learn on her fifteenth birthday that the old protocol droid had a far more interesting history than just that of a fussy old protocol droid.

 

The fussy, whining, and subservient visage of a protocol droid hid all the weapons and programming of an assassin droid who long ago found its way to freedom and crafted a new, secret name for itself in Mando’a, Ast Atiniir, that it never revealed accept to the most trusted of meatbags.

 

It’s words, not hers.

[Raven Nasra]

Raven smiled at Beck, her pale lips curling into a well practiced smile. Smiling was not a natural thing for her, but she knew it conveyed a feeling of welcomeness and trust. "You may take whatever force you deem necessary that could take and hold a city. When you are ready meet the Coresec and other Imperial forces at the Coresec outpost on Kuat. We will show the criminals that we mean business." She paused for a second and looked him in the eye. "Clean house. those are you orders."

[Kyrie Eleison]

“I heard the Temple through the Force. It’s song can be heard throughout the entire Perlemian Trade Route…”

 

The Young Exorcist could feel the pulse of electronics through the woman’s glove as they shook hands. This new Empire was striving to rid the galaxy of evil, and she would be in the Vanguard. Kyrie bowed her head low, one of her black bangs obscuring her vision for a moment before she passes it behind her ear once more with a brush of her gloved fingers. She straightened her cowl, its deep blue colour highlighted by her black tunic. Her battleworn chestpiece of similar blue concealed her racing heartbeat, as she took a step back from the table. Her voice was approving, with undertones of excitement, reinforced by The Force

 

“My apprentice and I will cleanse it. Good hunting against Black Sun, and may the light scatter them to the winds!”

 

With her blackened combat boots making quite clicks on the white tileway, she stepped from the room, through the yawning blastdoor, and into the waiting room beyond. Within it sat a girl not two years younger than herself, her blonde hair kept in the fashion of Kuati Nobility. The girl was lost in thought, so Kyrie dropped to a knee beside her, observing her vibrosword and blaster. Into the girl’s mind, the warrior pushed a gentle greeting, accompanied by feelings of kind happiness.

 

“You must be Kala. I am Exorcist Eleison. Welcome to the fight…”

[Beck Pilon]

Beck gave a slight bow and then turned to leave. This would be fun for him. He had not had the chance in a long while to actively engage in combat since he was under Commander Kain. But now, he would have his opportunity to show his skills in combat again. Walking out of the room, he made a quick stop at his quarters to pick up his special armor to wear and any other weapons that he might deem necessary to help him win against Black Sun. He also sent an alert to have a team of his choosing ready and waiting for him upon his arrival. He then marched himself to the ship yard to board and meet up with the team had requested. There waiting for him was a Cutlass-class Corvette with the company of troops he had requested. Once they all were aboard, Beck had the ship up and heading for Kuat to meet up with CoreSec.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Guest

[Kala Ianauria]

Kyrie’s gentle greeting immediately interrupted Kala’s train of thought and brought her to the present. Horror burned through her at the sight of Knight Eleison kneeling, as if the Exorcist was a servant and Kala some noble.

 

She wondered if she still retained her titles and place in Kuati society. Without a missive or assassination attempt her status as a noble remained intact, whatever that was.

Yet her oath as a Jedi meant she had renounced her title.

 

A frown crossed her face as she realized that the Knight still knelt before her waiting on some sort of answer. Her etiquette tutor never covered exactly this situation, so she improvised.

Kala gracefully slipped from her seat so that she now knelt before her master.

 

Bowing her head without taking her eyes of Kyrie, she said, “Thank you for taking me on as your apprentice. How may I serve?" Even though she thought her tone properly and quietly humble, her ears burned with the feeling that somehow everyone in the office stopped for one brief second to look down at her and marvel that she dared leave her family, her home and walk away from her station to be a Jedi.

[Kyrie Eleison]

Kyrie’s scarred face was marked with a warm smile at the young woman’s humility. The girl, Kala, stood with the air of nobility, and the Force swirled about her with flashes of her past. The attempt at humility marked her apart from the nobles that Kyrie had interacted with during her time on Ord Mantell, as a slave fighting for their entertainment. Into the young Kuati’s mind the Exorcist projected her voice, beckoning Kala to follow as she walked down the tiled hallway, her boots making small clicks as she stepped.

 

“Your humility is appreciated from one of such noble birth… My birthright, by the Will of the Force, was into slavery and violence under the Sith. The Force has called us into this fight together.”

 

Two squads of stormtroopers, their bleached armor and skull-like helmets sending a shiver up her spine, fell into step behind the two Jedi.

 

“Our first meeting would have been more serene in the Praxeums, but instead you are called with me to warfare. We are to cleanse the Sith blight from Cardia… It was from here they launched the invasion of Gala, in which my own master was gravely injured in its defense...”

 

Kyrie smiled again at the girl beside her, indicating her vibrosword and blaster. A white fire began to writhe about Kyrie’s hand, its flames almost serpentine in motion

 

“The darkness does not fade away easily. Tell me, Kala, from where do you feel The Force?”

[Kala Ianauria]

“Master,” said Kala attempting to answer Kyrie’s question, “The Masters at the temple told me my strengths like in Thaumaturgy and Symbiosis. They also said that in time I might develop some talent in Healing.”

 

Kala kept walking, trying to ignore the sounds and sights of two squads of Stormtroopers following them. She briefly wondered how much of this her mother might approve of before mostly succeeding at just letting go. She knew the respite to be temporary but accepted the timely gift.

 

“My governess said that you can be born to a noble rank, but nobility was earned step by step, day by day in the way you lived.”

 

A genuine smile graced her face at some of the ‘lessons’ that went along with that saying. The trips to the poor quarters of Kuat, where people with barely more than those they were helping gave their limited funds, time and energy to help their friends and neighbors. Trips to shelters where the victims of horrible abuse attempted to recover dignity and mental health, or even to hospitals to help with those with horrible wounds. Secret trips that they disguised as charity work for their social station because her mother saw anyone not a noble of Kaut as being only servants.

 

“As for my Mother, she arranged for me to marry a man known to be devoted to the ways of the Sith. I was supposed to find out after we were married. If he was a true Sith, I was supposed to become his apprentice and take his place all so that my family could add to their wealth and power.”

 

Every time Kala told someone that, a dark place of fear that could not stand the light of day seemed to thaw a little more.

 

She turned to Kyrie as they marched. “So helping to remove the Sith presence from Carida and the rest of the galaxy sounds like something I want to be a part of. A very big part of.” She turned back forwards as they marched for a few more minutes.

 

The Sith temple soon came into view. Its architecture put into her mind the temple on Coruscant and her experience there. A memory of that experience, still fresh in her mind caused her to one again turn towards Knight Kyrie and ask, “Master, I watched a man become possessed by a Sith spirit in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Are there artifacts like that here? What kind of other dangers will we be facing? And the data file I was given on you mentioned you are an Exorcist, what exactly is that?”

[Raven Nasra]

Raven sat shuffling through datacards and stacks of notes until she found the contact information for one Moff Herrin. She grimaced and dialed in the comm frequency, almost instantly the mid forties man stared back at her with his blue eyes shining through the static hologram. He remained one of the few hardline Imperials in the remnant. One of her initial sponsors into the Head of State position, he had respected her past as an Imperial Captain, but he thoroughly disliked women in power, especially women who did not look to reinstate the Empire to its former glory. But he begrudgingly respected Raven for her order concerning the Sith. He had lost his only son during the Death Star Battle under the command of the Sith Lord Dagon. He had never forgiven the Sith for such a slight. After listening to Raven's bequest, he smiled and cut the transmission.

 

Raven sighed, stretched and began pouring over plans for the Bastion project.

 

The Imperial Remnant would survive, even with an eventual Sith Incursion. She needed the Jedi, now more than ever. With a woosh, the door to her office opened and an orderly brought in a report from the Sith Academy. She ordered several more troop detachments to begin their movement into the area, in case the Jedi needed them.