Prelude to War (Book 6)

[Akirapryde]

(6.6) Hostile Take Over
Jedi Stronghold, Fortress Cas
Mid Rim World of Flo'luwer
November 29th, 1936

The mid rim world of Flo'luwer was a largely peaceful world before the fall of the Great Republic. The people thrived as they exported their arts and crafts. Even though Flo'luwer was nested in the center of the war zones, it was spared the horrors of the Brush Fire Wars and the Violent Jedi Civil War. At the end of the Jedi Civil War, Flo'luwer became home to a small number of rebel Jedi whom were not satisfied with the peace treaty that was signed. While the war was over, the causes were still fresh in the hearts and minds of many former rebel Jedi. Slowly the numbers of these Jedi grew and organized in to a force. They were led by the charismatic Jedi Master Ro-Mal-Zom, these Jedi had lost their taste for armed conflict. However they didn't lose their disgust with the Coruscant Jedi. Jedi Master Ro-Mal-Zom didn't support the Civil War but at the same time felt guilty over not acting to prevent it. He continued to teach his students the ways of the Living Force from their canyon hide away. They treated the locals with respect and earned their trust. The two groups formed a strong bond over the years. They remained in hiding until they were discovered by a small band of Republic Rangers. Within days of being discovered, a large Republic military force landed on Flo'luwer and wiped the enclave out.

Flo'luwer once more slipped in to the pages of history as the wars waged around it. Every once and a while a faction would land and lay claim to the world. Then they would loss interest and leave. Flo'luwer offered little in natural resources and even less in military value. Flo'luwer was only valued by its local population. That was till the third century when the Jedi returned to Flo'luwer. The new comers were recognized by their grabs and mistaken as being part of the same group led by Master Ro-Mal-Zom. Hundreds of locals flocked to greet the returning Jedi. Within hours, to their horror, these Jedi brought with them slavers. The Jedi were led by the ruthless Jedi Master Cas Murl. To her, Master Murl saw Flo'luwer as the prefect location to build her stronghold. Using the millions of fresh new slaves, she dug her stronghold out from the same canyon where Master Ro-Mal-Zom and his followers had been massacred. By the end of Master Cas Murl's leadership of the Jedi, hundreds of thousands of Flo'luwerans had been killed digging out her massive stronghold. Her vision was to create a huge complex that was a prefect copy of the long lost Temple on Coruscant. She built the temple within the canyon walls to hide it from attackers and raiders. However she would never see the temple completed.

Master Fif Murl became Grand Master after the passing of her mother, Master Cas Murl. Master Fif continued the construction of the stronghold and its defenses. She also gave the stronghold its name, Fortress Cas. While Fortress construction continued, the slave markets on Flo'luwer had become widely known. Each day slave transactions numbered in the thousands, with slaves being bought and sold within large lots. The Jedi ensured that the slavers kept a steady supply of slaves for the market. New Spaceports were built to handle larger loads of slaves and the Jedi even built one of the first shipyards since the fall of the Great Republic. For all of its market activities, Fif ensured that the Fortress was a well kept secret. Even new training Jedi never knew that the location of their school was on Flo'luwer. While many Jedi learned the ways of the Force within the dark passageways of the Fortress, it was the Fortes' Black Tower that held the true power. Here only the Elite Jedi Masters were allowed to trained. Here Fif and her Jedi Council perfected their art forms and mastered the skills that would ensure they would remain in power. It would be in the Black Tower, Fif's control of the Jedi would be challenged and she would be defeated by her own son, Rish Murl.

Jedi Master Rish Murl would secure his power base by dispatching his own mother and her supporters at the hands of his own lightsaber. He than turned to expanding the slavers operations which fueled the Flo'luwer economy. While so many within the slaver markets and even outside of it might know of Flo'luwer, very few truly understood this world or the politics that enslaved it. Much like his ruthless grandmother Cas Murl, Rish continued the construction of the Fortress as it dug deeper in to the world. He ordered millions of slaves to be brought to the Fortress as he demanded that the project would be completed under his rule or he would kill every worker. Rish also sent his slavers out to find artist of the Galaxy. He brought these special slaves in to create works of art never seen by the Galaxy. Large galleries with hand carved stone pilers gave the Fortress a sense of culture from around the galaxy. Sadly, the site was heavily tainted by the darkside of the force. Master Rish murder more slaves than any other Grand Master before or after. Their suffering would spread in to the galleries and echo down the halls for hundreds of years. His special art slaves would become the first permanent slaves to take up residents within the tunnels of the Fortress. They would become the stock of a special breed of slaves which the Jedi would hold only to themselves.

It was Grand Master Rish's love for arts which put the Jedi on a collision course with the Galatic Church. Master Rish ordered a raid for a painter well known to the Church. Prior to this raid, the Church had not seen the Jedi as a threat and largely ignored them as it battled larger threats to its dominance of Force users. The raid embarrassed the Church in a way that it had not foresaw. Since that time, the Church fought to destroy the group. However, unlike other groups the Church faced off with, the Jedi were not willing to just avoid the Church in conflict. Master Rish, was more than willing to attack the Church in ways others never dreamed possible. The Jedi and their slavers carried out acts of terrorism and murder directly against the Church and its puppets. Master Rish laid the ground work for a war that would last for hundreds of wars. Each step the Church took to slow the growth of the Jedi, they would learn to grow in a different way. There were years when the war seemed to slow to a near peaceful state, it never completely ended. The Jedi made sure of this launching violent attacks against the Church and their followers. Nothing that the Church did seemed to slow or even harm the Jedi and Fortress Cas remained nothing more than a fable to the Church. It was the raise of the Varl that brought the war to a uneasy peace between the church and the Jedi.

As the Varl became a massive power within the Core and surrounding the Jedi and their slavers found a valuable ally within the Varl Markets. The Varl had become an entire culture driven by the slave markets across the Galaxy and the Jedi held great influence within these markets. After long and hard negotiations, the Varl were finally able to help broker a peace between the two factions. At the time, the Varl had become one of the most powerful Empires within the Galaxy. Their own influence spreading, the Varl used their worlds and realm as grounds to bring the Church to the table with the Jedi. During these times, the Jedi saw their ranks grow as they continued to spread their influence. With an uneasy peace with the Church finally secured, the Jedi leadership turned to ensure that the Church would never again be able to strike back at them. Spies were sent out and hidden secrets within the Church were discovered. The days of open conflict with the Church might have ended, but that didn't mean that the war was over. The Church stepped up its operations to combat the Jedi through indirect actions. Creating subgroups that worked against the slavers and helping local communities defend themselves from slaver attacks. However, it was the actions of the Knight Roses which caused the Jedi the worse problems.

The Knight Roses were able to hunt down and murder low and medium level Jedi leaders without fear of reprisals. These attacks continued without check for nearly a decade while the Jedi attempted to figure out who was behind these covert attacks. However, when they did finally figure it out, the Church paid a heavy price for the murders. Jedi Grand Master Ni'osh Murl ordered the gloves off and one of the most violent wars that no one ever heard of took place. Over night, spies were given their orders and across over a hundred worlds bombs exploded within Churches and more than a thousand members of the church across the Galaxy vanished, sometimes without even a trace. The actions of the Jedi were directed to hurt and shake the Church on levels never before attempted. High ranking members of the Church like Bishops, and Cardinals who never before thought vulnerable to such actions. Prior to the Hidden War, no one dared act directly against the Church. Now with their cloak of protection ripped away, many within the Church felt fear from more possible Jedi attacks. The kidnappings and bombings continued for the rest of the week as the Church was rocked to the core. Be the end of the week, the Jedi had proven their point with their latest victim. During the early morning hours on the Holy See, an abduction occurred that forced the Church to its knees. The very son of the leader of the Church was taken by force from his bodyguards while on his way to service.

Finally the Church had good reason to end its covert war with the Jedi. The two powerful groups met in secret on the farming world of Yavin IV. The short talks yielded a peace that would survived till the lasted events. The Church agreed to stop its hostile actions against the Jedi in return, the Jedi would release most of their hostages. While the Jedi refused to release all of their hostages, they did agree to release the most important ones. The remaining were by agreement with the Church allowed to be sold within the markets. The Jedi did allow the Church to have first bids on those, and all were bought back by the Church. In return for the peace, the Jedi agreed to allow the month long war remain a secret and not to oppose the official story that members of the Sabbat carried out the bombings. The war was over and the Church agreed to allow the Jedi to conduct their slaver operations without further interference. The Church was the only power within the Galaxy that really could stop the Jedi and their slavers. Without the Church in the way, the Jedi were able to really flourish. Flo'luwer became the center of all slave trade in the Galaxy.

With the Church finally off their back, the Jedi grew in to the organized group it is today. Generally they are a group of powerful cells that have been given control over sections of the Galaxy. There is the main Council of the Jedi on Flo'luwer that over sees and approves all major missions. As long as the less cells pay their tribute to the Council all is well. From time to time, the cells have been known to go to war with each other over territory. However these wars tend to run hot and burn out fast. The Council has been known to step in and end internal conflicts when they threaten the entire Order. As the Order grew under new leadership one thing remained the same. The House of Murl ensured that it remained strong and always led the Order. Some Grand Masters were more fair than others, while others were down right evil in the way they conducted the affairs of the Order. Not all affairs were a benefit to the Order. One such mission planned and carried out by the House of Murl nearly led the Order to its own destruction. As the Galaxy continued to regroup and rebuild after the wars that shattered the Great Republic, a new Galactic power rose from the ashes. A power that was too much of an opportunity for the Jedi or House of Murl to pass up. The Free Worlds' Council.

Grand Master Cylose Murl laid the plans for one of the largest slave raids to ever be carried out. It would include ten Jedi Cells and all their resources. The mission was simple, punish the FWC for their antislavery laws and fill the Jedi coffers with a slave stock that would take years to deplete. The Grand Master's own forces would take the first set of raid along with his closest allies. Then the rest of the cells would make their raids and continue till the slave holds were filled. The raids were planned out and executed with prefect details. Within the first two days of the raids, the slavers were surprisingly successful. Hundreds of thousands of slaves were captured and collected. However greed got the best of the Jedi as they pushed the slavers harder and further in to FWC controlled space. As the Council started to understand the nature of the raid they started to plan for them and estimated where the next targets were going to be. By day six, the slavers were starting to take heavy losses along the entire theater. Despite the suggestions of the Grand Master, the other cells continued the raids while the Grand Master's forces and those of his allies pulled out. The remaining cells were determined to match the gains made during the start of the raids. It was too late, the Council's military had scout ships patrolling the suspected routes looking for the world that the raids were being conducted from. Within days, the Council was ready to launch their own counter offensive against the slavers.

In what would become one of the Council's finest hours, their warships arrived and caught the slavers completely by surprise. Thirty six slaver ships and forty five pirate ships were either destroyed or captured by the Council. It was a complete disaster for the remaining cells. Most of their leadership were caught up in the military action and unable to flee the system. During the battle, the five Master who led the cells were killed. While none of the Council records indicate who killed them, it became rumored that they were killed by their own troops. The world was fiercely fought over as Council ship after ship continued to arrive. Soon even the ground forces of the slavers were unable to hold the line. The slave markets were captured and a blow against the slavers had been recorded. While nearly half of the civilians remained in slavery, never to be seen again, all of the those being held on this world were liberated and returned home. It was the first major military action the Council took and they won. It was a loss the Jedi would not soon forget. Though it did teach them a lesson regarding their own limitations. The Grand Master would replace the cells with more of his own supporters and the Jedi would continue to grow. While they would conduct actions against the FWC in the future, they would never carry out such massive raids again. As time passed, the Jedi continued to run slave gathering missions and expanded their influence across the Galaxy. They became an organization that many thought would never fall. That was till recently events. Now the fate of the Organization resting in the hands of Zer'ra Murl.

Zer'ra Murl, born Zer'ra Calorld. Zer'ra's mother was the daughter of a tribal chieftain. The tribe fought back against the Jedi and their slavers for months till they were finally defeated. As punishment, the Grand Master Pax Murl ordered the entire tribe enslaved. Zer'ra's mother was taken by force as a prize for the Council. She was violently raped over and over again before being sent to the brothels. What saved Zer'ra from the same fate as her sisters and mother was the fact that she was touched by the Force. Zer'ra was sent to the training pits where she was forced to hone her skills or die. Her abilities within the Force were so pronounced that she quickly caught the eye of Grand Master Pax. He pulled her from the training pits and presented her to his own son as a gift. Pax had hoped that his son would be tested by her skills over time. As time passed Pax waited for the moment when his son would best her and take her life. In doing so, he would complete his dark arts training. Sadly that day come in a different way.

Zer'ra was raised in a world where one had to be quick to adapt or die. When she was pulled from training and offered as a gift to, Smad Murl, by then known as Master Nur'Ang (the meaning was simple, dark warrior). Even before this, she was forced to know fear. Striped of her innocents by her trainers, fellow Padawans, and anyone willing to pay the right price. Fear governed her life and she was trained to focus that fear in to hatred and anger. When she was given as a gift to the son of the Grand Master, she was told that it could only mean one thing. He was to take her life as part of his training to become Grand Master. For all others, her fate had been sealed. For her, she knew that she had to adapt or die. She bought her time wisely by ensuring that he could not best her in combat or through skills of the Force. This part of her plot to survive lasted till her mid-teens. It was becoming clear to her that her delaying tactic was running out of time. Alone in her cell she devised a plan that would ensure not only her survival but a place where it will never be questioned again. She carefully worked her charms on Smad as they continued to train in one on one combat settings. The two had already build up a close friendship. She used that friendship to build his love for her. She exploited everything she knew about him. Everything had to be set up perfectly or her plan would fail by his lightsaber. With her own life in the balance, she ensured to keep his love in check for the right moment. A moment of her design.

She waited till her seventeenth birthday to execute her plan. She started the day as normal training on their skills together with the other Masters of the Council. What no one else knew, she had made a secret report to the Grand Master that she had over heard one of the Masters suggesting on this day that an accident could be set up to kill Smad. For her it was no surprise when the Grand Master showed up to the lesson. She knew that Smad had great hatred over his father for the death of his mother two years ago. Like a good friend she never once spoke ill of Smad's father but was there to listen and keep his secrets. She knew that his love for her had grown beyond his own reasons. This would be the day that she would place her fate in his hands. If she had read him wrong, she would be dead. If she was right, than her life would be spared. Just as she hoped, the Grand Master sent the members of the Council away while the two teens spared. Halfway through the match, she commented to Smad about not feeling well. She lowered her performance to match her fake illness. Smad noticed and took advantage of her weakened state.

At first she thought that she misread him. Fear grew as she thought he would actually kill her. But she trusted in her plan and continued it. She allowed Smad to defeat her. She laid helpless on the ground looking up in to his goggles. She could still hear Pax's voice ordering Smad to finish her. Holding true to her plot, she played her eyes for all their worth. And then without warning giving Smad a soft nod, she turned her eyes from him and looked down. In that moment she did everything she could to silence her fears and rage. She had to seem as helpless as possible. She had to sell the moment if this was going to work. Pax's rage blew as he ordered Smad to finish her. Zer'ra only looked at the ground as her eyes slowly closed. If she was to die in that moment she didn't want to see it coming. She heard the sound of the lightsaber moving fast. She almost thought that she going to die. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as she opened her eyes. The smile on her face grew as she saw Pax Murl laying dead before her. Two days later the pair were married and Zer'ra would never be called slave again. Even the Council now bowed before her.

Just like that, her life went from slave girl fated to die, to wife of the Grand Master. Smad had completed his training and become Grand Master of the Jedi. There were those who tried to oppose him, but Zer'ra knew who they were as slaves were never seen. She used her knowledge and helped her husband ensure no threats would come to him. She reigned no different than other members of the Murl Household. There were a some moments however where she couldn't bring herself to be as ruthless and cold blooded as her husband. There were times when fate allowed her to display the pure nature of her own people. While those moments were few and far between. They did happen and had a lasting impact on her spirit. Still little would have changed her current situation. Now she set in the center of her cell in deep meditation over the events of the day. Before she ensured that she was feared and powerful. She made sure that no one dared question her right to reign. Many would even suggest in secret that she was stronger and more powerful than her own husband. Those whispers were cast in dark shadows away from ears. She knew that not being a Ne'Dor, she could never reign over the Jedi without Smad. She knew her place and understood that she could not go higher. Her continued life meant that Smad must be protected. It made her, his most loyal followers beyond just his wife.

That was before, now she was powerless to do anything to protect her own life. That powerlessness gave her great fear. She knew many people aboard hated her because of who she was. She knew none of them cared of what she had done, they just hated her. She didn't want to die, she feared death. And she knew that if given the slightest reason, any of them would gladly end her life. She expected last night, that someone would fill her cell with gas and she would be dead by morning. Simply because death didn't come, didn't mean it wasn't. It just meant that she had something to offer them still. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she had to find out quickly. Her legs crossed as her body set rigid. Her eyes closed and focused on one of Smad's lessons to her. “Focus your hate, your rage. Feel the flow of darkness around you. It has a pulse that can be sensed.” His voice filled her mind as she recalled his lessons. Between her opened hands a small ball of blue lighting crackled and shifted. She could feel how it struggled against her control over it. She willed the Force to pushed against it forcing the lighting to hold its round shape. Her anger was never so great as it was now. Her rage was nearly out of control. But she knew better than to allow it to feed on herself. The anger and rage had a target and she was not able to deny it. A few days ago, her Jedi Order had been attacked without warning.

She remembered that no one knew how the attackers gained access to their fortress or why so many of her former Jedi now served the attackers. She focused her rage and her anger grew as the memory came to light. The report that one of the attackers name, Makarov, raided deep in to the Fortress and murdered her four children. The ball of lighting reacted to her rage as it grew in force and fought against her control with a renewed strength. Her memory moved as she recalled the battle between Smad and the leader of the attackers. The leader of them was none other than a child with powers that she had never seen before. Zer'ra could feel the ball growing in both power and size as the memory continued. Her eyes still shut tight as she remembered in detail the way the child took down her husband claiming he had no right to bare the name Murl. Zer'ra always knew the curse of being the most powerful. That someone would come challenge her husband's authority to rule over the Jedi. It happen before and each time he was able to best the challengers. Each time, he became even stronger than before. Each time Zer'ra was grateful that he won. His ability to remain in control over the Jedi ensured her life would continue.

Zer'ra had worked so hard to free herself from the bounds of slavery. She had worked so hard to save her own life. It was not an easy task and there were challengers that plotted against her. Some were driven by greed while others wanted to take what was hers for their own. Never before in Jedi History had a Grand Master taken a slave to be his wife. In doing so, this ensured that Zer'ra would never suffer a slave's fate. He continued her training as a Jedi and helped her skills to grow. When Smad, Nur'Ang, finally claimed leaderships of the Order, he named her as his right hand. It was an honor that no former slave had ever dreamed of achieving. All of this came at a price even Zer'ra hadn't realized. Fear! Zer'ra now had to fear assassins, challengers and even her own husband. Life in the Jedi was about adapting or dying. Zer'ra would never be a slave again. She forced herself to over come ever challenge put before her. With fear demanding action, Zer'ra channeled that fear in to rage and anger. Now it was her time to prove her worth once more. Zer'ra leaped in to the combat in defense of her husband. But this was more than just defending her place within the Order. It was more than defending even her own husband. This was personal. They had murdered her children and now they would pay for that.

The pair exchanged lighting bolts of such power that the blue glow filled the entire area of the fortress. Zer'ra's rage went off the charts as she channeled as much of her power in to her lighting. She dug deep and called upon the Dark side to help fuel her anger and lighting. The few remaining loyal Jedi watching the battle were struck by the show of power between the two rivals. The Twi'lek girl pushed back against Zer'ra's lighting as they continued. Each of their lighting met halfway between the two. At the point where the two forces met, the energy blasted out causing massive damage to the walls and anything else caught between the two. The Twi'lek girl's forces held their ground while Zer'ra and the girl continued to push their own skills even further. It seemed almost as if Zer'ra was going to gain the upper hand. Then it happened! The girl summoned up a skill Zer'ra had never seen before. In all of her years of study, she never saw a power such of this even being mentioned before. The girl pulled her lighting back allowing Zer'ra's to advance. Then without warning, the girl channeled all of Zer'ra own lighting back at her. Above all of that, the girl pushed her own lighting in to the blast. Before Zer'ra knew what had happened she was faced with more power than she ever realized possible.

In that moment, Zer'ra knew that she had lost. But her defeat would not happen today. Zer'ra had bought Nur'Ang the time he needed to gather up his own strength once more. He pulled up his will and leaped forward knocking Zer'ra from the blast. He took the full force of the blast with his lightsaber. He directed the blast away from them and up towards the ceiling of the Fortress. The explosion was so intense that it caused everyone within the area to be knocked off their feet. Zer'ra remembers Smad's words in that moment. 'RUN!' It was the first time she ever heard him willingly flee a conflict. The others were all to willing to leave Smad behind, Zer'ra wasn't. She forced the others to pick up Smad and take him with them. The departure from the Fortress was a series of running battles. Their former allies and servants had turn on them. Luckily it would be the last time Zer'ra saw the Twe'lek girl. But the child's influence would make their escape that much harder. Zer'ra never saw anything like it. Just hours before the attack, their allies were as loyal as ever. Now they seemed to be under some kind of mind control. Something beyond mind trick, something that she didn't know how to combat.

Zer'ra continued to remember the events back at the Fortress and that girl. Now she is hanging on to the warrior she once was. Broken, she sat in a prison cell aboard the Generation ship Narshana. Zer'ra had led her people here in hopes of finding a safe haven. She still does not second guess that choice, and she knows that she had rough waters ahead. She could feel the lighting surging against her control. His words once more came to her, “hate can be a sword or a weight around your neck. Its up to how you use it. How you channel it.” There were truths in his words. But there was also something else. Something that gave her reason to doubt her past actions. The words from this Master Visst had reason. She had already lost so much from her life. The death of her children, the lost of her life and her husband. 'Has my whole life been wrong' she reflected.

“Oh Zer'ra, see how far the mighty have fallen” the voice ripped Zer'ra from her meditation.

Zer'ra looked up to see the translucent image of a young Twi'lek girl dressed in Jedi robes. Zer'ra knew all too well who it was that had appeared before. “Master Shakka” Zer'ra said with all the hatred and callus she could. She had heard the other attackers addressing her as that. The anger in her welled up to the point of breaking her focus on her lighting sphere in her hands.

Master Shakka smiled, “Do you really think that this Master Visst will be able to protect you and your followers from me. I took the lives of your children, and oh how is your husband? Dead I hope!” Zer'ra didn't hold back as she released all of her hate in to her lighting bolt. The bluish glow filled the cell as it leaped forward towards the image. The sound of the lighting was only drown out by Zer'ra rage filled scream. It passed harmlessly through it and impacted the wall with so much devastation that it nearly burned through the entire wall. The image faded as Master Shakka's voice echoed in Zer'ra mind, “I shall find you” the image said then all Zer'ra could hear was its laughter.

Zer'ra's breath fought for control as her mind raced. The meter thick wall was reduced to nearly a two meter hole through to the other side. Zer'ra's mind raced as her felt the dark creature redraw from her mind. Her mind was cloudy once more with fear, anger and hatred. That peace which was almost found, now just a distant memory. There was no peace in her heart or her mind. Only rage, only hate. Zer'ra wanted the Twi'lek child dead like nothing else she ever felt. Her mind was so scattered by the encounter that she never noticed that the door had opened. She set there on the floor on her knees with her ankles still crossed from her earlier meditation position. Her hands now resting on the floor trembling in fear over what she had experienced. Never before had an illusion come from so far away and touched her mind so clearly. Zer'ra knew it was only an illusion but still she felt the being in the room with her. Her long red hair hanging low as her head dropped under her shoulders. She set like that for a while as she fought back the surging emotions that were ripping her control to pieces.

“Are you okay?” Master Visst said calmly. He walked in just after they heard the loud force lighting discharge. He motioned for the rest to wait while it was clear that Zer'ra was facing another struggle within her heart. Her fear was great and ran deep. He could feel so much of her heart in so much pain. Tapping in to her state, he was able to feel her emotions and realized that much of them started when she was very young. 'Maybe as a slave girl raised in a world where the strong are worked and the weak are destroyed' he pondered. He noticed her nod and added, “Anger consumes the body from within.” He also sensed the being he felt back on Mearisa. However this time, she was much more powerful. 'What is the connection between you two. Why is she still haunting you' he thought to himself while looking at Zer'ra. He felt petty for her. She was near her emotional and mental breaking points. It was a dangerous place for her. Which was why he was happy that he had a plan for it.

“I would like to introduce you to some friends of mine” Master Visst said as motioned the two beings forward. “This is Master Scorylance and Master Salaban. I have asked them to help me, help you and your people. I understand that you have only known one kind of life. It was a hard life where only the strong and powerful are allowed to survive and thrive. I wish to show you a life with other options. I have asked them, if you will allow it, to mentor you and your followers. It is really important that we help your people feel like they belong here.” he explained his plan and reasons for it as clearly as he could. He could feel her stress and emotions still raging barely within her control. He added, “I also believe that this will give you the needed space to help regain control of your own emotions.” he was not sure but the glare in her eyes as they shot up to his indicated that he touched a nerve with her.

She didn't say anything as she still fought to bring her own breath under control. He dropped to a knee next to her, “I will help you and be there for you every step of the way. You will not be alone during this.”

He could feel the conflict within her heart once more growing. He could sense the good in her fighting against the fear and hatred. Her eyes lied to him as he only saw rage and anger within them. He knew in his heart that she could be saved. She wanted to be saved. She needed to be saved. He also now knew she didn't know how to ask for it or even accept it. He leaned back on to her lower legs and slumped her body with her head. “We will do what ever it takes to ensure our asylum” she said with a heavy heart and a deep sigh. In that moment, Visst sensed the good in her. He knew in his heart that she had done good things simply because it was in her heart. It was still there, and he could feel it in her.

Master Visst nodded, “You may return to your people” he said softly. He and the other two Masters watched as she got up silently and walked out of the cell. Her walk was labored by the struggle in her heart. It was clear that it was taking its toll on her.

It was Master Salaban whom spoke up first, “You are correct Master Visst. She is very gifted within the Force. But also I sense great darkness with her. Her spirit will be hard to cleanse.”

Master Scorylance nodded, “Hard but not impossible. I sense that her fate is tied closely with the Order and our hopes to rebuild. I am not sure what role she will play, but I feel that she will become important to our goal. To this end, we must be determined to cleanse her of these darkness. Already there are rumors of those on board plotting to remove her and her people. To seek justice for past crimes. These will become our obstacles.”

“Do you feel she should not face justice?” Master Salaban said turning to Master Scorylance. “After all, we both know of what she has done as a member of the Jedi Council.”

“Master Salaban, you of all know my views on justice.” Master Scorylance turned to Master Visst, “when the facing those who do wrong, we must show them what they did was wrong and why. When we move from this goal and take up a goal of locking people away to separate them from society. We leave behind facing and learning from the wrong doing, and take up a policy of vengeance and isolation. When these people have paid their debt to society and released. Typically they learn nothing of their first crime and will most likely only move further down the path of darkness.”

Master Visst nodded as he listened to Master Scorylance's view on justice. “What troubles me the most is this Sith Spirit's interest in her. This is the second time I have felt it and now it has become even stronger than before.”

“Indeed, something that I agree we must meditate on and learn what these two hold in common before it turns on us.” Master Salaban was going to continue but a message from the bridge broke off his statement.

The sound of the Captains voice told Master Visst that something horrible had happened. “Master Visst, we just got word. The ship that was carrying Citizen Murl and his party had suffered some kind of malfunction. Another ship near by reported a massive explosion within the same space as Citizen Murl's. We are dispatching all of our ships to search the area.”