Chapter Text
Bail Organa's ship – Several days prior
“How many other Jedi managed to survive?” asks Bail Organa, Alderaanian Senator and wife of Queen Breha.
“Heard from no one, have we.” says Yoda. Yoda is sad, after how many Jedi have died in Order 66.
“I saw thousands of troops attack the Jedi Temple. That's why I went looking for Yoda. Have we had any contact from the Temple?” says Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“Received a coded retreat message, we have.”, says Yoda.
“It requests all Jedi to return to the Temple. It says that the war is over...” says Bail.
“Well, then we must go back! If there are other stragglers, they will fall into the trap and be killed.” says Obi-Wan.
“ It's too dangerous to return.” says Bail Organa. Normally, he's all for dangerous missions to help people. But with the new empire, he wants to be more careful.
“Suggest dismantling the coded signal, do you?” says Yoda
“Yes, Master. There is too much at stake here, and we need a clearer picture of what has happened.” says Obi-Wan.
“I agree. In a dark place we find ourselves ... a little more knowledge might light our way.” says the Jedi Order's Grand Master.
1 day later – Jedi Temple, Courscant
12 clone troopers of the 501st stand guard at the entrance of the Jedi Temple. Suddenly there are flashes of lightsabers, a flurry of confusion, and all of the Clone Troopers are dead on the floor. Yoda and Obi-Wan stand in the middle of the carnage.
Obi-Wan Kenobi says, “There are several battalions of Clone Troopers on every level. Many are dressed as Jedi.”
Yoda looks at Master Kenobi, and says, “Dismantle the coded signal quickly. That group back there, soon discovered will be.”
Jedi Temple – A few minutes later
Yoda and Obi-Wan make their way through the Temple, avoiding the hundreds of clone troopers. They use the Force to distract the clones when they can, as they walk through the ruins of the Jedi Temple, until they come across the bodies of some students.
Obi-Wan gasps, and says, “Not even the younglings survived.”
Yoda says, “Killed not by clones, this Padawan. By a lightsaber, he was.”
Obi-Wan looks at Yoda and says, “. . .Who?? Who could have done this?”
A little while later... Computer Room, Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Obi-Wan stands in a large computer area as Yoda looks on, in the hatchway to the Main Control Center for the Temple.
Obi-Wan says to Yoda, “I've recalibrated the code, warning all surviving Jedi to stay away, and have re-added Master Ti's message, which I found in the message history section.”
Yoda replies, “Good... For the Clones to discover the recalibration, a long time it will take. To change it back, longer still. Watch Master Ti's message, we must.” Yoda's old green fingers pull up the beacon's message history and press play on the message recorded during the Temple evacuation. The hologram pops up, tinged with blue, like the way all but the best are.
Master Ti is looking into the holorecorder in the message and speaks, saying, “This is Jedi Master Shaak Ti, broadcasting from Coruscant, as the highest-level survivor on Coruscant, as far as I know. The Temple is under attack, and I’m afraid the clones have turned on us. I’m evacuating this Temple, and ‘tracing our roots’. The Chancellor and Anakin are both Sith Lords, and extremely dangerous. May the Force be with you. Shaak Ti out.”
Obi-Wan enters the Main Control Center with Yoda and heads for the hologram area.
Obi-Wan says, “Wait, Master. There is something I must know...”
Yoda says, “If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find.”
Obi-Wan says, “I must know the truth, Master.”
Obi-Wan moves to a panel and flips some switches. He sees a hologram of Anakin slaughtering Jedi, including the younglings. Obi-Wan and Yoda react.
Obi-Wan continues, saying, "It can't be . . . It can't be . . .”
In the hologram, as Anakin surveys the carnage, a man in a dark robe enters. Anakin turns to Darth Sidious and kneels before him.
Anakin says, “The traitors have been taken care of, Lord Sidious.”
Darth Sidious, “Good . . . good . . . You have done well, my new apprentice. Do you feel your power growing?”
Anakin says, “Yes, my Master.”
Darth Sidious says, “Now, Lord Vader, now go and bring peace to the Empire.”
Obi-Wan watches in horror. Tears well up in his eyes.
Obi-Wan looks sad and says, “I can't watch any more.”
Yoda senses something in the Force that tells him to watch the left side entrance camera.
Yoda says, “More there is. Watch Camera 2178, you shall.”
Obi-Wan shakes his head and switches off the hologram. The two Jedi stand in silence for a few seconds until Yoda reactivates it and watches the left side entrance with Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan says, “Who is that woman that walks out there and grabs that Knight's sabers? So few Jedi dual wield with that degree of skill. She's like what Ahsoka could have been, if she hadn't left.”
Yoda says, “Watch it again, you should.” Obi-Wan rewatches it, going past the spot where he paused the first time. He sees her fight Vader before getting rescued. He also sees her face for a second, and her dark hair flowing behind her neck.
Obi-Wan says, “It's Jyesella Dellaeon. And she's helping us.” Why is she helping us? Slowing Vader down a bit was nice, but she Fell. Fallen Jedi can't ever find the light again without a memory wipe. The Council at the time decided to lock her up and use her as a training item for Interrogation Training for the Jedi who did questioning of criminal suspects, as it would make her suffer more than just killing her. Assuming she's still dark, I'm supporting that. And as she can't be anything but dark...
Yoda says, “Yes. Destroy both Sith, we must.”
Obi-Wan says, “Send me to kill the Emperor. I will not kill Anakin.”
Yoda, “To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough, you are not.”
Obi-Wan says, “He is like my brother ... I cannot do it.”
Yoda says, “Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is . . . Consumed by Darth Vader.”
Obi-Wan says, “How could it have come to this?”
Yoda, “To question, no time there is.”
Obi-Wan says, “I do not know where the Emperor has sent him. I don't know where to look.”
Yoda: Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him, you will. Visit the new Emperor, my task is. May the Force be with you. Trace our roots, after that, we will. To Tython, go we will.”
Obi-Wan says, “May the Force be with you, Master Yoda.”
Jyesella's POV
I stand at the entry to the cave, the fresh warm air feeling nice against my pale face, and start heading back to the Temple. I call Vala on my comlink.
“Hello, Vala.”
“Hello, Master. Did you get your crystals yet?”
“I didn't get my crystals, but found two holocrons. One is a Jedi one, and the other is probably a Gray Jedi one. The unsure one is pyramidal, purple and feels neutral. I always thought a gray holocron would be lighter, but I never felt one in the Force. It doesn't feel like a Sith holocron, and I know what those feel like, as Master Ma'sara and I retrieved a few to bring back to the Temple on some missions. The Jedi holocron gave me some Trials, and then told me where the crystal caves really are.”
“Where, Master?”
“They are on Tythos Ridge. Follow a line through the towers of the Temple, to where the peak of the ridge is. The holocron claims that this was Master Satele Shan's favorite spot to get crystals, and that you'll know it when you see it. I don't know if I have any more trials, but I think I'll save Tythos Ridge for another day, as it was hard enough at these caves here.”
“I understand. If Master Che was here, instead of being dead, she'd be mad at you and me. Luckily for both of us, she's not.”
“Agreed. What have you been up to while I was out?”
“I meditated, then have been training with Master Ti, and teaching her to use a shoto. It went well. You should probably check with the Healers to make sure you're still okay.”
“Good job, Padawan. Do you really think I need to check with the Healers? Or is this just something Master Ti suggested?”
“My idea.”
“Alright, I'll check in with them. Want t0 meet me in the Halls of Healing, whenever you're cleared by the healers?”
“Sure, but where are the Halls?”
“I think they are in the middle of the left tower if you're approaching from the main entrance.
Bye.”
“Bye.” Vala hangs up, and I end the call. I put my comlink on my belt, and walk back towards the Temple. It is a gorgeous afternoon, and birds are singing. I pause for a moment to meditate, as nature seems to help me find a deeper connection to the Force by calming me.
I walk to the paths behind the Temple, and wander towards the Temple's back entrance. Maintenance droids have kept the paths clean and the gardens from overgrowing after the Jedi left Courscant. The paths are still easily walkable, even after all these years. The carved stone bridges are warm in the sun and feel good to lean on as I look into the water and see my reflection. I never knew how important it was to be outside until after my Fall. I keep walking back slowly, and end up at the back entrance. I walk in, feeling the temperature drop as I enter the shaded and climate-controlled Temple. I take a right, then take a slow turbo-lift up to Level Five, which was marked as Halls of Healing on the chart in the lift.
Ding. The gray metal door opens, and I walk out, onto the brown and gray stone hallway. The chart near the lift shows that the Halls are on the other side of the tower from the Temple. I Take the shortest route there, just down the straight hallway, and taking the door on the right. I sense a few people in the room.
“Hello, I was told it would be a good idea to check in with the Healers. Did I find the right spot?”
“Yes, Master Dellaeon, you found the right place. I'm Padawan Amife Ussa.” The Mirialan Padawan is wearing a dark blue Mirialan head covering, along with a short sleeved outfit from her homeworld. Given how cold Mirial is, this type of outfit would be normally worn in the hottest summer months only. She probably did better at not nearly freezing to death on Ilum then I did as a new Padawan.
Amife's POV
“Hello, Padawan Ussa. I'm just wondering, why were you in the Temple? I've heard that Padawan Healers were deployed solo, or with a Master across the galaxy.” Master Dellaeon asks me.
“My Master, Vokara Che, was mainly Temple-bound, as a Healer who knew how to understand the Temple Healing database. She did a lot of data entry, as well as Healing, as she was getting older. I did some solo missions, and fought with clones some, but mainly was in the Temple. I got picked as a Healer, as my lightsaber skills weren't the best, but my healing skills were in the higher end. She died helping stop the clones.” I reply.
“I'm sorry, Padawan. I was told that I needed to check in with the Healers,” the dark haired near-Human Master replies.
“Okay, then, let's see.” I say to myself, as I walk over to the data terminal, and search for Jyesella Dellaeon's chart. I scroll down a bit before clicking on Jyesella's chart and open it. Okay, reacts pretty badly to Quintnu, Tuvaquoam, Fuciczin, and Aricinash. Tries to escape medbay, if she feels fine, even if she really needs to have more observation done, and is good at sneaking/hiding, because of her Master's teachings. Good to know.
Let's see the most recent updates here. Broke her arm yesterday, with greenstick fracture. Has cuts and bruises from incident involving beat down by problem Padawans. Needs OTC painkillers.
“How much pain are you in?” I ask, turning one eye toward Jyesella, while using my other eye to skim the chart for massive problems.
“It's not too bad. I've been a lot worse. I took a pain pill yesterday that the med droid gave me, but didn't take anything else.” Given Human and Near-Human pain tolerances, she should have another one now. Given the fact we can almost certainly manufacture quite a few medical supplies here from the local flora and fauna, and we can probably steal more later on from Imperial medbays, it's not a supply issue. The main things we have to conserve is kolto and bacta tanks (given how much bacta is used in a tank).
“Let's see what I can do. I'm going to try Force healing those cuts, just to speed things up. You can go sit on the bed, Master Dellaeon.” I open a cabinet to find a med-scanner, to see how things are doing, and can't find one, but a large yellow-orange crystal tumbles out of the cabinet. That's a Healing Crystal! I'll just use that to make things easier. I put the crystal on the light gray countertop, and see a note on it.
Very powerful Healing Crystal. Looks like a p'kchilni wiucha in a dark room and is useful for all sorts of things, including calming stressed new Padawans down. - Attros Finn
Oh, good. This will make things quicker. I finally find the med-scanner, after digging through what feels like every drawer in the room. I scan Jyesella's broken arm, and use the Force to give it pulses of healing energy. I then use the Force to give the cuts and bruises some healing energy. Her arm seems to be healing well. I put the crystal on the bed, and touch my left hand to the crystal, and my right to Jyesella, letting my body be a conduit for the healing energy.
“Given what you've seen, I am going to suggest to Shaak Ti that you see a Mind Healer. They can help you deal with the trauma.”
“I don't think Shaak Ti or Vala needs to hear about everything I've seen.”
“Don't worry, Healers are taught not to disclose stuff. Even with the fact that you have a minder, they only give the minder a short summary of how you are doing, and don't share it in the general Padawan chat channel. It will take around a hour per session, and given what I've heard, it will take a while to deal with the trauma.”
“Okay. Let's do it later. My Padawan is waiting outside. ”
“Tomorrow sometime after I've had coffee, and after I go find my crystals. I need to rebuild my lightsabers.”
“Sounds good. Let me go make a note in our appointment program. This old program is different than the program I was used to using, back on Courscant, so I'm not as good at it.
A few minutes later
“I'm done. You're good to go for today, though please try to not get yourself hurt again. Check in again tomorrow sometime.” I say, hoping (and praying to the Force a Mirialan prayer) that she will not get hurt again.
“I know.” replies Jyesella. She walks out of the Halls.
Jyesella's POV
I walk out of the Halls, and see Vala using her datapad, waiting just outside.
“What did the Healers say, Master?”
“They said that I'm fine for today, just check in tomorrow. Also, try not to get hurt again. They also want me to check in with the mind Healers for around an hour tomorrow, after I go get my crystals.”
“Okay.”