Lucky Strike (A Star Wars SI)

[MarkWarrior]

"At first, it seemed like the normal inspection of a derelict," Durald explained to the Jedi Council. "As I have spent a lot of time among the Mid and Outer Rim, this is far from the first time I'd dealt with the aftermath of a skirmish between pirates, bounty hunters, or just an accident of some kind."

She paused, centering herself in the force and allowing herself to recall the exact order of events without being overcome by the emotions that had existed in those moments.

"Both ships were identified by our ship's warbook, and because the majority of Interdictor-Class cruisers had defected to Revan according to our records, I boarded the transports headed for that ship."

"Did you not consult the Force before boarding?" Master Mundi asked. "Would it not have revealed to you which ship you should have gone to first?"

"There was no warning of danger until the Dark Jedi had awoken and begun attacking the crew whom we'd sent to the Thranta. That the Interdictor had remained with the Republic Navy instead of going over to Revan wasn't clear until after we'd boarded the Horizon and made our way to the bridge. That was when the Force alerted me to the presence that was aboard the other ship."

"Your report says that you acquired the personal effects of the Jedi who perished aboard the Horizon." Windu finally spoke.

"Yes, the dead Jedi had a holocron and a lightsaber on his person when he died. I collected both and then moved to the Thranta, bringing with me a squad of Clones for backup. Following the Force's guidance, I regrouped with those aboard the Thranta and moved to engage the enemy."

"Were you so certain of your victory?" Master Tiin asked.

"No, master," Kalyna shook her head. "I entered into this battle with the knowledge that I was likely going to perish. I am not as strong in the force as many of my peers, and I lack the talents that would lend themselves to individual combat. But as I am the only Jedi who is a member of Battlegroup Huntress, it is my responsibility to handle these matters."

"Weakened, this foe was," Yoda said. "Recently awoken, hmm?"

"Yes, Master," the Knight replied. "He was extremely skilled at lightsaber combat, and if he had been in a calmer state of mind instead of berserking, he likely would have been able to kill me along with the rest of the Clones. He did not utilize any force abilities, only his blade. As it is, we were only able to survive due to the quick thinking of one of the engineers. Due to his distraction, I was able to kill the Dark Jedi."

"I wish you had preserved the body and the ship," Adi Gallia commented. "Such an ancient soul must have had some knowledge we could have used against the Sith. We still do not know Dooku's master, and that could have helped us narrow the search."

"I searched the Thranta for anything that might be of value to the order," Kalyna replied. "Apart from his lightsaber and the trail of corpses, he left nothing behind. Anything he knew died with him. As for why I didn't preserve the body, after seeing what had happened to the Horizon, I was not willing to take chances of spreading some sort of plague through the fleet or the Republic."

"It is the opinion of the majority of this Council that you made the right decision," Master Windu stated. "You are to be commended for your actions and those of your Battlegroup. You've not only dealt with a threat that we were unaware of, but have also enabled the Republic to regroup and save many civilian lives."

"Thank you," Kalyna bowed. "What am I to do with Val Harik's lightsaber and holocron?"

"Keep it for now, you must," Yoda said. "Speak clearly on this, the Force does."

"Very well," the knight replied. "I'm afraid this is all the time we had free for the comms. I have to rejoin the battlegroup. We've been assigned to hunt Grievous, and they're gathering now to depart."

"May the force be with you," Windu nodded.

"And with you, Masters."

The transmission cut out, leaving Kalyna in the dark room.

Giving a long-suffering sigh, she turned and left. It didn't matter who you were; meetings with the Council always left every Jedi exhausted. She was no different and would need to meditate later to recenter herself.

Despite bleeding her emotions off into the force, the sheer terror, rage, and worry of that short battle would sometimes come back up as she dealt with the darkness that had radiated off of the enemy Jedi. Rest would be necessary before going up against Grievous.

---

The High Council Chambers were rarely this empty, even during the last few months of this war; they had attempted to meet in person as much as possible. Communications could be intercepted, and it was good to give them time to decompress.

But in this instance, after the communications winked out, all that was left was Yoda and Windu in the chamber. The rest of the masters were out on deployment, and Windu would be joining them soon.

"Should we have informed them about this?" Windu asked, gesturing to the datapad in his hands.

"Confirmed all the information, we have not," Yoda shook his head.

"But parts of it we know are true," Windu replied. "Such as Skywalker's marriage to Senator Amidala. That means that there has to be something of value there."

"Hard to judge, this information is. When more clouded, the Force becomes."

"Obviously, we can discard some elements of it," Windu agreed. "Palpatine may be a politician, but a Dark Lord of the Sith?" He shook his head. "We would have noticed. But there are other things we can evaluate."

"Have Jedi Sentinals working on it, I have. Find out if there is more truth, they will."

"I hope that none of the rest of this is true," Windu sighed. "But we cannot afford to ignore the information when it's offered to us. Unfortunately, I cannot follow up on any of this myself."

"Keep you informed, I will," Yoda leaned on his gaffer stick. "Follow the Will of the Force, we will."

After that, the two parted ways. Windu had to rejoin his fleet in orbit, and Yoda was to spend time with the Crechlings today.