Mace Windu stood with the Mulfar, the leader of the Delmarus Defensive Forces, and his second in command. They were trying to convince him to help them in their war, and he was considering all aspects in silence, trying to decide what to do. Finally he looked up, and answered slowly, "This attack cannot be ignored. It was a direct attack against us. They acted to neutralize us, not just you, Honorable Mulfar. I will have to confer with Padawan Marie." He turned to walk out of the room, and noticed Marie leaning heavily on the door frame, pale and drawn.

He helped her to a seat, getting her a glass of water. "How are you feeling?"

She gave him a strained smile. "I'll be better when I've had a chance to put myself in a healing trance."

Looking perplexed, he asked, "Why haven't you done that already?"

She shook her head. "I need to know what's going on first. Otherwise I could be putting the mission at risk by being out of commission."

Cocking his head, he asked, "You're still worried about the mission?"

She nodded her head, wincing. "There are lives at stake here, Master. Unless these people create a stable government, or, preferably two stable governments, then people will die unnecessarily."

He nodded his head. "I'll tell our hosts that we will be helping with their plans. You need to go start that healing trance."

She ignored the last part and asked, "Plans? What plans?"

He grinned, "I don't know yet."

Marie awoke three days later, feeling refreshed, if a little stiff. Walking through the infirmary, she made her way to the planning room where she had run into Master Windu, and noticed both the Jedi Master and the Delmarus representative bent over a holograph projection unit, peering at the pictures created.

Treading gingerly, pins and needles in her limbs, she made her way over to the Jedi Master and peered over his shoulder. Seeing the plan laid out in front of her, she scowled. It was first class suicide, if nothing else. Stating her opinion, she saw an amused expression on Master Windu's face.

Defensively, she added, "What? It's entirely too risky, and more people than necessary, quite possibly all, are going to end up dead or captured."

Mulfar looked shocked, and Windu apologetic. "I was about to tell you, Mulfar, when Marie put it so eloquently. We'll need to make a new plan." When Mulfar was about to object, the Master added, "It would have been a good idea to make a new plan, anyway. You didn't count on having two Jedi to fight by your side."

He nodded slowly, and Marie and Windu set about making a new plan.

Marie led the march through the street, aware of similar marches led by Mace Windu and Mulfar on the streets that ran parallel to her own. Behind her was a large contingent of Delmarus' soldiers, armed with blasters, vibroshivs, and grim determination.

Her lightsaber was ignited before her, like a beacon to the freedom they were about to give the newly appointed Republic of Delmar. They marched towards the offices that held the representative of the Cornalus nation, and thus the only person who could legally give them a nationship. So far they had encountered little resistance, but they hadn't expected to. The resistance would come when they reached the representative.

The plan had been Marie's, with a few minor adjustments made by Master Windu. They would storm the castle, so to speak, and force the representative to sign a treaty and a document saying the Delmarus faction was legally a nation.

Naturally the plan was much more involved than that, featuring several carefully planned and executed power cuts, diversions and deceptions. But in essence, the plan was quite simple.

As they rounded the corner and saw the grand building that was the Cornalus headquarters, Marie gritted her teeth. There it was. The resistance. Three lines of men, all armed to the teeth and looking exceptionally well trained. Her lightsaber snapped up into a defensive position, the march never ceasing. The enemy men raised their weapons, and Marie was grimly aware that she couldn't feel their presences either. More ysalimir… She thought.

Both sides opened fire simultaneously, and bodies fell left right and centre. The casualties were heavier on the Cornalus side, with the Jedi Padawan allowing the Force to flow through her and block many of the incoming bolts. She knew the scene was being repeated in the other two alleys, and hoped that Mulfar would be okay. She knew she had no reason to worry about Master Windu; she had full confidence in his abilities.

In no time the opposing forces had been beaten down to a scarce few, who were soon dealt with. She met with Master Windu and Mulfar out the front of the Cornalus headquarters, and quickly conferred. Mulfar turned to his men, "Alright, alpha, beta, gamma squads, with us. The rest of you, stay out here and make sure we aren't swarmed by the enemy. We'll be going in to find Quinn and force him to sign the treaty. Stay firm men, this war is almost over."

The crowd of battle hardened men cheered. Mulfar nodded and turned, followed closely by Mace Windu and Marie, who flanked the representative. The three infiltration squads followed behind them, blasters up and on their guard. Walking through the doors to the headquarters, she couldn't help but be awed by the size of the hallway. The awe was short lived, however, as the enemy guards at the end of the hall opened fire. Again they utilized ysalimiri to blind the Jedi, but the Delmarus numbers were significantly larger, and the enemy squad was quickly dealt with.

Marie's shoulder was aching. There was only so much that a healing trance could do, and her shoulder was still recovering from the wound. She switched the lightsaber to her other hand, and shook her head at the worried look Master Windu gave her. She would be fine to continue the fight. Making their way through the corridors, they disposed of a few extra squads of guards, and found themselves in a largish room, which led out through several different doors in different directions.

Before they could react, half a dozen squads of men, all armed with blasters and fully grown, and thus more powerful, ysalimiri surrounded them, weapons raised. The odds were two to one, and the Jedi more or less neutralized. Mace Windu and Marie shut their lightsabers off. In their current condition they were more likely to lop their own limbs off than fend off blaster bolts. Another door opened, and in walked Quinn, looking smug, with his two guards flanking him. "So, Jedi, you staged an uprising. And for what? A chance at freedom for the Delmarus savages?" His eyes hardened. "You disgust me."

Surreptitiously, Mulfar moved his hand towards his belt. No one was watching him; they all kept their eyes on the trained fighters in front of them. He pressed a small button on his belt buckle, signaling the others outside.

Master Windu and Marie weren't faring so well. They were sweating and pale, the feeling created by the ysalimiri intense. It was like suddenly become blind and deaf. For a Jedi, it was like losing both arms.

Guards approached them, grabbing Marie by the arms and dragging her forward. Instinct kicked in, and she dropped to a crouch, her leg kicking the legs out from beneath one of the guards while the other leveled his blaster at her head. From where she was crouching, she could see the power level set to hi.

Slowly she stood and raised her arms above her head, where they were roughly grabbed and forced into stun cuffs. The guard she had attacked had regained his footing, and now he backhanded her across the face. Stars filled her vision, and she lay on the cool stone, stunned.

She was dragged to her knees, and Master Windu and Mulfar were forced down beside her. A blaster was held to each of their heads.

Quinn stepped forward, regarding them stonily. His gaze leveled at Marie. After a few moments of staring at her, he spat in her face and turned away. Walking out through the door he came in, he tossed over his shoulder, carefree, "Execute them."

Marie tensed, ready for one last rebellion. As the guards readied their blasters to deliver the killing blows, the door that the Jedi entered through blasted open, and the full twelve squads from outdoors filtered through, blasters up, and circled the enemy circle. Slowly, the Cornalus soldiers lowered their weapons, and Marie rid them of their ysalimiri nutrient packs, thrusting her once again ignited lightsaber into the small furry creatures.

Turning to Mulfar, she nodded tersely. "It's all or nothing now. If there's no one outside to guard our retreat…" she left the thought unfinished. It was clear to all of them that they needed to succeed.

Their Force sense returned, Marie and Master Windu's skin colour returned to normal, and they stood taller than before. They stalked without a word through the door that Quinn had left through, grim determination on their face, knowing that he had very few guards left.

Following the corridor and encountering no resistance, they opened the first door they came upon, and struck gold. There was Quinn, sitting at his desk, his guards at the side of his desk. He looked up when his guards readied their blasters. Finding that there were no ysalamiri present, Master Windu called the pistols to his outstretched hand.

Marie settled into her seat in the corridor outside of the Jedi Council Chambers. They had made Quinn sign the treaty, and declare Delmar a nation. Now they were back on Coruscant, and Master Saesee Tinn was pacing back and forth outside the council doors, his anxiety palpable, as Master Windu conferred on the mission with the council, and made his recommendation about her trials. Yaeb Ginn and Sirian were sitting across from her, their Masters sitting next to them, looking slightly anxious and impatient.

Marie herself was calm, she knew she had no chance of attaining the rank of Knight. Running over the mission in her head, she recounted all the things she could have done better. Hmm… for starters I didn't complete the mission, we ended up going to war instead… then there was the part where I was shot… I doubted myself… she shook her head. She was doubting herself right then. Looking up as the door hissed open, she noticed Master Windu in the door frame. Standing, she gave him a deep, respectful bow.

He gestured to her and Master Tinn, his face expressionless. She felt serenity wash over her. Even if she had failed, she had experience for her next attempt. Standing in the centre of the room, she noticed that once again the full council was present.

Yoda spoke in his unusual syntax. "How feel you about your mission? Did well, did you?"

She started to shake her head, but stopped herself. A thought had occurred to her, and she voiced it carefully. "Overall… I think the mission was a success. There were certainly things that could have been done better… a lot better, but we stopped the war, and negotiated a treaty… even if it was a hostile negotiation. People died, but a lot less than would have if the war had continued for even a day longer."

The Master peered at her through half closed eyes. "Better, what could have been done, hmm?"

She held up a hand and counted off on her fingers. "Well, rather than forcing a treaty I could have done a better job of negotiating one, I got shot because I wasn't fully prepared for an attack, even though I knew we were being set up… but given the circumstances, there wasn't much opportunity for those things to be done better. I had no idea of the existence of the ysalimiri, and the Cornalus faction was determined that Delmar would not become a nation; there was no progress to be made with Quinn in the lead."

The green Jedi Master nodded. "Doubting yourself, you are." It wasn't a question, but Marie answered anyway.

Choosing her words, she said, "No, I'm not. If I don't acknowledge my mistakes then I can not learn from them."

The other Masters nodded in agreement, and Yoda gave a very rare half smile. "Good, very good. Passed the trials you have. Confer upon you the rank of Knight, we do. Tell your friends outside, you should. Eavesdropping, they are."

Marie started, shocked to her core. "Forgive me, Masters, but given all of my mistakes…"

Windu chose this moment to speak up. "Marie, you recognized your mistakes. What's more, you made less than many Knights I know would have. You showed more control over your emotions and the Force than most Knights years older than yourself. Given the circumstances, even Master Yoda couldn't have negotiated a treaty. The presence of the ysalimiri was a great shock to me also. As for getting shot, well I was grazed too, but the bacta bandages fixed me up before you awoke."

She recovered from her shock and gave him a quick grin. Bowing deeply to all of the Masters, she spoke quietly. "Thank you, Masters. It is an honor."

Turning, she was amused to find that Yaeb and Sirian almost fell into the room when the door swooshed open, ears red from being pressed upon the plasteel for such a long time. Rolling her eyes, she pulled them away from the room and didn't let them go until they were halfway down the corridor. Her expression was unreadable. Yaeb frowned. "Aww… Marie… you didn't make it?"

She gave him a gentle shove, a grin playing at the corners of her mouth. Masters Cythera and Rivkah gave her a grin in return, and bowed deeply. "Congratulations, Knight Marie. It will be an honor to work with you."

Yaeb and Sirian looked shocked, and Marie looked at the ground, uncertain. "You know, this doesn't change anyth-" Marie was cut off as two explosions hit her. When she looked back up again, Sirian and Yaeb were hugging her tightly and grinning madly.

Marie smiled back. Everything was about to change, but she was prepared for it.

THE END!!! Wow… I finished it… incredible… hope you enjoy!