Sereti knew from the moment she left her meditative rest in the morning that one of the most unpleasant days of her time with the Jedi to date was upon her. Utan and Venu were scheduled to arrive at any moment. The last member of the Council that had to be there in person for the crucial meeting about to take place, and the last person in the entire Order she wanted to see anytime soon. What little she had learned about the incident on Mirial had left her with deep concerns indeed.

It seemed rather fitting that both Koor and Torbut were the first to make the ascent to the High Council room ahead of the others. Their arrival didn't give her cause to turn away from facing out over the urban landscape of Coruscant.

"Master Pala, I'll save you the trouble. I don't believe for a moment that Maarani was lying about anything in that statement she made. She needs our help now more than ever, not more condemnation."

"Maarani is not my biggest concern right now. Neither of you knew Dana before she went to Telos. I only know that much about her because I was there. Right now, she's exhibiting exactly the kind of behaviour that Surik warned the Council to watch for. That is what concerns me."

Koor looked to Torbut with her continued look of disapproval. He in turn cleared his throat and took a step towards Sereti.

"I don't think that changes the fact that we have a responsibility to Maarani after all she has been through. Allowing Elira to go alone with her was a mistake even before hindsight yes, but since then we have done little to rectify that."

Sereti turned her head a little.

"You refused to recall her when the threat of the HK-50 droids became apparent, and when she became entangled with deadly pirates, only to reverse on that because of problems with the Senate?"

"The Senate is not a factor in the recall order I gave. I told you that Dana is my main concern and I expect my answer to be sufficient."

This time it was Koor's turn to advance. While almost always composed, in the heat of the moment she was touching on frustration with the empty answers.

"You gave Dana permission to leave Coruscant, without bothering to inform us why she needed it in the first place. You trusted her with Maarani's wellbeing. What the hell changed this plan from being about allowing her to heal to settling a personal vendetta against a Jedi Master?"

At that, Sereti finally made a full turn, her extended gaze having noted the arrival of most other Council members. She had just a few seconds to settle the matter.

"We can't let her heal until we have that safeguard in place. I'm sorry to say that it has been a stalling tactic, nothing more."

The frustration faded from Koor, replaced only with a cold sense of betrayal. "Stalling tactic…?"

Sereti gestured her hand in a dismissive manner, her attention moving to the other Council members as she approached her seat. "We're done discussing it. There are other things that must be discussed-"

"No, we're not done actually."

Her interjection drew the attention of the others, and a disgruntled look from Sereti as evidenced by the movement of her mouth.

"Sit down Koor."

She shook Torbut's restraining hand off her shoulder. "This was never about letting Maarani recover her connection to the Force. What then? Why is ignoring the plight of a woman with a broken past worth betraying the oath we all took by Meetra Surik to never again ignore the pain of the innocent!?"

"The files from Mirial proved that she is far from innocent, actually…"

For the briefest moment, Koor felt herself tensing up. Her strong sense of control kept the matter from getting any worse, forcing her to turn away in the only show of defiance she could give.

Merena was quick to take her place as the questioning presence with only a single glance to Torbut first. "We are close to finalizing it. But Koor is right, we need to free her from the life she's been forced to live first. Sooner or later, that thread keeping her barely connected to the Force is going to strengthen, and if she finds out the truth from anyone else-"

"Oh, so there's more secrets being kept Sereti?" Koor's moment of calm was short lived as she twisted back around to rejoin the argument. "What you told Jayden and myself after rescuing Omena was only part of the truth? What happened to the unified Council concept? It certainly isn't becoming a reality at this rate!"

"I'm about ready to throw you off the Council if this keeps up Koor. Elira understood the stakes better than you did."

At that, Torbut moved past Merena to physically prevent Koor from trying to stare down Sereti any further. The nervousness he was experiencing was all too obvious for the other Council members to see, still uncertain as to what exactly was going on.

"I think postponing the meeting would be best. This whole incident is affecting us more than it should. We could all use time to properly calm down…"

In what seemed like the worst kind of irony, the doors opened to a fuming Mirialan, who strode right across the room and smashed Sereti clean in the nose with her fist.

"You bitch! My world is burning because of you!"

Torbut had to abandon his restraint of Koor to grab Venu and haul her away instead as she attempted to get a second strike in. Master Vulen was quick to assist while the others moved to help Sereti up.

Blood was running down her face, some having been smeared up into her previously pristine veil from where her nose had been crushed by the blow. In her own moment of anger, she tore both it and the hood from her face to glare right back at Venu with her eyeless expression, blonde strands of hair now dangling down over it.

"Your world is burning because Utan went behind my back! Because he didn't stop you from returning to the ways of the Sith!"

Venu struggled against the two men holding her back a few more times before finally relenting. The hints of crimson in her irises faded away at last.

"Sith keep secrets, Sith lie to everyone else! I want the truth!"

The doors opened yet again to four Temple guards, quick to move in and take custody of her from Torbut and Vulen. Against them, she knew not to try and struggle at all.

Sereti took that moment to wipe her face clean while approaching Venu. "You lost the right to ask that when you set all of this in motion. Perhaps in five years, when you've finally cooled off, I might reconsider."

Uncomfortable murmurings went around the others, save for Koor who once again raised her voice in a defiant manner.

"Is that what's waiting for Dana and Maarani when they come back? Getting hauled off to a null cell for daring to defy your will?"

In the midst of it all, it would have been easy for Sereti to lash out again with a damning remark. But, for once, Koor had made a very legitimate, and somewhat terrifying point to her.

She clutched at her nose again in a feeble attempt to cover the damage, and what she was really experiencing, as she shoved past the others on her way out. "Work the situation out amongst yourselves. I need to see a physician before I start choking on blood."

The murmuring rose to active discussion in her wake. She could make out a few words in the exchange while she waited at the turbolift.

When it finally arrived, and she stepped inside the brief moment of isolation, a choking, tearless sob forced its way up at last. Her free hand went against the wall for her head to rest against while she broke down altogether. In wanting desperately to protect the Jedi Order from threats within, she had very nearly broken it. Another weight to the burden that threatened to crush her with every passing day.

Glances were made at her as she quickly strode through the Temple grounds to the infirmary. It was very rare indeed for any Miraluka to walk in public without facial coverings, and this was the first time in her life that she had done so. The dried blood smeared across her fingers certainly wasn't making it any easier to ignore.

At the infirmary itself, she was greeted by one of the attending droids who immediately guided her to the surgical ward, where a surgical droid waiting in standby.

"Grand Master Pala! Goodness, what happened?"

Sereti sighed a little as she made her way over to the empty operating chair to settle down in. "I'd rather not discuss the cause. Where's Dr Xilubu?"

"On Mirial by now I expect, he left myself and the other droids here until a temporary replacement arrives." The surgical droid was very prompt in preparing both the tools for the apparent operation, and performing a cranial scan of Sereti at the same time. "There are a few skull fractures around the nasal cavity. Quite an impact indeed!"

"Just repair the damage. Doesn't have to look good, no-one will see my nose anytime soon again."

"Very well then."

Sereti took the opportunity to calm her mind at last, and reconsider all that had happened. She certainly should have been more diplomatic with Koor, and Dana for that matter. But then neither of them had to constantly worry about the future of the Republic as a whole, consider every single probability and outcome. Who to send into the dangerous situations that even Jedi weren't willing to volunteer for.

In her reflection, she allowed the anxiety to build again. A quick distraction was needed. "Sokoli Zatu's condition. Still comatose I take it?"

"Unfortunately so. Her lifesigns are still weak, and Dr Xilubu has consulted with many other physicians across the galaxy on how to proceed. He believes she is trying to wake, but simply cannot overcome the damage prolonged cryostasis has done to her body at this time. Perhaps with another Force healer-"

Sereti cried out in a fit of pain when a nose mold was applied to her face and flooded with kolto. Some of the loose items in the room shook for a few moments until she calmed down again.

"Apologies, Grand Master, I can provide more sedative if you require it."

"No… no I'll manage. Just secure it in place. And I'll need a blindfold in the meantime."

"Of course."

The pain continued in its intense state while a clasp was wrapped around the back of her head to hold the mold in place, followed shortly after by a second wrapping that went over her eyeflats comfortably.

"My photoreceptors tell me that the mold does not look very, uh… Dignified? If I might be so bold."

"Right now, I couldn't care less about what others think of my appearance. So long as I am not in danger I will carry on."

"Then I believe you can carry on, though I would advise against tilting your head to an extreme angle for the time being."

"Noted."

She took her time in getting up out of fear that the change in blood flow would aggravate the now throbbing pain. To her relief it actually subsided a bit when standing upright.

"Good day Grand Master Pala."

She left the surgery with a small gesture of her hand in appreciation. Her departure from the infirmary went without remark, as did her next walk to the dormitory. Only a few padawans she passed on the way spoke up with the obvious questions, which she brushed off with an appropriately impatient glare.

The glare faded again when she reached the door to Carmen's quarters. Only twice before in her time as Grand Master had she needed to have an uncomfortable discussion with a padawan. This was the first time that their master was still in fact alive, which made it all the worse to explain.

It was still the least gruelling matter she had to resolve in the near future, and thus the one she chose to settle first.

She chimed the door and had only a brief wait before it opened to the young padawan who was already looking concerned.

"Is this about Mirial? About what Maarani did there?"

Sereti's next breath wavered, her composure faltering a little more.

"She isn't the first thing we need to discuss. I think it best we take a walk outside for this."

The walk back through the dormitory to the nearest garden was even more solemn. A few words to the attending guards meant there would be time enough without interruption from others, something she knew wasn't going to set Carmen at ease.

At the fish pond she finally stopped, taking that last moment to maintain the calm.

"Your master returned to her old ways on Mirial, and is not showing any sign of regret at this time. It pains me to say that I'm removing her status as a Jedi Master indefinitely."

Carmen was completely lost for words at that moment. The last she had seen of Venu was of course a reassurance that she was to continue her studies and preparation for knighthood. She was very far indeed from what Sereti had just described to her.

"Is she okay? Maybe if I talked to her-"

"I'd rather you not for the time being." Sereti slowly turned back around, then sat down to be less imposing over the young woman. "It's too late to assign you to a new master. I think it is in your best interests to complete the Trials before speaking to Master Kasua. Her state of mind might be a distraction now, but she could make it far worse on yourself unintentionally. You shouldn't be dragged down by her failings."

"Yes but…" The sad realization came to Carmen that there was very little, if anything, she could say in protest. She was always told to be an uplifting example to the other upcoming padawans, and arguing with the Grand Master in a matter she had little ground to stand on was not going to set that kind of example at all.

One of the fish in the pond blew bubbles at her when she glanced there in search of any answer to her growing questions. It was of little help.

"What about Maarani then? I really can't believe that someone that friendly could do what the recording showed. She was nice, funny, just pleasant to work alongside."

"If you believe it's a fake, then I'm also sorry to say that's very far from the truth. We still don't know the exact circumstances, or why her behaviour is so extremely polar."

That was an outright lie, but the sheer weight that the truth carried left her with no other option than to avoid burdening Carmen with it as well. Fortunately for her, there was no sign her lie had been caught out.

"Is that why my master got so upset she turned to the dark side? She thought I was in danger around her?" Carmen's lip trembled in a moment of nervousness before she straightened up again. The example to follow, not to avoid. "Could you tell her I'm doing fine at least? Maybe that will calm her down. I really don't want to see her banished from the Order, please."

"I have no intention of banishing anyone. When things have settled I and others will attempt to help her recover, but ultimately the choice is hers alone."

Carmen nodded again solemnly, glancing to the pond again before looking back to Sereti. "Maarani isn't in trouble when she gets back, right? Revan did terrible things and got a second chance when he changed. She has, and she should."

"There's still a lot of discussion to be made on the matter, discussion with her in person particularly. It's simply not my place alone to decide what her future with the Jedi is going to be, if she has one at all."

She slowly rose up from the bench with a sigh, looking to Carmen one last time. "I want to see you do well in the Trials. You're one of the few non-Force sensitives to make it this far in the entire Order. We're all proud of you, your determination, and your integrity. Never lose sight of that."

Again, Carmen felt her lip trembling from the mixed feelings she was experiencing. And somehow, the most irrelevant of questions came to mind. "Who's going to apply my next set of tattoos?"

Sereti didn't answer that last question with anything more than a shrug when she finally left the garden behind.

There was only one place she felt was left for her to go, below the Central Spire itself. The only place left in the entire Temple that she could still find solace in.

It didn't take long to sense that she wasn't actually alone. Bothersome as that sensation was, she tried to ignore it sound of the artificial waterfall cascading down the mountainside, splashing around the varied ferns that had been cultivated onto the rock itself was what she wanted to lose herself in most.

She nearly lost that moment when it was Utan who approached from the walkaround. Yet another conversation she didn't want to have, more because she had serious doubts about her own self control in regards to his actions.

"Please, go away."

Utan very nearly did just that. He had only heard that Sereti had left the High Council chamber with a bloody nose right after Venu had been escorted out by guards, and the conclusion was very easy to reach. The decision to not go with her had clearly been the right one as far as further aggravation went. But it wasn't making the apology any easier.

"What is there for me to say, that has not already been said? How about; 'you can't bear the burden of every decision'."

Sereti gripped the railing a lot tighter, trying very hard indeed to keep from getting upset. "I can't do this. Six years, six years as Grand Master and I'm at wit's end. It's too much."

There was growing despair for Utan, his approach slow, looking only to provide what comfort he could.

"I know you believe you are the only one capable of leading the Council. But that belief is going to crush you if this persists."

"Bastila won't come back, even if I begged her to."

"That's her choice. We may have lost many good friends, but there are still others who can fulfil the role. None of us want to see you broken like this."

The next breath Sereti too shuddered as she once again looked to find her centre of peace. "Those on the Council are there because their specific talents are vital to their work, whether they were chosen by Surik, Visas or myself. I can't put any one of them in my place without a cascade breakdown of the Order's function."

"Then you must find another outside the hierarchy who remains loyal to us, and still lives. Quite simple actually."

"It's the simple things we all forget."

Her hands finally relaxed, and fell away from the railing altogether. "I really didn't appreciate you taking matters into your own hands while I was away. But, I can't deny that I needed the wake-up call." She finally turned her head down to him, lips tightening up into a solemn line. "Tell Merena that the agreement of silence stands until Maarani returns. They can all learn the truth together."

She left the walkaround after a nod from Utan. The Archives was her last destination before the inevitable return to the High Council room. The last person left that she felt comfortable consulting with in such a dire situation.

The fact that a small group of initiates passed by on her way in seemed to indicate that Atris was already aware of her arrival, and that she was intent on a private conversation.

"I wonder which of us sounds worse. My rasp while I slowly choke on my own failing body, or your nasally crushed pitch."

Atris herself had taken a seat by one of the computer consoles. She gestured with the head of her cane to a nearby seat for Sereti to take.

"Before you ask, one of the padawans was considerate enough to 'warn' me of your arrival. Nothing has changed." Her eyes only moved when Sereti was close enough for her to see clearly. There was still something to be said of her vision yet. "When you sent me a young Twi'lek woman with a nanny droid and an old apprentice of mine in tow, I can't say I expected an outcome like this."

Sereti's head went to her resting hand in search of ease from the growing headache. "It was a damn mistake on my head to send her. I should have known better, which is exactly the problem I have now."

"I've resigned myself to this fate, if that's what you mean. There's no point in pretending I deserve any better after what I've done."

"You know that's not what I meant…"

At that, Atris gave a surprisingly firm stamp with her cane. "You're right I damn well know! Seeing you reduced to this state hurts more than this contraption strapped to my heart ever will! Whatever our differences have been, I don't intend to die seeing the Order fall to pieces like this!"

Her rant was cut short by a beep that came from the aforementioned implant maintaining her heart. Sereti brought her head up in a moment of concern that was quickly waved away between rasping breaths.

The recovery was short, but the point had been made to Atris herself that calm was necessary. "Someone has led the initiates to believe it's a warning that I'm about to take the form of a wampa."

"A wampa? That's a bit…"

"Specific? I can think of worse things to be called."

Sereti shook her head to banish whatever imaginings were about to be conjured. "While I appreciate your intent, I can't put this off any longer. I need your help in selecting candidates to replace me. You're the first of the few I can ask this of."

"I suppose I should be flattered. But then there's nothing to be gained in that anymore. Assuming you've disregarded the immediate others for whatever reason, I think you're forgetting the obvious answer. I'm not sure how she'd feel about that fact. Best keep it to yourself I think."

After pausing for thought, Sereti sighed again in disbelief at her own forgetfulness. It really was rather terrible of her to forget in the first place.

"She's still on Ilum. I think it's about time someone else take up stewardship there."

"Perhaps it will be a two-way swap… We'll have to see."

Her return to the High Council chamber was swift. There was no shortage of relief on her part that the rest had settled into much calmer discussion in her absence. Discussion that stopped immediately upon her return, all looking to her at last.

With one more breath for reassurance, she stepped forward into the circle facing her. "I won't hide behind words anymore. There are secrets that I will only divulge to all when Maarani returns, it is her right to hear them. Until then, I'm stepping down as Grand Master."

The expected murmuring went around, save for Koor and Torbut who looked particularly concerned. Utan watched in silence from his own seat.

"I realize there might not be a worse time for this change, but waiting for a better one is not worth the further chaos. And, as far as choosing a suitable replacement goes, I have someone in consideration already…"

She gestured her hand at the room's holocommunicator, taking note of how quiet everyone had become by then. After a small delay, it connected through the relays to Ilum. Shortly after that, a woman in white stepped into view.

"Brianna, I realize this is on very short notice, but things have sadly worsened, and the Jedi need a more capable leader."

"You are not wrong in this being extremely unexpected." Brianna had taken that moment to straighten her robes out while she looked around her end of the holograms, noting each of the Council members and what she could make of their stance. "I haven't wished for a change of scenery, or relief from this duty. But, if things are as you say they are-"

"One of our more respected Masters fell to the dark side within a matter of days. We are barely keeping up with war efforts. This was never my speciality, and as much as I hate to ask someone else to take the burden, I have no choice left."

Brianna nodded to each point with a small hum. It certainly did sound dire, and from her continued observation, virtually everyone else on the Council seemed to concur with Sereti's sentiment.

"You know I never would have asked for that responsibility out of respect to the judgement of others. If this is the necessary course of action, I will return, and do what I can. Just keep in mind that I'll need time to catch up on the entirety of matters."

"So long as the Sith continue their ceasefire we have time. Now I think it would be best if further discussion waits until your arrival."

"I will make haste. Force be with you all."

Sereti didn't let the silence after the call ended last long at all, turning to each and every one of the other Council members.

"I am not insisting that you accept her as Grand Master. It is a simple fact that she is closer to Surik's teachings than I could ever hope to be. And it is long overdue I realized that. I should never have taken the position up from Visas."

Not unsurprisingly, Koor was the first to speak up when the reality set in. "If you're doing this because of Mirial…"

Only a small gesture was needed to dispel that line of thought.

"It's been a long time coming, I very nearly broke down at the thought of losing Jayden, and Mandalorian support along with her. I'm not cut out for wartime leadership."

Her hands clasped together slowly. Even with days to go before Brianna's arrival, she no longer felt like she deserved to sit in the chair amongst them.

"I'd appreciate it if you informed Dana of the change. Apologising to her is something I would much rather do face to face."