Master K'Kruhk cradled young Ezra Bridger in his arms as the shuttle they were in climbed away from Lothal. Their mission to the planet was complete. The Kyber Crystal had all been safely recovered. And without devolving into a battle as had happened at Jedha. As young Ezra cried in his arms, K'Kruhk did his best to comfort the child. His parents had elected to stay behind, despite his pleading, and organize the resistance to the Empire's take over of the planet. He had left Jedi Knight Danaan Kerr and his Padawan on Lothal to both help and protect the Bridgers. He wasn't entirely comfortable leaving Jedi Kerr or the Bridgers there, but Ephraim and Mira were insistent. If their son was going to be fighting the Dark Side as a Jedi, they felt honor bound to do the same.
As they entered hyperspace for the long trip back to Tython, Master K'Kruhk's Padawan, Chase Piru, came up to him to help him with Ezra. The young man was turning out to be quite a handful. Two weeks ago, he had never even seen an alien. In the time since, he had seen a Whippid, a Mon Calamari, a Zabrak and a Togruta. He seemed to be endlessly fascinated by them. Constantly grabbing handfuls of fur, horns, leku, montrals and barbels. As Chase took the child from her Master, he thanked her profusely for her help and made his way to his quarters to meditate for awhile. His Padawan was truly gifted with compassion. And a fierce protectiveness of younglings. Sadly, that last trait was honed during Order 66 when her own Master had been killed along with Jedi Master Jeisel while defending the Hawkbat Clan of Initiates from the GAR on Bogdan 3. He, Chase and the younglings had managed to escape, but the experience had scared them all deeply. K'Kruhk had coped by throwing himself into defeating the Empire. And had nearly been killed in the effort.
It was while recovering in the Halls of Healing that he realized he was dancing with the Dark Side in his lust for vengeance. Perhaps that explained his reckless rush into battle on Jedha with no regard for his own safety that resulted in his nearly being killed. Once he had been released from the Halls of Healing and allowed to move about freely within the Temple and it's Meditation Groves, he had sought out Chase Piru again and found her in the Crèche, tending to the younglings there. While speaking to her, she admitted that she had found no new Master as yet. And wasn't even entirely sure if she wished to continue her training. Nodding his head, he had placed his hand on her shoulder and asked the young woman to walk with him for a bit. That, perhaps, he could help her to reach a decision. She had agreed and the two had made their way out of the Crèche, passing young Master Skywalker and his wife on their way into the Crèche with Luke and Leia. The two Skywalker children were being dropped off at the Crèche to stay with their clan while their parents were away on a mission.
As Master K'Kruhk and Padawan Piru walked slowly through the Temple, K'Kruhk had softly talked to her about his own struggles with his commitment to the Order and how he had flirted with the Dark Side after Order 66. The young Padawan had been shocked to hear the respected Jedi Master speak so plainly and openly to her. But she was also reassured by it. Master K'Kruhk was likely the only Jedi on Tython who could truly understand what she was dealing with. Even the Jedi who had been at the Temple on Coruscant when Sidious attacked had had some warning of what was coming and had taken steps to prepare. They, on the other hand, had been completely blindsided by the attack. Master Yoda's warning message hadn't reached them in time and the Clones had opened fire on them, killing her Master. She had been filled with sadness and anger ever since. Only being around the younglings seemed to help. So that was where she had spent her days.
Eventually the pair had reached the Meditation Groves and found a quiet spot to sit on one of the many benches there. It had recently been discovered that the Room of a Thousand Fountains in the Temple on Coruscant had been modeled on these very same groves. As the two sat and talked, Master K'Kruhk gradually got the Padawan to open up and she broke down, sobbing into his shoulder as he comforted her. As her tears slowly dried, Master K'Kruhk comforted her and gently explained to the distraught young woman, who thought she was no longer worthy of being a Jedi because of her emotions, that nothing could be further from the truth. As they continued to talk, Master K'Kruhk offered to train the young Padawan personally, that is, if she still wished to remain a Jedi. Nodding her head shakily, Chase agreed. Sitting together in meditation, the two Jedi had begun forming their bond.
Months later, Master K'Kruhk ruminated on all of that as he meditated in his small cabin. Having young Chase as a Padawan was truly one of the greatest blessings of his life. She was an exceptional student. And a true bright spot in his life. She was everything he could ever wish for in a Padawan. Her devotion to other beings was truly remarkable. One day, she would make an exceptional Jedi Knight. He was very proud of her. Sinking deeper into the Force as he meditated, he began to be carried along in it's currents. As he followed where the Force led, he began to sense a growing darkness. Letting himself sink deeper into the Force, he started tracing this darkness to it's source. Surprised at where the Darkness seemed to be originating from, he rose from his meditation and made his way to the flight deck. After checking their position, he ordered a change of course back in toward the Core.
_
On the Bridge of the Perseverance, Obi-wan Kenobi watched as the Malevolence broke orbit after finishing her minor repairs and prepared to make the jump to hyperspace. He had already recalled his crew from shore leave and all working parties had departed the ship an hour earlier. Outwardly, their ship showed no signs of preparing to break orbit. But as the Malevolence made the jump to hyperspace, all of the sensor and tracking crews onboard the Perseverance were watching her every move. Her new computers quickly spat out the vectors that the Malevolence had taken and likely points where she would drop out of hyperspace. One planet, however, was directly on her path. Knowing that his ship had a huge speed advantage over the ISD, Obi-wan took his time departing Corellia. To anyone who noticed, his ship was just another Star Destroyer of the Imperial Navy going about the business of the Empire.
_
On the bridge of the Star Destroyer Enforcer, Darth Aella stood with her hands clasped behind her back and surveyed the fleet that was assembling around her. When it was complete, there would be half a dozen Imperial-class Star Destroyers and another forty Venator-class Star Destroyers. It would be the most powerful fleet assembled since the end of the Clone Wars. The operation was actually fairly straight forward. But it would require significant coordination to ensure that all the objectives were met. To that end, she had Grand Admiral Barton Coburn to actually handle the fleet.
Darth Aella wasn't entirely sold on the good Admiral. While he was undeniably competent, had compiled an excellent record during the war and ran a very tight ship, he seemed to lack the fortitude for the mission they had been called on to conduct. She was tempted to execute him out of hand, just in case. But knew she was unlikely to find a better officer to replace him on such short notice. The Fleet was going into action in just a few days time. She resolved to keep a very close eye on the Admiral and be prepared to remove him at a moment's notice.
For his part, Grand Admiral Barton Coburn was deeply suspicious of his new commanding officer. She had introduced herself as Darth Aella and required that all personnel address her as My Lord, or Lady Aella. She had driven home that point when the Enforcer's executive officer referred to her as, "Ma'am." She had turned the poor man into a slobbering fool who didn't even know his own name. And she had done it with a smile on her face. It would have been kinder just to kill the man. The woman wore a lightsaber, which puzzled him at first. Palpatine had declared the Jedi traitors. Yet, it appeared that here was one before him. She had quickly disabused him of that notion when he felt the Force close around his throat. She confirmed it a moment later, when she spoke. She had said in her deceptively soft voice, "No, Admiral. I am no Jedi. The Jedi have betrayed our Empire. Have betrayed our Emperor. I am Sith. As our Emperor is Sith. Do not mistake me for a Jedi again."
And he never would. There was something about her eyes that was deeply unsettling. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew, just by looking at her, that hers was a face that would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. There was an evilness to her that terrified him. If his commanding officer was the only thing he had to worry about, he'd be almost content. But the mission he had been given turned his stomach. What he was being ordered to do was nothing short of despicable. He still wasn't sure he could actually carry out the orders he had been given. But he knew that if he didn't, his would only be the first death of the day, and the orders would be carried out regardless. He wished his old friend Plo Koon was here. Even if he could just talk to him for a moment. But he had been reported killed soon after the Emperor declared the Jedi traitors. Reaching a decision, Grand Admiral Coburn would carry out his orders. For now.
_
Aboard his ship, the Chu'unthor, Jedi Master Djinn Altis sat meditating. The Republic he had served all his life, was gone. Replaced by the Empire. The Jedi Order was likewise gone. Destroyed by Darth Sidious and the very Army he and his fellow Jedi had led. Though he had had his differences with the Jedi, and had ultimately decided that it would be best for him to leave the Order, he held no ill will towards them. In fact, he still strove to live his life by their ideals, though perhaps not by their rules. During the War however, he had worked alongside the High Council to bring a swift end to the killing and destruction. While he didn't quite believe the Imperial Propaganda that the Order had been entirely destroyed, anything that was left of the Order had gone deep underground. He thought he could feel flashes of his brothers and sisters in the Force, but not enough to risk the beings that depended on him. Not when for all he knew, he, the Jedi that had joined him, and this ship were all that was left of the once mighty Jedi Order.
Many Jedi considered him and his followers heretics. But there was never any question from any of them that he and his followers served the light and the Republic. But he had no Republic to serve any longer. That left him at a bit of a loss as to what to do. They had tried to continue serving the people as Jedi, but anytime they appeared, the Empire was never far behind. And inevitably caused more destruction than before. In the end, they had had to retreat to the Unknown Regions just to survive. He thought of all this as he was meditating. But while he was immersed in the Force, it began carrying him in toward the Core. At first, he thought the Force was carrying him toward where his fellow Jedi were. But as it carried him closer, the Force began to feel colder. It was a feeling that he recognized as the Dark Side. Wherever the Force was bringing him, it was a place of great darkness and evil. It wasn't an evil that had happened yet, but it was an evil that was about to happen. Seeing what was about to happen, and where, Master Altis roused himself and ordered his ship back into the Core.