For at least three hours, Sokoli had sat there in bed, reading through what Dr Xilubu had claimed to be her surviving records in the Jedi Archives. It had taken most of a day to explain that she was in fact a Jedi herself, that she was a Togruta from Shili's capital, and that she had spent the past thirty years in cryostasis out in the depths of empty space, primarily for her to actually make sense of all that.

Every need had been attended to by a droid, if not by the doctor himself. What worried her most were the occasional whispers of recent battle, and by contrast, the distinct lack of fellow patients. If things were as bad as some of those whispers implied, were there even any patients to be brought back in the first place?

"She is well enough to receive visitors, though she has yet to request or receive any."

"Then it seems I will be the first."

She continued to gaze over her datapad right up until a white haired woman approached the bedside. She looked up slowly, meeting the pair of blue eyes gazing at her, and the small smile that accompanied them.

"I apologize if you've been lonely these past days. There are very few Jedi from before the purge remaining. And of them, none knew you well. My condolences."

Sokoli stared at Brianna for a long while before finally blinking. "I wouldn't know any of them anyway, would I?" Her eyes drifted down to the pad once again, dragging two of her paste-white fingers across its surface. "I might as well have never woken up. From what I've learned, at least if I became one with the Force, I wouldn't have woken to a face, a name belonging to a life that is all but dead anyway."

That small smile fading, Brianna drew over a chair to sit on, resting her other hand on Sokoli's arm. "Dr Xilubu believed you were attempting to wake up, and thus we did everything in our power to give you time enough to do so. Again, I apologize for things not developing as any of us expected."

The sound of Sokoli's quiet breathing settled over, broken only by the droid as it made its rounds.

Her eyes passed over the pad once again. "This might as well be the profile of a complete stranger." It came to rest on an area of the bed beside her as she looked to Brianna once more. "Can I at least leave this room?"

"With assistance yes. I'll ask one of the padawans to stay on hand when possible, unless you would prefer the help of a droid."

"I suppose I won't be allowed to move on my own then?"

"Not until your muscles have recovered."

Dr Xilubu walked up with a pad of his own in hand, making some final entries before moving it under his arm. "You will have to visit one of the gyms and complete a set course each day. I've also prescribed your meals for the next few weeks. We'll be taking you off liquid nutrients, Togruta metabolism simply wasn't designed for anything other than meat as a core diet. Oddly enough, it seems you've also grown quite a bit taller based on what records we dug up. A little more than I'd expect from long term deep space travel, I'm still trying to determine the cause."

Sokoli reached up to rub the side of her left temple, grazing over the course surface of her matching montral. "You would know best…"

"At least someone acknowledges it around here. Master Pala left before I could even begin her nasal reconstruction."

Brianna touched his arm with mild concern. "Her reasons for departing were rather more urgent."

"And I don't mean to downplay the threat Katarr poses to us. I am simply…" He looked back to Sokoli, who was growing worried herself. "Trying to lighten the mood. There's enough to worry about in this age already."

"I see." Her hand fell away from Dr Xilubu's arm as she made her departure. "Padawan Sendis could use the a little more occupation of her time."


"Lana, I know you're peeking."

One of the girls at the back opened her eyes fully in shock, looking around until she noticed Koor had a smile on her face, despite her own eyes being clearly closed.

"Was not!"

"Shh. The point is to focus, and not be distracted."

A Nautolan child sniffed, and managed to hold off rubbing his nose for all of a second before giving in. From there, the fidgeting began to spread amongst the other children, until Koor opened her eyes with a soft sigh.

"Alright, everyone stand out, scratch those itches and get your fidgets out, we'll resume in a few minutes."

She stood up herself in a fluid motion, taking the opportunity to pull the clip from behind her head and retighten her strip of hair.

The tilt forward kept her from noticing Torbut's approach until the children greeted him in near chorus.

"Hello. Are we all behaving for Master Koor here?"

"Yes Master Torbut."

"Good to hear. Carry on then." He strode past to Koor's side, lightly touching her arm while she lifted her head back up from finishing her hairclip. "Doing well I hope?"

"Oh yes, they're getting used to sitting quietly by the day."

Torbut chuckled before stopping in stride, turning to her proper. "A fair answer."

It took a while longer for Koor to look back at him, looking a little unsettled. "Yes, I'm doing well. More than a little concerned that there's been no word from Maarani or the others, especially after that dark disturbance."

Crimson eyes narrowing, Torbut eventually nodded in agreement. "The others still feel we cannot leave while Katarr remains a threat, Master Brianna especially. The most we can do is trust that Master Lauran has matters in hand."

Koor took a look at the children, who by then had dispersed to places where they could sit and talk or play quietly. "Speaking frankly, I'm not sure what to think of Dana Lauran. The way she spoke to Master Pala was…" She chewed her lip, contemplating the best word to use. "Out of her usual character. I don't recall there being any rivalry between the two before-"

Torbut placed a reassuring hand on her arm, though it was more to affirm himself as he prepared to hide truths from her. "Master Lauran has a complex history with the Jedi Order, including with Masadar. Believe me, she will do what is best for Maarani. And she is the most qualified of us all to ensure that her empathic powers remain controlled. We need to trust in her judgement and her capability."

Reluctantly, Koor nodded, her usual confidence having waned considerably. Nothing seemed certain anymore. "Alright. I'll keep it from being a distraction." She looked over to the group again. "I should get back to the lesson. Would you mind coming down to the holocron vault later though?"

"I don't have any other immediate business at hand. But why?"

Koor looked back to him, her lips curling in a little. "Just yesterday I went there for some advice from the Jolee holocron, and I noticed some strange behaviour from the Sith holocrons. Both Atris and Brianna dismissed the concern, but I'm not satisfied."

Torbut released her arm at last with another small smile. "Alright. I'll wait near the Archives for you. I suppose it's possible they were 'excited' by the disturbance, we can have the vault secured further if needed."

"Thank you. I shouldn't be more than an hour, provided the children are settled now."

After watching her return to the small gathering, he reached up to his perpetually smooth chin to hum in thought.

"It wouldn't hurt to try contacting her again anyway…"

And with that, he left in the direction of the nearest comm terminal.


Every step brought with it a sense of pain that made Sokoli wince. The braces attached to her leg were still cold, despite being on for several minutes by that stage. Her arms were a little less distraught, still bearing enough muscle strength to keep hold of her crutches as she slowly made her way across the Temple.

It was rather unsettling for Carmen to see a woman so crippled, especially a Togruta of all races. Those amongst her fellow padawans were all very well built to an impressive degree. Sokoli's deteriorated condition was as far from that as seemed possible.

"Are you sure about this?"

Sokoli slowly turned her head, nearly glaring down at the young Mirialan. "I have to try."

"It's just… Master Atris says she's been forgetting old memories since the heart attack. It'd be terrible to get there yourself only for nothing."

"It won't be for nothing."

Carmen remained silent after that. At first, she had been quite happy to be of assistance as an aside from her final days as a padawan before knighthood. The reality of having to walk Sokoli around the temple grounds had become a harsh reminder of what offering help entailed.

The doorway into the archive halls was a truly welcome sight when they finally got there. Surprisingly, Atris herself was alone for once, from the look of it using the time to sort through a small pile of datachips laid out on the table before her.

"Master Atris? Is this a bad time? She wanted to speak with you."

Atris slowly looked up from her work, gasping at the sight of the frail, yet towering Togruta that made Carmen look tiny by comparison. Her softly quaking hand went for her cane, gripping onto it firmly and making a gentle clack as she stepped forward.

"Have we met?"

Sokoli stared right at the old woman approaching her. An odd feeling was beginning to stir at the back of her mind. She had to know if Atris recognized her, but now, she wasn't entirely sure who she was supposed to be recognized as.

She awkwardly shuffled over to a free seat and sat down with a wince. "Master Brianna tells me you are the last of the old Council left. I am supposed to be Sokoli Zatu, though I still have no memory of being her. I thought…"

The stare from Atris persisted for a full minute before she sighed, retreating to a chair of her own. "I am sorry, if we knew each other at some point, that memory is now gone. All I have is a vague feeling of recognition when I look at you, nothing more."

For reasons that escaped her, Sokoli felt a twinge of a smile at the corner of her lips.

Carmen bit down onto her lip, feeling very awkward now that her concern had proven valid. "Sorry again, Master Atris. I'd offer to help, but I have to stay with Sokoli for now."

Atris waved the matter off with a weak smile. "I understand. The weak-before-their-time have priority after all. And I certainly-"

She clutched at her chest as a pain swelled up, the monitor beeping again. It was gone by the time Carmen had rushed to her aid, but by then she was already caught in a wheeze.

"Master Atris! What's wrong? Should I get Dr Xilubu?"

"No… no."

After a few more breaths, Atris' breathing settled into a more regular pattern. While her eyes had blurred a little, she could still see the unfazed expression of Sokoli as she remained there.

"I just felt a moment's pain, nothing more. It's to be expected…"


Time had lost meaning for Shamara and her sisters a long while ago. They had a singular duty to perform as the last true orders from Atris herself, and they would see it done until word of her passing came.

And yet, it was hard to not take notice that Kayla had been on her trip to the surface for food and water longer than was usual.

"Toralla, has Kayla made contact at all?"

"Not that I am aware of."

Shamara frowned while humming in thought. "I had better go check. Prepare the vault for-"

The door to their deep bunker opened at that moment, Kayla looking back over her shoulder as she stepped through.

"I thought I saw a ship approaching and hid. I think it best we-"

Before she could explain more, a cold chill blew into the bunker. Shamara and Toralla had little time to react in the mere moments that followed, as a near invisible blade swiped through the air at incredible speed, cutting Kayla to pieces.

"To arms! Seal the vault!"

Both Shamara and Toralla bolted for the hallway leading deeper in. By the time the former got to the other end, the latter had been sliced clean in half, whimpering a last cry before dying of the catastrophic wound. And still no sign of their attacker.

Ditara and Hala rushed into the room to Shamara's defence as she continued on, looking to seal the vault before she met her seemingly inevitable end. The sight of Ditara's severed head smacking the wall to her direct right made her jump in shock, before a vibroblade sang through the air, pinning her to the wall through her chest.

"I learned that trick from my father. He used it to impale a Zygerrian brute to the wall of his office if his story is to be believed. Shame he's long dead now."

Shamara reached for the control panel in desperation, her face planted where she could only barely see the keypad itself. A red lightsaber took her hand clean off before she could touch a single button, making her cry out in pain.

"Sorry, I'll be needing those holocrons. I've got some lekku to track down after all."

The vibroblade twisted, and in a smooth motion, sliced through Shamara's chest and head, ending the life of the last full Echani handmaiden to the great delight of Masaka.

"Oh, it feels so good to be half alive again."

After wiping the vibroblade clean on Shamara's bloodied robes, she stepped into the vault itself, where a chorus of Sith holocrons growled in greeting.

"Good, you're all still active, and more importantly talkative. It appears I'm in need of some new lessons, care to oblige a poor little Twi'lek girl?"