"He is still unconscious but he did say that any Sentinel will recognize his name"
"What name did he give"
"He said he was Jedi Knight John Lockland"
"He is, the mayday had Huttese which only Sentinel's know and he identified himself as such and his voice pattern matched, we'll take over his care now because we have a bacta tank and you do not and I have a feeling he needs bacta badly"
"Yes, he had severe burns, is still unconscious and isn't taking to our medicine very well"
"Not your fault and we will be taking care of him now, send him directly to sickbay so that he can receive immediate medical attention"
"Of course Sentinel"
Communications are cut and everyone on the bridge looked at Portland like she had some explaining to do which she knew from the beginning of the communique two days earlier
"It was him, apparently something happened to blow his cover and he had to escape and thus called out to the only people he knew could help, I don't know the full details but slavery is still a problem which the Council knows but there's not anything we can do for now so let's just let Lockland heal and then I will be taking charge over him while we figure out a way to get him back home"
"Well we could simply head to Republic space to deal with the problem that you were alerted to two days ago before the mayday"
"No we need more Sentinel's before we can deal with the problem in the Republic, unless you call all the other ships with Sentinel's on board so that we can rendezvous to pick them up and only we take everyone home to deal with the problem"
"That actually could work though it will take a few days to pick everyone up"
"Whatever works now then for now I am going back to sickbay unless ordered to stay at my post because I need confirmation that he'll be fine eventually"
"You have an hour then yes I want you back at the helm Sentinel, meanwhile send me a list of ships that have Sentinel's and I can explain the situation if they themselves don't know of it yet"
"Most likely they will and either there are messages on my computer I don't know of or on yours regarding rendezvous coordinates and who all is coming"
"Let's get to it then"
Ashland uses that hour in sickbay to good use, she first confirms it was indeed Lockland and she also sees that he was slowly healing and when she checked into it she found out he hadn't had time to enter a Healing trance and as such that combined with unfamiliar medicine was slowing down his healing so she did the only thing she could think of and put the Knight into a Healing trance which was reflected in the bio-sensors
"There now you will properly heal Jedi Knight John Lockland"
The doctor came in having gotten alert that his status had changed and noticed that the sensors were indicating a healing trance
"Did you put him into a Healing trance?"
"Yes I did, he needs the trance to help him properly heal, it's a combination of Romulan medicine and what he's been through for several years now, he needs some help to properly heal and I gave that to him by putting him into the trance. He won't wake up for at least another day he's that bad off"
"How long are you able to stay here?"
"I was given an hour and trust me I need that hour, after everything both of us have been through I need to make sure he'll eventually be okay and he needs a familiar Force signature near him so that if he does wake up before I am here he already knows he's in a safe location because most likely I wouldn't be using my abilities to help him heal if we weren't in a safe location"
"Wait that doesn't make sense though because according to the Captain Lockland was using Force healing whenever he was forced to torture the Captain"
"Except that Lockland knows my job and quite frankly unless absolutely required we don't usually force someone into a Healing trance if it isn't safe to do so"
"So that combined with the familiar Force signature will let him know he's safe?"
"Yes, due to the fact that all Jedi recognize when they've been put into a Healing trance when he comes out of it and realizes he was put down by a familiar Force signature he will know that he is safe no matter who he sees when he wakes up"
"But surely he'll be relieved to see Starfleet uniforms"
"Not necessarily, he has no idea if the people who picked him up know that he was deep undercover and as such can expect to be put in a secure location once he woke up until they could ascertain his loyalty, by feeling my Force signature in the trance he knows he's on a ship that knows he's friendly"
"Is it that hard for Jedi working undercover?"
"It can be yes and that's why whenever a code Queen Amidala is declared we respect the Jedi all the more and make sure to do everything in our power to make sure their mission is a success or if we can't help finish the investigation make sure that their position is even more secure, because most of the time they are all alone and everyone believes they've turned traitor"
"I understand, I will let you know when he wakes up if you aren't here yourself"
An hour later she was back on the bridge and everyone could see a difference in her demeanor, she was a lot more relaxed then when they had first received that emergency message which told them that not only did they have the right person but the person they had picked up would be okay with time to properly heal
"When will we be able to talk to Lockland to figure out what happened?"
"Not until at least the day after tomorrow, I put him into a Healing trance which will last at least a day because he needs this time to heal, in fact he couldn't go into the trance himself I had to put him into it which is not a good thing"
"I understand, no questioning the Jedi until you approve, though I will have the councilor there just to let him know there's someone he can talk to if he feels he needs it"
The Captain raises his hand to stop a protest before it started
"I know nothing about how a Jedi works while undercover but from what I understand he's been deep undercover for years with little to no contact with friendly forces and whenever he has been around allies he's had to fight them to keep cover. I know that most likely he will need major meditation sessions but he also might like to talk to someone who will be non judgmental and the councilor is exactly that kind of person"
"I understand"
Several days later they were at the rendezvous point and all the Sentinel's were headed to the Republic via Ashland's ship and all of them were also told about Lockland and how he had been undercover, Ashland told them this just in case they didn't receive the emergency communique from him which they did so it was actually unnecessary
"How is he anyways?"
"He visits the councilor on a daily basis and when he heard that you were coming for an emergency in Republic space he stated to come to his temporary quarters after shift and then we're heading to the holodeck for one of the meditation programs to do a joint meditation session"
"A much needed meditation according to him?"
"Yes, oh one more thing the Captain is Force sensitive and needs basic training so that will be something I will be doing in my spare time between the groups"
"No formal training?"
"No he doesn't want to become a Jedi but he understands that he needs T'vran type training"
"Okay we won't fight him on his choice and if you and he want we can also help his training"
"I'll ask, for now though I do have a shift to report to so let's get to your temporary quarters"
"Have you heard anything further from the Council or Senate Portland?"
"No which worries me, the situation might have worsened to the point where one ship might not be enough, if that's the case I will take charge of the ship and get us back as fast as possible, if you hear a code Clone Wars immediately make contact with Command, but only the person with the next highest rank after me"
"Right, by the way sorry about that surprise we sprung on you so soon after your return from 'death' it's just that we always felt that way even when we realized that if you had to fake your death you would be behind other people eventually"
"Well the thing is, I was promoted so quickly through the ranks shortly before all of the crazy things happened that it was decided that I would stay at my current rank until further notice"
"Is that why our promotions have been slow as well once we graduate?"
"Yes they don't want what happened to me to happen to you as well, that decision was made without my initial approval by the way but I understand where they are going"
"So do we actually, after we learned how fast you initially moved through the ranks we realized that we simply needed the time you never got so that we could properly adjust to our ranks and responsibilities before we were pushed to new ones before we were truly ready"
"Now come on I don't want to be late for shift, you will all be on the same deck so that if something happens we can..."
Suddenly the ship shook and the alarms sounded which got the group into action because they also heard teleportation noises
"Keep your lightsabers holstered for now, by the way if need be you can use the Sentinel Defense if you are fully trained in it"
There was a fight on all decks and it was crazy because there were flying enemies due to the Sentinel's going full out and several were killed by other officers until Ashland brought out the lightsaber
"Looks like I have no choice now time for the lightsaber"
She puts away her phaser and brings out her lightsaber and starts killing several of the enemy that were trying to kill them eventually forcing the enemy to retreat
"Now I can report to the bridge like I was supposed to before this attack happened"
The rest of her shift was routine and remained that way until finally they were almost in Republic space
"Sentinel Portland where are we going to once we reach Republic space?"
(Sighs heavily) "I believe we're supposed to report to Coruscant but considering the situation I'm not completely sure"
"And just what is the situation that requires all our Sentinel's to return to the Republic? I know for a fact that you've been hiding things, I've felt it during our joint meditation sessions"
"Commander do you remember my reaction to the message two days before we managed to save Lockland that was in Huttese?"
"Yes you paled and told me that it was urgent we went to Republic space, and two days later you modified the orders saying we needed more Sentinel's before coming here"
"That's because before the emergency message received by Lockland I knew that the others were also going to be headed to Republic space in their own ships but we decided on a rendezvous point after the mayday so that this ship could pick up one of our own first who really needed rescue. The message was from both the Council and the Senate alerting us to Jedi disappearing during their missions at an alarming rate and that we were needed to help in the search, there were also several deaths that due to both distance and the Council we didn't feel, there were also several attacks on the Senate including our Representative's however the Jedi managed to save them and they are currently staying at the Jedi Temple for their own safety"
"No wonder you paled at the news, this is some serious information isn't it?"
"Yes it is"
"They need you to have more Force energy don't they?"
"That's part of the reason, the other part is because of what I managed to do that one time I was believed dead, that has not happened before as far as the Council is aware so we think that combining our strength I might be able to do so again however on a much larger scale"
"Wait I think I remember that report how you somehow managed to make mental contact with a fellow Jedi that wasn't your former Master, it was brief but you succeeded"
"Yes though it cost me three days of work"
"Hey I never heard of him complaining you missing out three days"
"Yes, however he had a major repair job soon after I passed out and since he was late he missed out on a good bonus, as it is he was lucky he got paid his regular rate"
"So this time they want you to make contact with as many Jedi as possible without the backlash that comes with it"
"Exactly, and quite frankly we need to confirm as many Jedi as possible as alive since we are still not at the strength of the Old Republic"
"But just what exactly can you do Portland? I never really understood the report you gave to Starfleet Command after you returned"
"Due to my unique connection to T'vran I now have the ability to make a connection with anyone that is Force sensitive enough to be able to use that power, I have been practicing with permission on what are basically non Force sensitives but so far I haven't really had any luck. That connection will let me know who's alive and who's not, if not the exact location where they are at but hey knowing they're alive is a good start plus they will know that the Council is looking for them"
"But like previously stated we need as many Force sensitives as we can get so that Ashland doesn't have to deal with the backlash of such a technique"
They are alerted to an audio communication
"Sentinel's if you can hear me turn back to Federation space I repeat turn back to Federation space this is a code Clone Wars I repeat this is a code Clone Wars"
They hear the date that it was first initiated which was just the other day and Ashland quickly inputs the correct coordinates to get back to Federation space and also makes sure they were going the maximum speed as well
"Okay that changes things"
"No kidding, if there are any still alive they're most likely prisoners"
"Not to mention the fact that they'll be tortured or outright killed like the last time"
"Okay the last time was when the Empire got started and the Jedi were destroyed thanks to Order 66"
"Only two Jedi survived the last massacre and neither of them lived to see the end of the Empire"
"Yeah, Kenobi died facing Vader right when he started teaching Master Skywalker and Yoda died shortly before the final confrontation where the second death star was destroyed"
"So does anyone have an actual plan yet?"
The Sentinel's all look at each other and then look at Portland for direction
"Hey don't look at me I'm still doing my best to ensure we make it back to Federation space I haven't had time to think up a plan"
"Good point, how about we all meditate on this later and see if we can't come up with a plan from that"
They stay on high alert and there were a few times when Ashland started cursing in Huttese which surprised several Sentinel's who had known her before the mission to Starfleet and she had never cursed in any language before no matter how much it might have been needed
"Portland must be ticked if she's swearing"
"Something must be up that we can't sense"
"Sentinel's spread out to critical stations Sentinel Defense fully authorized if you've mastered it prepare for heavy resistance and also prepare to be knocked out, you do not leave your post until I personally come to you to let you know that you can stand down, Captain I need to be in charge until we get a certain distance because we are being chased and there might be Sith involved"
"Force inhibitors?"
"Not needed, they won't try that kind of stuff again"
"Understood, however I am going to get the battle bridge on standby just in case we need to separate"
"Copy that Captain, for now I need to get ready for possible attacks, Tactical keep weapons on standby and go to Yellow alert"
Everyone was hyper alert until finally Ashland said the words everyone had wanted to hear for the past three days