Hey, everyone! How are you all doing on this warm day of Tuesday, June 27, 2023? I'm well, if a bit worn from work today, as I had to do a lot of heavy lifting for my part-time job at my old college bookstore. And I ought to read more of my Tolkien book in a while, but I figured I'd first work on the next interlude chapter of my Jedi Odyssey IV story. This one will be about Jarael Chantique and her tumultuous life before her redemption from after meeting Edaan Palpatine. It'll be quite dark, but necessary to see the Iskalloni in all their brutal and amoral lifestyle, and the inevitable downfall when all's said and done. Oops, spoilers! ;) Well, I'd best get started on this piece while I have a few hours left in the day. May the Lord be with us all in these dark times, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!

Telona 13th, 54 ABY

Wild Space, On the World of Iskadrell

Standing before the Supreme Leader of Iskadrell, Iela Cordwick, a long serving scientist and raider commander of the Wild Space world's naval forces, knew this mission had to be of extreme importance to their people to warrant the involvement of the most prestigious and powerful member of her people. Saluting the elder woman with a firm and crisp salute, the younger Iskalloni humbly greeted, "I was not expecting to see you, especially not in person."

"Considering the dangers of your incoming assignment, your impeccable record in serving our people, and our patrons' insistence on the mission's perfect completion, I felt it best to brief you personally." The Supreme Leader neutrally answered before pulling out a data card and handing it to Iela. "All the information on your target is on here. You and your fleet will be striking the Hast Shipyards by the end of next week."

Not betraying any surprise at the new orders or the implications of striking a key Galactic Alliance shipyard, Iela uploaded the card's contents into her cerebral cortex's implanted database. And when she downloaded and scoured through every word and schematic of the briefing, she understood why the Supreme Leader called on her personally.

As part of the Iskalloni's alliance with the One Sith, they had provided many young Force Sensitives to Lord Krayt and his military buildup from across hundreds of remote worlds, and they had been forced to operate far more secretly and carefully after the fall of virtually all their slavery worlds not even a year ago today. But just as important for their joint efforts was the acquisition of vital materials and the best technologies they could get their hands on, especially weapons and warships.

And according to the Sith's spies in the Senate and military, the Galactic Alliance was designing several new warships to continue its fleet's modernization and keep pace with its rivals in the Confederation and Galactic Empire. Among the schematics in the GA's possession was a Dac-inspired Star Dreadnaught, this one a giant version of the Nebula-class Star Destroyer with capabilities easily rivaling the Viscount-class Star Destroyer. It was clear that Lord Krayt wanted this warship for his own growing navy, and Iela was now tasked with capturing not only its blueprints, but the key designers of each of the battle cruisers.

Iela had no idea how she would accomplish this yet, but when the Supreme Leader called upon her, she knew it would be a task she would undertake with the best of her ability. And she always delivered for the Iskalloni, wanting them to survive and flourish against the hostile galaxy they lived in. Although she did not always agree with their methods, such as using slave labor and forcibly converting their victims into cyborgs to do the work her people deemed beneath them, she always wanted to do good by the powers that raised her and taught her everything she knew.

Forcing such thoughts back to the deepest recesses of her mind, knowing they would likely get her killed if anyone caught wind of them, Iela bowed before the Supreme Leader, and loyally answered, "I will marshal my commanders and devise a successful plan of attack. It will be delivered to you by the end of the week."

"Excellent." The Supreme Leader satisfyingly nodded, saluting Iela back before dismissing her, knowing the mission was in the best possible hands.

Telona 26th, 54 ABY

Calamari Sector, Near the Minntooine System

Aboard the Iskallon Heavy Frigate Stelaciter

Narrowly avoiding the attacks aimed at him while returning fire, Edaan had not felt this exhilarated from a mission in many months, and it was all because of the quarry he was after and the glimpses the Force granted him of his next teammate. Not even his bounty hunter disguise and alias would be enough to diminish his excitement from this impending victory.

Thanks to his and the Jedi's underworld contacts, the Order had uncovered rumors of an upcoming raid of great significance on one of the Galactic Alliance's major shipyards within the Calamari Sector. Haivng laid several ambushes across the sector to capture whoever attempted this audacious strike, with Edaan leading one near a few hundred parsecs away from the sector's capital planet, it was hoped they would drive off or capture whoever was foolish enough to make such a high-risk attack.

Of course, no one anticipated the Iskalloni, a secretive race of cyborgs and raiders, to be bold enough to launch such a mad attack, nor in such large numbers of thirty heavy cruisers. Quite an unexpected wrinkle, but the prodigy Jedi Apprentice was not going to let this opportunity slip past him.

With help from the Jedi's many privateer allies, and by tipping off Dac Command of the attack, the Iskalloni fleet soon found itself outnumbered and outgunned by their enemies, allowing Edaan, hundreds of commandos and thirty similarly disguised Jedi to board the twenty ships they caught in their trap before the remaining ten broke ranks to withdraw. And the Jedi were prepared to expect many heinous acts from the isolationist cyborgs and occasional allies of the Sith, all while searching for information on whoever was coordinating these efforts and see if they related to the latest string of kidnappings across the galaxy.

After the Outer Rim Alliance finished liberating its twenty founding worlds and purged itself of slavery while expunging its Sith influence the previous year, all the free powers noticed there was still an unsettlingly high number of abductions from hundreds of worlds. Normally, most would assume this was resulting from small-time criminals or leftover slaver elements seeking to fill the power vacuum, but most of the snatchings were children or adolescents with high or above-average Midi-Chlorian counts, and virtually all of them just vanished from all corners of the galaxy immediately afterwards.

Clearly, the Sith had adapted from their stinging defeat and were adopting a cleverer policy of cold war and were looking to build up its armies with hundreds of new recruits. And with the Iskalloni making their grand return to the greater galaxy, all these clues had to be connected, but how was still unclear. Which was why this mission had to succeed, and nothing could be left to chance.

Working alongside Galactic Alliance marines, five of the Jedi's best Knights and Apprentices, and a platoon's worth of privateers, Edaan had already helped liberate nearly three hundred prisoners from the Stelaciter's main hold and secured the ship's escape pods before converging on the ship's bridge. And according to the reports from every other boarding team, the remaining nineteen ships had fallen after an arduous five-hours struggle, a bloodied and desperate fight to the finish with many casualties and acts of brutality by all parties involved. Not even the Palpatine Jedi was immune, having mercilessly blown apart a squad of Iskalloni executioners with the help of a few GA marines after the enemy put down their wounded enemies.

But throughout this mad slaughter, Edaan recognized how the leader of this enemy fleet, the woman he was hunting in the hope of bringing her to his side, along with her last few dozen troops, were all still yet to be accounted for. Where could they go now? With the escape pods secure and the bridge about to fall, the remaining Iskalloni would be out of places to hide.

Then again, everything about this fight screamed unconventional from the Iskalloni commander's typical profile. From the way her prisoners all but refused to accept the Alliance's assistance, the military-like discipline among the ship's defenders, and the unfamiliarity of this vessel and her sister ships to the boarders, virtually anything was still possible.

"Hey, Zuul!" The GA commander in charge of this operation called for Edaan using his alias. "See if you can make sense of this data, would you?"

Playing the part of a gruff mercenary, Edaan stubbornly scoffed, "Can't your technicians slice it yourselves? We've still got at least fifty renegades on the loose here, and I need to get back in the hunt."

Eyeing the disguised Jedi with barely concealed disgust, the officer glared at him with enough venom to kill a giant predator until Edaan acquiesced. Reading through the code, even with most of it encrypted, he was surprised to see dozens of incriminating pieces of intelligence on the Iskalloni, including incriminating evidence of their plans to strike the Hast Shipyards for a massive raid, and clues of their ties to several shell companies and criminal elements. It wasn't the bombshell the Jedi Apprentice was hoping for, but it was certainly a start.

Before he could thank the commander, Edaan's danger senses flared, and he pulled out his blasters and gunned down the first two assailants emerging from underneath the floor itself before they had a chance to fire any shots.

But upon seeing the remaining forty quickly emerge, swiftly catching their opponents off guard and butchering half the bridge's occupiers while only suffering eight additional losses, and seeing his ultimate quarry reveal herself by leading the onslaught, Edaan knew it was time to drop the act. Pulling out his lightsaber, he ignited his violet blade, and began leading a three-Jedi retaliation against the Iskalloni.

Amputating and bisecting a few here, blasting a few into bulkheads there, the three Jedi quickly bought the surviving Galactic Alliance marines time to regroup and stun the rest into submission until only the leader was left. Smiling a joyful smirk, Edaan let the Void Jumpers stun her unconscious after he cordially stated, "I look forward to getting to know you better over the next few months."

Nelona 3rd, 54 ABY

Shedu Maad, Jedi Temple

Main Detention Level, Cell 43

Her mind, now well recovered from the coma Iela somehow found herself in, the Iskalloni commander frantically tried to move, but found herself immobilized and strapped in what she assumed to be a holding cell. Stopping her futile efforts to escape, she instead focused her efforts on assessing her situation and determining the best course of action from there. Normally, she would use her cybernetic mind to hack into the captors' systems and show her the best method of breaking out, but she found her plan stymied by what felt like a literal wall of fire that blocked her infiltration. And her ocular implants, normally blaring red to intimidate her opponents and use the infrared vision, were shut down, leaving her blind. It seemed that she was dealing with professionals this time, which meant she needed to think strategically and play the long game here while figuring out what went wrong in her plan.

Recalling the attempted raid of Hast to seize six prototype Galactic Alliance warships and their key designers and how her fleet was intercepted seven parsecs away from their target by privateers and their patrons in the GA, with all but five her fleet's ships and all their people taken captive, Iela knew there was more to this ambush than mere chance. For one, the freelancers and their ships that her people identified were all known to be pro-Jedi sympathizers, and since the Jedi's meddling in the Zygerrian slave trade a year ago, the government had been cracking down on illicit operations and hiring many mercenaries and proxies to aid in enforcing the law against the Sith and its many allies.

But more than that, several fighters that boarded her flagship were far more skilled and versatile than the average soldier, and one in particular was far too famous and noticeable to be taken as a mere gun-for-hire. No, Iela recognized Edaan Palpatine when she saw him, even with his weak disguise. That infernal Jedi Apprentice and his many contacts must have caught wind of her attack and took the initiative in halting the attack. A good plan, she had to admit, even if it galled her to be bested by a mere teenager.

Suddenly, Iela's eyes were turned back on, filling her with shock and rage at how the Jedi had bypassed her cybernetic defenses and taken control of her main systems. Now able to see herself strapped to a durasteel chair and bound in a stasis field, Iela had a good idea of the lengths the Jedi were going to in keeping her contained. Kept behind a transparisteel window where her captors could safely interrogate her, she had a reasonable idea of her location, but would not assume anything at this point. Right now, patience and resilience would serve her better than haste and brute force.

Hearing a door hiss open, she was unsurprised when she saw the five Hapes Intelligence officers that would surely serve as her primary interrogators, even as they were accompanied by four high-profile Jedi she immediately recognized:

Tekli, a Chadra-Fan Jedi Master who was one of the Order's best healers under Cilghal, she knew almost as much of the countless physiologies of the millions of species as Iela, making her a worthy rival in the medical field, if she ever wanted to go into that soft-hearted trade.

Sothais Saar, A Chev Jedi Master that worked tirelessly with the Freedom Flight and many governments to aid in the liberation of millions of slaves and aid in their integration into mainstream galactic society, and rumored to be a rather dull speaker, even among his fellow Jedi.

Kyle Katarn, the Jedi Order's Grand Master, and veteran of tens of thousands of campaigns and operations across his many decades as a commando and Jedi, led the group with the authority and command his position demanded. He would be the most difficult of the Jedi to outsmart and outmaneuver if Iela ever hoped to return to her people.

But the last Jedi, he enraged Iela to levels most of her people would consider a weak display of emotion. Edaan Palpatine, garbed in typical Jedi robes and sporting a few new scars from the effort he spent in capturing her. It would be a personal pleasure for her to rip him apart if she was given the chance, or better yet, allow her people and the Sith to do whatever they wished with him.

Deciding to strike first and gauge their reactions, she acknowledged, "Let's skip the pleasantries, Jedi." She spat out the last word as if it were a horrendous curse. "I know who all of you are, and you know me if you've tended and spoken to my laborers. Just tell me what you want."

"Straight to business, then." Kyle nodded as he and his subordinates sat right in front of Iela, while the Hapes Intelligence officers, the oldest one she recognized as Trista Zel, a lead commander of Hapan Security, and she recognized the tactics the Jedi and their collaborators would use here.

"We have all the records from your ship, and quite a number of your fellow raiders and officers in custody right now. Right now, you're all in quite a precarious situation, and you can't outthink your way out of this one." Sothais began. "What we have to offer you now depends on your cooperation and willingness to work with us going forward."

"Tell us what you know of your people's alliance with the Sith and give us what we need to stop your people's raids." Trista continued with the warning. "Right now, we're the only ones that can protect you from the inevitable reprisals.

Scoffing, Iela smirked, "If you think you can convince me to betray all I believe in through simple threats or pleas, you're going to be sadly disappointed. I'm not afraid to die for my people and way of life."

"Not even to prevent them from being wiped out?" Edaan angrily countered, earning a surprised glare from Iela before he continued, "You know the Jedi and our friends won't take your raids sitting idle any longer. Now that we have all the proof we need to bring before the Galactic Senate, they'll have no choice but to act against Iskadrell and stop their warmongering ways. And unless you come forward and help us, your world and all who call it home will be reduced to the same molecular components as your toxic waste."

Quirking an eyebrow at the paltry warning, Iela commented, "That threat would be so much more believable if it didn't come from a poster boy known for his simplicity and sickening morality."

Eyeing Iela with a hateful gaze, Edaan's eyes actually flickered gold for an instant, much to her astonishment and growing awareness of a rare bout of fear. For a young man as virtuous and humble as Edaan Palpatine to show traces of tapping into the Dark Side, it showed her how serious her captor was in his ominous tidings.

Continuing, but focusing his rage, Edaan implored Iela, "But you can save them, Iela. You can prevent this catastrophe and help your people become better than they could be in bondage to the Sith and your backwater ways of thinking."

Growing genuinely enraged at the insult, Iela would have venomously retorted back before she found her mouth frozen shut through the Force, before Edaan imploringly continued, "Think. You diminish everyone, including yourselves, with your slave labor and toxic technology, when you could learn so much more working with others as equals instead of raiding to take what scraps you can. Instead, you bottle yourselves in your world and rely on raiders and proxies to keep your little kingdom functional."

Placing a calm but controlling hand on Edaan, Kyle gently pulled his apprentice back to him before advising Iela, "I'd suggest you consider your options very carefully over the next few weeks before the Galactic Alliance launches its attack on your homeworld. Whether or not you cooperate with us will let the powers that be decide if you're worth the time and effort of staying in our custody. And if you refuse to help everyone, then you'll lose more than you can possibly imagine."

"One way or another, Commander, you'll help the Jedi when the time is right." Kyle forebodingly stated before the Jedi all departed, allowing Trista and her officers to begin their own form of interrogation. But before Edaan left, he spared an unreadable glance to Iela, and she heard a single message echo throughout her brain. 'And you'll help me as well, for there is so much more to you than what your people have led you to believe about yourself and the galaxy.'

Nelona 34th, 54 ABY

Iskadrell Orbit

Aboard the Pinnacle-class Station Demagol

"Our master's agents embedded within the Jedi Order informed me of a curious anomaly from within their temple on Shedu Maad." Dician conversationally began her meeting with the Supreme Leader. "They reported that your Hast raid produced far more complications for all of us than you were aware of."

"Neither of us have time for riddles, Dician. Just give it to me straight." The Iskalloni impatiently snapped to the Director of Sith Intelligence, not eager to go back and revisit that embarrassing defeat for both client and patron, and the loss of many of the cyborgs' best operatives from the Jedi being a step ahead of them this time.

"Very well. The Jedi are interrogating Iela and her surviving subordinates on our partnership, and Lord Krayt wishes us to dispose of that troublesome loose end before it can further compromise any of our operations." Dician simply summed up, stunning the Supreme Leader into complete silence at the unfortunate revelations.

Repressing her wide array of emotions raging within her usually stoic mind, the Supreme Leader asked Dician, "What else do you know of this… terrible set of circumstances?"

"Many things, and you'll learn them all when the time is right." Dician enigmatically responded. "But what matters right now is that we remove the security threat before the Jedi and their puppets can crack your agents and destroy all your operations."

"Then how do you want us to proceed?" The Supreme Leader queried. "Attacking the Jedi Temple, secluded in the heart of Hapes space and protected by countless defenses, won't be like any operation my people have partaken in."

"Leave the planning to me. Just ready your people for a sufficient distraction. I will contact a few proxies of my own and lay the groundwork for this daring attack." Dician smugly ordered, before offhandedly reminding the Supreme Leader, "Oh, and don't forget about having Commander Cordwick's family conduct the proper punishment on her for failing you and your people."

"I know." The Supreme Leader stoically complied, even as she quietly detested what she had to do now. Disposing of a valued asset was always a tragic loss, but better to sever an infected limb than lose the whole body.

Six Hours Later

Helona 6th, 54 ABY

Shedu Maad, Jedi Temple

Operations Planning Center

"Why have I been paraded before your people, Katarn?" Iela dismissively asked the Grand Master. "Is this part of your strategy in converting me to your cause?"

"No. It's to give you your last chance to do what's right before we retaliate against your people, and a final chance to get a fresh start." Kyle responded. "It seems your people learnt of your capture and are taking measures to silence you before you might betray their trust in you."

Pulling up a tactical feed of the star system, Kyle zoomed in to Shedu Maad's orbit, and the Acclamator warship that was being held in place by what had to be dozens of tractor beams from the Hapes Consortium's royal navy and was getting hammered hard by many Jedi StealthXs and their well-placed shadow bombs. But what surprised Iela the most were the many smaller ships that were bypassing the planetary defenses and flying on a clear path towards this structure.

'No. No, it can't be.' Iela anxiously tried to deny, even as her ever-calculating logic told her otherwise. The Iskalloni, following their protocol of not leaving any loose ends or weakness in their organizational structure, they had to be working to eliminate their wayward people before they compromised them. And if the ships she saw were a clear indication, the Sith were not leaving anything to chance with the bombers they provided her people. Which also meant that her family, in typical cruel and emotionless fashion, had disowned her and declared her as good as dead in their eyes. It would be enough to drive her to tears if she was still capable of producing them from all her cybernetic augmentations.

Eyeing Iela with a knowing glance, Kyle warned, "If you want to save you and your fellow prisoners and make a new life for you all, then help us stop this attack before all's lost."

Glaring at the leader of the Jedi, Iela scathingly challenged, "If you figured all this out, why don't you do something about the danger we're all in? Why leave yours' and all your charges' fates in my hands after everything I've done to the galaxy?"

"Because we know you better than you know yourself, Iela Cordwick, and you're not like most of the Iskalloni." Edaan interjected from behind, surprising Iela from how quickly and silently the Jedi Apprentice was able to sneak up behind her. "We know you always treated your opponents with respect and honored your word and terms when most of your people would break such deals in a heartbeat. And those you capture and turn into cyborgs, you don't use them as an expendable labor force, but look after them as if they were your own kin."

"You're an anomaly among your people, and it's only because of your success rate that kept them from destroying you long before now." Edaan harshly concluded, thanking his Outer Rim contacts and the Wraiths for providing him with all this valuable intelligence. "But now, you have a chance to make something of yourself beyond your people's narrow confines of thinking, if you help us take your people down with minimal casualties and free them from their Sith puppet masters."

Comprehension dawning on her, Iela fully realized what the Jedi were saying. As crazy as it sounded, her own people were only holding themselves back from truly progressing forward with their reliance on slaves and arrogant sense of superiority. No to mention the loss of countless innocent lives and each of their potential, it infuriated her to no end. Surely, there had to be a better way for the Iskalloni to comprehend the galaxy than by just taking what they wanted and twisting nature to suit their own ends, just as the One Sith did with their own demented agenda.

Besides, if Iela's family and her people had disowned and disavowed her, then her only ties to the Iskalloni were the ones she chose to keep, which were bonds of loyalty that had been broken by them so long ago. She had just been too blind and hopeful to see these brutal truths. The only way to stop their wicked and amoral ways was to destroy their twisted culture and build a better one out of the ashes. And it was time for her to step up and follow her long-buried conscience and heart to do what was right and just.

Sensing her change of heart, Kyle spoke up, "Are you with us?"

Finding her resolve broken and rebuilt in a mere instant, Iela nodded and softly whispered, "Yes." Speaking louder, she earnestly agreed, "I'll help you in any way I can."

Grinning madly now, Edaan commended Iela, "Good! Then let's start by seeing what you can do to stop this suicidal attack."

"No. That won't be necessary, Edaan." Kyle calmly interjected. Typing in new commands into the holotable, he homed in on the ten enemy bombers making their way towards the Temple, with another five heading for the planet's capital city. From the incoming sensor data Iela could decipher, it seemed that fifteen bombers were carrying nuclear bombs capable of incinerating everything within a twenty-mile radius.

Growing more than a little nervous, Iela was prepared to warn Kyle of the immense danger everyone was now in, but just then, three of the enemy fighters just vanished off the map, with another two flashing yellow to indicate they were under attack. Seeing a knowing smile on the Grand Master's face, she recognized what was happening. "How did you figure it out?"

"Thanks to what data we could decode from your ships and plenty of advance warning from our contacts, we were well prepared for this attack." Edaan answered as another two fighters, these two aimed for the capital city, were disabled, before he off-handedly added, "Of course, it helped that we were graciously donated the defenses for the Temple by Queen Mother Djo for just such an instance. It never hurts to be ready for anything when faced with a galaxy full of such resourceful enemies."

"Then why gain my help?" Iela asked, a bit of heat entering her voice. "Why go through all this trouble to win me over if you had all you need to stop this madness? Was it to mock me, or something deeper?"

"To show you an old Jedi precept of redemption, and to prove to yourself that you're not as far gone as you'd like to believe." Kyle answered. "And to test you to see if you were the woman Edaan hoped you were for a job he one day wishes to hire you for."

Suspiciously glancing at Edaan, Iela skeptically asked the young human, "What kind of job are you talking about here?"

"I'll tell you another time." Edaan calmly brushed off. "Right now, we have more immediate matters to tend to, and reprisals to prepare ourselves for against our many mutual enemies."

Yelona 23rd, 54 ABY

Iskadrell Orbit

Aboard the Mediator-class Battle Cruiser Carlist Rieekan

"It's finally over, Sir." Kral Nevil, commodore of the Galactic Alliance Defense fleet and leader of the Iskadrell task force, reported to Kajin Bar Yimmon and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "The final pockets of resistance have officially accepted our terms of surrender. Their last of their fleets and ground forces are all destroyed, and we're preparing to send in our occupation garrisons. Aside from the few stragglers that managed to fight their way past our blockade, we did it. The planet's finally taken."

After two months of intense fighting, the long hidden and protected stronghold of cybernetic depravity and notorious Sith allied world had been taken. And it was nothing short of bloody work and sacrifice that made it all possible.

First, once everyone reached Iskadrell by navigating through or disabling many of its sectorial defenses, the Galactic Alliance and Jedi were ready to engage the Iskalloni fleets protecting their homeworld.

While many in the Senate balked at the operation and risk violating its Jedi Neutrality Act, the greater danger of letting the cyborg race continue its heinous kidnappings and let them go unpunished for their attempted raid of the Hast Shipards was too great to ignore. So, for the greater good of all free powers, the Senate almost unanimously agreed to temporarily waive the bill to eliminate a troublesome thorn in everyone's side.

Once the GA and Jedi broke the Iskalloni's fleets after three weeks of intense fighting, they were prepared to establish a blockade of Iskadrell until its leadership capitulated, the GA-Jedi fleet suffered numerous casualties from the offworld raiding parties they had recalled, and the hundreds of suicide bombers they unleashed on the interdicting force.

It was only thanks to Iela Cordwick's crucial intelligence that they were able to mitigate the worst of their losses and strike key installations across the planet before landing their soldiers to engage the Iskalloni on the ground. And with the defector's testimony and counsel, the GA, Jedi, and all their allies were able to capture many of the planet's key leadership and uncover substantial evidence of the Sith's activities and connections across the Outer Rim and Wild Space.

Whatever the One Sith, at least, that was the name the Iskalloni's records identified them as, wanted with their technology and records of the galaxy's vast unexplored regions, it implied they wanted every weapon and resource that could be useful against the Jedi and those that stood with them. The Galactic Alliance and the rest of the galaxy needed to remain vigilant if they hoped to uncover and counter all the Sith's remaining plans.

Approaching Kral from the bridge's command center, Kara, a rather large Aporthad cyborg that served as the Quarren's second-in-command and as a Lieutenant Commander in the GA Defense Force, resumed the briefing by grimly informing everyone, "We've identified the thirty ships that escaped the system. They include the Supreme Leader's shuttle and all her top personnel and essential equipment. Our defector believes they're going to resume operations with the Sith somewhere else."

"That is troubling indeed." Kajin sighed. "We'll put our intelligence agencies into tracking and apprehending the stragglers and work with our sister governments in ensuring they don't start up somewhere else. But don't let this wrinkle diminish the great deeds you all have accomplished. We removed another of the One Sith's agents and fortress worlds from their grasp and freed countless souls from their brutal torment. And we moved the Alliance one step closer towards repealing the Jedi Neutrality Act. As far as I'm concerned, this is a great victory for us all today."

"And you, both of you, led your forces ably and ingeniously through these trying months while facing off against enemies that would make most squeamish and flee in fear. In fact, the Joint Chiefs and I believe you have both earned a promotion for all your noble efforts."

"Once you return to Coruscant, we'll make the elevations official, but we've all agreed on your new ranks." Kajin paused, turning to face Kral and ceremoniously spoke, "Commodore Kral Nevil, you will be made a Rear Admiral, and placed in command of the first Guardian-class Super Star Destroyer we have once it is finished construction."

Now glancing towards Kara, Kajin noted, "Lieutenant Commander Kara, I have rarely been glad to be wrong, I'm willing to acknowledge. But in this instance, I am grateful that your mentor convinced me of the merits of recruiting you into the Galactic Alliance. You are hereby promoted to the full rank of Commander and will soon be granted your task force to help our anti-piracy and corruption campaigns."

Saluting the Chief of State with all the respect and gratitude they could professionally demonstrate, Kara noted, "Thank you, Sir. But what of Captain Cordwick and her people? Will you grant her request and give them all full pardons as you previously pledged?"

"Of course." Kajin answered as if the answer was obvious. "I gave her my word if she upheld her end of the deal, and she more than delivered. Now all that remains is to give her a sufficient cover story and alias to use going forward."

"Let General Loran and the Jedi come up with that one, Sir. Between the old Wraith and the Order's ties with the captain, I'm sure they'll come up with something good." Kral jested in part, earning a few honest laughs from all three leaders.

Kelona 34th, 55 ABY

Coruscant, Level 1313

Salvation Clinic

Iela could hardly believe the situation, even as she prepared to open her clinic for its first day of service in the most dangerous part of the most prestigious and populated world in the galaxy. Even after four months of her people's occupation by the Galactic Alliance, the pardon she and the few Iskalloni under her command that agreed to the Jedi's terms, the whole experience seemed surreal for her.

With her cover solidified, Iela Cordwick, from now on calling herself Jarael Chantique at Edaan Palpatine's recommendation, the name derived from some ancient Old Republic era reference, could start over and pave new ground for her people. By opening a clinic to help combat the Vongforming and assist Galactic Alliance Security in rooting out subversives and recruiting valuable misfits before crime elements could snatch them up, she would do much good for the galaxy on her road to atonement. Along with freeing the galaxy from corruption, she would set an example for the rest of the Iskalloni on how to chart a new course for their lives, free of the brutality and injustice of their fallen system while helping fight the Sith through quiet means.

But more than that, Jarael would be serving to atone for her decades of complicity and participation in a barbaric culture, all while preparing herself for a great mission offered to her by Edaan Palpatine four months ago. If asked a year ago to assist in the salvation of Sith Lady Darth Kitai, one of the most capable, clever, and ruthless acolytes under Darth Krayt and his One Sith, who once called herself Vestara Khai, she would have laughed at the absurdity of it all as she blasted the fool's head off.

But now, after seeing the sheer conviction and honesty in the Jedi Apprentice, his earnest zeal for life, love, and justice, Jarael believed it might be possible to save his target from the darkness devouring her heart and soul. It certainly helped how she learned of the thousands of favors and friends Edaan had, the people and groups aligned with him in his goals of healing the broken galaxy and reforming the Jedi and Galactic Alliance, and the buildup of power to prepare for his own war against the Sith.

To help the Jedi in their fight, Jarael would need to hone her medical proficiency in ways she had never considered before, and work with people she never thought worth her attention otherwise. A perplexing task, but it wouldn't be any more difficult than betraying her people to save them from their self-destructive path. If anything, it would be a challenge she would meet with all the brilliance and ability she could bring to the task.

Ah, but it would do no good for Jarael to wallow in what the future might bring. Now, the reformed medic had a clinic to open and start building a new reputation and life for herself. Prepared to work with the free powers in knitting a little bit of the galaxy back together, she personally opened the Salvation, and patiently awaited her first patients.

Well, I think the fifth interlude ended at a good place! Sure, it might be a bit shorter than the others, but I don't want to get too engrossed in every minor detail and get diverted from the main story. And I think I might do the next chapter differently, including an extra interim one with Tau and Ahsoka while the former recovers from his incredible and draining efforts last chapter, while including Krayt and his efforts as well. Of course, I might have to move a few things around to fit these changes, but I need to pave the way for the madness that is almost upon us. So, how are you all doing on this hot night of Friday, June 30, 2023? I'm well, as I worked a good 9-hour shift at the library today and read a good chunk of my latest Tolkien book while on my break. Of course, I'll be volunteering tomorrow morning, and it'll be a hot one. But it'll be good to give back to the community a bit. Well, I guess that's it for this one. I'd best get it stored away for a little while until I can get it looked at. I hope you all have a blessed night, and Long Live the Expanded Universe!