21 BBY

Wualief - Mid Rim

The galaxy burns with the rise of new cults on many planets—cults centered around strange green stones that corrupt the mind and body of any living organism lacking willpower. Those who succumb to it quickly begin to commit terrible acts against other living beings. At present, at least twenty planets have reported such cults in Hutt Space, Republic Space, and even Separatist Space. In response, a truce was hastily made between the three powers to combat this strange phenomenon. Many planets were swiftly cleansed by the combined might of the Droid Army and the Clone Army, commanded by Tactical Droids and Jedi Generals. The cultists were either disposed of or imprisoned, awaiting a cure for the corruption. However, there remained many worlds so deeply tainted that efforts to contain the cultists had escalated into full-scale wars.

In the midst of this crisis, three Jedi Masters and one Padawan were dispatched to the world of Wualief, after the Jedi High Council determined that the planet was the source of the corruption following a deep investigation across other affected worlds and for that, it needed to be secured that no more of this corruption or crystals, would come out of the planet.

Master Luminara was in her quarters aboard the flagship, waiting to reach their objective. The plain grey walls around her helped her focus as she sat on her knees on the bed, meditating to prepare her mind for the challenges ahead. However, she was still haunted by the terrible visions she'd had days ago—visions of a twisted version of herself committing atrocities against her allies, relishing it all with sickening pleasure. Nightmares had plagued her ever since, and she suspected that her Padawan, Barriss, could likely sense the imbalance in her mind and spirit. Luminara rose, realizing that meditation would be futile in her current state of mind. The terrible images clouded her thoughts, and the pain she foresaw herself causing was hard to ignore.

She paced around the room and glanced at the holonet terminal, briefly tempted to indulge in a distraction. But she knew that all she would find would be more reports of the cults and their atrocities. It was all still confusing to her. Despite the reports from the previous day, the cultists didn't seem to be a significant threat. They were aggressive, yes, but easily defeated with basic military tactics. Could they be a distraction? Was the presence around Wualief planning something larger? The uncertainty gnawed at her, and fear crept into her mind.

Suddenly, she felt the ship drop out of hyperspace, signaling their arrival in the system. Luminara left her quarters and saw Master Ima-Gun Di stepping out of his own. He looked at her with a discerning gaze, sensing the turmoil in her mind, but made no comment. Instead, he approached her with a friendly demeanor and spoke in a calm, gentle voice.

"Master Luminara," he greeted.

"Master Ima-Gun Di," she replied, and they began walking together toward the command room, where Captain Keeli, Captain Buzz, and Master Pong Krell awaited them. Luminara noticed Krell talking with the ship's captain, and as they drew closer, they overheard Krell's voice.

"Tractor beam it into the hangar and prepare a squad to decontaminate anyone inside, lets just collect the blackbox for information"

Krell's attention then shifted to Luminara and Ima-Gun Di as they arrived. Luminara was the first to speak, addressing Captain Buzz with her usual calm tone.

"Buzz, report the current situation, please."

"We've arrived at our destination, General," Buzz replied diligently, "but there's a ship in orbit. Scans show two life forms still aboard."

Ima-Gun Di turned to Krell and asked in his usual collected manner, "Do we have confirmation of cult contamination on that ship?"

"I don't need confirmation. If this contamination affects the clones, well, I believe the reports speak for themselves. Jabba's palace was stormed by the clones, and the end result was two entire battalions fighting against us. We barely won, thanks to their strategic thinking and equipment," Pong said, trying to remain composed but resolute in his opinion. "If that ship has any of those crystals, we need to burn the cultists down and then destroy the ship's interior just to be sure, only the blackbox matter for basic information.''

"I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with that," Ima Gun Di responded, unfazed by Pong Krell's aggressive stance. "We are protectors of life, and now, protectors of those who aren't affected by these 'demons,' as some call them. If there are living beings inside that ship and they aren't under the influence, they must be saved."

Pong Krell was about to argue, but Luminara spoke first. "I agree with Master Ima Gun Di." With two against one, Pong Krell conceded in a neutral tone. "Very well."

The three Jedi Masters moved toward the hangar, where Luminara's Padawan, Barriss Offee, waited. The young Mirialan stood with the clones, and when she saw her master approaching, she made a small bow, showing respect. Luminara placed a comforting hand on Barriss' shoulder, remaining silent as they watched the ship enter the hangar.

The mining ship was bulky, with various dents in its metal hull and markings of scratches and impacts. Dead creatures were stuck to parts of the exterior, killed by exposure to the vacuum of space. The ship's cargo hold was missing entirely, and a droid was wedged in the door that originally separated the cargo hold from the rest of the ship. The mining droid was trapped by two legs between the door frames, its other two legs missing and multiple weapons embedded in its body, knifes, spears and what appeared to be an arm of one of the creatures.

The clones approached the ship's entrance with caution, starting the process to open it. They noticed dried blood on the outside of the door. Ima Gun Di moved forward with the Wolf Squad, using hand signals to give directions. He indicated the door, signaling that they were going in silently. The clones understood, still learning how to work with their general. As the door opened, they saw some supplies scattered near the entrance, along with a trail of blood. The ship's lights were still on. Ima Gun Di led the way, igniting his lightsaber and positioning himself between any potential danger and the Wolf Squad as they followed closely behind.

They followed the blood trail down the corridor until they reached its source: a red-skinned Frenk slumped against the wall. Her legs were severely injured, covered in cuts, claw marks, and knife wounds. She wore improvised armor made from metals that had clearly given her some protection, as shown by the surface grooves in parts of the armor, especially on her back. She was alive but barely. At Ima Gun Di's signal, two clones quickly moved to assist her. Beside her lay a young human male, clearly dead, with many of the strange crystals emerging from his body. A member of the Wolf Squad was signaled to incinerate the corpse with a flamethrower.

As they continued, they found the command bay, where an unconscious Toydarian mercenary sat slumped in a chair. His bones were visibly broken, likely from an impact of immense force, and he was also taken to the med bay. Ima Gun Di couldn't help but notice a navigation computer lying on the floor, unused. If it had been brought aboard, it might hold some answers. The same could be said for the ship's navigation system and the droid outside and the two now civilians under the flagship.

After leaving the ship, Ima Gun Di approached Luminara, Barriss, and Pong Krell. "Two survivors and likely clues about the planet's situation," he reported.

Pong Krell interjected, "Two survivors as far as we know. They might be under the influence of the energy around this planet, as we know, some cultists take at least two hours to show any sign of corruption.''

"We'll know once they wake up. For now, I suggest we analyze all the logs from the ship, the navigation computers, and the droid to see what we can find," Ima Gun Di said, hoping to avoid further confrontation with Pong Krell. He succeeded, watching the aggressive Jedi Master turn away to assist with the data analysis.

Luminara's eyes were fixed on Pong Krell, her gaze judgmental. Ima Gun Di noticed and commented, "You can feel it too, can't you?"

"Indeed. I sense in him a loss of the Jedi way," she said, turning to Barriss. "Never lose your way. You see what happens to someone who only wishes to respond with violence to every threat, they become like Pong Krell, were we need to avoid contradicting him, to avoid confrontation in our commands.''

Barriss was confused. At first, she didn't sense any hostility from Pong Krell. In her current view, he seemed like someone who was simply thinking logically. After all, while the ship didn't pose any immediate danger, what if it had? What if one of the crystals she had heard so much about in the reports was on board? What if the clones became corrupted and killed Ima Gun Di? However, Barriss trusted that her master knew better, and so she replied, "I understand, Master."

"Pong Krell may intend to do good and follow the Jedi path," Ima Gun Di said, still watching the distant Jedi master. "However, his methods seem to stem from pure logic, ignoring compassion. I can understand his concerns. I knew the risks, and it turned out that I was right, and he was wrong. But it could just as easily have gone the other way." He explained this to both the Padawan and Master Luminara, with Luminara now focusing on him.

"Do you believe he truly follows the Jedi path?" Luminara asked.

"It's difficult to say, Master Luminara," Ima Gun Di replied softly. "In the end, I feel he wants to protect life like any of us, but he might be walking a different path. Perhaps that's why the High Council sent the three of us together like this. You and I think similarly, Master Luminara, but Pong Krell has his own approach. We are all Jedi Masters, but we still have much to learn."

"That makes sense. We cover his lack of compassion, and he covers us with his dueling skills and tactical thinking—if the time comes," Luminara remarked, seeing some logic in the arrangement, though she still didn't like it much.

As time passed, they managed to break down the ship's logs and examine its travels. It seemed the ship had visited many of the planets affected by the influence of the cult. They found entries mentioning "Paragon Materials," a mineral located deep within the planet. It was so deep that even eruptions wouldn't bring it to the surface at first—until a miner discovered the first batch, and suddenly more and more of it appeared. The miners saw this strange new mineral as a potential goldmine, selling it to various buyers for all kinds of purposes. However, many of the sales were in small quantities, and there was no record of the ship traveling to some of the buyers or who were they. They would need to find the selling log, which wasn't onboard;

During this time, the flagship's command tried to establish communications with the planet's surface but received no response. The dome cities were silent, and for that reason, the flagship remained out of the atmosphere, wary of the possibility that cultists might have gained control of artillery that could target them or cause damage. With no information about the current state of the cities, making a decision was difficult. Thus, a scout group was dispatched to secure a landing zone for future troop deployment. The squad consisted of Barriss, Ima Gun Di, and the Wolf Squad, their mission was also to rescue and secure civilians if they found any.

While this happened, Pong Krell and a small batch of Clones would be at ready to give support if needed and Luminara would stay in the ship to observe all from above and give instructions to both Jedi masters as best as she could.