Purge (Star Wars)

Hyperspace

She worries about Cal and if he is growing too attached to Ilyana. How much could that compromise him? Could the threat of losing her eventually be enough to send him down the path to the Dark Side? Attachments are always a risk for Jedi. The thought of losing another Jedi to the Dark Side, of becoming what Trilla had become, crushes her. Trilla. Her padawan who she thought she was protecting had fallen into the hands of the Empire. Tortured, corrupted, twisted by the Empire into a monster, into an Inquisitor, Second Sister. She had failed to protect her during the Purge, failed to bring her back when they had infiltrated the Fortress, and watched her fall to Darth Vader's blade. Would she fail Cal too?

Forced into the life of a child soldier during the Clone Wars, Cal seems to feel that he must make up for his years of hiding on Bracca by continuing to fight. He knows there's more to being a Jedi than being a weapon but can't seem to see any other path forward. But how long can they fight? How much can they truly accomplish in the face of something as tremendous as the Empire? They must find a way to lay a foundation for future Jedi. Something that can truly endure after they are gone.

Her mind wanders to Quinlan. How many others out there are doing what he does? Is there a way to save the Jedi Order from the shadows? When the holocron was destroyed, she had lost her purpose. She had followed Cal from one mission to the next as he tried to hurt the Empire in any way he could but how much had they actually accomplished? The Inquisition is still going strong, Ilyana is proof of that.

Cere had to admit that Cal had been right to send Adia away. It wasn't safe on their ship. Not as long as he insisted on continuing to fight. She had hoped that this diversion from attacking fuel depots and interrupting supply lines would have given him the chance to reassess their purpose but, as he had said himself, it had only made him more determined.

She throws her hands up and rubs at the pain growing in her temples then finally gives up trying to sleep. She sits up and plants her bare feet flat on the floor beside her bunk. Meditating is usually the first thing she does when thoughts are bothering her like this but right now her body needs to move so she stands, peers out the porthole for a moment then walks quietly out of the room.

In the hallway she pauses listening to the sounds of the ship then takes a step through the open door to the engine room. Cal is asleep alone in his cot. For a moment she considers waking him to try again to change his mind, change his course but instead turns away and walks to the common area.

Only two or three steps into the galley she comes to an abrupt stop. She is not the only one unable to sleep. Ilyana stands at the holotable, her back to Cere, looking at the holoprojection of a planet. She presses a button and the image crackles, dissolves then reforms into the image of another planet. Cere watches as Ilyana repeats this several times, each new planet illuminating the room, and with each new planet Cere becomes more and more suspicious. What is she doing? What is she looking for? Was I right from the beginning and this person, this Purge Trooper cannot be trusted? What would her betrayal do to Cal? She curses herself for letting her guard down because it would only take one moment, one decision, one action to destroy everything they have. As these thoughts run through her mind the familiar feeling of fear and anger rises inside of her and threatens to take control. In that one overwhelming moment she doesn't notice that the images have stopped changing and Ilyana is looking directly at her. Cere's breath catches in her throat.

"I thought I felt someone watching me," Ilyana sighs. "You're as tense as a Skungus. Is something wrong?"

"What are you doing?" Cere asks so coldly it came out as a demand.

Ilyana turns away and stares pensively at the planet glowing above the holotable, "I was thinking about something Seventh Sister said to me back on the cruiser. Things she could only know if she had read my file...my whole file. I've tried not to think about it; figured the Empire purged the files long ago. I assumed there was nothing left or that it was buried so deep that no one would know it had ever been there."