Ten years, first month, and eleventh day after the Battle of Yavin...
Or the forty-fifth year, first month, and eleventh day after the Great Resynchronization.
(Seven months and thirty-first day since the arrival).
There are unpleasant situations.
There are awkward situations.
And there are those that combine both concepts.
A sound signal from the holocomm informed Captain Pryl that her device was ready to connect her via hyperspace link to the subscriber, possibly at the far end of the galaxy.
"Defender Fodeum Sabre De'Luz, can't we hurry this up somehow?" she asked, feeling masculine hands on her chin.
"Yes, of course, of course," along with the words came the light menthol scent of the fresh breath of the Jensaarai Defender. "Just... The helmet clasp is jammed."
"You could just not fasten the helmet to your head," Tanda said, controlling her irritation.
"I could," the Jensaarai agreed. "If you weren't trying to peek through the opaque visor, tilting the helmet in different directions."
"I needed to see the target!"
"The point of the exercise is not to see the training orb with your eyes," the Jensaarai patiently repeated his mantra. "You have the Force for that, and that's exactly what you should use."
"Yes, I know, I know," Tanda nervously drummed her fingers on her knees. "Are you done yet?"
"Not quite," the Jensaarai's voice and breath indicated he was trying his best. "But I'm in the process."
"Defender, do you realize who's trying to reach me on my personal holocomm?" Tanda clarified.
The fingers at her chin froze.
"I think your husband will understand..." the man said uncertainly. "We're not doing anything treasonous in your cabin."
Oh, you just had to say that.
"A middle-aged woman with an opaque-visored helmet on her head, sitting on the bed, completely at the mercy of a man armed with a lightsaber and clad in intimidating armor. And that matte-black cloak that emphasizes your mysteriousness..." Tanda said in a conspiratorial tone, regretting that she couldn't enjoy her interlocutor's reaction in person.
Well, now, truly, from the intonations and behavior, she knew exactly that beneath that ornate armor and mask hid a very young man, easily embarrassed by such a thought.
"Fuck!" the Jensaarai exclaimed, pulling away from her.
For a moment, Tanda imagined the man standing before her blushing, embarrassed, turning into a young star emitting all kinds of radiation.
It seemed she had finally used the Force as the Jensaarai Defender required.
"Are you all right, Defender De'Luz?" Tanda asked, barely suppressing a smile, invitingly licking her lips.
Oh yes, now he was even more embarrassed.
She could literally feel the waves of awkwardness emanating from him, which he kept trying to contain.
"Yes-yes, all good," he said stumblingly. "Just broke the clasp when I imagined that... Though, of course, I saw that movie that started the same way, but there it was Darth Vader..."
And now Tanda, despite being at least ten years older than her interlocutor, his words embarrassed the seasoned commander of a Star Destroyer.
"The clasp," Fodeum reminded. "I broke it, so..."
"Thank you," Captain Pryl coughed, removing the opaque helmet from her head, in which, per the tenets of the Jensaarai Order, she was supposed to "feel the Force."
Well, yes, she felt it.
Not like before, as if déjà vu, but more meaningfully, consciously... And embarrassed.
Fixing her disheveled locks, the woman headed to her personal holocomm:
"You're free, Defender De'Luz. Take your training gear—we'll continue awakening the Force in me another time," she said, activating the encrypted comm device to higher command and not at all surprised by who exactly wanted to speak with her. "Grand Admiral, sir, apologies for the delay. Unforeseen circumstances arose."
And immediately mentally cursed herself for blurting it all out like a tongue-twister, like a drowning man emptying his lungs of spent air rising from the depths.
Behavior unworthy of a Star Destroyer commander with her command experience and ability to put an opponent in their place in dialogue with just words.
"Captain Pryl," the Grand Admiral's hologram remained impassive. "Report on the progress of the exercises."
"Thunderflare," after being thoroughly poked and prodded by technicians and engineers at the Tangrene shipyards, had been at the southern borders of the Oplovis sector for several weeks now, not far from the trade world of Ketaris.
At present, the Star Destroyer, along with patrolling the state border, was delivering cadets from several academies to their training base in this part of the sector.
Pilots, armored vehicle crews, and an extremely small, almost shameful number of stormtroopers.
After Sluis Van, the "white boys" on board each Star Destroyer numbered no more than a single battalion, instead of the regiment with all attached weaponry and equipment per Imperial standards—command was thinly spreading available forces across combat-capable ships.
With the sole exception of "Chimaera," which housed the 501st Guard Legion.
Though, rumor has it, some of its assault units have already been transferred to "Imperial"-class Star Destroyers modernized under the "Triad" program.
"The pilots practiced maneuvers on interceptors and assault gunboats during the previous course change," Tanda reported. "Average rating 'satisfactory,' but too many laggards. If you want my opinion, those boys will die in their first fight against pilots who have any piloting skills. I recommend returning the recruits to 'training' and giving the instructor responsible for their preparation a proper dressing-down. The cadets can barely execute basic flight maneuvers. The army units haven't undergone combat checks yet, but I don't think they're any better than the pilots. That's my opinion, sir."
"I hear you," Thrawn's voice didn't change, but something—perhaps even the Force, which she possesses per Defender Fodeum's conviction—told her: the commander of "Thunderflare" wasn't far from the truth. "I have a new assignment for you and your subordinates."
The commander of "Thunderflare" perked up, not even thinking to hide it, leaning forward.
"Your target is the Smarck system in the Cadmium sector, south of your current position."
Tanda gave no sign of her agitation.
But still inquired:
"Imperial Space territory, sir?"
"Precisely, Captain Pryl," Thrawn replied. "You must proceed to the system, deploy reconnaissance drones, and take control of the sectoral relay. No one and nothing must know you've infiltrated Imperial Space."
Another mission that "never happened."
And this time—against Imperial Space.
On one of the Dominion's most powerful "Imperials," with the best crew, horribly diluted with absolute greenhorns, somehow deemed worthy to leave the metropolitan defense forces and join the ranks of the regular fleet...
And to conduct reconnaissance to boot...
What could go wrong?
"Sir, I take it there's no one else but us?" Pryl clarified.
"Precisely, Captain," Thrawn replied. "For that reason, you must ensure only reconnaissance and prevent the comm equipment from operating, not conduct a full assault."
"Understood, sir," Tanda replied.
An order was an order.
She needed to apply maximum effort so her crew accomplished the task flawlessly and didn't botch the operation.
Because, as the ship commander suspected, instead of them, the assault on Smarck would be carried out by far more substantial forces. Whatever had caught the Grand Admiral's attention, enough to violate the Imperial Space border and conduct a military operation under Orinda's nose, would be followed by a full-scale invasion after "Thunderflare's" actions.
Interesting, how does the Dominion plan to deny involvement afterward?
You can't bring Star Destroyers into a hostile system and then say it wasn't you dropping stormtroopers.
Well, let command worry about that, not her.
"It will be done," she said. "End transmission, sir."
"End transmission, Captain Pryl," Thrawn replied. "And to you, Defender Fodeum Sabre De'Luz."
With those words, the hologram of the Dominion's Supreme Commander faded, forcing Tanda to slowly turn in her chair.
Her gaze fixed on the Jensaarai Defender standing motionless behind her, who, meeting her eyes, began uncertainly shifting from foot to foot.
"I told you to leave my cabin, Defender," the Star Destroyer commander said in an icy tone, nearly yelling at the thought of what Thrawn might think of her.
"That's true, ma'am," the Force-sensitive forced out. "And you said to take my things, to continue next time."
"So what's the problem?" Tanda snapped this time, jumping from her chair.
And felt something round, dense, and not very heavy fall onto her feet.
The young woman looked down, seeing the helmet with the closed visor lying on the floor.
"You didn't give me the helmet," the Defender explained. "I wanted to remind you, but you were already talking to the Grand Admiral, so interrupting your conversation would be quite rude..."
"Bantha poodoo," Tanda thought.
Good thing Thrawn wasn't a gossip, and rumors wouldn't spread through the regular fleet.
That she, Tanda Pryl, commander of "Thunderflare," one of the most celebrated commanders of the Imperial Starfleet and "Death Squadron," not only develops her nascent Force abilities.
But for some reason fails to answer the Supreme Commander's call in time, with a young Jensaarai in her cabin...
"Take the helmet and get out, Defender," Tanda forced out, furious and flustered at once.
Lucky Fodeum was here for her training and not in direct subordination.
Sent by Thrawn personally to train her...
Otherwise, she'd definitely face inquiry for relations with a subordinate.
And that would undoubtedly cost her the career she'd built with such effort in recent years.
Tanda straightened her tunic.
Thrawn wasn't a fool; he'd surely understand it was just a coincidence and nothing untoward.
He was beskar himself, married to "Chimaera," and certainly wouldn't think anything like that.
***
An interesting composition.
A female Destroyer commander, a young Jensaarai in her cabin.
Didn't answer the call for a long time, and in the frame, her hair was slightly disheveled...
One's mind would first jump to thoughts of an office romance and unseemly activities, which is why the holocomm didn't activate in time.
But all that's nonsense.
Everything that happened is uncharacteristic of such obvious thoughts.
But it does provoke other reflections.
The Jedi Order was formed by taking young children from their parents.
And that led to no small number of rumors, innuendos, scandals in society.
The Order's opponents used this propaganda to blacken the Jedi, and it worked quite well.
But there are other examples.
Corellian Jedi and many other Force-studying organizations didn't follow such recruitment methods.
They were loyal to marriages among their members and accepted children for upbringing as pupils.
This tradition was continued by the New Jedi Order in the events I know, where Jedi married each other, raised Force-sensitive children, and there were no recruitment problems that plagued Jedi in the Old Republic era.
Yes, not quickly, not particularly powerful, but the New Order Jedi overcame quite a few crises.
And seeing a Force-sensitive woman and a Jensaarai in one frame was like an epiphany for me.
After all, current Jensaarai are essentially descendants of the first Jensaarai who split from the Old Jedi Order.
And their stance on marriages and children is the same as that of the Corellian Jedi.
I had no intention of violating it, having earlier seen only positive potential—Luke Skywalker and his Jedi managed somehow.
They essentially learned by banging heads against walls, while we have Jedi relics and holocrons from times when Jedi didn't disdain using the Dark Side alongside the Light, hardly separating them but maintaining balance.
And that only positively influences the Jensaarai Order's development.
Tanda Pryl, per Bre'ano Umakk who tested her, isn't strongly gifted enough to become a Jensaarai.
That is, she's slightly more sensitive to the Force than a typical sentient.
Something similar is true for Tiberos.
I'm no expert in genetics and eugenics, but let's think rationally.
When the Yuuzhan Vong arrived in the galaxy, only Jedi could fight them on somewhat equal terms and resist various mental biotechnological connections and such.
Hence, they became a desirable target.
And eventually, Luke Skywalker, fighting the Yuuzhan Vong leader, concluded that the Force is One and there are no Light and Dark Sides, just a way of perceiving the world.
No, not in the sense of Sith adopting Jedi philosophy or vice versa.
That postulate turned into something... gray and ugly that I never fully understood.
Because the Jedi remained true to the Light Side and continued opposing the Sith when they deigned to appear.
But, oddly, this new philosophical worldview—the Unifying Force—gave the Jedi strength to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong.
The Jensaarai, however, profess a similar tactic and philosophy from the start.
But there are too few of them.
The invasion in the events I know will happen in fifteen standard years.
And if we try hard, we can increase numbers without sacrificing training quality.
We just need to turn a blind eye to pairings of gifted with ungifted.
Or weakly gifted.
Without, of course, going to extremes, like forbidding a Dark Guard human, Reynar Obscuro, from continuing his relationship with his companion Vex, who hails from the Twi'lek species, and by biological laws, they can't have common offspring.
Yes, in Disney canon, such hybridization is possible, but praise the Force, events are unfolding such that we understand—I'm not in that tolerant universe run by the "House of Mouse."
Which opens space for maneuvers in parallel crossbreeding.
There are already certain "pairs."
Shohashi and Asajj Ventress, for one.
Or Tiberos and the not-quite-normal-in-male-attention-and-personal-attachments Leonia Tavira.
Possibly something between Sabre De'Luz and Captain Pryl, though she's ten to fifteen years older.
But for this galaxy, where human species can live without issue for a hundred to a hundred fifty years, such relationships and even marriages don't seem absurd or condemned by society.
There's a small group of Jensaarai— no more than five Defenders, analogs to Jedi Knights—whom the Mon Calamari instructor trained in suitable Jedi knowledge, including from the holocron found by the late Master Eymand on Ossus.
Another thirty or so Jensaarai pupils of various ages continue training.
This includes some Dathomirian witches who wished to join us, as well as representatives of the Ysanna people from Ossus, descendants of ancient Jedi who survived Exar Kun's destruction of the planet nearly four thousand years ago.
There's young Kyp Durron, who was far from weak in the Force in the events I know.
Mara Jade also became a capable Jedi after proper training.
There's also Ahsoka Tano, from whom there's been no word for a long time. I hope that's a good sign, indicating she's learning Dark Side knowledge directly from an ancient and powerful Sith Lord.
That she might "turn" and become a Sith—I don't even consider as a hypothesis.
The Togruta has developed self-control over the years, so no doubt she'll not be fooled.
She must gain deeper knowledge of the Dark Side than what we have, to pass it to other Jensaarai.
Returning to Jensaarai selection...
Can a Togruta and other species have common offspring?
I don't know.
But it's worth finding out to decide whether to "match" her with someone who could potentially become her romantic interest.
Yes, sounds repulsive, outright matchmaking.
But manipulating subordinates is the basis of management.
I'm not going to force anyone to work as "bull studs."
Let them decide if they suit each other.
And this applies to all pairs without exception—existing and hypothetical.
So morally, the "matchmaking" issue doesn't bother me.
I won't even mention Mol and Aurra Sing—their situation is unclear.
The first likely can't continue his line at all, and Captain Tiberos's mother prefers work and enjoys contract killings.
Stop.
Let's fix that thought.
Pairing gifted and ungifted to increase the former's numbers is a matter of further strategy.
Because even if in fifteen years we have young, well-trained Jensaarai children, sending them to the front to fight battle-hardened Yuuzhan Vong...
Mildly put—a huge folly.
In the events I know, the New Jedi Order already attempted such an operation—many promising youths died, were captured with subsequent mind-twisting, or wounded.
Jacen Solo was captured, and the tortures inflicted helped him understand the Yuuzhan Vong.
But they also paved his way to the Dark Side.
My plans don't include a brother fallen into madness being killed by his own sister, as happened in those events.
I have special plans for those twins.
The third child of the Solo family, Anakin Solo, died in the aforementioned young Jedi operation against the Yuuzhan Vong.
And the boy was quite promising.
Which again confirms the problem—sending children to the front is categorically undesirable.
From a practical standpoint—the more Jensaarai children die without realizing their potential in Dominion service, the harder it will be to speak of them as guarantors of justice protection in the Dominion.
Therefore, the issue of training and recruiting candidates for the Jensaarai Order, aimed at having trained fighters by the invasion, must be solved differently, not by permitting (mostly non-interfering) "be fruitful and multiply."
Hm.
An frankly unnecessary "moment of humor" that's been hitting me more and more lately.
To the point or not.
No need to "let go of the reins" of self-control.
Thinking about that, I looked at the barbell grip frozen before my face.
And how long have I been holding it like that, lost in thought?
A minute? Two? Five?
Resuming the bench press, I returned to my interrupted thoughts.
So, non-prohibition of marriages is a strategic path.
Capable of filling the Dominion's Jensaarai Order with Defenders in twenty years.
But I need trained, gifted fighters and Force specialists in fifteen years.
Ideally—in ten.
In truth—no objection if we manage to lure to our side already partially trained Jedi or former Padawans, because betting that Jensaarai will only be needed against Yuuzhan Vong is wrong.
There's also Palpatine, and his minions.
The Shadow Guard was created to counter him, but it's extremely small and currently handles only tasks eliminating the mad clone's accomplices.
Per Obscuro, he had a vision that they'd all die opposing the Emperor.
If so, we need to substantially increase the number of experienced Jensaarai.
Hoping the Order will help with that is foolish.
Bre'ano Umakk barely managed to train five—and those were already trained pupils who just needed proper development.
New Jensaarai pupils are essentially blank slates, requiring far more work.
Thus, unlikely they'll be combat-ready by the needed time.
Moreover, don't forget the nascent Alliance has its own Jedi, even without Skywalker.
Kyle Katarn, who defeated one of Palpatine's strongest minions, Jerec, just over four years ago.
And his gang.
Rahm Kota—a Jedi with command talent.
And Galen Marek.
Clone or original, but who shamed both Darth Vader and Palpatine himself in open combat.
Can't discount that.
Nor the possibility of other Marek clones preserved somewhere in the galaxy.
So, "Given" and "Find" categories are formed.
The question is in the "Solution."
If I want trained adult Jensaarai Defenders in ten years, I need at minimum to recruit now Force-sensitive teens like Kyp Durron.
Or adults, like Mol's pupil Streen, who can control weather.
The question—where to get them?
Answer: think.
It's the tenth year since the Battle of Yavin.
Per the events I know, in just a year, after finally defeating Palpatine's clone, Luke Skywalker will open his Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV, teaching Force-sensitives to control it.
Certain events related to Exar Kun's ghost will occur, which is why I showed no interest in Yavin IV as a Jensaarai Order base, despite the Order leadership insisting that if they meet me halfway and relocate from the moon to the metropolis, it should be a world where the Force is palpable as something greater than on Susevfi.
Otherwise, what's the point of abandoning cortosis ore and arranging another migration of an entire people?
The Noghri are different—they were ordered to relocate, they said: "Yes, our lord!"
Just keep up with transport ships and combat escorts protecting the settlers.
Anyway, that's another matter.
Back to constructive.
Muscles were starting to ache, but I understood I was approaching the puzzle's solution.
Bracket out Exar Kun's ghost on Yavin IV.
Focus on the Jedi Praxeum.
Who did Luke Skywalker teach there?
Corran Horn, whose fate is unclear.
Mara Jade, but she's on our side.
Kam Solusar, but he still serves Palpatine.
Streen—but he's with us.
Kyp Durron.
And the reprise will be the same.
Those are the most known, the ones that come to mind easily.
But there were others.
Including those not so well-known, always "secondary characters," or who turned to the Dark Side and became enemies of the Jedi and New Republic.
Why turn to the Dark Side?
Because they thought the Light Side weak and restrained their power growth.
So, let's go through the list, digging in memory.
One of Luke Skywalker's first pupils in the initial Yavin IV student batch was a man seduced by Exar Kun to study the Dark Side.
Gantoris.
Skywalker found him in adulthood, on a planet like Mustafar. Name... Something familiar-sounding. Eol Sha, I think. A world on the galaxy's known borders. More precisely, check the astro-navigation atlas.
As I recall, the guy had immense power allowing him to fight Skywalker. Whether Skywalker held back or simply couldn't win—that's separate. Main thing I remember—Gantoris outshone his Praxeum fellows early in training. Isn't that a demonstration of his potential?
Good, noted.
Moving on.
In the New Order was a Mon Calamari, Cilghal, specializing in healing. A very intriguing skill, but recruiting her is pointless. She's Admiral Ackbar's niece, and given his death's circumstances—not worth even trying.
Continue brainstorming.
Kam Solusar, when he became a Jedi, had a girlfriend, Tionne. As a Jedi—quite weak, but she found herself in archaeology, and the New Order owes many past discoveries directly to her.
Where, how, and under what circumstances she was found—I don't know.
Not "don't remember," but don't know. Because in books, I found no mention, only references. Likely, in the literary version, her meeting with Skywalker happened in comics or similar works I didn't study.
So, another candidate struck after Cilghal.
No point talking about Kyle Katarn—he's Republican to the bone. Along with Skywalker, he was another Praxeum instructor, but much later, during the Disciples of Ragnos crisis.
And that will happen four years from current events.
Stop.
Note that.
Disciples of Ragnos.
As I recall, they were organized by Skywalker's fallen pupils.
And opposed by Jedi pupils too.
I even remember two of the latter—Rosh Penin and Jaden Korr.
The latter I already recalled—in the context of Thrawn's cloning experiments with Force-sensitives.
And there's a facility to search for him—on Coruscant.
Hm...
Penin... Honestly, I know nothing about him before "Jedi Academy" game events. Never interested.
Now about the Disciples of Ragnos leaders.
One was a red-skinned Twi'lek-Lethan named... Alora. Her mentor and cult leader—a humanoid woman with bird-like hair.
Tavion.
I also recall another leader's name, but from a different Jedi problem preceding the Disciples of Ragnos.
Desann.
And about this trio, I know very little. No birth times or places—only that they trained at the Praxeum.
So another miss.
Continue memory digging.
Names surface, like a boy named Zekk, raised on Coruscant, in love with Jaina Solo.
But like with Jaden Korr, the boy is currently beyond my power and recruitment possibilities.
Good, seems I recalled all known as Praxeum students—at least early graduates.
Yes, there was also Brakiss, a youth sent by Imperials to Skywalker, but here too, identification is poor. I know nothing about him beyond what I recalled.
So, dead end.
Which doesn't suit me.
Of course, someday Agent Cross will return with the "Jedi scanner," with which Imperials detected Force-sensitives, and that will help find those I don't know—provided they live in Dominion territory.
The Jensaarai are currently pursuing active policy in state affairs—it's a kind of advertisement for the new Order.
Done so that, like in the Old and New Republic, we can announce the Order's existence and invite all willing for "suitability" checks or to bring children.
But after Imperial atrocities, making such an announcement right away... Foolish.
Need to demonstrate good intentions and firmness of gaze differing from the worldview entrenched regarding Jedi over centuries and Inquisitors—over the last nearly thirty years.
So, if I want to increase Jensaarai numbers now, I need either to seek and recruit fallen Jedi and those disillusioned with their Order, as Bre'ano Umakk insists.
In his opinion, not so few of his former comrades survived Order Sixty-Six. And there's always a chance one might join the Dominion's side.
As with Eymand, Umakk himself, and Tano.
But "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" won't work anymore.
Have to negotiate on entirely different terms.
Or intensify recruitment of Dathomirian witches and Ysanna from Ossus.
Both species have innate, intuitive understanding of the Force in their unique way.
For example, when told Ventress healed Captain Brandei with green fire, it was hard to stay indifferent.
But fact is fact—Dathomirian magic is a very intriguing study object for the Jensaarai Order.
And considering several thousand witches on Dathomir, like Ysanna on Ossus, even if one percent births a gifted child—in twenty years, we'll have a force the New Order couldn't touch.
Realizing I'd reached my physical limit, I returned the barbell to starting position and began toweling off.
So, dry summary—opportunity to recruit three potential recruits whose locations are known.
But likelihood of agreement—low.
Remains chance we'll find some Jedi on galaxy backwaters who renounced former beliefs and are open to cooperation.
Bre'ano Umakk is already on it, leaving his flock under trained Jensaarai Defenders' care.
Pity we can't get real-time intel from him, Cross, or other agents—that would completely unmask positions operating in Pentastar Alignment rear.
And all initiatives erased, missions failed, Dominion interests irreparably harmed.
Luring Inquisitors—ungrateful task.
As with Palpatine's Force-sensitive close ones.
And we need Jensaarai now—at minimum because there's opportunity to find Tyber Zann's "sleeper agents."
Need to radically revise policy on increasing Jensaarai numbers.
Though I don't know how to find some conditional future Jedi, I definitely remember places where some fallen and errant Jedi manifested.
Not to mention Force-sensitive opponents of the Skywalker family and New Republic as a whole.
Can try recruiting them.
Defenders and pupils are already in nonstop mode in filtration camps, but to substantially increase "coverage area," we'll need hundreds (or thousands) times more Force-sensitives trained in at least "one trick"—with checks for "inner aggression."
Visiting the refresher, I cleaned up, washing away exercise traces.
Habitually petted the ysalamiri, booting the workstation.
R7 chirped welcomingly, flashing photoreceptor light.
Before we arrive at the rendezvous with "Motivator" and other Star Destroyers forming the future strike group, need to issue orders to the already swamped intelligence.
And set new tasks for the young Jensaarai Order, Shadow Guard, and especially—for Mara Jade already en route.
And properly think: if Smarck has Spaarti cloning cylinders, how did they get there, and who produced and supplied them to Black Sun?
Because my engineers, even with bioengineering specialists' support, couldn't replicate our Spaarti cylinders.
At most—repair mechanical damage in those initially non-functional.
But recreate the clever invention...
No, for that (if possible at all) need minds more serious than what the Dominion currently has.