Public After Action Reports: Ilum

[Sōla Taan]

When the report came to Master Valery Noble , it was marked urgent, but it's contents were scarce.

Spoiler: URGENT

Jedi Padawan Sola Taan reported MIA. Last seen being carried into an unidentified transport by a Mandalorian with possible ties to the Enclave. The Mandalorian, Grendel Krayt, was employed by the Empire for the duration of the Invasion of Ilum. This message was intercepted from Imperial channels in regards to the Mandolorian and his Imperial ties:

Spoiler: URGENT

...Grendel defected and if anyone came for him he would ensure that they would die a violent and messy death

There was a note at the bottom:

Forward to Master Dhalinar Greystar .

 

[Silas Westgard]

Name: Silas Westgard
Log subject: Aftermath report of Ilum
Receiver: Valery Noble

//Log recording...//

On the screen sat a weary and bruised Silas, a kid who had gone through oblivion and back only hours before. He didn't speak at first, only the ice pack pressed against his heavily bruised seemed to scrunch as he adjusted himself on the seat. His cold eyes stared straight into the datapad, emotionless and careful about what to say at first.

"Silas Westgard, Jedi padawan providing a report on Ilum..." he said with his standard introduction, before taking a deep breath "Right now, I'm currently still recovering from injuries sustained from the battle. So please, bare with me"

"It all started when a gathering of padawans was ordered on Ilum, something which was first thought to be a training exercise. Although, to our surprise, it was a mission of sorts to find the source of a disturbance on the planet. From the looks of things, Master Valery was the "brainchild" behind this idea, an initiative that didn't seem well thought out come to think of it. I will come back to that later, that doesn't concern this section of my report. Anyway, as I was saying Master Valery gave us the rundown of our brief. It was the standard brief, but there was something off about the whole thing. They didn't have a clue what we were up against"

"At the time, I did not question it. I simply followed the others out into the wildness of Ilum, where we were left alone to work with each other. For a large portion of the journey, I kept close to Cailen Corso to reassure him and to keep him focused on the task at hand. I'm pleased that he made it through in the end, he still has a long life full of potential to live. Other less welcoming individuals joined us along the way like Arlo Renard , last I heard of him he had fallen into a hole. I will not repeat what he said to me as I walked away..."

"We moved forwards without the few who were stuck and made sure to store their coordinates for when we returned. Unfortunately, some of us wouldn't by the time we had finished. The first indication that there was something wrong was the tremors, which was quite unusual considering there was no report of natural occurrences happening on the day. Only when we moved forth into the caves did we find our answer in the form of an entire mining operation of the Ilum crystal mines. The empire was soon to pounce on us with our backs turned, elite troopers outnumbered our group and forced us to fight for our lives"

" Kara Jade who was beside me at the time helped me take on two troopers. One of them was a soldier who I and Master Valery had encountered before. It was almost as if she knew I was going to be there, all of us by that fact. That... that alone raised a few questions in my mind. How on Ilum did they know of our movements and we didn't know about theirs? the aaliance always had patrols and scouts to check for any disturbances from when I chatted to Master Valery for the first time. Either the masters had suffered a major flaw, or they did actually know about everything. For my sake, I hope it isn't the latter."

"The fellow padawan dragged me into the tunnel systems to stretch the opposing force and drag some into the caves to take on ourselves. It was working perfectly, but when we were going to spring an ambush the tunnels caved in. If it wasn't for Kara pushing me into the open, I would have been crushed under the rocks. I tried digging her out with everything I had, but when the soldiers confronted me my emotions were all over the place. I-I wasn't myself at that time, and in all honesty, I haven't been for a while..."

"I rushed the trooper with nothing but destruction on my mind. I've never felt more willing to kill someone in my entire life than at that time. The training I received for self control seemed to fly out the window and so did me. That alone was the thing that almost got me killed, without Kara coming back to chase them away I probably would have died right there and then. I owe her my life in more ways than one, and the least I could do was help carry her out of the tunnel system to get treated by the medics. Without each other, who knew what would have happened."

"Coming to the end of my report, there are still more questions than answers in my eyes. For now, I will save them for my Master, who I'm sure will see to my concerns after seeing this"

"Everything was just a mess..."

//Log ended...//

 

[Ichika Masudo]

♪ Embers - Max Richter ♪​

Jedi Temple, Ilum
Several hours after the Battle of Ilum...

Once her kneecap was back where it was meant to be, and started on a course of bacta patches and bandaging, sleep came in a small stretch of hours, rather than the collection of all-too-short naps she jolted awake from more often than not. By the time she had gathered rest to the point that she couldn't sleep further, it was the middle of the night, and she was alone with her thoughts. Someone had come by, and she asked for a 'pad to do her after-action report, by text:

Masters,

Allow me to start this by saying... if not for the lessons and training given by my father, and my master, and the assistance of my fellow padawan, @Ariana Du Couteau, I may very well have suffered far worse from our encounter in the primary crystal cavern of Ilum. I am fortunate... no, blessed, that I got away only with minor injuries. Looking around at and hearing from my peers, the same could not be said, and it's... difficult to not feel anger on their behalf.

She lowered the pad, and took a slow, deep breath in and out, then continued her report.

But there is also a lot on my mind. You may not be aware, but a significant portion of my life has been marked by Imperials being our allies - my father took care to honour their contributions to the security of our nation in our many discussions - so I admit, that they aren't now has been a difficult thing to parse, made no less simple by the Imperial that attacked us as soon as our presence was discovered.

This soldier ( @Kriegan Tavlar ) was none other than the son of the Imperator, Irveric Tavlar. Unfortunately, only the surname was given, but

Ichika lowered the pad, seeing clearly in her mind the face of the Imperial, kneeling in the ice. Her brow knit, a small measure of concern over his words, then, working into her face, but she pressed on.

he removed his helmet at the end of our fight, presumably to better catch his breath, and when I looked at his face... I can tell you there is absolutely no mistake as to who he is. He was a young man, appearing close to me in age, and so exactingly alike in features to his father that it was quite honestly haunting. While this man is largely responsible for my injuries, I did leave him with a number of his own, but I feel awful about it. I feel just as awful for how easy it was to cut down his men. How hard I hit ( my knee is squarely my own fault) in anger. How I just... slipped too easily into what I know, and acted on instinct, without thought. How to exploit weak points. The fastest paths to end a fight.

I feel conflicted. Worried over my own anger. Nothing about this was right.

Concerned,

-Ichika Masudo

Jedi Padawan ​

Once she was done, she sent the report off, and reclined with the device in her lap... wishing it was her cat, instead, her thoughts a whirlwind. There was always something so calming about petting an animal.

Valery Noble

​

​