SHE COULDN'T FALL ASLEEP that night. While Master Plo Koon rested along with the Clones, Jedi Knight Cora Jakin stared at the stars, mind wandering the galaxy. But the shuffle of armour alerted her to the man behind her. Commander Thorn woke from his slumber and made his way to her side. "You should be sleeping," He told her softly, helmet held at his side. "Fang was supposed to have watch."

Cora didn't take her eyes off of the stars. "I told him to get some sleep. You guys need it more than I do."

"General-"

"I told you to call me Cora, Thorn," She smiled at him softly through her peripherals. "And it's alright. I couldn't sleep anyway," She turned her head fully to look at the Clone. "Care to sit with me?"

Commander Thorn looked taken aback for a split second before nodding and taking at seat on the rock next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, eyes on the sky. Then, Cora spoke, "Do you feel it?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Gen- Cora," Thorn tilted his head.

Slowly, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing her energy to pulsate from her core. "The galaxy...it feels different. Something is happening," Commander Thorn did not respond and something shifted in the night. Cora opened her eyes. "Commander?"

A blaster fired and she just barely managed to block it with her blue blade. "Traitor!" Commander Thorn bellowed, its echoes amplifying into a chorus of Clones.

Another blaster shot at her chest and Cora woke up in a cold sweat. She wasn't there, it was just another dream. Order 66 had happened years ago.

Her throat was dry from the desert air. She looked around the cave she had set up camp in -- fire a pile of ash and her belongings tucked neatly beside her. From the cave's mouth, sunlight crept in. It was a welcomed sight to the woman.

With aching bones she stood and collected her gear. She placed her blaster back in its holster, along with some small charge bombs. In her back, Cora could hear the hum of her lightsaber and the kyber crystal within it, calling her to use it once more.

But she refused it, as she always had done since the Purge. Not even under the pursuit of Inquisitors would she use it. Not after she broke the Jedi Code.

Taking a deep breath, she kicked and scattered the ashes of her fire into the sand and set foot out of the cave. The blinding Jakku sun pierced her eyes as she began her journey off of the planet.

Even in the uninhabited desert, Cora kept a hand on her blaster. The Inquistors knew how to exploit her blind spots in the Force -- they had done it before on Batuu -- but they would no longer would get the best of her.

But the intense heat drained Cora quickly of her energy. She was not made for the weather of desert planets. The wind did its best to blow sand into her eyes as she trudged along, causing her to pull her bandana up further. The next port was not far, a few clicks away, but Cora felt as though she might collapse into the sand below.

Her Jedi training, however, taught her to persevere even in the toughest of situations. She collected her breath and steadied her wobbling feet, feeling her center and the midiclorians that flowed through it, until the feeling of strain and stress floated away into the galaxy above.

And so, she pushed through the blazing heat until she reached the entrance of a small port. Her ride would be waiting for her along with the possibility of freedom. Her bandana was pulled down as she strolled through. It was quiet, but the crowd around a round building indicated the location of the Cantina. Her contact would be waiting there.

Head held high, she strolled passed the patrons into the establishment. The music was loud and games of Sabacc were being played inside. Cora headed to the bar, maned by a rusted and run-down Protocol Droid. "A glass of Abrax," She told it.

"Coming r-right up," The Droid said, voice box sparking. Cora watched closely as it poured the drink before it gave it to her. "T-Two credits, please."

Wordlessly, Cora slid two gold pieces across the counter and took her drink. Her back to the bar, she scanned the room and its patrons, looking for the signal -- the call of a Wookiee.

She had no idea what her contact looked like. Though the call of a Wookiee implied who it could be, there was no guarantee. But then, it faintly caught her ear, the familiar 'grr'. Her eyes desperately searched the room, until they landed on a booth, hidden away from all of the Cantina's commotion, with the shadowy outline of a Wookiee.

Calmly, Cora stood, downing her Abrax and placing the glass back on the bar before she slipped through the crowd. She reached the table. Her Wookiee contact barely fit in it. "Are you Less?" She asked.

A translator was pulled from his pocket and placed to his mouth. He began to speak. "I am. Mira, I presume?"

Cora nodded at the fake name and sat across from him. "Is the transport ready?" She lowered her voice as she spoke.

Less nodded. "Just waiting on your credits."

"Of course," She nodded and turned her eyes away from him to take the credits she had been saving out from her bag. That was her mistake. In her left ear, she heard the unmistakable sound of a blaster being cocked. "Dank farrik..." She cursed under her breath.

She moved slowly to grab either her blaster or a charge bomb, whatever she found first, but then her armed seized. Cora could not move it no matter how much she strained. It could only mean one thing -- Inquisitors.

"Jedi Knight Cora Jakin..." A voice drawled through the Cantina, one that seeped through her pores and chilled her to the bone.

Slowly, she raised her head, flickering her eyes between the Wookiee and him. "Grand Inquisitor."

The Pau'an dawned in black armour smirked, his double-bladed lightsaber held at his front, a warning for Cora. "Did you really think you could escape us?"

Us. Cora's eyes flickered to the entrance of the Cantina where the hulking Ninth Sister stood, arms crossed. "I've done it before."

The Grand Inquisitor scoffed. "Lord Vader grows tired of your insolence. Comply or..." One red blade extended from its hilt.

Cora rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't be so tired if you did your jobs."

The Ninth Sister roared and came stomping over. "How dare you!" The red glow grew as her lightsaber was ignited as well.

Though Cora was now more boxed in by the three figures, the entrance and her exit was open. Her eyes darted between them all. "You don't expect me to just come with you, do you?"

The Grand Inquisitor shook his head curtly. "Your little escapades end here, Jedi."

Cora narrowed her eyes as he called her a title she did not deserve. "I'm no Jedi." With a quick tug, her blaster was in her hand and a shot was fired into the chest of the Wookiee. The Inquistors jumped on her, blades swinging. Cora slipped under the table and began her dash to the door.

"Get her!" She heard the Grand Inquisitor yell from behind, followed by the heavy footsteps of the Ninth Sister running.

Cora did not look back as she shot her blaster behind her, dodging tables and patrons that jumped out of the way. But then a forceful push flung her into the air and into a wall. She felt a few ribs break on impact. And in her pain and disorientation, the Ninth Sister pounced and before Cora could even get up, the heat of a lightsaber was at her neck. Clutching her side, she looked up at the woman who used to be her equal. "You've changed, Masana."

"You haven't, Cora." The Ninth sister growled.

"Ninth sister, enough!" The Grand Inquisitor barked and the Ninth Sister rose, but kept the tip of her lightsaber at Cora's chest. The Grand Inquisitor came into view, binders in one hand, saber in the other. "Surrender...or die."

Cora took a deep breath and winced as her broken ribs poked her lungs. Could this be her end? Surrender or die, either way, Cora Jakin would cease to exist. It might be better for the Galaxy, she thought. Slowly, she raised her wrists together and lowered her head.

"A noble choice," The Grand Inquisitor sighed. But as he placed the binders on her wrists, a jolt shot through Cora's body, from toe to head, and her eyes rolled back into her skull. She began to seize.

As the Inquisitors did their best to drag her to their ship, Cora could see the whole galaxy. Then, one planet. The Force told her what it was.

Mandalore.

Inside Mandalore, something beckoned her. Underground, beneath its ruins, was water.

The Living Waters, the Force once again told her.

She saw herself there, bathing in the waters, Master Yoda and Plo Koon by her side. She was a Jedi once again.

With a gasp, she awoke in a holding cell, bandages around her torso. She would not remain there. She would escape and regain what she had lost in the Living Waters of Mandalore.

AUTHORS NOTE

AHHH hi guys! I hope you liked your introduction to the one and only Cora Jakin! She is probably one of my favourite recent OC's and honestly this fic is gonna be so good and really devastating. PLease stick around, I promise it's worth it!