…Datapad corrupted. Unable to recover draft files.

Well frak. Too much going on with getting our cell up & running right now to do a complete rewrite, so I'll summarize for posterity. Some details are easily remembered without needing written reminders anyhow, like Pitr's suite and my “earpiece falling out.”

Right, so a quick thought that memorable evening… I'm starting to think I might be well-served to consider the “femme fatale” role, though I'll need to be more disciplined about it in the future. I'm still not a fan of D'Gane's methods, but maybe there is an angle there worth exploring. I'm not sure how thrilled Baron might be about the idea, but then he's got his eyes elsewhere by now anyhow… and if not, well, one bridge at a time. We're entering a war, and keeping ourselves ahead & alive will likely require “alternative” tactics. Easier to keep the team alive if we're not always going in with our guns blazing, after all.

Anyhow… things didn't quite turn out as expected on the Balmorran Star, but in the end it worked out. Mostly. Tor demonstrated surprising adaptability and resourcefulness (though I shouldn't really be surprised), not to mention toughness - from his retelling it sounds like quite an ordeal he went through. Thank the stars he made it okay! And Varentari seems to be on the same side of us – if not, he's willing to nearly die to fool us, which seems unlikely. Swift seems less trusting of the governor's intentions, but what option do we have really anyhow? Varentari knows at least some about my & Swift's powers (not to mention all those that saw me saber-fight while defending the governor), and much about our cell's operations, so he could seemingly easily call the Empire down on us if he'd really want to. We need to be cautious in our dealings with him, but he seems a good ally to have.

I'm less sure about the governor's plans for Balmorra though. I think he's going to need more help from us than he thinks if the planet's population is to make it through the upcoming rebellion. The Empire will bring everything they can to bear once that shield goes up - they won't stand for a symbol of defiance. It's going to take all of us working in coordination to pull it off AND survive, and we're going to need more people dedicated to the rebellion to make it happen. Much needs done in the months ahead before Varentari's plan can be triggered.

35:04:10 - 21;13

Things are progressing relatively well now that we've been back on Balmorra for a time. The newly-arrived recruits are tackling their training with gusto (the males a bit too much so, at least when I'm doing the training… as if I don't know what they're trying to do, ha!). Hard to believe not long ago that was me! Hopefully Sprend & I are a less hard on morale than my instructors were though. Still… there aren't enough (yet also somehow too many – how can I possibly hope to keep all these new faces alive in the upcoming firestorm?!).

I'm still conflicted about my role as commanding officer here – it's what I trained for, but again, the pressure to get the job done yet also somehow see to the safety of those trusting me is more than I'd imagined. Still, the job needs done, since even more will be harmed if it's not… I just hope I'm up to it.

And with the new responsibility all our team has comes the need to be more proactive. So far we've mostly been on our heels, striking back at the Empire. Now we need to think of ways to strike first, and disrupt them before they can disrupt us. Swift & I will be spending much time considering plans for just that purpose.

And on that note… I'd best step away from the datapad, time for another round of training and meetings.