Aleann Cilghal (Jedi Renaissance)

"I have served as a healer, a diplomat and an instructor of children. I serve the Order, the Republic and the Confederacy. But my service is dictated by the will of the Force, and I shall never compromise it for any government or organization."

- Cilghal

Cilghal was a female Mon Calamari Jedi Master who served the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic during the Order Renaissance following the Clone Wars. A student of the famed Chief Healer Bardan Jusik, Cilghal would eventually serve in the same position as her former master and eventually served on the Council of Reassignment for several years.

Early life
A niece of the Republic's Grand Admiral Gial Ackbar, Cilghal was a Force-sensitive Mon Calamri from Dac and was inducted into the Jedi Order at an early age at the instruction of her uncle. Training on Ossus, Cilghal studied at the academy in Knossa for several years until the age of thirteen when she was selected for one-on-one training by Bardan Jusik, the Watchman of Mandalore. Traveling to Sundari, Cilghal lived there for two years as she trained under the knowledgeable healer and medic. When Master K'Kruhk came to ask Jusik to take over the role of Chief Healer on Coruscant, Cilghal joined him on the Republic's capital world at the Jedi Temple's Halls of Healing. Studying within the vast halls, Cilghal enjoyed applying her healing abilities in different ways, mastering the use of healing crystals and marveling at the soothing techniques of the other healers. When not in the Halls of Healing, Cilghal would pour over medical journals in the Temple Archives at the urging of Jusik. During a discussion with Chief Archivist Kranor Fel, Cilghal was convinced to study politics while at the Temple because the academy there focused on political teachings.

Finding that she had a knack for politics, Cilghal decided to study both diplomacy and the healing arts while stationed on Coruscant. With her master's blessings, Cilghal embarked on a two year course with the Order's Diplomatic Corps and worked through an intensive program of interplanetary politics. Following her time with the DiploCorps, Cilghal worked on and off in the Galactic Senate as an aide to the Order's embassy there and assisted members of the Council of Reconciliation with their paperwork and other clerical duties. During her time there Cilghal formed a close relationship with Supreme Chancellor Meana Tills and her Secretary of Defense, Grand Admiral Gial Ackbar. Spending many long hours discussing politics with the Chancellor and her uncle, Cilghal's relationship with the Office of the Supreme Chancellor did not go unnoticed by the Council of Reconciliation who commended her on her work in the Senate. When it came time to craft her own lightsaber, Cilghal used a Ultima-Pearl from Dac gifted to her by her uncle as a focusing crystal.

When the battles in Hutt Space began to grow more fierce, Cilghal and her master traveled to the front lines where they served as triage medics healing Jedi and Republic and Confederate soldiers alike. Despite her focus on politics, Cilghal's medical abilities had not diminished and she constantly improved the more she worked her skills. In 10 ABY, at the height of the conflict with the Hutts, Cilghal withdrew to Tython to study as a Journeyer. While loathe to leave the battle, the High Council and her master agreed that she should not the Order had enough field surgeons and medics to cover for her and that her studies were more central to her development as a Jedi. Marveling at the skills she developed for herself at Mahara Kesh and the debating skills she honed at Bodhi, Cilghal was knighted at Padawan Kesh and returned to Hutt Space to finish out the last year of war alongside her former master.

Healer and Diplomat
Following the conclusion of the Hutt Offensive, Cilghal returned to Coruscant where she took up work in the Order's embassy at the Galactic Senate. During her work there Cilghal became close with fellow Jedi Leia Naberrie, a fellow diplomat at the embassy and one of the Council of Reconciliation's rising stars. Alongside Naberrie, Cilghal worked with Chancellor Mon Mothma's administration to hammer out treaties and territorial disputes in the wake of the Hutt Empire's dissolution and the liberation of thousands of worlds. As Naberrie used her superior diplomatic skills in the conference room, Cilghal used her short-range precognition to direct Naberrie to the key issues which would swing support in their favor. She continued in this capacity for several years until 20 ABY when she traveled to Ossus to choose an apprentice.

In 21

Chief Healer
Cilghal later left her position as a Senator and became a Jedi Master, taking the Chadra-Fan Tekli as her Padawan. She helped Mara Jade Skywalker survive the coomb spore disease with which she was infected by Nom Anor, but was unable to cure it. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Cilghal helped Danni Quee unravel the mysteries of the voxyn and other Yuuzhan Vong creations and helped her apprentice Tekli become a notable Jedi healer. In time, Tekli graduated to the level of Jedi Knight and became a Magister-in-training on Zonama Sekot following the end of the war. Cilghal herself became one of the six Jedi to sit on the High Council of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. She also learned Vergere's Force ability Art of the Small. With the establishment of the Ossus Academy, she established a lab where she could heal and study individuals and the affect the Force has on life. During the Dark Nest Crisis, Cilghal became a member of the Masters' Council and helped uncover the existence of the Gorog, which was manipulating the conflict between the Killiks and the Chiss without the knowledge of UnuThul and the rest of the Colony. As a Jedi Master-healer, she used medical experiments to reveal the true nature of the Dark Nest, analogous to the unconscious mind of the Colony.

She, with the permission of Luke Skywalker, helped in an unorthodox interrogation of the young Jedi from the Myrkr mission, where a captive Killik was given a short round of non-harmful, but painful, electrical shocks, to see how closely its mind was linked to the Joiners. She and Luke were very uncomfortable with using the Force for such dark purposes, and after the interrogation, she informed Master Skywalker that she would not willingly involve herself in such activities again. This incident, while very helpful and informative for the Jedi, helped spur Luke to reconsider the Potentium view of the Force, and begin leaning back towards the traditional light and dark side views. Cilghal also developed a weapon called the Dazer designed to temporarily disrupt the hive mind of Killiks. This weapon proved life-saving when Skywalker fought Lomi Plo.

After the Swarm War, Cilghal instituted a reconditioning progress to help Joiners adjust in other environments outside of their nest. Jaina Solo and Zekk, joined to one another, were the first to go through the process.

She was called upon once again to help Master Luke Skywalker analyze a device given to him by Jagged Fel which transferred memories from short-term to long-term memory. This meant that Alema Rar's power of making anyone that sees her forget about her after she leaves defunct to the user of the device. Cilghal, by request of Luke Skywalker, developed a Force power that was able to duplicate the abilities of the device.[4] During a Council meeting she voiced her concerns about more Jedi Knights being injured or killed in the war and she believed that there weren't enough Masters, something Luke took to heart and asked all the members of the Council to make a list of senior Jedi Knights they believed were ready to be elevated to the rank of Jedi Master.[8]

When the Jedi learned of Gejjen's assassination on Vulpter and that Omas was off on "personal business" at the time of the killing, Kyp thought it wise to begin opening up cordial relations with Cha Niathal as Omas' potential successor. Cilghal claimed that just because they were both Mon Calamari hardly meant they came from the same schools of thought. Nevertheless, she agreed to the role. She was also a proponent of the Jedi having no attachments.[8]

When Mara Jade Skywalker was killed on Kavan and brought back to Coruscant, Cilghal performed the autopsy. Later, she attended the Funeral of Mara Jade Skywalker.[8] When the Jedi where preparing to fight in the Battle of Kuat, Cilghal notified the other Jedi there of Cal Omas' death and that Ben had been reported to have been the one to kill him, forcing the Jedi to leave Kuat and stop supporting Jacen.[5]

She later healed Kyle Katarn after he was wounded on his mission to Coruscant.[9] Cilghal, along with the rest of the Jedi Council, lead a force of fifty Jedi Knights in a bid to secure the Anakin Solo following the death of Darth Caedus and used her talents to heal Jaina Solo after her final duel with the Sith Lord.[10]

With the death of Caedus, came the rise of Natasi Daala as the new Galactic Alliance Chief of State. Daala fostered a wide spread anti-Jedi sentiment which culminated in the arrest of Grand Master Luke Skywalker in 43 ABY. Chief Daala blamed Skywalker for not stopping Jacen Solo's transformation into Darth Caedus, and after negotiations with the Chief, only regained his freedom by exiling himself from the Jedi Order.[6] Master Cilghal was involved in testing the mentally addled Valin Horn, and continued his examination following his escape and subsequent recapture. Cilghal noted that Horn displayed an ability only Jacen Solo had previously shown, which prompted Master Skywalker, while exiled from the Order, to retrace Jacen's steps before his fall. When the time came for Master Skywalker to hand over the duties of Grand Master of the Order to Kenth Hamner, Cilghal was particularly emotional and embraced her old friend at the conclusion of the Jedi High Council meeting. Cilghal was one of many friends of the Grand Master to see him off from Coruscant, and privately offered to advise him secretly on his journey to discover what had caused the fall of Jacen Solo.[6]

Later, Galactic Alliance Security forces arrived at the steps of the Jedi Temple Main Entrance. Master Cilghal, along with Master Kyp Durron, confronted the squad, led by Captain Oric Harfard, who demanded that they hand Valin Horn over to the Alliance. The pair was ultimately forced to allow him to be taken into custody. Cilghal later found Seff Hellin, who suffered from the same disease as Horn, in a secret medical bay in the Jedi Temple. Hellin had been captured by Jaina Solo's secret organization, Darkmeld, which sought to counter Daala's attempts to undermine the Order. In this capacity, she eventually began studying Seff Hellin, in the hopes of finding a cure for the Force-based disease.[6]

While in the First Wing of the Jedi Archives researching cases that may help Jedi Horn, Cilghal was approached by Jysella Horn, who offered her assistance. Jysella suddenly came down with the same psychosis as her brother, and when Jysella suddenly froze, Cilghal looked up in time to see the girl's hand fly up, thrusting the healer into the stacks with the Force. As Jysella Horn ran for the turbolift, Cilghal contacted Temple Security and ordered them to detain the Jedi and to contact Master Hamner. Aided by Jedi Knights Natua Wan and Radd Minker, Cilghal pursued Jysella as she made for the main entrance and escaped.

After Jedi Wan succumbed to the disease, Cilghal and Tekli took both Hellin and Wan to the Asylum Block where they were locked in solitary, ysalamiri Force-deprived rooms. While Organa Solo and her husband came to assist the Healers, they were able to persuade Raynar Thul to leave after having spending many weeks in the Asylum with an open door. Having brought C-3PO along with them, the golden droid was able to translate Wan's insistent hissing as a sacred oath to remove Han Solo's internal organs. Startled by the threat, the Solos moved to Hellin's room where the healers hoped to distract him long enough to be able to perform a test on him. Hellin was at first quite docile and kind to the Solos, however, things quickly deteriorated and Cilghal was forced to tranquilize him.

When Leia Solo called Master Cilghal to the southern subsurface speeder garage to help carry away the psychotic Bazel Warv and Yaqeel Saav'etu. Before she could exit the hangar with her patients, Grand Master Hamner stopped her and reprimanded Jedi Solo for evading a Galactic Alliance warrant. When Hamner demanded that they honor the warrant and turn over the two psychotic Jedi, Cilghal refused and demanded that they take the matter before the Council. Accepting this, Hamner allowed the healer to take the two infected Jedi to the Asylum Block for study. After hours of debating in the High Council Chamber, the Jedi Masters, including Cilghal, agreed that the warrant would not be honored, and that Jedi Organa Solo would be responsible for smuggling all four patients to the Jedi Academy on Shedu Maad.

Powers and abilities

Cilghal's main focus in her training was on developing her powers rather than her combat abilities though she was proficient with a lightsaber nonetheless. As the most adept healer in the entire New Jedi Order, Cilghal naturally possessed an immense knowledge of biology, medicine and Force healing techniques which only grew further with the discovery of Vergere's Art of the Small technique. In addition to her healing affinity, Cilghal was adept in countering unique Force abilities such as Alema Rar's power of forgetfulness. She also possessed an advanced mastery in Mind Manipulation[6] as well as Battle Meditation.[11] Despite her preference for healing and focusing on her Force powers, Master Cilghal was a talented swordsman. Though Luke Skywalker felt her style of combat was diffident when compared to the style of Masters such as Kyp Durron and Kyle Katarn, Sothais Saar noted that "she fought like a Jedi Master, lightning-fast, anticipating every attack, not being fooled by feints". Chief Daala later commented that Saar "was flattened like a bug" in his duel with the Mon Cal healer.