“Sleeping well?” He asked, languidly pouring himself another glass of some liquid from a crystal decanter.
“...oh, well, of course.” Calen replied dryly.“I often enjoy dreams where I’m assaulted by strange men in bathrobes.”
“Perhaps my previous attempt to convince you was...overzealous.” Critus quipped, ignoring the sarcasm dripping from every word of the younger man.
“What tipped you off? The blood cup? Maybe the feast of skeletons? The cryptic nonsense about the Path?” Calen asked as he watched the older man sigh, rubbing his temple. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is that annoying? Is it like someone invaded your dreams while you sleep?”
“So you accept that this isn’t a dream, then?”
“I’ve seen enough crazy things over the last few days that I’m willing to believe anything.” Calen was unnerved as Critus smiled a most...unnerving smile, his lips twisted in a way most unpleasant.
“At least you are accepting the reality. Your first step into a larger world.” Critus said. “Soon, you shall come to us and aid in our mission.”
“Provided I even agree to that, which no, I’m still trying to figure out why exactly I’d do that?” Calen gave a huff. “I ran away from home because a planet blew up. I’m not exactly cultist material.”
“This goes beyond the Church, Calen.” Critus said. “There are greater forces at work beyond the simple folk of Pergitor, though they are chosen. As are you. Together, we shall end the woes of the galaxy. The Empire. The Rebellion. They will mean nothing as we bring Ascension to all throughout the many worlds. Star by star.”
“Once you have the Heart of Derriphan, right?” Calen asked. “You're going on about it, Ayro went on about it, but what is it?”
“An artifact of great power. A tool, left by the ancestors.” Critus told him. “Ever since I was a child, I could hear its call. It drew me into the powers I have known, and I have knelt at the feet of the Dark Lady to learn of the ways of Ascension.”
“Who is the Dark Lady?” Calen asked. He doubted the woman’s existence, even having seen the being Critus had claimed to be his muse. For all he knew, it was another deception. A trick of this power that Critus seemed to have. “And where is she?”
“Sometimes she is in this place. Sometimes in others.” Critus said. “Her place is her whim and it is not mine to question. It is mine to aid her in her quest to bring others.” Calen must have grimaced, because Critus' lips twisted into that unpleasant smile again. “You shall see, Calen. You are destined to be at my side for this endeavor. It has been foretold to me.”
“Foretold by who? Her?”
“Yes. And I have been shown the future by her. And I shall show it to you.” Critus raised his hand, and sparks seemed to spin from his fingertips. Suspended in the air, they elongated and created what Calen could only perceive as a tear in the very air before him. Floating above the table, it opened up into a massive circle with a hollow center. Within it, he could see something else. The image, at first blurry, soon became clear.
It was...himself.
Calen saw that he was a bit older, and he wore a cream-colored tunic and leggings as he stood on a grassy knoll, dropping to one knee before a man in a flowing, black cloak. In his hand was a cylinder, silver with black trimming about the sides, something Calen could have sworn he'd seen before but could not put his finger on it.
Standing above him was the hooded man, for the face was hooded. Calen could not make out any facial features beyond the bare identifiers of the masculine with the facial hair and bone structure, but this was certainly not the image of a man like Critus. He was too short, to begin with, but there was more. An energy about the man. He exuded a tranquility, a stability unlike anything he'd ever felt from the Grand Perceptor.
“Do you see?" Critus asked. "Do you see it now? One day you shall kneel before me and accept your pla-”
“That’s not you.” Calen said simply, cutting off the man. The image winked out of existence just as it had come.
“What?” Critus replied flatly.
“That wasn’t you.” Calen pointed to the spot where the image had been. "That was me in that image, but that wasn't you. At all."
“It has already been foretold, Calen.” Critus told him. “You only delay the inevitable.”
“Then why was the image different?" Calen asked. The Grand Perceptor stared at him. "Why did I see something that you didn't? Tell me!"
"Your view is flawed." Critus said, raising a hand. Calen felt himself being lifted up from the ground as he grasped in vain at anything that might keep him to it. He found nothing as he was taken in gravity's absence. "You were blind...but you do not yet see. I will make you see, Calen..." A wave of his hand, and Calen found himself pulled over to the man, a searing pain shooting through him from the forehead as Critus pressed a thumb right into the flesh...
Had it been the Force?
Niyasa had spoken about it briefly, and Calen had only known about it from old holovids and holonet reports on the Clone Wars. Of course, the Force was known as a dogmatic, antiquated legend that came from the Jedi - a bunch of traitors who had betrayed the Old Republic and had forced the Empire into being. Or had they? Recent events were making him ponder all he’d been told since his earliest years.
Had...all of what he'd been told been lies?
“You up?” Tessa’s voice broke the silence and contemplation, along with the hiss of the door to his room/cell slid open.
“Don’t you knock?” Calen asked, getting up quickly, though he was hardly in an inappropriate mode of dress. His garments from yesterday still clothed his body, as did Tessa's hers.
“Rook’s got auxiliary working again,” Tessa went on regardless, “We probably have seven or eight hours, though we aren’t going anywhere any time soon.”
“Engines are out?” Calen asked.
“And most of the hull looks like the space-winds chewed it up and spit it out, yes.” Tessa told him. “Let’s hope that Niyasa’s hair-brained scheme works.”
“What scheme?” Calen asked.
“The thing she’s been going on about it since last night.” Tessa said. “Salvaging something off the fallen Star Destroyers.” When she realized Calen was just staring at her, she stopped. “What? You don’t know?”
“Know what?” His brow quirked, having been waiting for her to explain ever since the words ‘Star Destroyers’ had come from her mouth.
“Gesaril. It’s been under quarantine for almost a decade now.” Tessa said. “An entire fleet of Star Destroyers crashed here. No one knows why.”
“What? Just...crashed?” Calen asked.
“That’s what the reports say.” Tessa gave a shrug as an answer. "It's been a forbidden planet ever since.”
“So they built a prison in its orbit?”
“Where else are you going to put an inescapable prison?” Tessa asked. Calen couldn’t argue with that logic. “Niyasa wanted to see you when you were up.”
“Where is she?”
“Outside.”
Calen snatched his belt up from the bed, noticing a glimmer of metal in the rear-most pouch through the small opening in the flap. Opening it, Calen found something that had completely slipped his mind - the datacard that had been taken from Red’s head. He pulled it out, looking at it. ‘How did…?’ He thought, but stopped himself as he realized that Ordos must have slipped it into his pouch before he’d pushed him down that stairwell. His stomach clenched at the thought that Ordos had been preparing for not being able to leave the station.
Pushing that aside for the moment, he set the datacard back into the pouch and resealed it. At the very least, they knew where it was. He stopped at the door, seeing Ordos’ jacket from where it hung against a hook. He reached for it to put it on, but lowered his hand, shaking his head.
Calen made the distance down the corridor and slid down to the hatch leading out, moving along the extended ramp to find Niyasa down and working on a small, brown, hovering craft. It was long, sleek, and hummed like a pleased rancor.
“A speeder bike?” Calen asked.
“Found it in the hold. I expect it was only supposed to be for scouting, but it wasn't in too bad of shape, so it serves its purpose well enough.” Niyasa said.
“I love these things!” Calen grinned, looking it over. “I had one, back home. I must have worked on that thing for months trying to get it working. Dad always said it was waste of time dealing with an engine with a seat strapped to it, and I-”
“Well, this one already is.” The Mrlssi was quick to bring him back to reality. “Now, once I get the wagon up with it, we ought to be good to go.” Calen was about to ask what she meant when it became apparent. A large section of the torn up hull had been re-purposed into a makeshift wagon of sorts. At the moment, she was attaching the hovering apparatuses from another bike (in pieces not far off) onto it. “So...what’s on your mind?”
“My...mind?” Calen asked.
“You do still have one of those, yes?” Niyasa asked, earning her a look from the human. “That was humor, was it not?”
“Yes. Very funny.” Calen rolled his eyes, though he did spare a bit of a chuckle more at the expense of his spacing out than Niyasa's joke.
“I meant more of your thoughts at the moment.” Niyasa said. “What with our escape and...well…” The Mrlssi just shook her head slightly, not speaking of their fallen comrade.
“You mentioned the Force.” Calen said.
“Ah, yes. The Force.” Niyasa nodded, taking the conversation topic. “You know the legends of the Jedi Knights, yes?”
“Well, I don’t know about legends, but I do know what’s part of Imperial record.” Calen said. “They were believers in some mystical tradition and fought for the old Republic, but they ended up causing its destruction when they betrayed it.”
“That’s only half true.” Niyasa said as she attached the final apparatus and then pulled some wiring from the speederbike to make a connection.
"What do you mean?"
“The Jedi Knights defended the old Republic. But it wasn’t the Jedi who were the betrayers, they were betrayed. The Republic turned on the Jedi.”
“...What?”
“The Republic turned on the Jedi.” Niyasa repeated. “The Empire rose up from the ashes that were left behind, and the Jedi were blamed for all of it.”
“I...ther-there’s...there’s no way that can be right.” Calen felt his entire being reject the idea, an entire lifetime of everything he’d been told swirling around in his head as a shield against this new information...no, it couldn’t be true. The Jedi had been traitors, they’d brought about the death of the Republic and necessitated the need for the Empire.
Every Empire Day, that lesson had been retaught and it was something considered as holy writ.
“If the Empire did rise to cleanse the Jedi, then why do they still exist?” Niyasa asked. “I don’t see many more Jedi out there any more, do you?” He hadn’t, not that he’d known.
The last records he’d ever seen of the Jedi were from during the Clone Wars, when they’d fought against the droid armies of the Separatist movement. Though that had been all before his time, there were clear symbols and signs that they’d existed. The old Jedi Temple still towered on Coruscant, though now as the Emperor’s Manor. They had been taught to him by his mentors as the greatest evil the galaxy had known, and that they should all be grateful that the Empire had risen up to stop them.
“I...I don’t…How could you possibly know all of this?" Calen asked. "How could this been so?"
"I have my ways." Niyasa chirped. "We are Rebels, after all. Stories get swapped around." After that, there was a lengthy silence as Niyasa fiddled with the machinery, shooing Calen away any time he attempted to assist. “Tell me something, Calen. How did you end up in a place like this?”
He was caught off-guard by the question.
“I mean, here in the Minos cluster. Not here specifically. I want to know.”
Calen stared at her for a long moment.
“I do. Honest.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with-” Calen started.
“Trust me.” Niyasa cut him off. “Tell me.” He took a deep breath, and he did. Calen told her about running away from home. He told her about meeting up with Caius and his crew, coming onboard as a pilot. He told her about the fight on Onadax and his battle with the Gamorrean. He told her about hunting down Caius’ killer and how that path had led them to Glin and then to the Rodian snitch and then even the Church of Infinite Perception before his eventual arrest and imprisonment on Gesaril.
“Hmm...I see.” Niyasa clicked her tongue.
“So what does that have to do with anything?” Calen asked.
“Well, as I told you last night, the Force is with you.” Niyasa said. “You said yourself that you somehow pulled the blaster back into your hand when you fought the Gamorrean.”
“I said I might have.” Calen said. “I don’t know. I was losing a lot of blood and-”
“You did do it.” Niyasa said. “I know it, and so do you. By accident, surely, but you did do it. I sensed it in you the moment that we met.”
“You mean, so...those things you can do...I can do them, too?” Calen asked.
“With training, you can even do them on purpose!” Niyasa said enthusiastically. “I can even teach you what I know. What little of it I know, anyway.”
“So...are you a Jedi?” Calen asked. "Is, is that how you know all those things about the-" He stopped in mid-sentence. Calen could have sworn he saw a glimmer of irritation in her eyes, her face contorting into (what with the beak) he could really only classify as...a grimace. Or maybe a scowl. But, only for a moment, as she stared off into the distance.
“No. I’m not.” Niyasa said, her usual jovial attitude seemingly coming back in force, finally sticking another wire through from the speeder to the wagon. “I’m just a hen with a few tricks up her sleeve.”
“So how did you learn to do all this?” Calen asked.
“Trial and error, mostly.” Niyasa said. “Sometimes, I’ve picked up a piece of Jedi lore or learned something from other Force traditions, though both of those are rare.”
“Wait, others?”
“Oh, yes.” Niyasa chortled. “There’s a religion for every star in the sky, even you should know that by now. There were plenty of religions built around the Force in the old times. Even now there are some. Mostly in hiding.”
“This is really making my head hurt.” Calen muttered, rubbing his temple.
“For now, don’t worry about it. Just focus on the here and now.” Niyasa said, a thought seeming to occur to her in mid-sentence. “Actually, that’s a good idea. Focus on the here and now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Focus on the here and now. Forget everything else. Just focus here. On this planet. Right now.” Niyasa told him, leaning down to tap the grassy earth they stood on. Calen did try. After a few moments, he closed his eyes and took a few slow, deep breath.
“I’m really not sensing any-”
“It’s not a conscious effort. You just...feel it. Clear your mind...and feel.” Niyasa’s voice came through, he could still hear her coming from right in front of him. So, he kept trying.
‘Clear your mind. Clear your mind.’ He kept repeating the words in his head. After a few moments, nothing seemed to have changed. Then, there was something...a feeling, for lack of a better term. Calen didn’t rightly know what to call it, but it felt like a sort of humming in the back of his mind. It was soft, ethereal, feeling almost like the rush of running water against his hand, but it permeated his whole being.
It was a part of him, and it was completely divorced from him. It was as if he were some boulder that had been dropped into a lake, and the ripples of the water hit something...a being in front of him. Niyasa. He could sense her. Behind him, as well, he could sense something...a presence that was getting closer...and closer...the ripples intensifying...until…
“Are you two still not out yet?” Tessa’s voice came from the remains of the ship. “You’re burning the daylight!”
“We’re going, we’re going!” Niyasa said as Calen’s eyes snapped open. He heard the humming of the attached wagon. They were in business.
“I could sense you.” Calen muttered, stunned.
“That’s the Force for you.” Niyasa said.
“No, I mean...both of you. Her...and you.” Calen elaborated. Niyasa nodded.
“That’s the Force, yes.” Niyasa said. “It’s generated by all living things, but only one in a million beings have an innate connection to it like you and I do.” She moved over toward the speederbike. “You said you know how to drive one of these, right?”
“Yeah.” Calen nodded, and she gestured for him to get on. He did so, and she slid herself on right in front of him, his back to her.
“I took the scans off of the sensor logs right before we crashed. We need to head that way.” Niyasa said. “About twelve kilometers.”
“We’ll make sure not the crash the ship while you’re gone!” Tessa yelled down to them, her hands cupped around her mouth to project. Calen gave her a look, then hit the accelerator and they took off through the jungle. Further away from the fallen ship they went until it became clear what their target was. In the distance, only a few minutes away, was a wreck that Calen found the sight of all too familiar: an Imperial Star Destroyer. Or, rather, the wreck of one.
“There she is!” Niyasa seemed enthused, pointing toward the downed derelict.
“What exactly are we planning to do?” Calen asked as Niyasa signaled for him to stop them. The Destroyer was a marvel even in its dilapidated state dwarfing them what seemed an infinity of times over.
“Well, Star Destroyers tend to have some extra vessels in armament. TIEs, transports, shuttles.” Niyasa said. “With twelve Destroyers crashed here, there bound to be at least some parts we can scrap for the engine.”
“This seems like a pretty big gamble.” Calen said. “I mean, with everything here...how do you know any of it is in working condition?”
“I don’t.”
“...what?!”
“I don’t. But I have faith.” Niyasa told him, pulling a grappling hook from her belt.
“In what? The Force?” Calen asked, following her as she approached the nearest side of the ship.
“No. In my tech skills. C’mon.” Niyasa said, taking aim and firing her hook, which careened up into the sky. The liquid cable jerked as it clearly connected with something. “Alright, hang on.”
“Hang on to wha-?!” Calen cried out in surprise as Niyasa grabbed him around the leg and they were both quickly pulled up toward whatever the hook had grabbed onto. What seemed like minutes went on by as they ascended.
“Get ready to grab the edge.”
“The edge of wha-?” Calen started to ask, though it quickly became apparent as their destination became clear - one of the hangar bays. He reached out, grabbing onto the edge as soon as it was within his reach. Niyasa detached the cable and quickly scurried up Calen’s back, her taloned feet pressing a bit against his head as she hopped into the ship proper.
“Sorry,” The avian woman chirped as she knelt down to help him up.
“Yeah, no...it’s fine. It’s fine. I’m fine.” Calen was doing his best to not look back, and he couldn’t help but noticed how the entire place felt like it was slanted just slightly to the direction behind him. He tried to push that particular thought from his mind. “So...what are we looking for?”
“I told you. Ships to scrap.” Niyasa reached into one of her pouches again, pulling out a miniature fusion lantern. It lit up, illuminating the darkened bay. With its light, Calen could see a few ships that had either been damage in the crash or by environmental factors after. “Let’s start looking.” The two got to it, moving from wreck to wreck. Niyasa would get in the ones she could, examine for a bit, even tearing out the paneling to expose the remains of systems. Sometimes, she’d take a few pieces and hand them off to Calen, but otherwise seemed...displeased.
“I still don’t understand it.” Calen said.
“It’s a compressor cuff. We need another four of these if we want to get the engines working.” Niyasa told him.
“No, no...not these.” Calen said, gesturing to the bundle of gizmos in his arms. “I mean...the Force.”
“What’s there to understand?” Niyasa asked.
“What is it?” Calen asked. Niyasa, who had been working on tearing out some of the coils from a hyperdrive motivator, stopped.
“Well, it’s like I told you before. It’s generated by all living things.” Niyasa said. “Think of it like...energy. Whether or not we use it, it exists. It just is. I can’t really explain it more than that.”
“Except you believe in it.” Calen said.
“Oh, absolutely.” Niyasa said. “But you don’t have to understand something to believe in it. I mean, I’ve tried studying it for almost twenty years now and I’m really no closer to understanding it than I was when I started.”
“Wait, you’ve been studying this for twenty years?” Calen asked.
“I’m twenty-six. How old did you think I was?” Niyasa chortled.
“Well, I didn’t-”
“Never mind it, never mind it.” She waved it off. “But that’s the best way that I can explain it. I’m not a Jedi and I’m certainly not a philosopher of any kind.” She yanked out another compression cuff.
“Okay...another thought.” Calen said.
“Yes, Tessa’s always like that.” Niyasa said before Calen had even asked.
“...okay, that wasn’t quite where I was going.”
“The Force, unfortunately, hasn’t given me precognition.” Niyasa gave a...Calen still felt strange calling it a grin. “Beak-grin”? It was an odd look at any rate.“What is it?”
“We’re trying so hard to scrap parts out of these ships, why don’t we just take one of the ships and get off-world with it?” Calen asked her. The Mrlssi stopped, staring at the broken hyperdrive for a long, long moment. “Uh...Niyasa?” He asked, softly at first, then asked a little louder. “Niyasa? Ni-?”
“Oh, I am an idiot!” The bird woman shrieked.
No comments:
Post a Comment