It didn’t take them long after that to find a good enough vessel. A lone Lambda-class shuttle was still in somewhat working order amongst the wrecks of vessels. It wouldn’t be a comfy ride by any means, but they could at least get off the planet and back to Karideph. Niyasa spent some time tearing out the bits of their vessel anyway, when she found better parts in other ones that remained.
“You can fly this, I take it?” She asked as they finally got onboard.
“I can actually fly very well, yes.” Calen said. “I did say I was going to be a TIE pilot before, wasn’t I?”
“That you did.” Niyasa said.
“How’d you think I could do that if I weren’t good?” Calen asked. “Those things are basically a seat strapped to an engine. Without shields.”
“Point withdrawn.” The Mrlssi held up her claws as if washing them of the whole thing. Calen took his spot at one of the two pilot seats, checking the interface.
“Looks like we’re good.” Calen said, genuinely surprised that the shuttle was in any workable condition - Niyasa’s technical skills aside. “All lights are green. Let’s see what this piece of junk can do.” After Niyasa had taken her seat, Calen lifted the shuttle up from the landing pad. Almost immediately, due to the slant of the Destroyer, the proximity alarm started blaring wildly. “Easy, easy…” Calen kept his grip on the control yoke firm, a few well-placed taps against the control console keeping them from ascending any higher. He fed the acceleration, pushing them forward.
“Engines are holding.” Niyasa said as their craft breached the hangar and into the air of the planet. “Alright, let’s get back to the vessel. I’m sure the others will be happy to see us.”
“Not at first, probably.” Calen snorted. When he realized Niyasa was utterly confused, he added. “We’re landing in an heavily-armed, heavily-shielded Lambda-class shuttle. I mostly just want to see the look on Tessa’s face.” He was grinning.
“Human mating rituals are so strange.” Niyasa commented, shaking her head.
“Hey! That’s not what I-” Calen started, but she cut him off.
“We’re in range. Let’s begin descent.” Calen brought the shuttle down around in a circle around the ship, descending not far off. They were likely both still on the ship, though Calen had no doubt they had picked up their arrival on the sensors...provided Rook and Tessa had gotten them back online as well, which they probably had, he reasoned. After all, what use would the ship be without the sensors?
“Yeah, this is gonna be really funny.” He said, once they had landed. With the flip of a switch, the hatch beneath the cockpit opened and the ramp was released, sliding toward the ground. “C’mon.” Calen said, heading for the opening and heading down the ramp. His eyes caught no movement. No lumbering Wookiee or human woman with curly brown hair and a scowl. “...I have a bad feeling about this.”
“So do I.” Niyasa, having come up behind him, also surveyed the area. “Keep your eyes open.” Calen did just that, drawing the blaster from his hip as they approached the fallen prison transport. Still no sign, but as they approached the ramp, he did notice something some of the ground that had clearly been upended.
“Niyasa, look.” Calen pointed it out.
“There were two beings here…” Niyasa said after a moment of examination, one of her claws tracing through the ground to show the form of a boot print and a paw print - Tessa and Rook’s feet, respectively. She moved along, crouched close to the ground. “They fought...but they were swarmed. There were too many of them.”
“Too many of what?” Calen asked, but Niyasa waved a hand in front of his face to quiet him, still examining. She kept moving along, her eyes scanning the dirt.
“Smell that? The burn of the blaster fire? They got off several shots.” Niyasa said. And Calen could smell it, and see the end result of it in a few places against the hull. “But they weren’t killed…I don’t think. There’s no blood.” She pointed to several large lines in the dirt. “They were dragged away…” The lines of upended dirt led off into the jungle around them.
“If they’re not dead...then where are they?” Calen asked.
“Wherever those lines stop.” Niyasa said. “C’mon.”
“Alright, back to the shuttle.” Calen said.
“No. On foot.” Niyasa said. Calen stared at her blankly for a long moment. “Considering that whatever’s on this planet caused an entire fleet of Star Destroyers to crash, do you really think a shuttle’s going to be much use?”
“Better than us being on-foot…” Calen muttered.
“I’m assuming they’ll think of us as a lesser threat.” Niyasa said. “Pray I’m right.” Without giving him a chance to continue, the Mrlssi continued on following the tracks in the dirt. Calen, blaster in hand, kept his eyes peeled. There were too many points they could be attacked from, especially in a place like this, whether by whatever had attacked their friends or just the animals that moved above through the brush. Luckily, they had seen no predators thus far...and Calen hoped that was more than just coincidence. The further away they went from their captured shuttle and their fallen vessel, the more the jungle seemed to close in around them, the air was thick with the smell of the marshes about them, and a shiver traveled the length of Calen’s spine that told him a single thing: they did not belong here.
“What was that?” Calen asked. He’d heard the scuffling to their left. His eyes caught movement and his turned his weapon toward the canopy above...seeing only the swinging of a few branches. No sign of anything creature.
“A local.” Niyasa chirped, seemingly unworried by it. “We’re getting close.”
“How do you know?”
“I can sense Tessa.” Niyasa said, her eyes intently focused on the ground. “Rook, too. They’re alive.”
“Wait, how?” Calen asked.
“Reach out. Feel their presences.” Calen didn’t know how exactly he was supposed to do that under these circumstances. Outside the ship when they clearly hadn’t been in the middle of potential danger had been far, far easier. Nevertheless, keeping his weapon at the ready, he closed his eyes. If his first time trying this had seen him having difficulty focusing, the second was...less so, strangely. Calen could feel as though more of those waves were exuding from his person, pulsing through the world around them. Once more, it was like a boulder had been dropped into a lake...only now with the force of many boulders being dropped in at once. The waves were many. For a moment, it was nearly deafening...and then…
“I can feel them!” Calen could pick out both the woman and the Wookiee as though they were standing right in front of him. But they were not all. It seemed that this entire jungle...everything around them...in that instant, he could feel all of them. They all resonated, their existence sending out the waves that crashed against his own, the reverberation was something he’d never experienced before. “I...I never…” His mouth was agape as he opened his eyes. He looked to Niyasa, who had turned to look at him once more. “H-How? Before, I could…”
“It’s the planet.” Niyasa said. “Or...I think...the locals. They’re like us. The Force is strong here.” She pointed in the direction they needed to go, Calen knew it immediately. Within the trees, he could see a series of rocky hills, around them a bunch of tall grass.
“They’re there.” Calen said, starting off in that direction.
“Now hold on! Hold on!” Niyasa squeaked, moving to catch up to him. “We need to be very, very careful! If we know where they are, then they know where we are!” That had admittedly been a point Calen hadn’t considered, and it stopped him in his tracks.
“Well, now what?”
“We approach. Together.” Niyasa said, nodding. “With any luck, they won’t think we’re a threat.” The two, human and Mrlssi, approached the hills. It was as they came closer that they finally saw it - the first of those creatures that Calen began to realize had been stalking them through the trees. On the crest of some rocks, Calen could see it watching them. It was a beast that was even taller than he was, covered in brown, shaggy fur. It rested upon four clawed feet, two forelegs lifted up as a humanoid would have their arms. It’s broad, flat face was like something out of a nightmare, it’s eyes pupiless and black with all the warmth of a black hole. Between those eyes were a pair of antenna that seemed to twitch at their approach, and beneath those eyes was a gaping maw filled with rows of sharp teeth gilded poorly by rubbery lips.
“What. The Hell. Is that?” Calen asked, staring.
“A Gesaril.” Niyasa said. When she realized that Calen was eyeing her, she shrugged. “If you have a better name, I’m all for it. It’s the planet, they’re from here. It fits.” She sighed, straightening out her tunic. “Let’s just hope they’re friendlier than they look.” Calen nodded, leading the way as he kept his blaster low, though still at the ready. His eyes flickered up at the sign of movement, seeing a great many of these bulky creatures moving through the branches above with a catlike grace that seemed almost unfitting for their size. They drew closer, and the creatures did not take notice of them. ‘No,’ Calen thought, correcting himself, ‘they know we’re here. They don’t care.’
The hills towered above them as they grew closer, finding an opening in the rock face, leading down beneath the ground into what looked to be a cave that had been made into a burrow. The Gesarils were heading down into it. The pair of humanoids slowed as they grew within a few meters of it. Still, the furry creatures seemed to pay them no heed. Calen felt that familiar tingle in his mind as he heard a single word within his thoughts.
‘Come.’
He stopped, his attentions fully upon the cave now. It was almost as if he had heard it belowed out from within.
‘Come.’
Before, he heard heard Niyasa. Before that, Critus. Neither of them had been quite this. He looked to Niyasa, who nodded as well, having heard just the same.
‘Come.’
The voice would not be denied, and the two moved to follow it. They found a slope leading down into the cave, heading down it very carefully after Niyasa ignited her lantern once more. The illumination showed the caves leading down, the light eventually hitting one of the Gesaril that led them down one of the twisty paths in the rock. After some time following its snake-like path, it opened up into a chasm that showed other pathways...with a Gesaril standing and waiting, moving as soon as they saw. This process continued, them following seemingly further and further away from the mouth of the cave until they came to a chasm that had no other paths out.
“Okay, what?!” Calen exclaimed.
“There’s no way we could have picked the wrong path.” Niyasa said, looking back. “Wait, what?!” Calen turned around and found at the archway they had entered through had disappeared. “But...that’s impossible!”
“What?” Calen blinked. “How? What is this?” He turned back to Niyasa, but found the spot she’d been standing in empty. “Niyasa? Niyasa!” He was alone. No one else filled this space, just the small fusion lantern and just him. That same chill went down his spine, and Calen could recognize it for what it was. His breath caught in his chest, coming out ragged. His blaster remained in hand, waiting for the first sound to get an indication as to where to point it, but no noise came. Even Ordos advice seemed to fall away. How could he escape a place that was, by its very nature, inescapable?
This place was the living embodiment of the reputation the prison above had. His eyes tracked across the cavern several times, each time his heart sank lower and lower. It was then that he noticed the light from the lantern began to flicker, the power pack within was dying. Soon, he would be alone and trapped within the darkness. Only a handful of options left, Calen found himself doing the only thing he could think to do.
He closed his eyes. He took slow, deep breaths, trying his best to work the shakiness of his breathing. If he was calm, he could focus. He could...Calen rightly had not idea just what it would do, besides calming him, but...he could keep himself from panicking, which, in his mind, was a start. His eyes closed, his breath slowing, he began to feel it again. That same feeling of being enveloped...as if he had taken a dive into a lake. The waves rippled, merged, and rippled again. They were all around him. Every direction. Through them all, however, a single presence made itself clear. He felt that form moving through the many ripples, making its own. Calen knew he had felt it before, back on Pergitor. The first of such a presence he had felt.
“Hello, my child.” The voice came from the mouth of Ijo Critus, who met his gaze when Calen turned and opened his eyes. The Grand Perceptor stood, his arms crossed over his chest, appraising the younger man. More to the point, Calen realized, they were no longer in the cave with no way out. The rain and ash fell on his head, lightning crackled through the skies of a dying world. They stood on Pergitor...somehow.
“This isn’t real.” Calen said over the raging tempest above.
“It’s as real as you or me.” Critus said, circling around him. “I don’t know how that surprises you, given all that you’ve seen.”
“I’m not surprised.” Calen said. “I’m mostly wondering why all this craziness keeps happening around me. Though I’m starting to get why.”
“Why is that?”
“I’m weird, apparently.” This earned a laugh from the fanatic.
“You are enlightened, though not entirely. You see only part of Ascension...not the whole.” Critus said. “Together, we shall bring it to you and then to the whole galaxy, Calen. Togeth-”
“Yeah, I don’t know what I made unclear before, but I’m really not looking to join up.” Calen cut him off. “Seriously. Why do you keep doing this when you know I’m not going to do it?”
“Because it has been foretold.” Critus replied. “What has been foretold cannot be denied.”
“Oh, I’m denying. See? Me? Denying. Lots of denial.” Calen said.
“Of course...just as you denied your place within the Imperial Navy.” Critus said. “Do you remember it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The day the holonet reports came in…” Critus said, a snap of his fingers was immediately followed by him pointing upward. Calen looked up, his eyes widening as the skies had cleared and he was gazing out into space. More to the point, however, was a celestial body that had somehow come into being above Pergitor.
“...Alderaan.” He breathed, seeing the massive, blue-green orb swaddled in white clouds.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Critus asked. “Two billion souls living on it. A planet of peace and harmony...but they were not ascended.” A green light split the skies, Calen having to raise an arm to trying in vain to keep himself from being blinded by it. When the light faded, all he could see were stars. Alderaan was gone. “That made you run...why?” He was caught, he knew. “You’re right. And I will know if you’re lying.”
“Something...told me to.”
“Something?”
“The Force.” Calen said. “I guess.”
“You mean the power of Ascension...that seed within you that just needed the Light to bloom.” Critus said. “The power within you that told you to run...to me.”
“I don’t believe that.” Calen said.
“Don’t believe if you wish, but you will see.” Critus said, a wave of his hand causing the ground to rumble beneath their feet. Between them, a great form began to force itself up from the ground, Calen recognizing it as the nose-cone of a ship. He backed away, watching as the nose-cone gave birth to an even greater form, more and more of the ground being forced asundered as it rose. Critus rose up from the ground, seemingly floating upon the very air itself as he stood over the craft. His hand rose above it, and Calen heard a series of slams against the metal before a form tore free from it.
The feeling of it - a cluster of pure obsidian - bursting from the ship was enough to make Calen’s stomach turn.
“Don’t be afraid of it, Calen.” Critus said as the gem floated above his open palm. “It is the power of Ascension...a gift from those who have already done so.”
“Then send it back!” Calen snapped, gripping his blaster. Again, Critus laughed. Calen responded by firing two quick shots toward the man and his magic stone. It exploded, the holy man screaming in rage as a bright light overtook them both.
‘Open eyes.’ Calen did not, his eyes shut tightly against the light that had been generated. ‘Open eyes.’ Again, he did not, but the second speaking of the words within his mind made him realize that it was the same voice that had spoken from the cave before. ‘Open eyes, human!’ Finally, he did so...and was greeted with the face of one of the Gesaril.
“Oh, well. Hello.” Calen said, lowering his blaster...slowly...as he remained tensed to the spot.
‘You human. You pass.’ The voice spoke again in his head.
“Wait...you’re...I pass? What do you mean ‘I pass’?” Calen asked, confused. He looked around the room, seeing the cave from before...with sunlight streaming in through the open mouth. It was not nearly as big as they had at first thought! Besides the one closest to him, there were several others, all in attendance.
‘Pass test. Not Dark.’ The Gesaril’s voice came through again. It was simplistic, but enough to follow...something. ‘You friends. You not dark. Come in Dark ship.’
“Dark ship?” Calen asked. “Dark ship...that’s not…” Then, he realized. “Oh, the prison ship! No, it’s not...I mean, we stole that. It’s not ours.”
‘You stop Eye Man.’ Calen blinked. ‘You stop Eye Man.’
“Yeah, I heard you. That doesn’t mean I understa-” Calen started, his voice cutting off as he gasped, his mind being assaulted by an image - Critus, in his vision, with the gemstone floating between his fingers. “Critus...him.”
‘You stop Eye Man.’ The Gesaril’s voice came through. ‘Is your place.’
“Stop him.” Calen couldn’t begin to go into how much of a hopeless task that seemed to be. If they could get to him before he and the Empire got a hold of the thing hiding under Pergitor’s surface, it was possible. “Okay. Stop him. Sure.” He added, trying to sound far more confident than he felt. “But...I’m going to need my friends back. Where are they?” The Gesaril moved, and Calen saw the three familiar figures being lain on cots. Tessa and Rook seemed to be napping peacefully, but Niyasa...she was jerking about erratically, like someone in the depths of a delirious fever. “What did you do to her?!” Calen asked, dropping to check them all. “All of them.”
‘She and Woolly one no pass.’ The Gesaril voice said. ‘Bird woman no pass, too.’ They had all been subjected to the same thing he had? He checked Tessa and then Rook for a pulse, they were indeed still alive. Their heart rates were even at a decent baseline. It seemed that their failing wasn’t affecting them greatly. Niyasa, though, was groaning and restless.
“No...No…” Niyasa moaned out. “I left my world for this...my family…”
“Niyasa!” Calen grabbed her shoulders. “Niyasa! Wake up!”
“I came all the way to Coruscant!” Niyasa moaned out. “I came here! To you!”
“Niyasa, we’re not on Coruscant! We’re on Gesaril and you need to wake up!” Calen insisted, shaking her.
“Why can’t I be a Jedi like you?!” Niyasa screamed out, jolting up and her claws of her left hand scratching through Calen’s forearm. He gasped and fell back from her, holding his wounded arm, blood seeping out from between his fingers already. The Mrlssi seemed to come to after that, blinking a few times and looking around. “Oh...oh my…I…”
“Yeah, hi. Are you okay?” Calen asked, giving her a look. The Mrlssi looked from the many Gesaril about to him.
“Calen, your arm!” Niyasa asked, moving forward.
“I’m fine, really.” Calen said. It was then that he felt a presence at his back and one of the clawed paws of the Gesaril fell on his shoulder. A warm tingle passed through his entire form and, in a moment, he realized that his arm was no longer bleeding. He blinked. “Oh…”
‘You must be whole, fight Eye Man.’
“Eye Man? What’s he talking about?” Niyasa asked.
“I’ll explain later. It’s weird.” Calen said. He looked to Rook and Tessa, both of whom were starting to stir...and Tessa was immediately reaching for a blaster that wasn’t at her side. “Hey, take it easy! Take it easy!”
“These guys attacked us at our ship!” Tessa protested, she and Rook both not taking well to the sudden reveal of their captors.
“Don’t! Trust me! Don’t do that!” Calen insisted, his hands raised. “They’re not going to harm us...anymore. It was...a test.”
“A test?!” Tessa exclaimed, exasperated. Rook likewise did not take this well, the Wookiee giving a loud battle roar.
“Yes. A test. But it’s over and we can leave. Because we’re going to go and fight the Eye Man.” Calen said.
“The who?!” Tessa stared at Calen as if he’d grown a second head.
“They can’t hear them.” Niyasa said.
“I know.”
“Hear who? What in the hell are you-?” Tessa started again, but Calen once more interrupted her.
“It’s...look, just trust us. We’re going to go. We can leave. Niyasa and I got a shuttle out of one of the Destroyers.” Calen said. “C’mon.” He walked over, offering her a hand...and Tessa promptly rejecting it and getting up all on her own. Rook, likewise, rose without issue.
‘Task is dangerous. Take.’ Calen turned at the sound of the voice, one of the Gesaril bounding up and holding out an item to him. It was a dodecahedron about the size of his fist. Made of blue metal plates lined in an ornate pattern in black.
“What is it?” Calen asked.
“Oh, that…” Niyasa breathed, moving closer. “That can’t possibly be what I think it is…”
“What do you think it is?” Tessa asked.
“It’s...it’s a holocron…”
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