| Logs |
2003 February 10
| These Shattered Stars |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: These Shattered Stars Logs |
Chapter Five, Part Eight
Due to the odd shapes of the borders in the gal-south regions, and the even odder politics between the Republic and Hutt Space (not to mention the vast Unknown Regions to gal-west), Kalarba is a Republic client state, rather than deep within Hutt territory. This actually means less than it might at first suggest. While a client state, Kalarba is mostly autonomous. The Republic handles their defenses, consisting of a number of escorts and one antiquated light destroyer, the Referencer, which serves as flagship. However, there is no hypernode to the Holonet here, and Kalarban companies are not traded on the Republic stock exchanges.
Kalarba's main claim to fame is its strategic position as a buffer to the gal-western expanses of Hutt Space, essentially preventing an end run around the Republic's borders by the Hutts. Settled by a dizzying variety of species, Kalarba is sometimes used as a jumping-off point for Republic bounty hunters pursuing leads into Hutt Space, or privateers holding Republic letters of marque and reprisal. Thus, much like Tynnea, Kalarba has a bit of a freewheeling atmosphere, but it is tempered by at least lip service to Republic standards of law and law enforcement.
The world itself is a fairly clean little ball of rock, with a coat of green along the equatorial midriff where most of the cities are. Overall, it is cooler than most worlds, and so the equatorial regions have the lion's share of the population, who try to be comfortable. There are sizable cities at the poles, however, which make use of the remarkably shallow mantle there to siphon off geothermal energy. The primary agriculture seems to be underground hydroponics, supplemented by herds of cold-acclimated bantha and a variety of gullinbursti. The gullinbursti are also the primary meal of a variety of Kyat dragon, also cold acclimated.
Kalarba has a most unremarkable history, outside of it being one of the rallying points in the gal-south Outer Rim coalition's war against Xim the Despot. For the past ten thousand years it's been little more than a transshipment port. Thus it is no surprise to the group when their exit from hyperspace gives them the sight of a quietly busy, tidy port-world.
Freyja grins in amused relief. "Oh, good! A peaceful entry. So... hopefully this time we won't have wars or anything to deal with -- we can just load up and go, hai?"
Zero doesn't take his eyes off the viewscreen. "I'm not holding my breath." Freyja laughs softly, but sticks to the comm, listening for anything they need to know to land.
The Platinum Eclipse is cleared relatively quickly for landing. Being a client state, the group isn't gouged too badly with berthing fees and the like. There's a bit of a delay, however, with the fuel, for which the port authority apologizes. Their refueling systems are undergoing emergency maintenance, so it will be a day or so before the Eclipse can be fully refueled. Because of this, the group is given a significant discount on the fuel -- much less than what they would pay in even the Republic proper.
Freyja is pleased -- it almost makes up for the Tynnea costs! Zero yawns softly. "I don't want to get off the ship. I just want to eat and find my bunk and then get on to Zhar."
Freyja blinks at Zero, then grins, "You don't? Whoa... I want off, to stretch my legs, definitely!" She adds a little hopefully, "Maybe even... a bath...?!"
Eclipse lands and berths with no issues. They aren't due for any inspections yet, so all of the paperwork is done by computer and taken care of with electronic no-muss-no-fuss. Zero sighs. "I'm even going to trust the nominally-Republic stevedores to not spike the discount fuel."
Freyja murmurs under her breath a little longingly, "Mmm... fresh food...!" Her inquiries reveal a typical set of spaceport amenities, including hostels, restaurants, cantinas, and (common enough in some parts of the Republic but less so outside) bathhouses. She decides on fresh food first, and grins at Vakkal, "You know, we still don't know how Rodians handle fresh oranges... I guess we'll just have to live with our curiosity!" She keeps her long-coat buttoned... it's a little chill, even if it's not raining.
Vakkal deadpans, "I think I can do without learning..."
Freyja giggles, striding along with long-legged enthusiasm, "Well, we'll find out how you deal with them instead, how's that?" She makes some purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables, happily consuming some of them herself as she enjoyably wanders around town. She'll also cheerfully hand off bags of food to Fhazil and Vakkal, so she can slice up a few pieces of fruit to nibble as they walk. She giggles, feeding slightly drippy slices to Vakkal and Fhazil, as well as herself.
As Freyja, Vakkal, and Fhazil are looking for food, and while Zero starts to closely examine the insides of his eyelids for pinholes, there is the typically loud and earth-shaking sound of large ships making their approach on repulsorlifts. Up in the sky are three ships of clearly Republic make, each about three times the size of the Eclipse, and discretely armed. They are not in the blue and green of the Guard, however, but in plenipotentiary red with the Bendu wheel on their flanks. Jedi.
Freyja looks up, then blinks and stops walking. "Uh-oh... armed Jedi ships... must be troops. Let's get out of here soonest, hai?" She sighs, turning to head back for the ship, "Guess we can't afford baths... ah, well."
Fhazil hmms? -then blinks up at the ships. "What -- oh, I see. Should... they be this far out from the Republic?"
Freyja glances over her shoulder at Fhazil, walking smoothly but swiftly, "Sure, why not? It's a client state, and a good place for Sith to end-run the Republic, if they decide to cut through -- or more unlikely, buy their way through -- Hutt space." She grins, "There are probably Jedi in Hutt space, after all." Her gaze gets mischievous, "Maybe even Sith!"
Fhazil rolls his eyes, grinning. "Oh, the horror! Somebody save us."
Freyja laughs delightedly! -then strikes a pose, "Fear not, fair lad! I shall save you!" A second later she blinks, realizing she's a little late -- the Jedi ships are landed, and have disembarked! Up ahead, coming down the street from the direction of the berths the Jedi ships landed at, she catches sight of some familiar brown robes. Quite a few familiar brown robes, actually... coming this way. She murmurs softly, "Mute, guys. C'mon, move," as she turns down a side way and keeps walking smoothly and swiftly.
Fhazil and Vakkal blink. "Stang," Fhazil murmurs. "Let's do as she says, Brother. The last thing we need is for a bunch of Jedi to be asking why there's Sithstain here." He squints, then blinks again. "Especially, I think, these Jedi." The two move to catch up with Freyja.
Freyja murmurs quietly over her shoulder to Fhazil, "Did you recognize them?" She quietly tamps down on her presence in the Force -- not abruptly, since that would attract attention, but a smooth muting. She's not anxious to see the Jedi at all, since it's a good bet they could then see her -- and her companions -- also.
Fhazil nods, "Yes and no. Some are black-sashes, for some reason. The rest are so straight-laced they could only be a company of the Order militant."
Freyja mutters under her breath, "Hoi... wolf-feathers!" and simply keeps a calm, friendly, guileless demeanor as she heads back for the Eclipse. She curves around through several streets to hopefully let the Jedi pass on the main street... then cautiously pauses in shadow to consider the main street. Has it been enough time yet?
Freyja nods silently to herself. The Jedi should all be past by now. She steps out cautiously onto the main road again, looking around searchingly and holding her datapad in her hands, as if checking directions. She is, of course, actually searching for Jedi. By this time the news is already out on the links: it appears the Fifth Company of the Night Lance is stopping over on Kalarba in the course of their investigation into the Xagobah Darksider cult.
Freyja smiles, relaxing slightly, and beckons to her two Sith friends, waiting in the alley, "I'm sure now. This way!" She listens to the newslink off her datapad as they walk. She doesn't know the Night Lance Company... but isn't really interested in doing so currently, considering her companions.
Fhazil and Vakkal slip casually out of the alleyway, trying to not look around visibly. "Does this change anything?" Vakkal murmurs. Fhazil shakes his head. "No. We get what we need gotten done, and then get off of Kalarba."
Freyja nods quietly, continuing to head briskly for the ship, "Hai, he's right. Let's head off soonest."
When the group returns to the ship, Zero's updated on the situation, and then Freyja asks, "So... is there anything we need to leave the ship for?" A bit wistfully she decides a hot, steamy bath is a 'want'... not a 'need.'
Zero shakes his head. "I've been pretty thorough, if I may say. We're missing fuel. That's about it."
Vakkal and Fhazil are both quick to shake their heads. "Utterly nothing," Fhazil deadpans. "Not a bolt," Vakkal provides.
Freyja nods quietly, "We have some fresh food." She quietly sighs, "Well. I didn't really need to go exploring."
Zero says, "Well. We've got plenty of the traveling food. Hey, it could always be worse."
Freyja nods quietly, a bit disappointed. She'd hoped to wander around a bit, but with the Company there... it's a pity, but it'd be wisest not to. Instead she restlessly offers to spar with anyone who's also feeling restless. She has too much energy built up from looking forward to getting off the ship. She figures several hours of that will knock the twitchiness right out of her!
Zero stands up and crouches down, then stands, bending at the waist, hands on his thighs, then straightens. "Sure," he says. "I don't mind." Much later, Freyja will take a not-steamy-at-all sonic shower... then go meditate for a while to center and calm herself again.
That night, as the group goes to sleep, a most curious dream comes to them. As they are Force-awakened, Freyja and Zero tend to be lucid dreamers. It is perhaps a bit unfair that dreams occasionally see the need to impose themselves on the two... or rather, Memory imposes upon them -- the Awatea's Memory.
It is thousands of years before, an exact date impossible to tell. The place they see is not Kalarba, Tynnea, or anything else this far from the Republic. The Three are One, together in one room. For the first time, they see the old wielder of Black Destroyer, a titan of a Human with a well-groomed white beard and sad yet strong features framed by his robe's hood. He towers over the Camaasi and the Heln who stand with him. "It is agreed, then," he says in a soft, stentorian voice. "We give the Awatea to the Ophidians."
Freyja feels faint wonder... so this is how it happened? In the dream, the Camaasi nods. "Their time is past, and is yet to come."
The Heln glances to his golden-furred companion. "More to the point," and the voice has vaguely feminine tones to it, "Shadow Devil is sleeping. For us to continue as we have will awaken it. It knows our scent. It knows the scent of the Awatea. Better to hide them, let them sleep, until Shadow Devil awakens again."
The Human nods. "I agree," he says. "We could seek it out, but then it will know we are seeking it, and awaken. It will have found a wielder, and will be prepared for us." He looked to the Camaasi. "Something ails you?"
The golden dancer looks away. "When the Three awaken again," she says softly, "there will be enough chaos and confusion in the Force to hide them from the Shadow Devil. So the Awatea will have a twofold mission."
"Yes," the Heln said simply. "Destroy the Shadow Devil. Deal with the threat to the Order."
"It will be more than just a threat to the Order," the Camaasi almost whispers. "It will be a threat to the Force itself. And if the Shadow Devil is awake in that time, then we must trust in the Force that they will not come to its attention."
Freyja's faint, dreaming wonder continues... could the small, hopeful dream of the crew of the Eclipse really be that significant? Could the stridently divided camps of Force users really hurt the Force itself? Zero is very silent.
The Awatea seem to sing then, a soft, silent song that the three hear. We will hide, they say. We will not be found. Rest easy. When the Shadow Devil is awake, it will not scent us until the time is right.
The Three are silent for a moment, then the Human lets out a breath. "That is it, then," he says. "We must trust the Awatea; trust the Ophics; trust the Force."
"That is a great deal to trust," the Heln groused.
The Camaasi put a hand on the Heln's arm. "Trust is the core bond of the Force between all sentients."
"Come," the Human said. "We must go to Ossus. We must travel in silence."
"...silence..."
"...silence..."
"...silence!"
There is a discontinuity. It is now no longer the time of the Three. Discordance rises up in the Awatea, wondering and curious and disturbed. The voice that utters the imprecation turns forward again, crouched behind the exhaust duct on the roof. Behind the Rodian Jedi, two others of unfamiliar species clutch their lightsabers, glancing around. "They're here somewhere," one of them mutters.
"I know," the Rodian murmurs. "I fear they know we are here as well."
"We should call for the Watchers-"
"There's no time. And that would just give their identities away." There is a faint sound -- footsteps on a shingle? -- from the next roof over. All three Jedi tense.
"Then what do we do?"
The Rodian swallows, then takes a deep breath. "We place our trust in the Light. For the Light shall be victorious in the end."
"The Light shall be victorious in the end," the other two reply. Then it is amongst them.
A blade of green light hisses to life, beautiful as an emerald and yet deadly. The Rodian falls first, giving a cry. One of the other two breaks and runs, while the green lightsaber and the remaining Jedi's blade of pale cyan clash and crackle and lick against each other, casting peals of rippling thunder across the lonely roof. But shortly, behind the running Jedi who is desperately sending out mental calls for the Watchers who came with the Fifth Company, the cyan blade also dies, and the emerald blade sings a medusa's call behind, taunting the Jedi to take a peek.
The Jedi doesn't listen. In a desperate gamble, the sapient leaps up into the air to clear a wide boulevard below, and for a brief moment there is silence behind it, and the hope of making it.
Then a rapid whirring sound suddenly rises in volume, and the blade of the unerringly thrown saber intersects the flying Jedi. Eyes that are young look up at the cool panoply of stars, a hand reaches out as if to grasp them... then there is a horrible sense of falling and fading away, which happens mercifully before the real falling ends with the spaceport street.
Freyja's eyes flash open and she gasps, starting reflexively in a belated attempt to land properly -- and then she remembers who and where she is. She takes deep breaths to center herself, and hopes she didn't awaken anyone else. There is no such luck with Vakkal; he's awake as soon as Freyja starts. "Freyja?" he asks. "What is it...?"
Freyja takes another deep, slow breath, then whispers, "Bad dream." Her heart is slowing -- she adds softly, "I'm sorry I woke you. Was about the Awatea sabers... and the Shadow Devil." She curls up against Vakkal, comforted by the feel of strength and warm fur, and murmurs unhappily, "Too many deaths..."
Vakkal blinks and nods quietly, gently holding Freyja. "There always are," he murmurs softly.
Freyja just lies still, reorienting herself into this body; into this time. She's not those other people -- those poor, doomed, unprepared young Jedi. She's Freyja of the Light; her companions will not panic and flee. She can trust them... she can.
Zero lets himself fall -- fall into his own skin -- and opens his eyes. He lies there motionless for a long time, staring at the ceiling, at some fissure in the plating. Finally he stands and walks to the galley for water. "It's coming," he says, softly, maybe in reply, maybe to himself. He finds Fhazil already there, staring into a large glass of water himself.
Zero murmurs, "Shadow Devil." He drinks down the water, stares at the dregs for a moment. The feeling reminds him of a recently forgotten emotion, the dawn calm of a name in his pocket. A name and a place and a time. No one has provided him with these things this time, but the outcome is all the same. With newly awakened senses, he knows that it is coming all the same. "Shadow Devil. I can't let you live."
A moment later Zero sets the glass down. "Fhazil?"
Fhazil nods quietly, as if replying to Zero's quiet avowal against Shadow Devil. Then he blinks blearily, looking up at the question. "Mm? Yes, Zero?"
Zero murmurs, "Just wanted to make sure you were still with us."
Fhazil ohs! and nods. "Yeah... yeah, I am. I just... it's not fun picking up on that much focused hate, you know? Most Sith really don't get used to it, even when they learn to use it in battlemind."
For all three, the Awatea sabers are disquieted -- there is not the sense of sadness or urgency which came on the grounds of the maker's-maker's forge, but rather an odd disquietude. Freyja whispers quietly to Kourakani, Is it near? -the Shadow Devil? A second later she blinks thoughtfully, her face pressed comfortingly against fur. On Tynnea, the Shadow Devil blade had a vaguely serrated, modulated violet blade. This one was about as pure an emerald green as she can imagine. Was the emerald blade not actually the Shadow Devil? And if it wasn't... who or what was it?
Kourakani, as usual, doesn't directly answer. The Camaasi's gentle hands touch Freyja's cheeks, though. It is not near. It is hard to tell if it is the Camaasi's memnii, or the saber itself which replies. It is still far from here. It does not yet scent us. The green saber... was not Shadow Devil. We don't know what it was.
Freyja sighs quietly, a warm breath into Vakkal's fur, "This is... bad. The lightsabers are even picking up on our emotions..." she tightens up miserably, "Somewhere out there, three young, inexperienced Jedi just got, or are going to get, killed, I think, by someone carrying an emerald blade. It's not the Shadow Devil -- but..." She rubs her face against Vakkal's fur, wishing she didn't feel like crying, "-but someone out there, somewhere, is being hurt by that blade. I... don't know if I'm strong enough to help them -- but I think we may be that person's only hope." Vakkal wraps his arms closely around Freyja, closing his eyes.
Freyja miserably whispers quietly in her thoughts to Kourakani, or perhaps to the Camaasi -- she doesn't know for sure, as they're both inextricably linked in her head, Can you narrow down time or location at all on those deaths?
Kourakani is warm in Freyja's hand. They happened already. When the moon was high this evening, and we were showing you how we came to Ossus. But then that happened, and our Memory was interrupted.
Freyja swallows hard, feeling hot tears. She whispers, "Too late... they're already dead." She blinks as she rubs her eyes with the back of her hand, and nearly whacks herself with the saber handle. She murmurs, "How'd you get here?" to Kourakani. It's a rhetorical question -- she isn't really worried about it -- she just tucks the saber between her and Vakkal, and continues to cuddle close. She tries to gently tease memories out of the dreaming farseeing, though... what was that moonlit rooftop again? What was in the background that might be recognizable?
Zero says to Fhazil, in the kitchenette, "You were in the striker's head."
Fhazil blinks. "Uh... yeah, you mean... emerald saber, thrown at a Jedi leaping across buildings? I... sort of was there. You mean you guys weren't?" He frowns. "Maybe... it's because I'm a Darksider...?"
Zero says, "It's a little late for self-reprisal, Fhazil. It doesn't matter now. Remember what you saw, then. It'll be an advantage to you when the time comes."
Fhazil blinks, then nods quietly to Zero. "I'll try to," he says, grimacing.
In answer to Freyja's question, she has the immediate Memory -- the Camaasi's memnii -- of gently and lovingly placing the gold-trimmed casing, now divested of components, into the wooden box which Freyja remembers being delivered to them on Commenor. As she recalls the details of the farseeing dream, though, she thinks it was here, on Kalarba -- which would make sense if the Rodian had been talking about the Watchers they had brought with them. Fhazil had said black-sashes were with the company.
Freyja sighs and shakes her head, then sits up, "Vakkal, I'm sorry... but I have to go out and see." She looks regretful -- she knows he won't let her go alone, and she feels bad about interrupting his sleep.
Vakkal blinks, then nods. "I'll go with you," he says unhesitatingly.
Freyja smiles, leaning forward to give him a quick hug, "Thank you, Vakkal... and I'm sorry to drag you out so." She slides swiftly off the bed, hastily tugging on clothing, tucking Kourakani into her sash, pulling up her hood... then cautiously peeking out the bedroom door. Hopefully they won't awaken anyone.
As Freyja can see, the problem is not so much not waking the others up, as getting out without them knowing, if she was so inclined. Zero and Fhazil are both awake and in the galley already. "You're going to go out and find them," murmurs Zero.
Freyja blinks, then opens the door, "Hai. Er... wait. You dreamt it too?"
Fhazil says softly, "Not exactly the same. I kind of got a headful of whomever was carrying that green saber."
Zero says, "I fell."
Freyja stares in astonishment at the other two... then just shakes her head and says simply, "Got to go see. Kourakani says it just happened. Want to come along with me and Vakkal?"
Zero says, "It's dangerous, Freyja. If we're caught now-"
Freyja tilts her head at Zero thoughtfully, then smiles, "It's for the Force. All right... the Force will watch over us."
Fhazil considers, then nods. "All right," he says. "As long as Vakkal and I don't do... erm, well, anything in the Force, we shouldn't be spotted."
Freyja nods quietly at Fhazil's words, "Zero and I should be equally... discreet, I suspect."
Zero says, "Kuwatuara and I are silent. I don't know what the Destroyer's said to Fhazil, if anything. I don't know what this means yet."
Fhazil shakes his head. "The, uh, Destroyer doesn't talk to me much."
Freyja smiles at Zero, "Oh, I asked mine, Zero." She adds quietly, "She's nice." Then she heads for the exit port, "Let's go, please?"
Zero mms softly. "Kuwatuara wanted to fight," he murmurs, mostly to himself. "Lead the way."
As the group steps out of the Eclipse, they can hear the distant sound of emergency services sirens converging on a location a couple of kilometers away. Freyja pauses, considering... then says slowly, "Is that the right place for what we saw? ...or is there an emerald blade rampaging through the city somewhere?"
Fhazil says, "Dark Gods, I hope not. I don't want to think of another rampage like what Verg did on Marnaas." Freyja nods a bit grimly, looking around carefully to try and locate some landmark from the dream.
Vakkal perks his ears. "It sounds like... ambulances, police... but no fire response vehicles -- converging on a single place. I think what was done is done for the evening."
Freyja sighs quietly, "All right... then let's just quietly withdraw. It's one thing to go hunting for people that might need our help... it's another entirely to go looking for trouble afterwards." She turns and heads silently back into the ship.
Zero closes his eyes and just listens; just smells the air. Kuwatuara... we are doing more pruning than preserving, it seems. Is the galaxy that choked? Or have we chosen poorly? He turns and heads back up the gangplank. In contrast to Kourakani, there is no verbal response, or even any response which could be put into words. There is, however, a faintly comforting sense from the saber. Zero mms. I appreciate that.
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