Moon woke up to a silent, dark room. Nothing seemed familiar, and an unsettling confusion set-in. After a minute of adjusting, she did remember the cold, gray stones that comprised the walls. Whatever the stones where, they had the ability to constrain her force-abilities to the immediate surroundings, and was not able to feel anything beyond them. She missed Okha. Even if she could not see her, she would be able to reach out with the force and connect with her. No matter the distance. This was something now made impossible with these walls.
Moon sat up and a small light by the bedside beside her lit up. The bed was soft and comfortable. She had never felt sheets of such a soft texture. Although she remembered meeting a few female soldiers, watched them spar and practice, it was difficult to remember how she got to the room itself.
She slowly got out of the bed and approached the door. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of the troops practicing.
Suddenly, she could hear footsteps.She took a few steps back into the room. The steps stopped. After a few moments, she heard a knock at the door. Confused that anyone would come looking for her, Moon decided to wait for a few seconds. She finally answered, “Hello?”
A female voice replied, “Hello, may I enter?” Moon wasn’t sure who it was. It sounded like Okha, and made her heart skip a beat. But, then she remembered they all sounded the same. After hesitating for a few seconds, Moon replied, “Sure.” The door slides open to reveal Captain Xera in uniform, cradling her helmet in her left arm. She tries to generate a genuine smile, “how did you sleep?”. Moon was still confused, but tried not to show it, “good, thank you.” Xera nodded, “Good”. Moon tried not to make too much eye-contact, and simply did not know what else to say. In addition, she could tell that Xera had some type of agenda that did not require force-sensitivities to perceive. After a long minute, the tension and awkwardness became evident. Xera broke the silence, “may I come in?” Moon nodded. Xera slowly took a few steps and pointed at the other end of the bed, “Is it ok if I sit here?” Moon nodded again, lightly, and keeping her eyes looking downward. As Xera sat, and made an effort to make eye-contact and asked, “do you know why you are here?” Moon lightly shook her head while maintaining eye contact. Xera slightly smiled, “you were in danger. Now, you are safe.” Moon tried not to look confused, “safe from what?” “From those who want to hurt you.” Xera looked towards the door, “Out there, we are training to ensure that everyone, like you, is safe from those who wish to do harm.”
“Like the Empire?”
Xera looked confused, “Well, the empire is trying to maintain peace and order. Perhaps not doing a very good job of it, but there are other organizations that defy peace and order, and threaten the basic freedoms of everyone in the galaxy.”
Moon could tell that Xera believed what she was saying was true. However, she was not sure if it was fact. Xera continued to look at Moon and wait for her reaction. In the distance, the indistinct sounds of female troops engaged in war games and training exercises filled the silence.
Moon eventually looked towards the door, “are they all training to protect us?”
Xera looked toward the door and back at Moon, then nodded with excitement, “Yes, you see a long time ago, there were systems throughout the galaxy and there were wars for trade routes and control over them. Eventually, force-users became organized and called themselves Jedi and Sith … both two sides of the same blade, keeping everything divided. Eventually, the wars led to the formation of a Galactic Republic, and there was peace throughout the galaxy. However, once politics took over, and systems began breaking away. It lead to another war. A war that was never finished. The Empire silenced it, but it still screams for heroes. We are here to answer that scream for help.”
Xera stood up and reached out to Moon with both hands, “Common, let’s go…”. Moon hesitated, but eventually reached out her right hand slowly. Xera reached out with both hands and as Moon got up, they looked into each other’s eyes. Moon felt a connection not unlike the one’s she had with Okha. With the exception of the scars, Xera’s face was identical to Okha’s. But, most importantly, her eyes. If eyes are the windows to the soul, they were cut from the same cloth. Moon could feel Xera’s heartbeat. Plus, she could feel it was in the right place. It had genuine feelings and motives. However, it was in conflict with her thoughts. Moon did not feel it was necessary to pry into Xera’s mind, but she could tell that they were not aligned with her heart. Her memories were not extensive either. She could tell that Xera’s outwardly-appearing age to be in her early twenties, but her memory did not have anything beyond two years worth. There was also something dark - something Okha had as well. Something Moon could not access no matter how much she tried. Suddenly, she heard Xera’s gentle voice inside her head, “what is this?”. Moon did not answer verbally, but tried to convey a sense of calmness and trust. Suddenly, Moon felt the connection of her abilities, the feeling of thoughts, feelings and power being shared. Xera’s face showed wonder and confusion, in Moon’s head, Xera’s voice returned, is this… is this what Arla was talking about?
Once Moon heard that name, the connection began to fail. The last thing Moon felt before the connection was lost was fear. However, Moon was not sure if it was her own fear, or Xera’s.
Both Xera and Moon took a deep breath and began blinking again, while maintaining eye-contact.
After a moment, Xera broke the silence, “I am sorry...” Moon was confused, she didn’t feel Xera had a reason for apologizing. However, she remained quiet to hear what she might say next. Xera was still holding Moon’s hands in a tender fashion as she looked around the room and back at Moon’s eyes, “I didn’t know… I mean…Wow...” she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, bringing into view a genuine smile with wonder glistening in her eyes. Another long pause of silence went by before Moon decided to break the silence, “Ok, we can go…” Xera looked a little confused, “go…? OH! … go… yes” and proceeded to wince, smile again and produce a nervous laugh for a split second. Moon could not help but smile as well. In that moment, she realized that she had never seen Okha laugh once. Perhaps a smile, but never laugh.
They both walked out into the corridor. Xera pointed to the stone-laden hallway, "in case you are wondering, this facility predates the Old Republic and is hundreds of years old.”
Moon knew that there was something inherently different about the stones. Not only could she not reach-out with the force beyond any wall, but her connection with Okha was impossible. Looking at the walls and looking for Xera’s attention, felt compelled to ask, “are these stones special?”
Xera seemed to hesitate at first, “..yes... they are.” Moon looked at Xera, waiting for more. Xera eventually continued, “they are mined from a planet in which the force has no effect. It either absorbs it, reflects it or disperses, but never allows transmission or allows it to be affected by it.” Moon looked confused, “why was it used to build this place?” Xera looked slightly confused, “perhaps they didn’t know the stones had that effect centuries ago, when it was built. Or, they did know, and it was intentional.” Moon wanted more clarification, “...intentional?” “Yes, they wanted it to be that way - perhaps to ensure no one that had the force would be able to affect the structure, or use the force beyond the walls.” Moon swallowed and tried to set aside her fears, “does Arla know this?” Xera did not express confusion, but her silence made Moon feel like she knew, but did not want to tell. After a few seconds, Xera took a breath and answered, “... honestly, I don’t know.” And looked back at Moon with a slight smile.
Suddenly, they found themselves in a courtyard full of female clones in formation awaiting orders. Moon saw the area the other day, but was impressed with the size of the yard and the number of soldiers. If she had to guess, there were over five-hundred of them grouped into garrisons of one hundred each. The closest group comprised of about fifty. Half of the formation was dressed in blue jumpsuits, and the other half in red. Xera motioned toward them, this is my battalion. I want you to meet them. Xera projected her voice, “AT EASE!” All the soldiers widened their stance and placed their hands behind their backs. “Everyone, this is Moon. She is our guest and demands our utmost respect.”
Xera led her towards the closest file and motioned towards the first soldier, “this is CT-7239. However, she likes to be called Niner.” Moon gave a gentle smile and nodded. Niner also smiled and gently spoke, “pleasure to meet you.”
Xera motioned to the next soldier, “and this is CT-7189, she goes by Fibu.” Moon also gave her a gentle smile. Fibu looked at Xera and asked, “is this a new recruit?” with a slight smirk. Xera almost laughed, but caught herself, “she’s more than that. And, like I said earlier, she demands our utmost respect.” Moon was surprised at Xera’s answer, more than a recruit?. She began to wonder if Arla was after her abilities - and how they could impact the troopers’ performance in battle.
They proceeded to meet a few more troops, and eventually Xera had Moon take a seat near the arena to watch the training exercises. As the day progressed, they took a few breaks and she met more and more of the troops. Moon was taken by the warm reception, and even though they all looked alike, no two had the same personality.
At the end of the day, they enjoyed a meal together with a small platoon. Moon tried to make sense of all the political jargon the troops mentioned casually as they ate.
After the meal, Xera offered to walk Moon back to her quarters. As they walked away from the mess hall , Moon felt compelled to ask, “What is your designation?” Xera looked over and smiled, “I am CC-7657”. “CC ?” “Yes, I am a Captain. Moon looked back and saw the clones continue their conversations at the tables, “They follow you, and do whatever you ask them?” Xera looked as if to give the question some thought. Looking down at Moon, she continued to have a though-induced tone, “They… trust me.” Moon continued to look at Xera, she knew she had a better answer. “They know I have the garrison’s best interest in mind, what the team’s objectives are… and… they trust me to do what is right.” “In battle?” Xera gave it some more thought, ‘yes, when the day comes - they will trust me to make the right call in the battle field.”
Moon understood what she was saying, but wasn’t sure if her troops were ready to fight and die for Xera. Moon continued, “do they feel the same way about the enemy ?” Xera looked confused, “what do you mean?” “Are they ready to fight… for you, or… are they ready to fight against them?” Xera continued to look confused, “do you mean, are they fighting for a cause? -or- because I ask them to fight whomever, and they will do it?” Moon felt that she got the idea and nodded her head slightly. Xera looked toward the blast door ahead, entered her security cylinder in the adjacent keypad and the door opened. They walked through the door together, and Xera waited for the door to close before she before looked back at Moon and took a deep breath, “my heart desires that my troops would go into battle for me. No matter what we are up against. That they trust me implicitly and be inspired and do what is required to be done for the wellbeing of the galaxy.” Moon noticed that Xera was unsure of how they felt and did not want to dive too far into her insecurities. As a result, she did not want to pry, but she did want to challenge Xera’s resolve. What if she did not know who the real enemy is, and if she did - would she be able to lead her troops against that enemy. Or, would her troops follow regardless.
Once back in her cold, dark quarters - surrounded by cold, dark stones that isolated her from the rest of the universe, Moon realized there was no point in continuing to stay. She knew she had to get away and try to communicate with Okha somehow. She also realized that she missed an opportunity in the courtyard, as there were far fewer stones and that there was an opening to the sky. Her heart and mind dwelled on connecting with Okha. To know that she was okay, to let her know where she was, and as much as she enjoyed meeting Xera and her troops, Moon had hopes of ending the cold and dark isolation Arla was having her endure in the ancient cloning facility.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Monday, July 8, 2019
CHAPTER 19: A STORM OF THE HEART AND MIND
Okha found herself in the middle of a sand storm. The winds were extremely high and barely any visibility past 5 steps ahead. Her mind could not make sense of what was happening. Her heart had a longing for that little girl she could not live without.
“Moon!”, Okha tried to call out in the storm. She proceeded to remove her helmet, and yelled with all her might, “MOOOOON!!!” The amount of sand and debris was so severe, she had to put her helmet back on. She continued to walk and use whatever instrumentation to get some type of bearing, but nothing worked. A few more steps, and the storm cleared enough to reveal the surrounding area and a structure came into view in the distance.
I know this place, she thought to herself.
The structure was a large white building of sorts. It contained several flat surfaces and domes. From a distance, it resembled the cantina in Mos Isely spaceport. Suddenly, the storm began to pick up. Okha despised the cantina, more so because of the elements she would typically run into there. Her hate for the storm was greater, and rather than continue in the sandstorm, Okha decided to make her way towards the cantina and find the entry. The storm increased in intensity, and the visibility decreased to almost none, Okha had to place her hands on the structure and began walking around it. For a brief instance, there was a break in the storm and she found the entrance.
Okha immediately thought of her mentor, If anyone knows where she is, he does… I need to find him!
Okha fought through the crowd, she pushed and pushed and pushed, but felt like she was making no progress. Her anger began to escalate. She knew that the operatives running Moon’s abduction had a lot of financial influence and probably were hiring the best bounty hunters to get the information that led them to the girl.
He must be involved! If they absolutely wanted her, they absolutely needed him!
Struggling through the crowd, eventually Okha had enough and drew her WESTAR-34 blaster pistols at the crowd and yelled, “EVERYONE GET CLEAR!!”
She quickly realized her blasters were okay, and a slight confusion set-in. Where they not damaged on Kamino?, she thought to herself. She also noticed the barrels where a different color, they had a brown-chrome finish instead of the original silver-chrome.
What is going on here?
Suddenly, Eeloh Ssaah comes out of the crowd, and in a taunting fashion calls out, “Hellooo Okha, what brings you here?” Okha drew both of her blasters at Eeloh. “Oh, I know you are looking for her. Trust me, no one here knows,” Eeloh smiled as he gestured around the room. Okha snapped, “how can I trust you?! All you’ve ever done is cheat, steal and lie!!” After a brief pause, Okha’s confusion returned, “Wait!... How did you survive?!”
Eeloh motioned to his head, “there are a million things you are not meant to understand, and a million and one you chose not to.” Eeloh smiled in a way only a Duro can and continued, “remember, you chose this,” he proceeded to take his hand and motion it toward Okha, “you have no one to blame but yourself…” “SHUT UP!!” With the smile still in place, Eeloh shrugged his shoulders, “Okay… if that’s how you want it…. EVERYONE!... Let’s go!” He turned his back to Okha and proceeded towards the crowd, raising his right arm and created a circular motion, “Let’s go, common…”
Every alien, creature, human and character in the cantina began to follow him. Okha’s confusion knew no bounds.
Why would everyone follow this worthless scum?... Okha began to call out, “Hey!!” “HEY!!! EELOH!!”
No response and no one turned around or even acknowledged. Eeloh had already blended in with the crowd and was lost. Okha thought she’d heard a sound and turned to the main entrance and saw no one, turned back to where the crowd was, and there was no one. The entire cantina was completely empty. Much to her disbelief, she was completely alone.
She turned on her tracking systems and began to scan the room for life-signs, heat, anything and everything. Even sounds - nothing.
The silence was suddenly broken by footsteps coming from the main entrance.
She immediately drew her left pistol and turned to whomever it was. At first, she was uncertain, but in her heart of hearts, she knew who it was. “There you are!” she smiled under her helmet. Slowly and without hesitation, the dark silhouette of a Mandalorian-armored man continued to walk into the cantina. The room was poorly lit, but she knew her heart was right, “who told you I was looking for you?”
Again, without hesitation, the dark figure continued to walk, and began to get closer to her and replied, “no one.”
Eventually, the light confirmed the identity. She was both glad and distraught. Her once-mentor known as Boba Fett was finally there. Or, was he? Her mind struggled to come to terms if what she was witnessing was real. However, if this was her only chance to find Moon, her heart was telling her that she should take the risk.
As he approached, she noticed his EE-3 Blaster had been modified and that his armor color had changed. His gauntlets were now red and looked as if his rocketpack had more detail on it. She could tell by his subtle movements that he must have undergone some type of struggle and he was trying to heal from severe injuries. She could not help but ask, “have you been trampled by a bantha stampede?”
“Let’s just say I have to deal with some injuries that will not heal any time soon.”
Okha continued to follow his every motion, his every step - pointing her pistol at his head, “Where is she?”
Boba casually walked right past, “like I said, I do not know… “ Okha made the best of the opportunity to holster her left pistol, and grab Boba’s blaster rifle from him. She simultaneously kicked him in the gut and drew her right pistol, aiming it straight at his helmet, “where is she?” Boba raised his hands slowly, “I honestly do not know.” Deep down, she knew that he had let her disarm him. Boba had countless countermeasures for anyone trying to pry his weapon. Maybe he would use one. His flame-projector? The fibercord arrow? The wrist-rocket launcher? She knew he could still kill her if he wanted to. In a heart-beat and without hesitation. She also knew that if anyone in the galaxy had any knowledge of Moon, it would be him. She needed to risk it all.
After a moment of silence, Okha proceeded to throw Boba’s EE-3 Blaster across the room and draw her left pistol. She eventually placed the barrels of both pistols under his helmet and yelled, “FOR THE LAST TIME…. WHERE IS SHE ?!”
Boba kept his hands up, maintained composure and answered, “Okha, I think you already know… .” Okha did not let him finish - she moved in and shoved the pistols closer. Eventually, Boba took a step back, “Easy, if you pull any of those triggers, this will end - and you will have no answers.” “SO! YOU DO KNOW!” “Not of that which you seek, but I do know of something that might help you.”
Okha’s voice demonstrated both lack of credence and loads of contempt, “something like what?! That they will hold her captive until I do what they want?!”
WIth a calm demeanor, Boba interjected, “you may eventually find her, but you may not be able to get her to safety.”
Okha was disappointed that her former mentor could have thought so little of her, “after everything that we have been through. Everything I have learned from you, for you not to believe that I can..” he interrupts,”It is NOT about your abilities. I am well aware of what you can do. It is her that I speak of.” There was a brief moment of silence. Okha concluded it was not about her or Moon, “Arla?” “You will need something different to defeat her.” “Something different?”
Boba brought his hands down and regained his natural stance despite the two WESTAR-34 pistols pointing at his face, “you’ve heard of the darksaber.” Okha was puzzled, “yes, I have heard of it… that it was created by an ancestor of Pre Vizla, Tarre Vizla, one of the first Mandalorian Jedi.” Boba nodded and Okha continued, “It was held at the Jedi temple for some time until it was stolen during a conflict - just as the Old Republic fell.” Boba nodded, “what else?” Okha continued, “It remained with house Vizla for generations, and was used to unify the clans of Mandalore and align them in the old ways of the warriors.” Boba nodded, “go on…” “ eventually it was taken by a Sith son of Dathomir, abused during the Clone Wars and eventually kept on Dathomir by the Night Sisters.” Okha lowered her pistols and continued, “Sabine of house Wren, retrieved it from Dathomir and wielded it for a while, only to give it to Bo-Katan in an acknowledgement of power, and that she should lead the Mandalorian people against the Empire”. Boba nodded once more, and Okha continued with a level of disdain, “you want me to steal it from Bo?” “Mandalore needs the leader Bo has become. She deserves the Darksaber.” Okha breathed a sigh of relief. She did not want to confront Bo if it was not necessary. Boba continued, “Although it is legendary, and has its strengths, it also has its limits.”
Okha was confused, but continued to listen.
“There was an equal and opposite saber. A saber made from the kyber crystal found on the opposite side of the planet from where dark one was found. The true light-saber. It is believed to be far more powerful.” “More powerful, how?” “No material or form of energy can stop the blade.” Underneath her helmet, Okha’s eyes widened in disbelief. Boba continued, “known as the Purity-Saber to those who knew of its existence, as the blade itself cannot be seen, just the glow.” Okha remained puzzled and did her best to believe him. Boba lightly shook his head as he continued the story, “no one, I mean no one is to know of its existence. It has been guarded in secrecy, and was meant to remain as such for all time. No Jedi or Sith was to know... for, whomever would wield it, would be unstoppable.”
Okha holstered her pistols, and proceeded to remove her helmet. Her disbelief was still there, but she tried to control it, “why would you, of all the people in the galaxy, know of something like this - THIS BIG - or know of its whereabouts.” Boba did a slight nod, “simple, the last person who knew made me swear an oath of silence before he died.” Okha frowned in confusion, took a moment, and then she extrapolated, “he was a bounty. He knew his end was near. Interesting.” Boba’s silence confirmed her assumption, but then he proceeded to add, “the exact location has been tampered within my memory, but there is a way to find it if you know the clues.” Okha interjected, “your memory? Tampered?” “My injuries are more than just physical.” With that, he began to head towards the main entrance. Okha noticed he was leaving without his blaster, “wait, your forgetting…” “my blaster?,” he interrupts her as he stops and turns. “Okha, you know me - I would never forget it. Nor would I let anyone take the real one from me.” Okha was slightly confused, took a moment, but then nodded, “so, you are not here. I am not here. This isn’t real.” Boba silently turned back toward the entrance and continued. Okha exclaimed, “where is this then?... where is the... How is this possible?” Boba stopped once more, but did not turn around this time, “let’s just say someone else knows about this. Someone who allowed for us to meet.” Okha was confused and riddled with questions. “Wait! Where are you?” Boba did not hesitate and continued. “Boba, you are in pain, I can feel it! STOP!” As the door opened, the light that came from the outside became blinding. The storm that was outside began working its way into the cantina. Sand was blowing everywhere, the structure was gone and Okha could not maintain her composure.
This continued for a few minutes, until suddenly, she was outside and could see past the storm. The storm calmed for a moment to reveal that she was out in the Dune Sea. She could make out a giant ditch in the distance.
Is that… is this the Dune Sea? The Pit of Carkoon?, she thought to herself. She could hear something coming from it. Cries. Loud cries. Silent cries.
The Saarlaac... her heart sank.
She knew something was wrong, “BOBA?!... BOBA - ARE YOU THERE?!”
Suddenly, the storm picked up again. It got dark and she could not see a thing.
She took a few steps back and felt like she suddenly stepped into a sand trap. GREAT, she thought to herself. It gave way and her body had dropped down to her knees as the sand beneath her collapsed. Okha gasped and tried to ignite her jetpack, as it sputtered and stalled. Suddenly, she was waist-deep in the sand, “NO! NO NO! NOT NOW!” The sand continued to collapse and engulf her. In an instant, it was up to her chest.
“It cannot end this way! NO!!”
She quickly adjusted her right gauntlet to fire the fibercord anchor. She looked around, but found nothing to anchor to. She fired it into the storm, and it was gone. Little by little, the sand collapse continued to swallow her whole. Eventually, it approached her neck, then her chin. Her thoughts dwelled on knowing that one day she would die alone, but never expected it to be this way. Eventually, there was nothing but darkness. Okha took her last, deep breath and held it in.
“Moon!”, Okha tried to call out in the storm. She proceeded to remove her helmet, and yelled with all her might, “MOOOOON!!!” The amount of sand and debris was so severe, she had to put her helmet back on. She continued to walk and use whatever instrumentation to get some type of bearing, but nothing worked. A few more steps, and the storm cleared enough to reveal the surrounding area and a structure came into view in the distance.
I know this place, she thought to herself.
The structure was a large white building of sorts. It contained several flat surfaces and domes. From a distance, it resembled the cantina in Mos Isely spaceport. Suddenly, the storm began to pick up. Okha despised the cantina, more so because of the elements she would typically run into there. Her hate for the storm was greater, and rather than continue in the sandstorm, Okha decided to make her way towards the cantina and find the entry. The storm increased in intensity, and the visibility decreased to almost none, Okha had to place her hands on the structure and began walking around it. For a brief instance, there was a break in the storm and she found the entrance.
Okha immediately thought of her mentor, If anyone knows where she is, he does… I need to find him!
Okha fought through the crowd, she pushed and pushed and pushed, but felt like she was making no progress. Her anger began to escalate. She knew that the operatives running Moon’s abduction had a lot of financial influence and probably were hiring the best bounty hunters to get the information that led them to the girl.
He must be involved! If they absolutely wanted her, they absolutely needed him!
Struggling through the crowd, eventually Okha had enough and drew her WESTAR-34 blaster pistols at the crowd and yelled, “EVERYONE GET CLEAR!!”
She quickly realized her blasters were okay, and a slight confusion set-in. Where they not damaged on Kamino?, she thought to herself. She also noticed the barrels where a different color, they had a brown-chrome finish instead of the original silver-chrome.
What is going on here?
Suddenly, Eeloh Ssaah comes out of the crowd, and in a taunting fashion calls out, “Hellooo Okha, what brings you here?” Okha drew both of her blasters at Eeloh. “Oh, I know you are looking for her. Trust me, no one here knows,” Eeloh smiled as he gestured around the room. Okha snapped, “how can I trust you?! All you’ve ever done is cheat, steal and lie!!” After a brief pause, Okha’s confusion returned, “Wait!... How did you survive?!”
Eeloh motioned to his head, “there are a million things you are not meant to understand, and a million and one you chose not to.” Eeloh smiled in a way only a Duro can and continued, “remember, you chose this,” he proceeded to take his hand and motion it toward Okha, “you have no one to blame but yourself…” “SHUT UP!!” With the smile still in place, Eeloh shrugged his shoulders, “Okay… if that’s how you want it…. EVERYONE!... Let’s go!” He turned his back to Okha and proceeded towards the crowd, raising his right arm and created a circular motion, “Let’s go, common…”
Every alien, creature, human and character in the cantina began to follow him. Okha’s confusion knew no bounds.
Why would everyone follow this worthless scum?... Okha began to call out, “Hey!!” “HEY!!! EELOH!!”
No response and no one turned around or even acknowledged. Eeloh had already blended in with the crowd and was lost. Okha thought she’d heard a sound and turned to the main entrance and saw no one, turned back to where the crowd was, and there was no one. The entire cantina was completely empty. Much to her disbelief, she was completely alone.
She turned on her tracking systems and began to scan the room for life-signs, heat, anything and everything. Even sounds - nothing.
The silence was suddenly broken by footsteps coming from the main entrance.
She immediately drew her left pistol and turned to whomever it was. At first, she was uncertain, but in her heart of hearts, she knew who it was. “There you are!” she smiled under her helmet. Slowly and without hesitation, the dark silhouette of a Mandalorian-armored man continued to walk into the cantina. The room was poorly lit, but she knew her heart was right, “who told you I was looking for you?”
Again, without hesitation, the dark figure continued to walk, and began to get closer to her and replied, “no one.”
Eventually, the light confirmed the identity. She was both glad and distraught. Her once-mentor known as Boba Fett was finally there. Or, was he? Her mind struggled to come to terms if what she was witnessing was real. However, if this was her only chance to find Moon, her heart was telling her that she should take the risk.
As he approached, she noticed his EE-3 Blaster had been modified and that his armor color had changed. His gauntlets were now red and looked as if his rocketpack had more detail on it. She could tell by his subtle movements that he must have undergone some type of struggle and he was trying to heal from severe injuries. She could not help but ask, “have you been trampled by a bantha stampede?”
“Let’s just say I have to deal with some injuries that will not heal any time soon.”
Okha continued to follow his every motion, his every step - pointing her pistol at his head, “Where is she?”
Boba casually walked right past, “like I said, I do not know… “ Okha made the best of the opportunity to holster her left pistol, and grab Boba’s blaster rifle from him. She simultaneously kicked him in the gut and drew her right pistol, aiming it straight at his helmet, “where is she?” Boba raised his hands slowly, “I honestly do not know.” Deep down, she knew that he had let her disarm him. Boba had countless countermeasures for anyone trying to pry his weapon. Maybe he would use one. His flame-projector? The fibercord arrow? The wrist-rocket launcher? She knew he could still kill her if he wanted to. In a heart-beat and without hesitation. She also knew that if anyone in the galaxy had any knowledge of Moon, it would be him. She needed to risk it all.
After a moment of silence, Okha proceeded to throw Boba’s EE-3 Blaster across the room and draw her left pistol. She eventually placed the barrels of both pistols under his helmet and yelled, “FOR THE LAST TIME…. WHERE IS SHE ?!”
Boba kept his hands up, maintained composure and answered, “Okha, I think you already know… .” Okha did not let him finish - she moved in and shoved the pistols closer. Eventually, Boba took a step back, “Easy, if you pull any of those triggers, this will end - and you will have no answers.” “SO! YOU DO KNOW!” “Not of that which you seek, but I do know of something that might help you.”
Okha’s voice demonstrated both lack of credence and loads of contempt, “something like what?! That they will hold her captive until I do what they want?!”
WIth a calm demeanor, Boba interjected, “you may eventually find her, but you may not be able to get her to safety.”
Okha was disappointed that her former mentor could have thought so little of her, “after everything that we have been through. Everything I have learned from you, for you not to believe that I can..” he interrupts,”It is NOT about your abilities. I am well aware of what you can do. It is her that I speak of.” There was a brief moment of silence. Okha concluded it was not about her or Moon, “Arla?” “You will need something different to defeat her.” “Something different?”
Boba brought his hands down and regained his natural stance despite the two WESTAR-34 pistols pointing at his face, “you’ve heard of the darksaber.” Okha was puzzled, “yes, I have heard of it… that it was created by an ancestor of Pre Vizla, Tarre Vizla, one of the first Mandalorian Jedi.” Boba nodded and Okha continued, “It was held at the Jedi temple for some time until it was stolen during a conflict - just as the Old Republic fell.” Boba nodded, “what else?” Okha continued, “It remained with house Vizla for generations, and was used to unify the clans of Mandalore and align them in the old ways of the warriors.” Boba nodded, “go on…” “ eventually it was taken by a Sith son of Dathomir, abused during the Clone Wars and eventually kept on Dathomir by the Night Sisters.” Okha lowered her pistols and continued, “Sabine of house Wren, retrieved it from Dathomir and wielded it for a while, only to give it to Bo-Katan in an acknowledgement of power, and that she should lead the Mandalorian people against the Empire”. Boba nodded once more, and Okha continued with a level of disdain, “you want me to steal it from Bo?” “Mandalore needs the leader Bo has become. She deserves the Darksaber.” Okha breathed a sigh of relief. She did not want to confront Bo if it was not necessary. Boba continued, “Although it is legendary, and has its strengths, it also has its limits.”
Okha was confused, but continued to listen.
“There was an equal and opposite saber. A saber made from the kyber crystal found on the opposite side of the planet from where dark one was found. The true light-saber. It is believed to be far more powerful.” “More powerful, how?” “No material or form of energy can stop the blade.” Underneath her helmet, Okha’s eyes widened in disbelief. Boba continued, “known as the Purity-Saber to those who knew of its existence, as the blade itself cannot be seen, just the glow.” Okha remained puzzled and did her best to believe him. Boba lightly shook his head as he continued the story, “no one, I mean no one is to know of its existence. It has been guarded in secrecy, and was meant to remain as such for all time. No Jedi or Sith was to know... for, whomever would wield it, would be unstoppable.”
Okha holstered her pistols, and proceeded to remove her helmet. Her disbelief was still there, but she tried to control it, “why would you, of all the people in the galaxy, know of something like this - THIS BIG - or know of its whereabouts.” Boba did a slight nod, “simple, the last person who knew made me swear an oath of silence before he died.” Okha frowned in confusion, took a moment, and then she extrapolated, “he was a bounty. He knew his end was near. Interesting.” Boba’s silence confirmed her assumption, but then he proceeded to add, “the exact location has been tampered within my memory, but there is a way to find it if you know the clues.” Okha interjected, “your memory? Tampered?” “My injuries are more than just physical.” With that, he began to head towards the main entrance. Okha noticed he was leaving without his blaster, “wait, your forgetting…” “my blaster?,” he interrupts her as he stops and turns. “Okha, you know me - I would never forget it. Nor would I let anyone take the real one from me.” Okha was slightly confused, took a moment, but then nodded, “so, you are not here. I am not here. This isn’t real.” Boba silently turned back toward the entrance and continued. Okha exclaimed, “where is this then?... where is the... How is this possible?” Boba stopped once more, but did not turn around this time, “let’s just say someone else knows about this. Someone who allowed for us to meet.” Okha was confused and riddled with questions. “Wait! Where are you?” Boba did not hesitate and continued. “Boba, you are in pain, I can feel it! STOP!” As the door opened, the light that came from the outside became blinding. The storm that was outside began working its way into the cantina. Sand was blowing everywhere, the structure was gone and Okha could not maintain her composure.
This continued for a few minutes, until suddenly, she was outside and could see past the storm. The storm calmed for a moment to reveal that she was out in the Dune Sea. She could make out a giant ditch in the distance.
Is that… is this the Dune Sea? The Pit of Carkoon?, she thought to herself. She could hear something coming from it. Cries. Loud cries. Silent cries.
The Saarlaac... her heart sank.
She knew something was wrong, “BOBA?!... BOBA - ARE YOU THERE?!”
Suddenly, the storm picked up again. It got dark and she could not see a thing.
She took a few steps back and felt like she suddenly stepped into a sand trap. GREAT, she thought to herself. It gave way and her body had dropped down to her knees as the sand beneath her collapsed. Okha gasped and tried to ignite her jetpack, as it sputtered and stalled. Suddenly, she was waist-deep in the sand, “NO! NO NO! NOT NOW!” The sand continued to collapse and engulf her. In an instant, it was up to her chest.
“It cannot end this way! NO!!”
She quickly adjusted her right gauntlet to fire the fibercord anchor. She looked around, but found nothing to anchor to. She fired it into the storm, and it was gone. Little by little, the sand collapse continued to swallow her whole. Eventually, it approached her neck, then her chin. Her thoughts dwelled on knowing that one day she would die alone, but never expected it to be this way. Eventually, there was nothing but darkness. Okha took her last, deep breath and held it in.
Monday, May 13, 2019
CHAPTER 18: WAKING EYES
Moon slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark, damp and silent. The surroundings were made of large, dark gray stones tightly bound by some type of welding.The only light was that from the exterior hallway that made it through the narrow bars of the door’s opening. Moon tried to reach out with the force, but felt nothing.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard in the distance. They got louder and eventually stopped just outside the door. Moon readied herself, and reached into the living force. For a moment, she did feel a disturbance in the force. Something was wrong. Danger. And then, silence.
BEEP
BOP
BEEP
The sound of beeping broke the silence. A familiar tap accompanied them, the definitive codes being entered into the door’s exterior keypad. Within a split of a second, the door slides open to reveal a Large interrogation droid [K2]. The droid was a very dark gray, almost black. His round, lit eyes had an ominous stare that seemed to look right through anyone. Standing at just over 7 ft tall, it barely cleared the room’s door. Moon reached into the force and prepared to crush the droid, when suddenly, she heard a familiar female voice, “come child… don’t be afraid.” It sounded like Okha’s voice, but Moon did not want to get her hopes high. She knew it would not make sense that she would suddenly be there.
The interrogation droid stepped into the room and moved to the immediate right and made no further motions or sound. A second droid stepped into the room and moved to the immediate left, and did the same. Immediately after, a tall, armored individual entered the room. The armor was reminiscent of Okha’s. The flight suit was a dark, rich purple while the metal armor was the deepest of gold. “Don’t be afraid”, she repeated as she slowly removed her helmet.
Moon could not believe her eyes. It was Okha. She was almost going to run to her… and stopped herself. She knew deep down that it was not. First of all, the scars were missing. Okha had distinct scars on her forehead and cheek. Next, her eyes. They had a heartless look to them, they lacked the tender emotions and willingness to connect and that love that transcended the force. As if all of that was not enough, the disturbance she felt in the force earlier was now personified
“Your feelings betray you little one”, she feigned a smile, “you know who I am?” Moon stood in silence, looked at the droids and looked back at the armored woman who resembled Okha. She continued, “I think you know who I am, search your feelings little one”, she crouched to be at eye-level with Moon. “Do I look like that fake? Or should I say, that fake - she looks like me… doesn’t she?” She proceeded to remove her gauntlets and gloves and place them on the floor, “See, no need to be afraid.” She slowly proceeded to reach to Moon’s face and caress it,”See? You feel that?” Moon could not describe what she felt. Looking into each other’s eyes, the sudden connection jolted her. Her heart began beating out of her chest. It was real. It was deep, it was as if she was connecting with Okha. The feeling was identical. “See, we are now one sweetheart.” With that, the armored woman made a fist with her bare left hand and punched it right through the droid standing to the right.
BAAAMMM!!!
Moon gasped. The droid’s eyes turned off as it collapsed like a ragdoll.
With the connection, their emotions and immediate thoughts were shared. However, this woman had an unpredictable nature that needed getting used to. Moon knew she was showing the power of the connection, and that the droid to the left was next in her demonstration.
This time, Moon stood still and showed no surprise as the armored woman took her right hand and punched it right through the other droid’s chest.
BAAAMM!!!
The droid went limp. The entire weight of the droid bared on the woman’s arm. In an instant, she proceeded to remove the hand and allowed the droid to drop. She turned to stand in front of Moon with her bare knuckles turned toward her, as to show her that there was no injury, “See?... See what we can do when we are one?” Moon showed no emotion, but she knew that they were still connected, and that the fear would permeate.
“Oh, I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you my name”, she smiled and proceeded to crouch at Moon’s eye-level once more. “I’m Arla, what’s your name?”
There was a long period of silence.
“Oh, are we still connected?” Arla closed her eyes, and suddenly, the connection was lost. “There, now, let’s try again. I’m Arla, what’s your name?”
Moon’s heart sank. She knew she had to cooperate if she was ever to see Okha again.
“Moon”, she replied softly as tears began to well.
“Moon, what a beautiful name”, she cocked her head and observed a tear run down Moon’s cheek. “There, there now…” She proceeded to gently wipe the tear, “we have so much you need to learn… there are so many people who want to meet you…”, Alra feigned another smile and proceeded to the door. She turned and reached out her left hand,”come on Moon.”
Moon’s hesitation was brief. Approaching Arla, she took her hand and looked up. Arla’s smile looked genuine for once. She had gotten what she wanted.
Walking out of the small room was a relief, but the rest of the place looked no different. It was all built of a dark, gray stone. The hallways were extremely tall and oval in shape. Although the building seemed hundreds of years old, there were lights and control panels in the corridors that seemed up to date with current technology.
The hallways were long and seemed to lead nowhere. Eventually, they arrived at an area where there was some comotion. There was the sound of hissing and visible gas vapors working into the corridor ahead. Arla looked over at Moon, and noticed she was a little startled, “don’t worry little one, that’s a carbonite freezing chamber. Long before there was hyperspace travel, that was one of the ways pilots and their crew made sure they didn’t age so much during the decade-long travels to other planets.”
They continued walking past the chamber and arrived at a large room that would be main entrance of sorts. Arla waved her hand above her head, “the stars called to everyone…” Moon looked up. She gasped in surprise, the entire room was opened to the sky. A night sky that was full of bright radiant stars. Arla continued, “The Kaminoans answered the call - the need to allow everyone to reach those stars. To do so, they would have to cheat time. Cheat death.”
Arla motioned her hand toward a large door at the end of the large room, “like I said earlier, freezing was one way to travel to distant stars and cheat time... cheat death.” Arla continued to the door, punched in a code on the display, “the other way, was cloning…” the doors opened to reveal a massive room. In the distance, the remainder of the room was full of large glass tubular structures. The lighting was poor, but it could be made out that living beings were inside the glass structures.
“This is a cloning chamber,” Arla motioned her right hand across her periphery from left to right in a slow and steady sweep, then held it up and turned to Moon,”this is where those pilots and their crew would find their way to cheat death.” Moon was overwhelmed. Suddenly, one of the beings in the glass structures ahead moved. She felt terrified, and Arla picked up on it. “Nothing to fear here. You know them. You know all of them. As the one continued to move in the structure, it became clear. It was a young human female floating in some type of suspension fluid. Moon looked at the next one, and the next and the next. They were all the same. They all looked identical. “These will be ready today,” Arla nodded and smiled to herself. “In the next room, you can see what they are like once the process is completed.” Arla took Moon’s hand and gently led her to the large set of doors to the far right of the room.
Again, Arla entered a code into the door panel. The door opened to reveal an open courtyard of mammoth proportions. There were stages in the courtyard as far as the eye can see, all populated by several individuals dressed in white armor. There was shouting, bodies in motion and weapon fire in the distance. No faces could be seen, as they were all wearing helmets - white helmets with a black shaped T . It’s like Okha’s visor, Moon thought to herself. The station closest to them had a two fully-armored individuals engaged in physical combat. There was shouting, kicking, punching and violent motions. Arla motioned toward them, “in this station, they are practicing the art of Teräs Käsi , a form of hand-to-hand combat”.
Arla motioned to the white armored individual with blue trim. The armor had a dark Blue line down the center of the helmet and two stripes across the chest plate. The soldier approached. “I want you to meet someone,” Arla smiled and turned to Moon, looking for a reaction. “This is Captain Xera…Captain Xera, this is Moon.” The soldier looked down at Moon and proceeded to place her hands around the lower opening of her helmet and lifted it up slowly, allowing her long, shimmering hair to fall. Moon’s eyes widened. She looks beautiful, just like Okha, but with long, dark hair, Moon thought to herself.
“Does she look familiar?”, Arla asked as she motioned her right hand towards herself and Xera.
“Hello Moon,” Xera extended her right hand toward Moon, “pleased to meet you.”
Moon takes her hand and slowly shakes it. “I’ve heard great things.” Moon looked amazed and inquisitive, “are you all… do you all look the same?” Xera smiled, looked at Arla and then back at Moon, “we are all sisters. We all are born ready to fight together, live together and die together.” Arla motioned to Xera, “Captain, go ahead and look at Moon’s eyes, they have a unique color I have never seen before... aren’t they beautiful?” Xera smiled and crouched to be at eye-level with Moon, “really? Let’s take a look at those big, beautiful…” Suddenly Xera stopped mid-sentence. Her mouth remained open. Moon knew what she was experiencing as she felt a surge of emotion. Xera took a deep breath, “do I know you?” Moon did not know what to say. Arla interrupts the moment, “see what I mean?” Xera snaps out of the trance, continues to look at Moon, “I… I think I do..” and turns to Arla, “Her eyes are… I mean she is, extraordinary.” Still a little dazed, Xera looked back at Moon and brought about a tender smile. Again, Arla interrupts the moment, “well, now Moon, shall we proceed,” as she gestures toward the open arena in the far distance. Moon follows, but turns back to Xera and catches her glance once more.
As they walk together, Arla asks, ”how do you like what you see so far? Interesting isn’t it?” Moon does not know what to say. She looks up at Arla and nods lightly. Arla smiles and continues,”we are all preparing. Preparing to bring closure to a war that never ended.” Arla stopped, crouched at eye-level with Moon, and continued, “you see, technology has limits. The human spirit does not. Once the Techno Union sided with the Separatists during the Clone Wars, they declared war on all of us. Technology has always bastardized war. Doing the fighting for us. And now, there is intel that they are developing hybrid Battle Droids, B3, organic and technologic: fused.” Moon was confused, “like machines… with people… together?” “Yes, an aberration of nature. Tainting what is pure and beautiful about being a warrior.” Arla turned away, “sure, General Grievous, Darth Vader are both examples of great cybernetic warriors. If every combatant on the field have such abilities, it would no longer be a fight… but simply a slaughter.” Arla remained quiet for a minute and turned back at Moon. She crouched at eye-level and gazed into Moon’s eyes to make the force connection, “this, this beautiful and pure feeling. This is something they can never have.” Arla smiled and ran her left hand through Moon’s hair, eventually holding the back of her head, “you see, they will come for us… to take this away from us. Perhaps they will bastardize it too.” Moon felt terror, and knew Arla could feel it too. After a moment, Arla began to shake her head and raised her voice emphatically, “we cannot let them have it!” Arla got up and continued making eye-contact with Moon. Shaken by what was just said, and how it was said, Moon knew that there was much more at stake. She knew she needed to get the information to Okha, but had no idea how.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard in the distance. They got louder and eventually stopped just outside the door. Moon readied herself, and reached into the living force. For a moment, she did feel a disturbance in the force. Something was wrong. Danger. And then, silence.
BEEP
BOP
BEEP
The sound of beeping broke the silence. A familiar tap accompanied them, the definitive codes being entered into the door’s exterior keypad. Within a split of a second, the door slides open to reveal a Large interrogation droid [K2]. The droid was a very dark gray, almost black. His round, lit eyes had an ominous stare that seemed to look right through anyone. Standing at just over 7 ft tall, it barely cleared the room’s door. Moon reached into the force and prepared to crush the droid, when suddenly, she heard a familiar female voice, “come child… don’t be afraid.” It sounded like Okha’s voice, but Moon did not want to get her hopes high. She knew it would not make sense that she would suddenly be there.
The interrogation droid stepped into the room and moved to the immediate right and made no further motions or sound. A second droid stepped into the room and moved to the immediate left, and did the same. Immediately after, a tall, armored individual entered the room. The armor was reminiscent of Okha’s. The flight suit was a dark, rich purple while the metal armor was the deepest of gold. “Don’t be afraid”, she repeated as she slowly removed her helmet.
Moon could not believe her eyes. It was Okha. She was almost going to run to her… and stopped herself. She knew deep down that it was not. First of all, the scars were missing. Okha had distinct scars on her forehead and cheek. Next, her eyes. They had a heartless look to them, they lacked the tender emotions and willingness to connect and that love that transcended the force. As if all of that was not enough, the disturbance she felt in the force earlier was now personified
“Your feelings betray you little one”, she feigned a smile, “you know who I am?” Moon stood in silence, looked at the droids and looked back at the armored woman who resembled Okha. She continued, “I think you know who I am, search your feelings little one”, she crouched to be at eye-level with Moon. “Do I look like that fake? Or should I say, that fake - she looks like me… doesn’t she?” She proceeded to remove her gauntlets and gloves and place them on the floor, “See, no need to be afraid.” She slowly proceeded to reach to Moon’s face and caress it,”See? You feel that?” Moon could not describe what she felt. Looking into each other’s eyes, the sudden connection jolted her. Her heart began beating out of her chest. It was real. It was deep, it was as if she was connecting with Okha. The feeling was identical. “See, we are now one sweetheart.” With that, the armored woman made a fist with her bare left hand and punched it right through the droid standing to the right.
BAAAMMM!!!
Moon gasped. The droid’s eyes turned off as it collapsed like a ragdoll.
With the connection, their emotions and immediate thoughts were shared. However, this woman had an unpredictable nature that needed getting used to. Moon knew she was showing the power of the connection, and that the droid to the left was next in her demonstration.
This time, Moon stood still and showed no surprise as the armored woman took her right hand and punched it right through the other droid’s chest.
BAAAMM!!!
The droid went limp. The entire weight of the droid bared on the woman’s arm. In an instant, she proceeded to remove the hand and allowed the droid to drop. She turned to stand in front of Moon with her bare knuckles turned toward her, as to show her that there was no injury, “See?... See what we can do when we are one?” Moon showed no emotion, but she knew that they were still connected, and that the fear would permeate.
“Oh, I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you my name”, she smiled and proceeded to crouch at Moon’s eye-level once more. “I’m Arla, what’s your name?”
There was a long period of silence.
“Oh, are we still connected?” Arla closed her eyes, and suddenly, the connection was lost. “There, now, let’s try again. I’m Arla, what’s your name?”
Moon’s heart sank. She knew she had to cooperate if she was ever to see Okha again.
“Moon”, she replied softly as tears began to well.
“Moon, what a beautiful name”, she cocked her head and observed a tear run down Moon’s cheek. “There, there now…” She proceeded to gently wipe the tear, “we have so much you need to learn… there are so many people who want to meet you…”, Alra feigned another smile and proceeded to the door. She turned and reached out her left hand,”come on Moon.”
Moon’s hesitation was brief. Approaching Arla, she took her hand and looked up. Arla’s smile looked genuine for once. She had gotten what she wanted.
Walking out of the small room was a relief, but the rest of the place looked no different. It was all built of a dark, gray stone. The hallways were extremely tall and oval in shape. Although the building seemed hundreds of years old, there were lights and control panels in the corridors that seemed up to date with current technology.
The hallways were long and seemed to lead nowhere. Eventually, they arrived at an area where there was some comotion. There was the sound of hissing and visible gas vapors working into the corridor ahead. Arla looked over at Moon, and noticed she was a little startled, “don’t worry little one, that’s a carbonite freezing chamber. Long before there was hyperspace travel, that was one of the ways pilots and their crew made sure they didn’t age so much during the decade-long travels to other planets.”
They continued walking past the chamber and arrived at a large room that would be main entrance of sorts. Arla waved her hand above her head, “the stars called to everyone…” Moon looked up. She gasped in surprise, the entire room was opened to the sky. A night sky that was full of bright radiant stars. Arla continued, “The Kaminoans answered the call - the need to allow everyone to reach those stars. To do so, they would have to cheat time. Cheat death.”
Arla motioned her hand toward a large door at the end of the large room, “like I said earlier, freezing was one way to travel to distant stars and cheat time... cheat death.” Arla continued to the door, punched in a code on the display, “the other way, was cloning…” the doors opened to reveal a massive room. In the distance, the remainder of the room was full of large glass tubular structures. The lighting was poor, but it could be made out that living beings were inside the glass structures.
“This is a cloning chamber,” Arla motioned her right hand across her periphery from left to right in a slow and steady sweep, then held it up and turned to Moon,”this is where those pilots and their crew would find their way to cheat death.” Moon was overwhelmed. Suddenly, one of the beings in the glass structures ahead moved. She felt terrified, and Arla picked up on it. “Nothing to fear here. You know them. You know all of them. As the one continued to move in the structure, it became clear. It was a young human female floating in some type of suspension fluid. Moon looked at the next one, and the next and the next. They were all the same. They all looked identical. “These will be ready today,” Arla nodded and smiled to herself. “In the next room, you can see what they are like once the process is completed.” Arla took Moon’s hand and gently led her to the large set of doors to the far right of the room.
Again, Arla entered a code into the door panel. The door opened to reveal an open courtyard of mammoth proportions. There were stages in the courtyard as far as the eye can see, all populated by several individuals dressed in white armor. There was shouting, bodies in motion and weapon fire in the distance. No faces could be seen, as they were all wearing helmets - white helmets with a black shaped T . It’s like Okha’s visor, Moon thought to herself. The station closest to them had a two fully-armored individuals engaged in physical combat. There was shouting, kicking, punching and violent motions. Arla motioned toward them, “in this station, they are practicing the art of Teräs Käsi , a form of hand-to-hand combat”.
Arla motioned to the white armored individual with blue trim. The armor had a dark Blue line down the center of the helmet and two stripes across the chest plate. The soldier approached. “I want you to meet someone,” Arla smiled and turned to Moon, looking for a reaction. “This is Captain Xera…Captain Xera, this is Moon.” The soldier looked down at Moon and proceeded to place her hands around the lower opening of her helmet and lifted it up slowly, allowing her long, shimmering hair to fall. Moon’s eyes widened. She looks beautiful, just like Okha, but with long, dark hair, Moon thought to herself.
“Does she look familiar?”, Arla asked as she motioned her right hand towards herself and Xera.
“Hello Moon,” Xera extended her right hand toward Moon, “pleased to meet you.”
Moon takes her hand and slowly shakes it. “I’ve heard great things.” Moon looked amazed and inquisitive, “are you all… do you all look the same?” Xera smiled, looked at Arla and then back at Moon, “we are all sisters. We all are born ready to fight together, live together and die together.” Arla motioned to Xera, “Captain, go ahead and look at Moon’s eyes, they have a unique color I have never seen before... aren’t they beautiful?” Xera smiled and crouched to be at eye-level with Moon, “really? Let’s take a look at those big, beautiful…” Suddenly Xera stopped mid-sentence. Her mouth remained open. Moon knew what she was experiencing as she felt a surge of emotion. Xera took a deep breath, “do I know you?” Moon did not know what to say. Arla interrupts the moment, “see what I mean?” Xera snaps out of the trance, continues to look at Moon, “I… I think I do..” and turns to Arla, “Her eyes are… I mean she is, extraordinary.” Still a little dazed, Xera looked back at Moon and brought about a tender smile. Again, Arla interrupts the moment, “well, now Moon, shall we proceed,” as she gestures toward the open arena in the far distance. Moon follows, but turns back to Xera and catches her glance once more.
As they walk together, Arla asks, ”how do you like what you see so far? Interesting isn’t it?” Moon does not know what to say. She looks up at Arla and nods lightly. Arla smiles and continues,”we are all preparing. Preparing to bring closure to a war that never ended.” Arla stopped, crouched at eye-level with Moon, and continued, “you see, technology has limits. The human spirit does not. Once the Techno Union sided with the Separatists during the Clone Wars, they declared war on all of us. Technology has always bastardized war. Doing the fighting for us. And now, there is intel that they are developing hybrid Battle Droids, B3, organic and technologic: fused.” Moon was confused, “like machines… with people… together?” “Yes, an aberration of nature. Tainting what is pure and beautiful about being a warrior.” Arla turned away, “sure, General Grievous, Darth Vader are both examples of great cybernetic warriors. If every combatant on the field have such abilities, it would no longer be a fight… but simply a slaughter.” Arla remained quiet for a minute and turned back at Moon. She crouched at eye-level and gazed into Moon’s eyes to make the force connection, “this, this beautiful and pure feeling. This is something they can never have.” Arla smiled and ran her left hand through Moon’s hair, eventually holding the back of her head, “you see, they will come for us… to take this away from us. Perhaps they will bastardize it too.” Moon felt terror, and knew Arla could feel it too. After a moment, Arla began to shake her head and raised her voice emphatically, “we cannot let them have it!” Arla got up and continued making eye-contact with Moon. Shaken by what was just said, and how it was said, Moon knew that there was much more at stake. She knew she needed to get the information to Okha, but had no idea how.
Monday, April 1, 2019
CHAPTER 17: THE DREAM THAT WAS
Okha’s injury from the encounter with the bloodsnake kept bleeding. Her jumpsuit was soaking with water, and that last connection with Moon left her longing for would-be child even more than before. From where she stood, the mountain face of where her once secret home resided, was within view. She could visibly make out smoke pouring out of the cave that led to it.
Oh no…
The thought that all was for nothing did not slow her down. She walked and walked for miles. She scaled the mountain without pause and navigated through the smoke-filled caves in almost complete darkness.
Hours and hours went by as Okha ignored her physical exhaustion and loss of blood. Even the pain of her injuries was set aside. Her resolve to enter her once-called-home and find Moon was all that mattered. She was aware that her training, and perhaps her genetic design had prepared her to overcome the physical demands. However, nothing would prepare her for the emotional demands she was about to endure.
On the brink of exhaustion, Okha finally arrived to the landing platform deep inside the mountain face. The once secret location in the Takodana mountain, now lay in ruins. There was smoke, fire scorching, and debris everywhere. The landing platform was wrecked. The main entryway, destroyed. Each step was dread.
Okha rushed across the landing platform to the main entrance. She came to the realization that she had no armor and no weapons. Everything she had been wearing on her flight suit, was now at the bottom of that lake.Yet, she was ready to fight anything or anyone remaining. The main sliding door between the landing platform and the foyer was already opened, and damaged. Placing her back against the entryway wall, she edged her head to take a look at the foyer and main area. She slowly turned the corner. There were multiple scorch marks all over the walls. Okha realized there was a major exchange of weapons fire.
Okha took small steps through the wrecked room. She knew that giving her position away was a risk, but she needed to know if Moon was still there.
“MOON!?”
Hopefully, she was alive. Possibly trapped. The dark, smoke-filled air made it difficult to see.
There was no responde.
“MOON!?”
As Okha proceeded to the main living quarters, it became more and more difficult to walk. The floor was littered with pieces of an astromech droid scattered everywhere. “TIC!”, Okha exclaimed to herself as she followed a trail of the parts to the communications room. There, most of her modified R5, TIC, lay in disarray. “TIC!” She exclaimed as she knelt down to take a closer look. She felt rage as she picked up parts and pieces of her beloved astromech. Its dome was detached from the main body and it’s rollers were fractured in multiple locations. There were some blaster scorching, but the rest of it was physical. “They took you apart... “, Okha softly spoke as her eyes became glossy. “We’ve been through so much together, let’s see if your memory core is still... “ Okha paused. She realized that it was more than just vandalism. “They took it…” Okha softly spoke to herself as she came to the conclusion that they were searching for more than just Moon. They wanted information. Looking around the room, she noticed all of her systems were taken apart.
Suddenly, Okha’s thoughts shifted to her other droid.
GASP! “TAC!!”
Her heart sank. She looked around the corner and took off to the garden. There, in the center of the garden, lay her modified B2 Super-Battle Droid, TAC, in pieces. Okha knelt right next to it and began to look at the wreck that was once her most prized possession, and companion.
“NO, no, no… what have they done?!...”
TAC was also disassembled beyond the mortal wounds. Searching through the armor remains, she noticed the memory core was also missing.
“Bastards!”
She remained kneeling and shifted herself ever so slightly and imagined what it was like to be there. To be Moon in those final moments. Her sight shifted to the ground and the surrounding plants.
There was a firefight, TAC stood his ground until his end. Somehow, Moon must have been sedated and taken against her will, Okha thought to herself as she slowly closed her eyes.
Unless… Perhaps, while I was in the Lab - our connection… it distracted her. Her eyes opened and widened with the realization of the impact of their connection.
She knew Moon’s potential. And knew she could not be taken without a fierce fight. She began to feel guilt and blame for what had happened. She slowly spoke to herself, “this would not have happened if she hadn’t felt my need…” her voice began to break and falter, “she felt that I needed her…”
Okha closed her eyes and tried reaching out to Moon. There was nothing. Okha closed her eyes and tried to focus, “common, Moon… please…”
Eventually, the emotional pain was more than she could bare, and winced in sadness.
“It’s all my fault. All of it….”
She remained kneeling, and braced herself. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed silently. One tear found its way to dark gray stone floor at the center of her once lush and beautiful garden.
Oh no…
The thought that all was for nothing did not slow her down. She walked and walked for miles. She scaled the mountain without pause and navigated through the smoke-filled caves in almost complete darkness.
Hours and hours went by as Okha ignored her physical exhaustion and loss of blood. Even the pain of her injuries was set aside. Her resolve to enter her once-called-home and find Moon was all that mattered. She was aware that her training, and perhaps her genetic design had prepared her to overcome the physical demands. However, nothing would prepare her for the emotional demands she was about to endure.
On the brink of exhaustion, Okha finally arrived to the landing platform deep inside the mountain face. The once secret location in the Takodana mountain, now lay in ruins. There was smoke, fire scorching, and debris everywhere. The landing platform was wrecked. The main entryway, destroyed. Each step was dread.
Okha rushed across the landing platform to the main entrance. She came to the realization that she had no armor and no weapons. Everything she had been wearing on her flight suit, was now at the bottom of that lake.Yet, she was ready to fight anything or anyone remaining. The main sliding door between the landing platform and the foyer was already opened, and damaged. Placing her back against the entryway wall, she edged her head to take a look at the foyer and main area. She slowly turned the corner. There were multiple scorch marks all over the walls. Okha realized there was a major exchange of weapons fire.
Okha took small steps through the wrecked room. She knew that giving her position away was a risk, but she needed to know if Moon was still there.
“MOON!?”
Hopefully, she was alive. Possibly trapped. The dark, smoke-filled air made it difficult to see.
There was no responde.
“MOON!?”
As Okha proceeded to the main living quarters, it became more and more difficult to walk. The floor was littered with pieces of an astromech droid scattered everywhere. “TIC!”, Okha exclaimed to herself as she followed a trail of the parts to the communications room. There, most of her modified R5, TIC, lay in disarray. “TIC!” She exclaimed as she knelt down to take a closer look. She felt rage as she picked up parts and pieces of her beloved astromech. Its dome was detached from the main body and it’s rollers were fractured in multiple locations. There were some blaster scorching, but the rest of it was physical. “They took you apart... “, Okha softly spoke as her eyes became glossy. “We’ve been through so much together, let’s see if your memory core is still... “ Okha paused. She realized that it was more than just vandalism. “They took it…” Okha softly spoke to herself as she came to the conclusion that they were searching for more than just Moon. They wanted information. Looking around the room, she noticed all of her systems were taken apart.
Suddenly, Okha’s thoughts shifted to her other droid.
GASP! “TAC!!”
Her heart sank. She looked around the corner and took off to the garden. There, in the center of the garden, lay her modified B2 Super-Battle Droid, TAC, in pieces. Okha knelt right next to it and began to look at the wreck that was once her most prized possession, and companion.
“NO, no, no… what have they done?!...”
TAC was also disassembled beyond the mortal wounds. Searching through the armor remains, she noticed the memory core was also missing.
“Bastards!”
She remained kneeling and shifted herself ever so slightly and imagined what it was like to be there. To be Moon in those final moments. Her sight shifted to the ground and the surrounding plants.
There was a firefight, TAC stood his ground until his end. Somehow, Moon must have been sedated and taken against her will, Okha thought to herself as she slowly closed her eyes.
Unless… Perhaps, while I was in the Lab - our connection… it distracted her. Her eyes opened and widened with the realization of the impact of their connection.
She knew Moon’s potential. And knew she could not be taken without a fierce fight. She began to feel guilt and blame for what had happened. She slowly spoke to herself, “this would not have happened if she hadn’t felt my need…” her voice began to break and falter, “she felt that I needed her…”
Okha closed her eyes and tried reaching out to Moon. There was nothing. Okha closed her eyes and tried to focus, “common, Moon… please…”
Eventually, the emotional pain was more than she could bare, and winced in sadness.
“It’s all my fault. All of it….”
She remained kneeling, and braced herself. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed silently. One tear found its way to dark gray stone floor at the center of her once lush and beautiful garden.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
CHAPTER 16: HOMECOMING
Falling at near terminal velocity towards the surface of Takodana, the Raven continued to fall apart. There was smoke everywhere and all sorts of debris going in all directions. One such part found its way to Okha's rocket pack, and within an instant, the rocket pack stalled and all lost all power. Now in free fall, Okha’s first thoughts raced toward how to remove the rocket pack and re-ignite it in time to slow her fall. All she had now was gravity, love and the force.
Gravity. One of the true constant forces in the Galaxy. Pulling Okha ever closer to the surface of the planet. Just about a few hundred meters away, her ship, the Raven continued to fall apart.It, too had succumbed to gravity and will pummel to the planet surface in minutes. Inside the ship, the Duro prisoner, Eeloh Ssaah will likely suffer the same fate as the vessel unless he manages a way to get a hold of the key Okha tauntingly dropped on the cargo area floor as she left.
Love. Another constant force. A force that drove her to Moon despite the circumstances. She knew there was no reason for the bond to exist between them, but it suddenly did. It transcended space and time. Although there was also no reason for Moon to call to her, she did. Okha might have heard it with her hypersensitive sound-capturing hardware - but she felt it within her heart. Something she could not explain at the time, however, if what Eeloh was saying is true, and Moon was her daughter, it would make sense. Now, there might be a legitimate reason for her inability to remember her.
The Force. Binds and connects all life in the galaxy. It connected Okha and Moon for brief moments. Moments that changed the entire situation. And, their bond. Okha could not ignore the fact that their bond must have served as some form of a conduit for their force connection. She knew what she did to the super battle droid was beyond her physical capabilities.
Just as gravity continued to pull her closer to the surface, Okha began to look back on her life. That it was all potentially a lie. That she was only a clone. A life not worth living. But her thoughts and feelings dwelled on Moon. She knew life was worth living for her. The bond she felt was beyond the force. It was beyond gravity. It was love. For that love, everything became clear. It was all worth it.
Without further thoughts, Okha removed her rocket pack in mid-fall. From her gauntlets, she extended two close-range mandalorian steel blades that are typically concealed. The last time the blades were used, they saved her life in battle. Now, she hopes they will once again save her life in a very different manner. She carefully managed to pry open the intermix chamber. She spotted the break in the fuel line. She knew she needed to wrap it with something. Without hesitation, she proceeded to use the blades once more to slice through the her belt and blaster holsters. Suddenly, there was blood. With the turbulence, and adrenaline rushing, her movements lost accuracy and sliced her thigh wide open. The pain began to take over, but she ignored it. Grabbing the rocketpack in one hand and tearing the holster belt with the other, Okha found herself struggling through fuel, blood and if not careful, fire. She wrapped the rocketpack with her legs and with the holster straps freed, Okha began to tie a piece around the damaged intermix fuel line. The warning alarms in her helmet began blaring as she began to fall farther and faster.
Nearing terminal velocity, Okha had nothing else to do but try a cold-start of the rocketpack. She did not even have enough time to try to fasten the rocketpack back on her. All she did was hold onto it for dear life, and ignite the engines. A loud Whiiiiirrrrrr…. BAM! WhoooooSH and the rockets ignited. She had to now compensate for the imbalance of her body being on top of the rocketpack, not next to it.
“Common you worthless piece of Bantha poodoo…! Work!!” Okha yelled.
Suddenly, her velocity slowed and continued to slow. However, she had a lot of momentum and needed to steer her decent onto something that could break her fall - not her bones. With all the smoke and debris from her falling ship, visibility was a challenge, but she managed to spot a small lake. Just as the engines began to sputter, she let go. The rocketpack continued to a few seconds and splashed a few meters away. Okha held her breath as she pummeled into the water.
SPLASH!!!
Darkness. For the longest, she believed it was her ally. Silence. Her only refuge. Now, she wants nothing more than to see the sunlight, reach the surface and get Moon. Within a second, Okha began to unbuckle her armor and remove every piece of her flight suit that could be weighing her down. Swimming was not her strong suit, but she did not give up. She needed to breathe. Three, two, one…
GASP
Okha took a deep breath as she broke through the surface. In the distance, she could make out the remains of the Raven engulfed in flames. She looked around and made a mental note of where she was. She knew she would have to return to retrieve her armor.
If things were not bad enough, Okha realized her blood began tinting the water. Typically, it was not a danger to swim in the lakes of Takodana. Unless, the lake happened to have a Sangispera bloodsnake which are attracted to blood. Swimming was not her strong suit, however, if her suspicions of herself being a clone where true, she should have the skill within. She tried to clear her mind and let her instincts take over. Taking a deep breath, she propelled herself as quickly as possible to the shore.
SPLASH!!!
Immediately upon reaching the shore, she took a deep breath and leveraged her body with her arms. Just as she was about to raise her injured right leg onto the shore, she feels something wrap around her left leg and tug it back into the water.
SPLASH!!!
No armor. No gauntlets. No weapons. She felt the scales from the creature coiling around her body. The last breath she took before being pulled into the water was beginning to get pushed out as the bloodsnake began constricting her torso. It got darker and darker as her body got pulled further and further down into the lake. Suddenly, the sharp teeth sank into the open wound. With it, the remainder of her air bursted out of her lungs.
In what would be her final moments, her thoughts were of Moon. How she longed to see her one last time and share a tender embrace. To think that she may actually be her child from a life forcibly forgotten. She knew she would never breathe again. Okha accepted that. But she could not accept that she would never see Moon again. That hurt more than the teeth in her thigh. That scared her more than death itself.
MOON!
In that instant, she could see her eyes in the darkness. As clear as day. As if she was with her. Her life. Her energy. It coursed through Okha’s mind and body as it did in that lab on Kamino. Suddenly, she did not need to breathe anymore. She could clearly see the bloodsnake and it’s razor sharp teeth digging deeper. In a split second, Okha spread her arms and untangled herself. Grabbing the bloodsnakes head, she spread its jaws open, pried it off her thigh and continued to spread them. The bloodsnake’s body began re-wrapping around Okha, but to no avail. It tried fighting back and constricting, but it got nowhere. Such snakes had dislocating jaws, which allowed for the extreme extent at which it had been opened. However, it did have a limit. Okha’s power fueled by anger suddenly had no limit.
CRACK!
The bloodsnake’s jaw got ripped off completely by her right hand. A second later, its head was completely crushed with her left. The bloodsnake’s body went completely limp as the lake filled with a cloud of its blood. Despite the low visibility, Okha regained her composure and swam to the shore, with no need for breaths. Slowly, she regained her footing. She knew the force-connection with Moon was now over. As she stood on the edge of the lake’s shore, she looked back and could not believe what had just happened.
“I should have died. I should have died twice today,” Okha softly said to herself. Looking to the mountain range behind her, she continued, “I cannot yet..”
Okha began racing toward the mountain range where her once-called home resided. Accessing it via starship was difficult, getting there by foot was almost impossible. She knew she had to make it home and confirm Arla’s threats were empty. She knew she had to make it home, and find Moon.
Gravity. One of the true constant forces in the Galaxy. Pulling Okha ever closer to the surface of the planet. Just about a few hundred meters away, her ship, the Raven continued to fall apart.It, too had succumbed to gravity and will pummel to the planet surface in minutes. Inside the ship, the Duro prisoner, Eeloh Ssaah will likely suffer the same fate as the vessel unless he manages a way to get a hold of the key Okha tauntingly dropped on the cargo area floor as she left.
Love. Another constant force. A force that drove her to Moon despite the circumstances. She knew there was no reason for the bond to exist between them, but it suddenly did. It transcended space and time. Although there was also no reason for Moon to call to her, she did. Okha might have heard it with her hypersensitive sound-capturing hardware - but she felt it within her heart. Something she could not explain at the time, however, if what Eeloh was saying is true, and Moon was her daughter, it would make sense. Now, there might be a legitimate reason for her inability to remember her.
The Force. Binds and connects all life in the galaxy. It connected Okha and Moon for brief moments. Moments that changed the entire situation. And, their bond. Okha could not ignore the fact that their bond must have served as some form of a conduit for their force connection. She knew what she did to the super battle droid was beyond her physical capabilities.
Just as gravity continued to pull her closer to the surface, Okha began to look back on her life. That it was all potentially a lie. That she was only a clone. A life not worth living. But her thoughts and feelings dwelled on Moon. She knew life was worth living for her. The bond she felt was beyond the force. It was beyond gravity. It was love. For that love, everything became clear. It was all worth it.
Without further thoughts, Okha removed her rocket pack in mid-fall. From her gauntlets, she extended two close-range mandalorian steel blades that are typically concealed. The last time the blades were used, they saved her life in battle. Now, she hopes they will once again save her life in a very different manner. She carefully managed to pry open the intermix chamber. She spotted the break in the fuel line. She knew she needed to wrap it with something. Without hesitation, she proceeded to use the blades once more to slice through the her belt and blaster holsters. Suddenly, there was blood. With the turbulence, and adrenaline rushing, her movements lost accuracy and sliced her thigh wide open. The pain began to take over, but she ignored it. Grabbing the rocketpack in one hand and tearing the holster belt with the other, Okha found herself struggling through fuel, blood and if not careful, fire. She wrapped the rocketpack with her legs and with the holster straps freed, Okha began to tie a piece around the damaged intermix fuel line. The warning alarms in her helmet began blaring as she began to fall farther and faster.
Nearing terminal velocity, Okha had nothing else to do but try a cold-start of the rocketpack. She did not even have enough time to try to fasten the rocketpack back on her. All she did was hold onto it for dear life, and ignite the engines. A loud Whiiiiirrrrrr…. BAM! WhoooooSH and the rockets ignited. She had to now compensate for the imbalance of her body being on top of the rocketpack, not next to it.
“Common you worthless piece of Bantha poodoo…! Work!!” Okha yelled.
Suddenly, her velocity slowed and continued to slow. However, she had a lot of momentum and needed to steer her decent onto something that could break her fall - not her bones. With all the smoke and debris from her falling ship, visibility was a challenge, but she managed to spot a small lake. Just as the engines began to sputter, she let go. The rocketpack continued to a few seconds and splashed a few meters away. Okha held her breath as she pummeled into the water.
SPLASH!!!
Darkness. For the longest, she believed it was her ally. Silence. Her only refuge. Now, she wants nothing more than to see the sunlight, reach the surface and get Moon. Within a second, Okha began to unbuckle her armor and remove every piece of her flight suit that could be weighing her down. Swimming was not her strong suit, but she did not give up. She needed to breathe. Three, two, one…
GASP
Okha took a deep breath as she broke through the surface. In the distance, she could make out the remains of the Raven engulfed in flames. She looked around and made a mental note of where she was. She knew she would have to return to retrieve her armor.
If things were not bad enough, Okha realized her blood began tinting the water. Typically, it was not a danger to swim in the lakes of Takodana. Unless, the lake happened to have a Sangispera bloodsnake which are attracted to blood. Swimming was not her strong suit, however, if her suspicions of herself being a clone where true, she should have the skill within. She tried to clear her mind and let her instincts take over. Taking a deep breath, she propelled herself as quickly as possible to the shore.
SPLASH!!!
Immediately upon reaching the shore, she took a deep breath and leveraged her body with her arms. Just as she was about to raise her injured right leg onto the shore, she feels something wrap around her left leg and tug it back into the water.
SPLASH!!!
No armor. No gauntlets. No weapons. She felt the scales from the creature coiling around her body. The last breath she took before being pulled into the water was beginning to get pushed out as the bloodsnake began constricting her torso. It got darker and darker as her body got pulled further and further down into the lake. Suddenly, the sharp teeth sank into the open wound. With it, the remainder of her air bursted out of her lungs.
In what would be her final moments, her thoughts were of Moon. How she longed to see her one last time and share a tender embrace. To think that she may actually be her child from a life forcibly forgotten. She knew she would never breathe again. Okha accepted that. But she could not accept that she would never see Moon again. That hurt more than the teeth in her thigh. That scared her more than death itself.
MOON!
In that instant, she could see her eyes in the darkness. As clear as day. As if she was with her. Her life. Her energy. It coursed through Okha’s mind and body as it did in that lab on Kamino. Suddenly, she did not need to breathe anymore. She could clearly see the bloodsnake and it’s razor sharp teeth digging deeper. In a split second, Okha spread her arms and untangled herself. Grabbing the bloodsnakes head, she spread its jaws open, pried it off her thigh and continued to spread them. The bloodsnake’s body began re-wrapping around Okha, but to no avail. It tried fighting back and constricting, but it got nowhere. Such snakes had dislocating jaws, which allowed for the extreme extent at which it had been opened. However, it did have a limit. Okha’s power fueled by anger suddenly had no limit.
CRACK!
The bloodsnake’s jaw got ripped off completely by her right hand. A second later, its head was completely crushed with her left. The bloodsnake’s body went completely limp as the lake filled with a cloud of its blood. Despite the low visibility, Okha regained her composure and swam to the shore, with no need for breaths. Slowly, she regained her footing. She knew the force-connection with Moon was now over. As she stood on the edge of the lake’s shore, she looked back and could not believe what had just happened.
“I should have died. I should have died twice today,” Okha softly said to herself. Looking to the mountain range behind her, she continued, “I cannot yet..”
Okha began racing toward the mountain range where her once-called home resided. Accessing it via starship was difficult, getting there by foot was almost impossible. She knew she had to make it home and confirm Arla’s threats were empty. She knew she had to make it home, and find Moon.
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