Telosian Festival of Fear
In collaboration with athenaprime...
The Telosian Festival of Fear is a day when Telosians symbolically face and overcome their greatest fears. For Admiral Carth Onasi, that day proves to be his undoing...
Citadel Station wasn't Telos. The planet spun far below, only visible from viewports in recreation areas, or the residential pods that happened to face the planet, which were in short supply and high demand. Admiral Carth Onasi could have had one of those. The hometown boy who made good on the Star Forge resided on Citadel with his new wife, one of the Jedi instrumental in bringing down Darth Malak.
Little was known about the woman, save that she was close to Bastila Shan, the most downloaded face on the HoloNet, and Mission Vao, the Teen Twi'lek Sensation, who played the spunky female sidekick Greeta in the popular "Legendary Adventures of Vod Krakenslayer, Galactic Hero." The neighbors only knew that she was some sort of Jedi, although she never wore the voluminous outer robes or visited the offices of the Jedi Order, and that when asked, the only name she would provide was, "Mrs. Onasi."
Admiral and The Missus could have had one of the plushly appointed penthouses facing the slowly-rebuilding planet, but by unspoken agreement, had chosen instead the modest A5 unit in the middle of Res-23, a very middle-class neighborhood. It was close to the Admiral's work, and the Missus seemed not to mind the many families that inhabited the pod, even occasionally pitching in and volunteering her husband for maintenance on the jungle gym in the nature habitat.
Although many residents of Citadel Station weren't Telosian, and the Station itself couldn't begin to reflect the planet's unique character, an important part of rebuilding was maintaining the local customs, and the Feast of Fear these days held even more significance. The original settlers used the Feast of Fear to exorcise their fears of the unknown planet they had settled on, and to celebrate the reward they had received with their new home. The feast had focused on the heroes of the early settlement days, and the first Festivals consisted of the settlers throwing a feast for the heroes who had led them to their new home.
Over time, the Feast became not so much a facing of individual fears, but rather turned to focus, as festivals do, on those who had the most enthusiasm for them--the children. These days, the Festival of Fear mostly consisted of children emulating their favorite heroes. The early festival tradition of sharing with one's neighbors became a beggar's night of sorts, where the children, dressed as their heroes, recounted tales of great bravery and daring, in return for their neighbors' generous gifts of candy and toys.
The ladies of the neighborhood all agreed--the Admiral was Their Boy, however, his Missus was definitely NOT Telosian. Nevertheless, she had jumped into Telosian culture with both feet, and even if she didn't seem to know how to wear the Telosian wedding earring properly, she was more than willing to make an attempt.
Thus it was with some trepidation that the neighborhood faced the coming Festival of Fear. Most of the families had discussed it, either at the nature habitat or at the cantina, and they all felt that the Admiral and his Missus should be left well enough alone during Festival Night. They weren't average folk, like the rest of Res-23...they were Famous Personages, and really shouldn't be bothered. They'd likely be away at one of the swanky parties hosted by Czerka, or at one of the Embassies. Parents prepared their children for the eventuality that their resident celebrities would likely not be home to hear their tales of bravery.
But on the dawn of Festival Day, they discovered that The Missus had decorated the door to the Onasi Rez with a rather...enthusiastic collection of Festival regalia. And the children, it seemed, worked too hard on their hero costumes to be dissuaded from approaching the door to Res-23 Unit A5...
Revan dropped yet another datapad on the history and traditions of the Telosian Festival of Fears and rubbed her forehead. "Do you think I have it right?"
"I think you have it just fine," Carth said. "You really put your heart into it, didn't you?"
"I'm not done yet," she said, shoving an armful of black and orange streamers into his hands. "Pin these around the door will you?"
"You're really making way too big a deal over this." He elbowed the door pad and ducked under the tangle of streamers already resembling a black and orange Dagoban swamp. "It's just an excuse to give kids candy these days, and--what the banthapoodoo is that?"
The streamers fell away from his eyes to reveal a sheet of flimsy advertising a holodrama where the neighborhood announcements usually went. An advert poster of an upcoming holodrama. A holodrama whose storyline he already knew too well.
"Star Forge, A New Hope?" he read the bottom of the flimsy. "Can't they come up with anything original?"
Revan laughed. "You were the one who encouraged Mission to do something legitimate with her life. Making holos is legit."
Carth muttered to himself while he pinned up more black and orange ribbon to the door. "I think you've got plenty of decorations already," he said.
"I want to do this right," she insisted, handing him more ribbon. "I want to share your traditions. Be part of your life."
"Beautiful, I haven't celebrated Fear Festival in twenty-five years."
"Doesn't matter. We'll make a new tradition," she said. "I may not be able to rebuild your planet, Carth," she said. "But I can keep your traditions."
He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Founder's Day was a lot more of a significant festival. Businesses shut down for it, the entire planet had feasts...the military got leave. Festival of Fear was only for kids these days. But that was Revan. She picked the obscure, the overlooked. And somehow made it work. She blindsided you that way.
"Okay, what do I say again?"
Carth sighed. "You open the door, and say, 'what are you afraid of?'
And they say, 'we're afraid of nothing, because we're the heroes of Telos.'" He smiled softly, remembering holos of Dustil's Festival costume Morgana had sent. "And then you ask them who are the heroes of Telos, and what do they do that's so brave."
He rubbed his jaw. "Then they bend your ear with mixed-up and half-coherent stories about the first settlers."
"Who am I likely to see?" she asked.
"Probably Troth Horn, or Setta Suul. Setta Suul was the captain of one of the original settlement ships from Corellia. Troth Horn is reported to have cleared the ocean of a sea Kraken for the fishermen in Old Barada City. There might be Earn Dalehart. He was five-time winner of the Taris Swoop Classic." He glanced at her. "Beat your best time by almost 20 seconds. Dustil dressed as Daleheart one year."
"Any females in there?" Revan asked wryly.
"Lorna Benat, who was a Telosian Supreme Chancellor."
Revan moved closer to the door. "I can't wait to hear their stories," she said.
"I can," he retorted. "If it means that sparkle in your eyes will stay there for a while longer." He bent his head to kiss her.
It seemed like only moments after her arms wound around his neck that the door chimed.
"It's time," she said, bouncing up and down in a manner utterly un-becoming to a former Dark Lord, but one that he didn't mind at all looking at. "Ready? We have to say it in unison."
He shook his head. "You're hopeless." How she could get such joy out of something so...pedestrian.
She pulled him by the wrist to the door and palmed it open. "What are you afraid--" she sang.
He mumbled along, his sights on the bowl of sweets, and realized she'd stopped in mid-sentence, gaping open-mouthed like a Selkath in a sauna. A second later, she snatched the bowl from his hands and put it behind her back. "Okay, if you guys want candy, you're going to have to work for it. Tell me your stories, and make 'em good and long. I want to remember this." Her eyes, when she glanced at him, were filled with wicked relish. And the Admiral found himself a brand new fear to face.
"I am never wearing that jacket again," he muttered.
And the Dark Lord smiled...