Chapter 1: Mirgaanla
The delicate, crystalline spires caught the faltering light of the starship's underside lamps, providing a narrow pathway to progress through the maze of towering spines. Their tiny signals, each appearing to glow faintly with their own, unique light signatures, lit up the frosty night sky like runway guiding its passengers to safe ground. The ship continued to plunge deeper through the swirling mists, its mass of metal creaking as the chilled air played havoc with its mechanisms. Their destination was getting ever closer as well as the ever pressing danger of being spied by Imperial soldiers that may have inhabited the diamond infused Ilum.
Ever since the fall of the Jedi Order to Order 66 almost two decades previous, the world had been lost in whispers and heresay, unknown to many. Ilum was the natural home of adegan crystals, the heart of a lightsaber, and had become a place of solidarity and serenity for any Force sensitive still lurking in the galaxy that was aware of its difficult location. Although these folk were rare, there were some who still ventured out into space in search of treasures lost, instead of settling down, though their presences were always masked.
The occupants of this particular ship, on this particular expedition, were some of those few; daring to make a venture into the unknown. There was something urgently needed here that could not be found elsewhere, according to the expeditions' self-elected leader. This was a chance for new discoveries, though the youngest of the team was not entirely sure what that could entail.
Seated in the piloting chair of the Crimson Breeze, Jedi Knight Mirdala Kendari amused herself by exhaling and admiring the patterns her breath formed in the cold cockpit air. To her side sat a bottle-green R5 astromech droid that was jacked into dataterminal nearby. With her definite lack of piloting skills, she has entrusted the actual flying of the ship to the talents of her robotic counterpart. Her job, that she had assigned to herself, had been to monitor the ship's surveillance systems and com-link for any chatter that would signal if they had been spotted.
Although this was not entirely her mission, her father had instructed that she should take the lead with the landing process. So, she had attempted to think as her father might. Keeping the heating systems down inside the cockpit would eliminate any excess heat signatures that might be picked up by enemy sensors. She could not do anything about the engines, but at the speed they seemed to be constantly accelerating to, she hoped that they might pass for a rapidly cooling meteorite that was crashlanding into the frozen landscape. If they did not, then she was going to have a lot of explaining to do...
The astromech, named Artoo-TeeDee, let out a warbled warning. Mirdala turned her gaze away from the patterns of condensation in the air and narrowed her eyes through the forward viewport. An outcropping lay ahead on the horizon, glowing a faint shade of amber. She guessed that this was their impromptu landing platform.
Maybe it's warmer out there than it is in here, she thought, with wry amusement.
"Trim the speed off, Tee-Dee. Although, we may finally get warm if we crash landed to a burning death on this freezing planet."
She received a sharp blat in reply, curtly reminding her that the small droid was more than capable of flying the ship without her input or instruction. With a roll of her eyes, she twisted in her chair to address the person seated behind her,
"Buir, we -"
She bit down on her tongue sharply. The gruff looking man, for once in his lifetime, looked content and at peace. His buy'ce sat in the crook of his arm, as dirtied, darkened and damaged as the rest of his shadowed armour. Its scarlet, T shaped visor looked like it could use a bit of tender, loving, care as much as the scuffed armour plates. His matted, shoulder length, graying, black hair looked like it had seen better days. His appearance suggested like the man had just stepped fresh out of battle only moments ago. But, his closed eyes and relaxed, weathered face suggested otherwise.
To some, it may have seemed like he was sleeping. Mirdala knew better, however. He was meditating, deep in the Force and in tune with the ship around them. He would be watching her every move and overseeing every alteration she or the astromech made to their course. He would nurse every strain that the Breeze succumbed to with a small whisper of the Force. This was their family skill - communicating with technology as though it was a living organism.
She turned sharply around in her chair once more and set to work on preparing the landing gear for when they arrived, as if in response to an unanswered command from the man.
The world reeled around her, thoughts and memories swirling in front of her eyes. She saw so many faces, some known and others not so as they danced before her. A pained gasp escaped her lips as she was pitched back into the dark...
Snowflakes lashed harshly at two figures as they ascended the cliff face. Ice gave out under foot and sent the pair skidding down ledges. Only a small Force leap was able to re-correct their progress as they continued to climb upwards. Fortunately, their cave entrance was looming closer in sight, barely visible through the blizzard of snow whipping around them.
Mirdala was the first to reach the top of the cliff face, her gloved fingers clawing deftly at the ledge as she heaved her body weight up onto the more stable surface. She was suddenly reminded of cliff climbing on Dathomir with someone dear to her, and felt herself grinning at the landscape around her. It was truly breathtaking up this high in the mountains, and it was a dire shame that they could not share the experience together.
Barely had she caught her breath back before the blackened form of her father appeared in her peripheral vision and made a confident approach into the cave entrance. She paused for a long moment, then with a groan of extra effort she pulled herself up onto her feet and dutifully followed after him.
The caves were more beautiful than the staggeringly stunning view outside. The walls were pitched deep in shadow without a trace of reflection on the floor, the ebony pigmentation of the rock was a dark, starless starscape the deeper they journeyed into the caverns. Mirdala produced one of the lightsabers dangling off of her utility belt and ignited the blade in a burst of amber brilliance. The rocks absorbed the light as she passed the blade across the walls like a small black hole. She leaned in closer in fascination, tracing her fingertip along lines etched into the stone. She remembered reading archive information prior to the trip to Ilum, learning that Jedi had often etched their stories into the walls. Her fingers dusted a faint trace of snow off of the patterns as she swept her lightsaber blade ever closer, trying to make out a meaning behind the carvings.
Her father brushed past her shoulder and used a gentle Force nudge to focus her vision on the path ahead. With a mutter of annoyance under her breath, she pressed on.
The caves became even tighter and twisting as they continued to walk. Her lightsaber's glow became swallowed by the gloom, enough to tempt her to ignite her second weapon to provide more illumination. The lack of lighting had not phased her father in the slightest, as he carried on to their destination. Her feet fumbled on the slippery rock floor as she tried to match his pace and she had to resort to drawing upon the Force to right her uneven balance.
Eventually, her father came to a sudden halt as their path split in two directions. He gestured with one hand, indicating Mirdala to head to the right. She stepped up to his side, looking confused as she produced her datapad from where it dangled off of her utility belt. After consulting it for a moment, she looked at him.
"We need to head left," she explained as she tried to slip past him and go in the opposite direction to his instruction. "Master Meji said he would meet us in the lightsaber construction chamber."
Another arm outstretched before her at blinding speed, preventing her from moving. She took a step backwards and tilted her head to look up into his scarlet visor, scanning the helmet for eyes behind the metal, as if trying to see his intentions.
"You meditate in there." Once more, her father pointed past her shoulder to the narrow gap in the ebony rock wall. "I'll come and find you when we're done."
"Meditating?" Mirdala's dark blue eyes narrowed as her hands propped themselves on her hips. "I thought this was an exploration mission!"
"It is." Jedi Master Laothin Kendari regarded his daughter sternly and any attempt she made to slip past his arm proved to be futile. "You've lost direction lately, Mird'ika. You're going to stay here and find yourself again, before I get back."
"What do you mean?" The young Jedi Knight remained rooted in place as her father stepped away and disappeared around a corner in the direction she believed they had both been going. "Is this about the Rebellion? It's not like -"
Her words were only answered by the sound of the wind whipping around further back outside the cave. She huffed in exasperation. She had joined the Rebellion because she believed that it would fulfill her duties as a Jedi Knight, to protect those who could not protect themselves. But apparently in doing this, she had lost her direction as a Jedi, according to her father, and was fighting someone else's war. She could not win with whatever path that she decided to take.
Mirdala slipped into the narrow gap, reflexively inhaling as she tried to pass through. It was a tight squeeze, but she was thankful to see the walls expanded to accommodate for more of a form to pass along the path. Her heavy boots did not provide enough grip as she shuffled towards another opening growing ever larger in the distance and once more had to dip into the Force to ground herself. Eventually, her hand groped the edge of the ice wall pressed against her back and tugged her body free into the cavern ahead.
The cavern looked the same as the passageway outside. The dark rocks ate away at the glow of her datapad as she cautiously crept up a small bridge carved into the ice. The footbridge led to a dais suspended on pillars of stone, supporting it precariously from the bottomless darkness that extended itself far below her feet. The ice slicked rock of the platform did not look inviting, but large enough for three or four beings to sit in a circle and meditate collaboratively. She lowered herself down, wriggling her buttocks as a sharp pang of cold shivered up her back.
Voices punctuated her hearing, rumbling around in her head like a sonic wave had dropped down next to her. Fingers dug into her hair as clashing sounds of blades on bone rang out and swiftly dumped her back into gloom...
Limbs - legs, arms and even heads - tumbled past Mirdala into the cavernous drop beneath her. Her lightsabers screamed in protest along with her arm muscles as they whipped arcs around her. The Gorgodons had attacked even as she had been deeply immersed in the Force. Perhaps the harmony of the Force and Force infused crystals around her had relaxed her spirit so much that she had lost awareness of everything in close proximity. Now, she was heavily paying the price. It had only been her last minute danger sense that had caused her eyes to snap open and lightsaber to spring into hand, blocking a gargantuan, clawed hand that came hurtling towards her at terminal velocity.
Within another five minutes, she had been swarmed by a whole pack of the beasts. Standing much taller than herself, they were hulking masses of muscle hidden beneath oil coloured fur. They had at least three rows of sharp teeth that seemed intent on trying to sink their way into her skin, or at least rip through her layers of protective clothing. A few times she had been able to blind a few with a simple Force flash into their minds, but it had not slowed down their assault at all. She was silently cursing herself for not thinking about any indigneous life that may have lived on the uninhabited planet, in spite of what her holonet records had shown.
Planting one foot solidly in front of the other for even balance, she crossed her blades across one another and sent them thundering together towards a Gorgodon as it rampaged towards her. The force of the blow sent the creature staggering, and with a quick downwards movement, she pulled the blades apart, catching two low blows on another couple of creatures that pounced at her from her left and right. The beasts let out a howl of pain as the blazing amber shafts of light burned through their fur. She caught the whiff of tinged ozone and scorched flesh clinging to the frozen air in the small cavern.
It was beginning to startle her how so many huge creatures had been able to scramble their way into the room through the narrow gap without her noticing.
In the time that it had taken the thought to pass through her mind, the Gorgodons had developed a new technique. They raised two sets of heavy weighted arms to either side of her and hammered them down towards each one of her blades. Mirdala let out a startled yelp and crouched, raising the lightsabers high above her head to catch the extreme pressure of the attack. The result was similar to having a batha dropped on top of her from a great height.
Her foot gave way beneath her, causing another sharp cry of pain to escape from her mouth. Half sitting and with her other knee still raised, she could not hold up her defence as the Gorgodons pushed their full weight down against her. Desperation started to kick in as she plunged deeply into the Force to support her weakening blockade. She wanted to let out a sharp Force shove to send them back. But removing her concentration, for even a nanosecond, away from her Force shield would spell the end of her life. She was certain of it.
Ice skidded under her boots as she fought for grip, being pressured further and further back towards the edge of the platform. Her heart and mind screamed for Dinek, who was always there to support her. But, he was not here this time, not even in the same region of space.
The space behind her ran out. She tumbled, falling over the back of the platform. There was a sharp scream as a single hand caught the edge, the other clinging desperately to one lightsaber as her second blade disappeared into the dark.
"Mirdala!"
The platform swayed as more weight bounded onto the ice dusted rock beneath them. Purple and amber light bathed the walls for a moment before the black rock swallowed them up again. Clashes of electricity striking and hacking through bone filled her ears as the chaos broke out. Gorgodons fell flailing around her as she let out another futile sound; half scream, half growl while her hand struggled to maintain its hold.
At the last possible second, a Force grip grabbed her and hauled her roughly back onto safe ground.
She landed on her hands and knees, adrenaline and fear causing her whole body to tremble. When she tilted her head back, she almost expected to see Dinek with his back turned to her, single blue blade held out at his side as another swarm of the beasts came hurtling towards her. Protecting her; saving her from the dark.
No such luck. Her father grabbed her wrists and pulled her against him, his arm slipping around her shoulders protectively. Her face burrowed into the side of his neck, dry sobs choking her as she clang onto him. His lightsabers had returned to his belt, but a Verpine shatter pistol was in his free hand and trained towards the narrow gap into the cavern. A bald man stood before them, his purple, twin bladed, saberstaff held in front of him as he gently swayed from foot to foot in a Soresu battlestance.
Jedi Master Senu Meji slowly stood up straight. Mirdala could almost sense his brown eyes darting across the passageway ahead of him. His shoulders would not relax. His fingers drummed cautiously against the hilt of his lightsaber, still ignited. He half turned towards them as a grin spread across his face, about to make some sort of quip -
A dart struck the face of a Gorgodon past the Jedi Master's shoulder, knocking it backwards with a sharp hiss deep within its throat. Laothin's pistol kicked up steam into the frozen air as he shoved his daughter behind him, settling his hands into a two handed grip on the weapon.
Mirdala's remaining blade blossomed into the air as the creatures descended upon them once more.
Slowly, Mirdala opened her eyes. The light around her crept back into her vision. Sound started to dial itself back up to full volume in her ears, the smell of alcohol, bodies and other, more exotic aromas worked their way into her senses. Her fingers had knotted themselves deeply into her hair and her torso lay slumped across a tabletop.
She pushed herself up slightly, the room still spinning as her head felt like it had been impacted by a mag-lift train. A queasy feeling quickly scurried up her throat, causing her to gag and collapse back down on the wooden surface of the table.
What the blazes had happened to her? Her mind was unable to form coherent thoughts, except remembering sparse details of what had occurred before. She had come into a tavern in Coronet, Corellia, just passing by on her way back to her home on Talus after visiting a relative. She had walked in, observing a few of the patrons inside before making her way to the bar. After flagging down the bar tender, she had ordered a -
Her gaze swept forwards, however it was unable to focus steadily on the jawa juice sat before her. Could someone have slipped something into the drink without her noticing?
A string of curses escaped her as she found herself moving, not by mental thought process, but instinct, as she staggered towards the bar. Her hand stretched through a gap between some patrons, aiming for a row of what she hoped to be clean glasses stacked near a bottle of her favourite whiskey. A quick Force tap on the shoulders of the two men was enough to distract them as she called a glass to her hand, then pushed herself away from the bar and stumbled into the 'freshers near the back of the cantina.
Voices invaded her mind as soon as she stepped through the door, pitching her towards the basins near the back of the small fresher room. Her shoulder connected with the wall, but the full frontal barrage of indistinguishable words numbed the feeling of the pain.
This had never happened to her before, not like this. Visions from the Force came to her at scarce and inopportune moments, for this was not her primary skill. But, they never left this kind of aftereffect on her. Was this a vision of some kind, or perhaps something more sinister? She could not fathom why someone may have slipped narcotics into her drink.
Young, unaccompanied female who is now defenceless. Plot the course, Kendari.
She staggered forwards and shoved the glass in her hand under the nearest tap she could find. The glass was barely half full before she raised it to her lips and guzzled the water down as fast as she could. She continued the method while supporting herself against the wall with her free hand, feeling her throat gagging as she swallowed too fast for her throat muscles to keep up. She had to flush it out, whatever it could be.
In spite of her efforts, her head refused to clear. A spike of sharp pain stabbed through her thoughts and dislodged the glass from her hands, sending her sliding down the wall. Shadows nibbled at the corner of her vision as she tried to stand, but her knees failed to support her weight and felt dead and lifeless beneath her. She could not afford to pass out, could not afford to let the darkness take her. Anything could happen while she was unconscious.
Fortunately, her arms had not yet given out on her. She dragged her numbed lower half into a fresher cubicle and leaned back against the door to close it behind her. Twilight had settled as she lowered her head, her hands fumbling weakly for her com-link. It seemed like years had passed until her fingers enclosed around the small, cylindrical object. Without even removing it from her utility belt, she tapped the screen and selected the first saved frequency she could find.
"Help..."
The walls melded into a starless starscape around her as her eyesight failed, pitching her into unconsciousness.
