"I heard and saw everything that was happening," Rech began sadly, "but it seemed like I wasn't participating, I was just watching."
Mand and Elena sat beside each other, arms locked together, on a plush, comfortable sofa in the Celestia's main conference room. The room was small and intimate but luxuriously adorned: a few white stone statues lined the walls atop black pedestals, deep violet curtains were gracefully draped over the starports, and numerous benches and chairs about matched the curtains with soft, delicate coverings. Everything about the room mirrored the opulence of the Dalon Palace and the Rys'tihn Manor; the Celestia, like anything else owned by a member of one of the Royal Families, was majestic.
Rech sat opposite the other two, his upper body leaned forward and supported on his knees by his elbows. His gaze was cast to the floor, but he knew that both Mand and Elena were watching him intently as he drew in a long breath and continued his story.
"The Nerezzas were quick to overpower me. After they took us from that platform, their attempts to turn me began.
"They tortured me first. After about an hour of electricity coursing through me, I was weak enough for them to easily warp my thoughts." He raised his head slightly, glancing at them as he hesitated briefly. "They somehow made me believe that everything had been orchestrated...by you, Mand."
Neither Mand's nor Elena's expression changed, leading Rech to believe that they had expected to hear such an explanation from him. Mand, too, had encountered the two Nerezzas, Xendar and Johann, on the platform that day, and surely she had shared her experience with Elena.
It had been more than five months since the deadly confrontation, and Rech had left them after Morden Tarthos had been defeated, even though he had wanted nothing more than to comfort Mand. She had been forced to kill her father to break his hold over them all, and the release from Morden's control made Rech realize what all he had done. In his shame, he fled, leaving Mand behind without an explanation, until now...
"Once Morden was dead, I was suddenly aware of all that had happened, what I had done. I had killed the Nerezzas, I had severed my connection with Mand, and I had tortured her in turn, all on Morden's command. I don't know how, but it all made sense, what I was doing. That was what disturbed me the most. I believed I was acting in self-defense, that the death and pain I was causing was actually justified. Morden convinced me I was doing what no one else would, and it needed to be done to protect innocent people.
"I guess from a certain point of view, he was right, but the way I went about it, the power I drew on was dark, angry, and evil, not righteous. That's when I knew I had some...rehabilitation to do, so I left. I couldn't face you, either of you, until I knew I was no longer a threat.
"I spent the first few days wandering the city, keeping to myself in the abandoned Underlevels. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat... It wasn't until I saw my own rough, ragged reflection in a transparisteel window a week later that I became determined to right myself. No sooner had I decided than Noor's Force Spirit appeared at my side."
Finally responsive, Mand and Elena's expressions fell, seemingly still saddened by the loss. Elena looked more troubled, prompting Mand to wrap an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Seeing their reaction, Rech refrained from asking about Master Noor's death until later.
Swallowing dryly, he continued. "He said he had been waiting for me, waiting to see me change. He was willing to help me, but he wanted me to be ready. Only after I hit bottom did I realize that I was ready, and we began my restoration that day."
"Mostly he guided me through meditation, and he never pushed me. His patience was incredible. He never left my side, even when I was most angry with myself.
"He worked with me for weeks, and it was almost like I was being trained all over again, like I was a student back at the Academy. At first it made me angry and I backtracked, but Noor wouldn't let me fail. It took months, but once I got close to being my old self, he sent me on one final test to make sure I had properly relearned my powers. He sent me to the Vandal to rescue a young pregnant woman I had never before met."
"Deilia," Elena answered quietly to his curious expression. Though he didn't ask, Elena continued.
"She's Koril's twin sister."
Both Rech and Mand exchanged confused glances. As far as Rech knew, Koril had been an only child, the last surviving of the three in his family. Mand looked just as surprised as he, and again, seeing their expressions, Elena sighed lightly and began explaining, her gaze fixed on the floor.
"The Paneau Royal Families have this system in place that would protect them if all family members were wiped out or lost somehow. They're called Ghost Heirs, because they live in secret. No one outside the families knows about them. But they operate like...spies, or intelligence agents, protecting their Known Heirs by any means possible. Deilia is the Rys'tihn Tyro Ghost Heir; she was selected when they were born, but Koril was told she had been stillborn. He didn't even know about her until a few months ago."
Looking back up at Rech, Elena's expression softened. "I, too, am grateful for what you did for Deilia. She's bearing the next generation's Ghost Heir...so I don't have to."
Without intending to, Rech's eyes fell on Elena's swollen stomach. Her pregnancy had been a complete surprise to him, and he had only found out when she met them on Paneau after escaping the Vandal. As Elena ran her hand over belly, Rech looked back up at her face and was confused at seeing her smiling the slightest bit.
"I think we met the new Rys'tihn Heir's father earlier before we left Paneau. He must be a Ghost Heir of another family."
Beside her, Mand nodded. "I knew I'd seen him before. He was with Deilia when they rescued Cordira from my father's men."
Rech's heart skipped a beat, leaving him breathless. "...Cordira was taken?"
Both Mand and Elena leveled somber expressions at him, nodding as Elena informed him of all that had happened during his descent to the Dark Side: Ri and Cordira's kidnapping, the joint effort of the Banareccs and the Ghost Heirs to recover them, the discovery of Mand's discarded body, and everything else that led up to the climactic confrontation at Tarthos Industries. The only thing she failed to mention, though, that left Rech confused...was Noor's death. It was eating at him; he needed to know how the powerful Jedi Master, one of his closest allies and friends, had perished in the midst of their turmoil. He couldn't stand Mand and Elena's silence on it any longer. As he drew in a slow breath, he straightened himself from his hunched position and faced them properly, his hands calmly resting atop his thighs. They looked anxious, but at the same time, expectant.
"How did Master Noor die?"
Mand was the first to begin responding, but before she could even form a word, an alarm up in the cockpit beeped, indicating their imminent drop from hyperspace. Her expression neutralized instantly, and with a quick glance at the two, she stood and made her way to the front of the ship. Both silent, Rech and Elena followed, stepping up behind Mand at the controls as a dumpy, dirty, and dilapidated planet appeared in front of them.
"Sump," Mand said grimly as she navigated the Celestia to the surface. A thick, hazy fog encircled the ship, swirling dark, heavy dust around the transparisteel windows. As they broke through the upper atmosphere, the dense fog dissipated, revealing a heavily industrialized planet in severe disrepair. Old mines and factories sprawled for hundreds of kilometers in every direction and spewed toxic fumes into the thoroughly polluted air, coating the already filthy structures in an ever-renewing layer of grime. If there was any planet that would deter even the most adventurous of space travelers, as well as pursuing enemies or authorities, from visiting, Mand thought, Sump would be it.
The neglected Outer Rim planet was hardly populated, far from any tourist destination or busy trade spine, the perfect place for a Huxnel base. The harsh environment made life in the base difficult, but thankfully Mand hadn't spent much time there. It wasn't the first place she suspected they'd have retreated to, and she knew it had long since been abandoned, but it was closest to Paneau. She faintly hoped it had some kind of secret to share...
"What a dump," Elena said with distaste behind her. Mand nodded, guiding the ship to a landing area far removed from the nearest operating mine. As the Celestia powered down, Mand stood quickly and rummaged through a nearby storage compartment.
"The atmosphere is toxic, so we'll need breath masks until we get down into the base." She turned to Rech and Elena, handing them each one, but she stopped at Elena, sharing an intense gaze with her. "You need to be especially careful. Even a small leak in your tubing could cause a lot of trouble."
Though Elena nodded confidently, it did nothing to ease Mand's anxiety. It was dangerous enough traversing the hostile, unforgiving landscape to enter a base once occupied by the Huxnel, but bringing Elena along was that much more hazardous. Aware of her resolve to find Koril, though, Mand had to yield, if only for Elena's sense of pride.
As she tightened the breath mask's strap to fit her, Mand turned from the cockpit and was immediately met by the two droids. Kaydee greeted her politely, but Mand's interest was in the astromech beside her.
"Eewon, I think I may need your help with the systems here. Are you equipped for some traveling?"
The droid whistled in agreement, prompting an unnecessary translation from Kaydee.
"He says he is more than willing to journey with you, Masters Jedi. To where are we venturing?"
"Sorry," Mand said as she tugged her breath mask over her head to hang around her neck, "you're not coming Kaydee. I don't think you'd be able to...keep up, where we're going."
"But Mistress Mand!" Kaydee protested. "How will you communicate with this astromech? I, too, am willing to travel, and--"
"Kaydee," Elena stopped her sternly, "you're not going. Stay here with the ship."
Though the droid tried to protest further, another look from Elena silenced her and reluctantly, she stepped back, allowing the four to leave. Eewon, however, beeped triumphantly as he rolled past them back up into the cockpit, extending a small mechanical arm underneath the console. After a few moments of disconnecting wires and giving orders to the ship's computer via another extension out of the droid's torso, Eewon reversed and returned to them, extending to Elena the specially calibrated transponder. Elena took it and looked it over, but quickly released a disappointed sigh as it remained silent and showed no signs of detecting a Rys'tihn Crest nearby. Mand put a hand on her shoulder, though, trying unsuccessfully to raise her spirits.
"We've got a long way to go before it'll pick up a signal, if there even is one, inside this base."
Elena's expression neutralized, but surprising Mand, she stuffed the transponder in her pocket, settled the breath mask over her face, and walked with purpose toward the Celestia's rear ramp. Concerned, Rech stepped up beside Mand, lowering his voice.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, letting her come?"
"No," Mand sighed, "but she won't stay put." Raising her soft eyes to him, she quieted her own voice. "Nothing stopped you, either."
"I only had to worry about myself. This situation is very, very different."
"I know," she said sadly, "it's stupid, and it's dangerous. But she knows her body, she knows her skills and her limitations... We just have to be vigilant."
Rech sighed, too, resigning though he still opposed it. Sympathetic to his conflict, Mand reached a hand up to his face and ran her fingers down his jaw lightly, making him close his eyes.
Before Elena had reemerged from her room earlier to talk, Rech and Mand had spent the time together in complete silence, simply holding each other. They still had a lot to work through, but happy to just have him back, Mand eagerly began the healing process.
Opening his eyes, Rech pulled his breath mask over his face and waited for Mand to do the same. Once she had it secured and got it working, she took Rech's hand in hers tightly, then the three approached the rear hatch, preparing to meet Sump's unfriendly atmosphere.