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Chapter 7: Monsters, Saviors, and Danger

Planet: Solmrulrii

The next day, Seiko met with the others at base. Wedge had given her a small holo of what Vuanoyr looked like, so they could recognize him when they found him. Or his body.

Since Vuanoyr had strayed onto Solmrulrii and the Republic had no official jurisdiction, Seiko was required to be Solmrulrii's liaison with Rogue Squadron. And it was also her job to disseminate information regarding Vuanoyr to the farmers.

The council was extremely worried about this, to say the least. Nobody could think of a reason Vuanoyr would come here. There was nothing here but farms. 'Cept for the planet itself. Most of it was uninhabited, which made for a perfect hiding spot.

They searched the Shintalli hills in groups of three. Each group was no more than 100 meters apart, so they could call for help easily. Seiko was with her dad and Corran, who was a bit twitchy after Seiko told him what happened to her.

A twig snapped in the bushes and Corran turned around, igniting his lightsaber as he did so. Seiko waited patiently for him to realize that there was no danger. After this had happened five times, Wes was getting annoyed.

"Corran, would you stop doing that!"

"Stop doing what?"

"Dad, he can't help it. Even I'm a bit scared of this place," Seiko cut in before their disagreement could turn into a full-blown argument. She heard something. A voice. "Do you guys hear that?"

Corran nodded. He felt as if he had stepped into a freezer. "Somebody calling my name."

Wes was starting to panic. What voices, where? Why can't I hear them? Who's talking? Corran moved into the bush a little way, acting as if he was entranced.

Seiko mumbled something underneath her breath, she had the same creepy look on her face as Corran did.

Wes shook her. "Seiko, can you hear me? Look at me!"

She shrugged him off and joined Corran. Together, they started walking away from the search area. Wes really panicked, and alerted the other teams. He realized that the bush was thick, and by the time they got to his position, they might not be able to find Seiko and Corran. So he followed them.

They walked to a cave, set into the base of a high cliff. "Uh, guys, are you sure this is a good idea?" Wes had no reply. Damn Force-sensitives! I swear, Luke's not training my daughter…

Eventually Corran and Seiko stopped. "Hey, watcha doing here…Woah."

They were standing in a large cavern. Standing in the middle of the cavern was a large statue of some...monster. Seiko and Corran suddenly knelt on the ground as a mist came out of a side tunnel. What the…

The mist moved like a living thing, darting this way and that, then suddenly pausing, right in front of Wes.

"Uh, hi?"

'What are you doing here? I called them, and only them. Not you!'

"Hey look! One of my friends and my daughter starts acting weird. They walk off into the bush, like they're under some sort of spell. I'm not just gonna let them go off on their own!" Wes got angry. "And why did you need them here, anyways? If you hurt them…"

'I will not.'

"Good for you! Now let them go!" Wes lifted his blaster and pointed it at the mist. Even if he couldn't hurt it, he might as well try. It wasn't like he could do anything else.

'I need their help. Please, it's been so long…I can't bear the loneliness anymore. I just want to be free again!'

"You aren't free?" Wes eyed the mist, which had grown more agitated.

'No.'

"How about this: you stop controlling them, and then we discuss how to set you free. Deal?"

'We have a deal.' Seiko and Corran suddenly shook their heads, gaining control of their bodies again.

"Hey, are you alright?" Wes asked Seiko, completely oblivious to Corran.

"I'm fine, Dad. That was really…"

"Weird? Strange?" Wes asked.

"No. Surreal. It was like a dream. And that…" Seiko turned to look at the statue.

Corran was confused. "I saw myself walk in here. But I didn't…"

"There was this mist thing; it wants to talk to us, something about being set free." Wes said.

Corran sensed something through the Force. "It's like a giant light. A powerful being."

'I am sorry.'

"For what?" Seiko looked around the cavern, trying to place the voice.

'For bringing you here against your will. I shouldn't have done that. I've been so alone…'

"What are you?" Corran asked.

'I am ancient. This is my homeworld. Once, we were a powerful race, reaching across the stars to touch a thousand worlds. We were overconfident, and in our overconfidence, we left our homeworld unguarded. Our enemies struck without warning, without provocation. They burnt the cities to the ground, killed millions. But that paled in comparison to this.

'I was dying. They trapped me, before I could become one with the Force. Encased me in this… prison. They said this was my punishment. To watch over the destroyed cities.

'But they forgot one thing: Life prevails. It survives in the deepest, darkest, coldest places imaginable. I slowly saw life return to this world, and when colonists came here, I was overjoyed. I was no longer completely alone.

'And now, I wish to die.'

Seiko and Corran nodded. Wes just looked confused. Seiko stepped forward. "We will help you. But how?"

'The side tunnel, do you see it? Follow it.'

They followed the tunnel which opened up to a small room that looked a library of sorts.

'The datapad on the shelf in front of you; turn it on.'

Corran turned the datapad on and opened the only file on there. He turned it towards Seiko and Wes. "What does this say? We can't understand the language."

'Ah. Sorry. It says that you need to go back to the large cavern we were in before.'

They went back and stood staring at the statue. "Now what?" Wes asked.

'Look at the base of the statue.'

They did, and saw a panel. They opened it, a small cylinder was inside. Corran pulled it out. "A lightsaber?" he asked, looking at the mist.

'Give it to Seiko.'

Corran was puzzled, but nevertheless complied and handed the lightsaber to Seiko, who looked nervous. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked. "I've never used one of these things before."

'You're going to need it for two things: 1) to destroy the statue and 2) to capture that criminal you are looking for.'

"You know about Vuanoyr?" Wes looked at the mist questioningly.

'Of course. Why do you think he was running?"

Corran was excited. "Do you know where he is?"

'Yes. There's a tunnel system running underneath the town and surrounding areas. The nearest entrance is in the library. There's a portable map right outside it that should show you where to go.'

Seiko thought they should get on with the business of freeing this person. "Now what do I have to do?"

'Just slice up the statue.'

"Right." Seiko had never touched a lightsaber before in her life, so Corran taught her (in five minutes flat) how to use it so then she, at the very least, didn't chop her hand off. Ten minutes afterwards, the job was done and the mist had started to fade, thanking them for their help.

"Wait! What about…" Seiko held up the lightsaber.

'Keep it. It's yours.' The mist dissolved completely, leaving nothing behind. They remembered to pick up the map from the library before they left.

The threesome walked outside and back to the search area, only to find Wedge and the rest of Rogue squadron waiting for them. "Hi boss!" Wes said with a big grin.

Wedge smiled back, but it wasn't a particularly friendly smile. "Hello. Where have you lot been?"

Wes just grinned manically, Corran looked off into the bushes and Seiko said, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Then she stepped past Wedge, heading for the landspeeders.

When they didn't follow, Seiko looked back and said, "Aren't you guys coming?"

Wedge sighed in exasperation and grudgingly followed her.

"We know where Vuanoyr is," Seiko said as they headed back to base, the wind blowing in their faces.

"What?" Wedge had waited a long time for them to get back, and now Seiko just comes out and tells him that she knows where Vuanoyr is like they're talking about the weather. "How do you know that?" he demanded.

"A mist told me."

"You're really big on the cryptic answers today, aren't you?"

"No, Wedge, I'm being serious. A mist told us. Look." She handed him the map.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's a map. See, there's Roblen, and the base. But look-" she tapped a small button, and the map shifted, "- there's underground tunnels too. Vuanoyr could be hiding in one of them."

One more chapter... and maybe a epilogue. But only if you guys really want one!