Chapter Twelve: The Forest
When it came to the resistance base, D'razz didn't know what to expect. He imagined it would be relatively advanced at first, then his image changed to something much more primitive. What it turned out to be was far better than anything he could have imagined.
The large, square compound sat in the middle of a large forest, which itself sat atop a large mountain range. The base was only accessible from the air. Dozens of small airspeeders - all of which were so ancient they realistically belonged in a junkyard - flew here and there across the base, but then he began to take notice of other things - much smaller things - which were also airborne. At first he thought they were speeder bikes, but as their ship drew closer to the landing site, he could see that they weren't speeders at all.
They were soldiers. With wings.
"What are those?!" D'razz said, his voice awash with shock.
A wicked smile appeared on Sev'ra's face.
"Those, D'razz, are soldiers."
"Yeah, but what are they wearing?" D'razz asked, his face flat against the glass.
"The Dathomir Engineering DE1-T4 Long-Distance Gliding Apparatus, otherwise known as the Delta Wing," Sev'ra answered. "They're specialized devices which were invented by our own, and are used by only the most elite soldiers in the academy. And the best part? They're incredibly easy to make, and they're mostly made from wood."
"Wood?" D'razz asked. "How?" Don't they need propulsion? How wouldn't engine exhaust make them combust?"
"They're all coated in a unique flameproof polishing substance. The wood is necessary because it's easy to make, easy to replace, and it's lightweight. Kinda necessary when you're trying to make personal flying devices."
When Rei awoke, Nara was gone. She stood up and walked over to a wall panel, tapping once on it to wake it up. The display said it was 11:27 A.M., ship time. Rei stretched her hands over her head and yawned. Despite having slept on the floor, she felt remarkably well-rested.
Then she noticed the small metal tray next to where she'd been. It looked like it had a simple metal dish cover, and there was a not stuck to it, written in Nara's remarkably elegant handwriting. She sat down next to the cart to read it.
Rei,
Sorry about not being there when you wake up. Nova wanted me at the training session bright and early today, and what can I say? I'm technically still his Palawan. Can't exactly say no. But, if it makes you feel better, I tried desperately to make you breakfast.
Rei laughed, remembering how commonly Nara's attempts at cooking resulted in disaster. She continued reading.
Needless to say, I nearly set the whole ship on fire. Again. Nova seemed pretty angry at first, but then he collapsed laughing when he tried to scold me. Plus, Winson fixed it, which is why the food you'll find on this tray is actually edible. So, anyway, enjoy the amazing food that Winson made. I Love you. See you in a bit.
~Nara
P.S. feel free to come watch the training session if you're up before noon. I'll be in the arena, and who knows? Maybe Nova will let me try dodging actual blaster fire this time.
The note left Rei with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. She stood, stretched again, then sat back down to help herself to whatever Winson had prepared. She lifted the shiny metal cover to find a small plate of eggs, sausage, and toast, arranged neatly and cooked to perfection. One thing was for sure: Winson knew how to cook.
After she'd finished, Rei took the tray and dishes and took them to the kitchen herself. Being raised as she had, she felt a certain need to take care of her mess herself, rather than let the ship's automated cleaning system take care of it for her. She navigated her way through the ship to the training arena, once again hanging back in the doorway once it opened.
Inside, whereas Rei expected to find Nova and Nara dueling in the arena's center, the door instead opened into a jungle. The sound of birds chirping and the smell of a live jungle greeted her nose as she stepped through the archway in confusion.
"What the hell…?" She breathed. She stepped further into the thick woods, and the door slid closed behind her. As soon as it did, Rei turned around just in time to see it vanish into thin air.
"What the hell?" Rei asked again, even more confused. Then, she heard the unmistakeable sound of blaster fire, from somewhere a ways off. She swallowed hard and ventured forth into the brush.
Rei pulled her hand terminal out of her pocket and turned it on, opening the app for environmental scans. It told her that she was in a population class 3 jungle, the kind of jungle that had experienced undisturbed growth for hundreds of years. It gave no evidence that she'd been on a starship in deep space moments before. Shaking her head in frustration, Rei put the terminal away and ventured further. She quickly came across a river, an actual river, with flowing water, and began to follow it, until she was stopped by the sound of more blaster fire. It was close. She continued following the sound to its source, and made her way to a massive, open area which would have been a clearing, were it not for the canopy of gigantic tree levels that formed a sort of dome over it.
Before she could marvel for very long, Rei felt a sudden impact against her side, and felt all the sensations associated with being flung backwards into the bushes behind her. When she managed to sit up, she saw Nara, lightsaber in hand but not activated, crouched down as low as she could.
"Nara, what the-"
Nara put a finger to her lips, indicating for Rei to be quiet for a moment. She looked up, listening. Rei listened too. In the air above them, she heard the distinctive, unmistakable whine of a TIE Fighter's engines. They seemed to be getting louder. Then, Nara pressed the switch on her lightsaber, and the tall purple blade sprung into life with a distinct sound. It hummed softly in Nara's hand as she remained crouched, waiting. Then, she whipped around and brought the saber up, performing a series of bunts and slashes to flawlessly deflect a flurry of blaster fire which burst through the canopy of leaves. Nara bounced every single shot away from them.
As the sound of the TIE Fighter's engines were right on top of them, Nara suddenly whipped out her left arm, and held out her hand in a clenching motion. Rei's heartbeat went into overdrive as she noticed that the TIE's engine note had stopped changing in volume, and was sustained right above them. She looked at Nara, and immediately regretted doing so. Nara's eyes were ablaze with purple energy, which flickered and curled around the sides of her face. She looked like a force of nature. One which, to Rei, was absolutely terrifying.
Neither averting her upward gaze nor moving her left arm, Nara deactivated the lightsaber in her right hand and holstered it. Then, she brought her right hand up and flicked it in a downwards slash, causing the leaves above them to be flung aside, revealing a black and red TIE Fighter suspended in midair above them, struggling to get away. The purple aura surrounding it confirmed for Rei that Nara had done the impossible: she'd caught a TIE fighter.
Nara reached her right hand out and brought it up alongside her left, and an overlapping purple circle appeared alongside the first. Nara brought her hands together, then strained heavily as she tried to pry them apart. She began to cry out, a low sustained sound which grew with intensity as she pried her hands apart. Rei scrambled back in fear, stopping only when she rammed against a tree. Rei watched in horror as the wings of the TIE Fighter began to bend, then she curled into a ball, knowing what came next and not wanting to see it. And seconds later, with a sound like a lightning bolt striking a hyperdrive, the TIE fighter cracked apart like an egg and exploded. Nara's hands flew down to her sides, the tension in them released. Rei looked up at Nara, tears streaming down her face. Nara was breathing heavily, and her eyes were wide. There was an almost feral look about them, and a sense of anger and hate that Rei had never seen before.
Nara turned to look at her, preparing to smile and crack a joke, but stopped dead when she saw the look on Rei's face. The horror and fear in her eyes. Nara felt as though a knife went through her chest at the realization that she had practically traumatized her best friend. She was just about to say something when suddenly, the forest around them vanished, and they were back in the training arena. Around them a series of holoprojectors receded into the wall and disappeared. Nara looked around for several moments, before a voice pierced the silence and echoed throughout the room.
"Nara!" it barked. She whipped around, and saw Nova near the far door, his hand against a wall panel. He looked stone-faced; his jaw was tight and his eyes were hard and focused. Not a single trace of kindness or sympathy was in his voice when he spoke.
"We need to talk," he said.
Nova, Nara, and Winson sat alone in the CLA. Nova paced left and right across the room, Winson sat patiently on one of the couches, and Nara sat in one of the armchairs. Nova muttered quietly to himself as he paced, which made the experience all the more unnerving for Nara. She knew she was about to get chewed out, and wasn't sure she could handle it. Any seconds now, she expected Nova to turn and face her and start screaming at her, as her father had always done. But instead, he paced until he was in front of her, then he turned and knelt in front of her.
"Nara," Nova began, his voice remarkably gentle, "Before I go any further, do you understand the magnitude of what you did in the arena today?"
Nara nodded silently, trying to stop her eyes from welling up.
"Are you sure?" Nova said. Nara looked down, pondered briefly, then looked back up at Nova. She bit her lip.
"Okay," Nova said. "Then allow me to explain."
Nara stared at him intently, prepared to listen to every word.
"You see, Nara, the Force is like a game of Dejarik chess. Both sides have their pieces, and each side has their talents and strategies, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Being able to utilize these factors within your pieces gives you special advantages over your opponents. But, in parallel, there are times when you can find yourself too overconfident in your pieces' abilities, and can push them to the other end of the board…. Right into the enemy's hands. Then they can use your own skills against you, and deteriorate the skill and progress you've obtained and grown so confident with. You let yourself get taken by your opponent. And that only ever leads to one thing: the Dark Side. Nara, what you did back there was the sort of thing that Daniel would do during the last few years we spent on Kamino. And we both know how he ended up. I'm telling you, for your sake, that you can't give in to temptations like that, or you risk corrupting yourself. And as the great Master Yoda once said, once you start down the dark path, there's no turning back."
