Return to Life

Chapter 25

Atton, frantic, looked through the navicomputer and tried to come up with some way to hack the ship in order to bring it to a stop before Telos. Mical, somehow calmer about the situation, took Atton's computer chip and chose to play Brianna's message. It was audio-only, so Atton listened as he looked.

"Atton, this is Brianna. I finished translating the words. It reads head, side, side, and foot, so it goes like this: 'Born of the Force, the Force birthed here/Like stars her power stretches from herself to shadow's end, in darkness brightest, in light joy, mother, sister, daughter, lover(—I'll explain that part later)/To glory will we ascend from her life after death, pain will awaken that which strengthens all, sorrow directs power, that we shall harvest for our empire and reclaim our majesty through/Here lies the Daughter of Stars; the White Maiden lies here. '

"Mother, sister, daughter, lover goes like this: Mother gives birth, sister shares, daughter submits, lover sacrifices. I know it sounds weird, but this is Sith culture and I'm not going to justify anything in it. In any case, the idea is that the Daughter of Stars is mother, sister, daughter, and lover to the Sith, because she gave them the spark, shares her power, submits to their will, and sacrifices for them. The next part I'll have to explain with T3—you have this really awesome padawan at the Enclave you never told us about, she is absolutely sick at droids and recovering things, and we found more stuff in his memory core; the Sith keeps injecting stuff into Adel, if you remember—I forget if you were here for that, but the stuff are all hallucinogens, with an added spice from the Unknown Regions that turns them into the most horrifying visions ever. The reason they do this is because Adel has developed the ability to naturally absorb more Force energy when she's scared or in pain. The Sith intend to use her as a reservoir to tap strength from, and they want to take over the galaxy by using her as a sort of battle meditator, except she's not conscious. They didn't need her to be, and she couldn't be anyway, because her mind was literally flooded with the Force. From the recorded conversations between Revan and this Jedi—I think it was the Jedi that crash-landed here with her, the Sith cut off her ability to cut herself off from the Force, so that she can't protect herself from this. They don't even need her sane, really, she could just be catatonic and that would serve their purposes; I think you figured that part out by now."

Atton glanced at Mical. If Adel naturally drew the Force to her when in pain, would that draw the attention of the Sith as well?

"Now, several things: Adel apparently met up with Revan and shortly afterwards she tried to infiltrate the Sith. The first time she didn't actually go in; there was a Sith acolyte and she engaged him in battle but spared his life afterwards because he was a human child. She felt very bad for him, so she brought him back to Revan. Somehow he switched sides—he's that Jedi that crash-landed—I guess it's not that accurate to actually call him a Jedi, but in any case, afterwards she infiltrated, and couldn't get back out. Revan was not able to go himself because he is vulnerable to the Sith, so he sent the acolyte after her with a bit of Adel's blood so he could open the coffin. The problem is that the drugs the Sith injected Adel did a number on her body—the acolyte couldn't move her from the coffin without killing her, because it did something…I think he was afraid her body would rot and fall to pieces if it left the coffin."

"Sith," Atton grabbed the controls to calm himself.

"So the acolyte went back out. He wasn't detected by the Sith, so he and Revan planned to get the coffin out along with Adel. They had T3 steal some samples of the drug in order to find an antidote, and figured out that there was this kind of flowering plant that would negate its effects, and it was very potent. This plant only grew in the Unknown Regions, so Revan found a collection of them and intended to put them in the coffin so they could negate enough effects that by the time they could take the body out, she wouldn't fall apart. He wanted to send Adel back to the Republic with the flowers so that scientists could reverse-clone the flowers in order to heal her. That's only for her body, however." There was a pause. "Her mind is another matter. She can't shield herself anymore—or rather, she can, but she can't shield herself from the Force, and that's what's going to drive her catatonic. We all filter the information the Force brings to us, it's as natural as blocking out white noise, but she can't do that anymore because the Sith took that from her. Someone needs to do it for her. For the rest of her life."

Mical looked at Atton.

"If she's already out of the coffin, Atton, for some reason, the flowers probably healed her enough that she would be okay for a while, but the effects will wear off and her body would ravage itself. You need to hurry and clone the flowers as soon as possible. They need about two weeks at the quickest, so you better hurry. Kolto could slow it down considerably, but you should still try to clone the flowers if you can stay in one place long enough. You're also the best at shielding, better than any of us, because you've ignored the Force before so you can hopefully block it for her. If you're not on Nar Shaddaa now, I know you will get there at some point. May the Force be with you."

Silence fell.

"She's strong," Mical said after a while, "She'll make it."

Atton was tempted to snap at him; his unwavering faith in Adel's strength was irritating, but at this point, there was nothing else for them, or for her. At the moment, Adel was unconscious. He felt along the Force bond to her and noted that it was still awfully silent. Not empty—empty would mean dead, but just very still.

"How does one block another from the Force?" Atton asked Mical.

"Master and padawan bonds can help," Said Mical, "But they would have to be very strong, and very exclusive. Adel has trained all of us at once, so while none of our bonds are weak, they aren't as potent as would be necessary." He hesitated. "Another bond is that between lovers. That is less well-documented, for obvious reasons, but there were cases of Force sickness in one spouse, and the other uses the bond to block the Force in order to preserve his or her mate. Then there are drugs, that block the Force, technologies as well, but those tend to have side-effects."

Atton was familiar with those. "No," He shook his head, trying to discard the images of his assassin past, the number of Jedi he captured and tortured. He would not do such a thing to Adel. He wanted her to have a little bit of the Force, as much as she would like without going mad—not be bereft completely, unless she chose that, but he remembered how she glowed when the Force returned to her, even if it dimmed over the months and years. The Force made her whole. Without it, she was incomplete.

"There's six of us," Atton counted, "Seven if you count Atris. Maybe if we pool our stuff together, we can block her despite not having any bonds."

"Not likely," Mical pointed out, "Brianna said for the rest of her life." He paused. "We have other priorities. At the very least, Visas cannot block at all; she would not know how to, being a Miraluka and requiring the Force to perceive the world around her, and Bao-Dur's skills are rather miserable. I cannot leave the Order for Adel's sake."

"Why not?" Atton scowled. "What's so great about the precious Order? We have the numbers. We can retire."

"I'm a historian, Atton," Mical said wearily, "If I leave, the Order loses its heart."

"There are other historians. Deesra's one."

"Not so many that I can afford to step down." Mical turned away. "We're not all as lucky as you are, Atton."

Right. Because Atton was just full of luck.

"Maybe Atris received warning in the Force," Said the Jedi, rising out of his seat to pace. In the distance of hyperspace, he could sense the Dark Side looming, the edges of the black visions creeping just out of reach. "Yes? No? We can't send transmissions in hyperspace."

"Maybe the Sith already sense her on Telos," Said Mical dryly, "Since her pain draws the Force to her. At this point, Atton, I think we will have to simply hope that the Force is with us in this regard."

He was calm, with that Jedi serenity when faced with the inevitable, or something they could not help. Atton wondered what Mical saw from the Sith.

"I saw Adel if she chose the Dark Side," He volunteered. "She killed Mira, Brianna…tortured and liked it. The scary thing is we all loved her even then. I use to think that it was her light that made her so beautiful, but even when she was dark…we all loved her, even as she cut us down. It was…kreth, but it was unnerving because of how true that feels."

Mical folded his hands, not speaking for a moment. When he did, it was in neutral, almost dead tones.

"I gave up. I gave up everything I knew. I became Chancellor of the Republic at some point and…her darkness tore all hope from me. Like watching dreams shatter before one's eyes. I gave up on the Jedi, and crushed the remains of the Order." He looked at Atton. "That omnipresent rage…how do the Sith stand it?"

He would ask Atton, the former Sith-assassin thought in exasperation.

"It's all there is," He answered anyway, "Fear and anger, and anger helps pride more. When nothing else is left, you don't think of rage as a negative emotion anymore. Not when it's the only thing keeping you alive. And the Sith are really terrified of death, as much as they love to hand it out wherever they go. They kill so they wouldn't be killed and it terrifies them how easily others die. They think of anger as the only thing keeping them from following where others went. What sets them apart. Peace is complacency, which leads to death."

"True enough," Mical nodded. "I remember feeling that way. In the vision, sometimes I longed for the days when I was still a youngling, and Adel still a padawan, but I didn't know how to reclaim that feeling. I didn't think I could. When I woke up here…I was so relieved." He shook his head self-deprecatingly. "How does one combat a force like that? The galaxy is done for. Perhaps Adel needs to come back once again."

Atton was tempted to snap at him, but the blonde Jedi did not seem thrilled with this idea.

"Adel is mortal too. It's not like she can step in to save the galaxy all the time. She's going to die and then at some point in the future after she's dead, the galaxy will need saving again. It has to save itself at some point."

"Mm."

Atton spent the next few hours trying to reach Telos with his mind, but Adel remained unconscious and his unusual bond with her did not extend to Atris. It was probably better that they go to Adel, he had to admit. The visions were completely crippling, and she was the only one who could purge it. It was possible that simply keeping the Sith away was not the answer. Maybe they had to face the Sith. Maybe…

Maybe they could use her reservoir attributes for themselves.

Mical sat meditating, like he always did. Atton considered him, thinking quickly. Adel was not catatonic, and despite what Brianna said, she was not mad either. She had coherent thought now, probably due to sheer stubbornness. Their merry group had always been able to draw on her strength for support, in fact her departure had left a gaping hole in the Force as well as in their hearts—or perhaps the two were not so different and separate. Either way, sharing powers, boosting, healing, assisting, they have all done this before. In fact, despite not really knowing what he was doing, Atton had pulled on Adel just on Nar Shaddaa to keep himself intact, even when she had been past her ability to cope with the stress. His grip had been solid, even if hers was not, and her agony had not diminished the effects.

If she really was so powerful, they could use her to push the Sith back. It was just the matter of getting her well enough to stand it. In fact, they could just stuff Adel somewhere and draw upon her remotely.

Like how the Sith stuffed her in a coffin.

Could they draw upon her despite her unconsciousness? Brianna had mentioned that the Sith certainly did not care about that, and the Sith did not forge bonds of friendship with her, familial bonds constructed from toil and suffering and mutual comfort. Love could strengthen bonds, Atton knew, even if Adel never confirmed.

But the Force is hurting her now.

It would not be the first time Atton had hurt Adel in order to protect her. And if she was unconscious…he stretched out over the bond again, but there was still nothing, and her signature did not rouse when he tried to draw her into his mental grip. The last time she had extended her powers to him and he took it, but now he had no idea how to latch on to her.

"Mical," Atton poked the other, rousing him rudely from his trance, "Adel is the key."

Mical simply looked at him.

"We can use her against them just as they've been using her."

The other was still silent.

"On Telos, we can confront the Sith," Atton suggested, "Or try to. Brianna said she doesn't have to be conscious, and she actually has bonds with us. It can't be harder for us to draw on her than it was for the Sith. Besides, we'd be going on a merry run throughout the galaxy, and succumb to visions every time they come too close. But we need to figure out how to grab her. Do you know any tricks, oh venerable historian?"

"That's a dark side tactic," Mical sounded exasperated, "The Sith would at least attempt such a thing. Stealing other people's Force powers is just the kind of trick a Sith Lord would use to make himself or herself stronger."

Atton glared, but Mical went on,

"I know, you're trying to do this for benevolent reasons, but it doesn't change the fact that it's fundamentally different from when another person offers her strength to you."

"We draw on each other's strength without asking all the time."

"We ask, and we respond, all instinctively, all the time," Mical corrected, "This is different, and the Jedi would not practice such a thing. Battle meditation, boosting, that is one thing. Taking without consent is another. If the Sith figured out how to do this, Atris would know, but I would not."

Atton looked away. "Right now Adel is the only hope we have."

"Atris studied Sith holocrons. You were able to get Adel away when the Sith attacked Dantooine. From their behavior on Nar Shaddaa, I think they realized Adel is out of the coffin." This sounded like something Mical figured out through his meditation. "They won't jeopardize her by bombing Telos the way they did Dantooine and Onderon."

"We don't want them on Telos either. The Ithorians are engineering the plant."

"They don't know that."

Atton frowned. "How much do you think they're getting from Adel right now?" He asked, referring to the Sith. They were drawing on Adel all these years, after all.

"She was protecting herself," Mical reminded him, "She taught you and Atris how to protect yourselves."

"She's unconscious right now."

"But Atris is with her, and Atris knows how to shield her."

Atton fisted his forehead.

"It'll be five days since the Ithorians began their clone. It is possible to use the Force to make things grow faster. They lose a bit of their potency, but potency isn't what we're looking for necessarily. I can get a few to accelerate, reduce a few days—the Sith have to wander around and search, after all, and we can run distraction and lead them everywhere else until the plants are ready. Then we feed them to Adel, however it is supposed to work, and go from there."

Atton nodded to this. "Good idea."

He slept later, dreaming he was watching Adel dance in a white gown in a place that looked like the grasslands of Naboo, with streaming waterfalls that cast rainbows in the spray. She was grace and power rolled into one, the grass around her rippling with each motion. The Force swirled around her like ribbons, moving at her will, but also directing her, spinning her like a dancing partner. Her face was hidden in a semi-translucent veil, though her eyes were intensely outlined behind it, long lashes flickering as she turned her face to the side.

In the past, when he had this dream, he was an immaterial observer, intangible, only a perception. This time, he could feel his body move as he went toward her, still dancing as if oblivious to his presence. He held out his hands and gently gripped her waist as she lifted her arms, and she suddenly froze.

The vision around him shattered into a million pieces and became fragments of light and color, the song of the Force a loud cacaphonic roar. Her waist was the only thing solid under his hands, so he pulled her to him, and Adel materialized out of the maelstrom, shuddering, frightened, the Force bond between them straight and taut. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, and he held on to her just as tightly, dipping his head over hers and covering as much of her slender form as he could with his arms. The roar became muted, still loud but muffled, as if a wall had been placed around them.

"Not good enough," Adel said quietly, "But it's better than it had been for a long time." She sounded like herself. Atton cupped the back of her head.

"Sorry," Atton whispered, "I'll work on it. Hang in there."

"I don't have much time."

"I'm coming for you." He remembered the dream they both had, of coming up with names for the baby. "You will survive this."

For a long time they stood together as their world spun, dizzying and wild.

"Why did you leave, Adel?"

"I couldn't stay. It hurt, everywhere," She paused, "But it hurt worse there. I wish I let you hold me like this before. I wouldn't have left."

He tightened his embrace at this, thoughts whirling in his head. She did not feel warm—this was not her real body, after all, but she was nonetheless in his arms, and he was sheltering a vital part of her from the chaos around them.

"It's fine," He said quietly, "There is time. You are back and alive. We will get you better and I will always hold you like this."

She tilted her head up to look at him. "I'd like that," She smiled.

Overcome, he pressed his forehead against hers.

He woke with tears in his eyes. Mical stared at him from the co-pilot seat.

"What are you staring at?" He snapped, wiping at his eyes in frustrated embarrassment. Force, of all people, in front of blondie!

"I wasn't going to say anything," Mical said flatly, "But you were whimpering." He looked away.

Atton cursed. Son of a schutta!