Jin-Jeri's mind sank into an empty sea of pure floating energy, where he could see, hear, or feel nothing. Before he could even try to comprehend the silence before him, a swirling hurricane of thoughts and memories swept over and throttled him deeper into the blank abyss. He could feel no pain, but could now perceive his body flowing through the windless void. From head to toe, he became ever-present, embracing every part of his physical shell. It was as if his own body was standing in front of him. His thoughts began to settle, and he could hear the dense, wild nature surrounding him.
Every inch of his vicinity painted itself before him, using his senses as the canvas. He felt the heartbeats of gungan children splashing in the swamp, as if they were from his own pulse. He listened to the turkey-like nuna whining to each other in communication as they searched for food. Despite his unconscious state, Jin had never been more aware of the world around him.
Ascending to a type of euphoria, Jin could sense his entire being lifting up weightlessly, flowing like a current of air upward into the clouds. As if on queue, the swirling twisted beam of thoughts from before returned and quickly pulled Jin down by his feet. The world he had previously observed blanked out in an instant, returning to the lifeless void. He could no longer sense his own presence.
A sea of visions then assaulted his subconscious; ranging from his past as a cadet in the Elder army, to a future in which he mourned for someone, though he failed to make out who. The visions slowed, and he descended into the endless sea of nothing. He could almost gain a sense of calm from the void, until he heard the calling of his own name. The sudden rush of anxiety ejected him from his subconscious.
Jin pried his eyes open, scarcely able to perceive the blurry images of Lianorm, his home and birthplace; training ground and central hub for gungan slaves. He could hear the same laughing children from his dream, and saw the same pack of green-skinned nuna that he felt while asleep. He felt the presence of a familiar reptilian man towering over him.
"Balkan, you still with us?" quipped a concerned Corporal Jakzal, who had been watching Jin-Jeri's meditation from afar. Jin rubbed his eyes furiously, as if he'd woken from a year long hibernation. He took a deep breath and gathered his senses, before facing the Corporal.
"When did you get back, Jakzal?" he inquired.
"About an hour ago," Jakzal replied to the Gungan. "We brought another group back. They're being processed now." He and his unit were in the field in search of more straggling gungan camps. After Jin-Jeri helped the Elders conquer a local village, they left him and the other slaves from his squad in Lianorm to rest and celebrate a job well done. This was an Elder custom after a soldier's first mission.
"Sarth wants to see you, kid." Jakzal pointed to the top of a stairway leading to a stone monument of Tailok, one of the many gods the Elders worshipped. He turned his attention back to the amphibian. "And for the record," he continued, "You're someone I'd kill to have by my side, Balkan. Meant to say that to you yesterday at the village." Jin twitched his brows curiously, then nodded in gratitude. Despite his hatred for the slavers that separated his family before his own birth, he appreciated the comment, and refrained from passing that vitriol to a fellow pawn in the war between their people.
Jin took in the familiar sights and sounds of his birthplace. He had been back for less than a day, and spent all of the present morning on duty, not yet able to see his family. As he made his way to Sarth, he contemplated how the Colonel ordered him to slay one of his own. He still hadn't figured out why he gave the order. Was it truly a test of loyalty? And why go that far? He didn't have to die, he thought. His fist clenched in despair as he approached his commanding officer.
"Ah, there's the rookie I wanted to see!" Sarth roared confidently, elevating his head with an authoritative gaze. Jin stood straight with his feet close together and his shoulders level to the ground.
"Yes, sir. Reporting." he declared.
"At ease, warrior," ordered the officer. "I didn't call you over on official business. I have something else to discuss with you."
"What is it, Colonel?" The Gungan questioned, loosening his stance. Sarth looked away in contemplation for a moment before regaining eye contact with Jin.
"This war has taken so much from us all," Sarth lectured. "But none more than you Gungans. You, Balkan, you've been through much already. But your strength and resolve are clear. I've seen it for myself. Keep it up, soldier. And whatever you do, don't give up hope for a brighter future." Jin could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was a far cry from the lecture he'd received at the village just a day before. This is the man that stole your innocence, he briefed to himself, pondering the motive behind the Elder's words. He wouldn't go as far as to ask about the order to kill the villager, but he felt it necessary to reply nonetheless.
"I appreciate that, sir, he stated. "I know my place here, and I aim to prove to you that I'm anything but ordinary."
"Oh, I have no doubt about that, soldier." As Sarth completed verbalizing his thought, he could hear an escalating dispute between an Elder guard and a young gungan woman not far from where he and Jin were standing. The men turned their attention to the reptilian guard holding back the hysterical Gungan from passing.
"Let mesa go, brute!" Cried the woman. "I needs to get by! Iss important!" The Elder didn't budge.
"Get back, slave. You shouldn't be here," the guard hissed at the slave. Sarth walked closer to the pair with Jin in tow.
"What seems to be the issue, Private?" The Elder officer interrogated. The woman was tall, even for a gungan, but dainty in stature. She had cool eyes and purple-tinted skin. Jin and the woman locked eyes, and her distress hurriedly transitioned to relief.
"Brutter! Yousa here!" she shouted excitedly.
"You know her, Balkan?" curiously asked Sarth. Jin nodded confirmingly.
"She's my sister, sir. What's the matter, Simass?" Sarth signaled for the guard to stand down, while Jin and his kin met in a loving embrace.
"Mossa, shessa sick, Jin," she confessed to her brother in regards to their mother. "Hassa been for a few days now. Wesa tried to get help, but thesa garbareeno no make it easy. She needs yousa, Jin. Wesa both do."
"How can I help? What does she need?" He asked in anticipation.
"Treeman's Herb for medicine," instructed Simass. She placed her right hand on her hip and rolled her head and eyes back in mischievous disdain toward the Elder private. "Not hard to find, if mesa could leave to get it." Without hesitation, the rookie soldier asked to be relieved. Sarth acquiesced to the request, on the condition that he be accompanied by Corporal Jakzal. He also allowed Jin-Jeri to bring his sister along to find the herb that would treat their mother's ailment.
The trio found their way south to the heart of the Lianorm swamp, where Treeman's Herb was plentiful. Pressing forward to the medicinal root, Simass could sense that not all was well with her brother.
"Brutter, something gots you feeling neb? Yousa bein' quiet since wesa left." The younger brother assessed her concern seriously. He moved to push past the issue.
"I'm just worried about Mother, Simmy," he assured her. "I'll be alright when she is."
"Mossa be fine once we get da herb," Simass dismissed. "Something different. Yousa no look too good, Brutter."
"I had a long day yesterday," Jin-Jeri insisted, as Jakzal looked on in agreement. Simass wasn't convinced, but she understood her brother enough to know not to press the issue further. She, perhaps more than anybody, knew Jin's pain. Most of the slaves had memories of their old homes; something to pine for. They may have been slaves, but they had known freedom once, and had something to look forward to.
Jin-Jeri on the other hand, knew nothing outside of his bondage under the Elders, a fact his mother lamented with deep regret. A gungan born into slavery wasn't nearly common yet, less so for one to reach the age of military service. In fact, the Elders had only begun enslaving gungan tribes just a few months before Jin-Jeri's birth.
Having no one to relate to, Jin crafted his own values molded from his deepest desire; freedom. He had no idea the potential a world without subservience could hold, but he was certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that he wouldn't die a slave, but much more than that. What Jin did have was the love of his mother and sister. Theyguided his goals and gave him the motivation to persevere in the hopes of one day achieving freedom he desperately clung to for him and his family.
Simass encountered a specimen of Treeman's Herb that would suit her purpose well. She lowered herself to one knee and pulled a short, crudely carved stone knife from her tattered pocket. As she cut the root from the thick soil encompassing the perimeter of the swamp, a thunderous roar shook the nearby trees.
Wildlife from all over darted to safety, including a pack of Nunu that swept through Simass and knocked her onto her back, herb in hand. Jin extended his arm to pull her up when a large, lumbering primate with long, sharp claws and fangs to match charged out from the trees and bolted in the direction of the trio. Jakzal spotted the beast instantly and made haste.
"Veermok! Run!" The Elder corporal drew his blaster rifle and locked onto the ferocious predator while the two gungan made their escape through the muddy puddles toward the village. Jakzal attempted fire on the veermok but it launched itself over the shot and fanned its unwieldy claws across the Corporal's armor, wounding his leg.
Simass tripped over a thick tree branch and doubled over, drawing the attention of the fanged ape. Jin picked up the branch and held it low. As the beast swiped at him, he twisted his body in evasion and swung the branch, using its momentum to club the giant primate across the side of its head. The veermok reeled back and made a hasty retreat back into the trees.
With their safety ensured, Jin-Jeri turned to his sister. For a short moment, he pondered leaving Jakzal in the swamp and making his escape with Simass. Upon consideing that they were missing their still-ill mother, he gave up the notion, and assisted a grateful Jakzal to his feet.
"Wow, I really owe you one, Balkan. Thanks." Before he could fully stand, Jakzal's leg buckled from the pain of his wound. "I'm hurt pretty bad. We should get back to the village." Jin and Simass both held the Elder up while they journeyed back to Lianorm.
"You sure were brave to take a veermok head on like that," Jin admitted to Jakzal.
"Brave, or stupid," Simass chimed in. Jakzal let out an exasperated chuckle.
"I'm not so sure which one myself" he jested in response.
When the gungan siblings arrived at the village carrying their Elder chaperone, the Lianorm guards hustled to the group led by none other than the red-scaled Sergeant Slax, who scoffed in amusement.
"What happened, Jakzal?" Slax questioned sarcastically. You let these two rough you up out there?" The Sergeant directed two men to take Jakzal from the gungan, one of whom shoved Jin-Jeri to the ground, almost to challenge the young rookie.
"Hey, cut that out," protested Simass.
"Leave him be, Gratha," the Corporal demanded to the young Elder private who was lifting him up. "This kid saved my life. Treat him with respect."
"We're in hard times indeed if you need a slave toad to save your life." Slax expressed with a condescending chortle. Jin-Jeri fumed at the remark, glaring at the Elder with hatred in his heart, unable to feel anything else. Slax locked eyes with the Gungan and challenged his glare. "Got something to add, slave?" Jin didn't budge, and the Sergeant became progressively uncomfortable. "You see something you like? Are you trying to piss me off, toad?" Jin kept staring while reducing the tension in his eyes and cracked a smirk.
"I don't have to try very hard," he quipped, to the amusement of his sister. Slax reluctantly backed away from the pair after a moment and they continued to the infirmary where their mother was staying.
Jin-Jeri and Simass walked along a washed-out stone path that cut through the village. Amongst their view was a line of giant perlote trees where children were seen playing. A patrol of Elder peacekeepers marched through the village, and a group of newly acquired slaves were being processed for transfer back to the Elder capital, Halford.
The duo approached a dilapidated stone hut, with the Elder word for "Infirmary" carved above the doorway. Two Elder guards stood opposite each other at the door, and one waved in the two approaching gungan.
The room inside was dimly lit with cozy candles hung by chains from the ceiling in rows. Under each candle sat a cot with a small table beside it. Most of the cots were occupied by the sick or injured, with gungan volunteers to treat their ailments.
Simass led her brother close to the back of the room, before exiting to another room to concoct her antidote; a Treeman's Salve. Jin-Jeri reached a cot tucked near a corner housing a short, aged gungan female with pale, orange skin. The woman was sat up in the cot with her head held down, eyes closed. Jin stepped closer to the woman and extended his lanky arm to meet her shoulder. She greeted his gesture with a smile of uninhibited delight.
"My boy," expressed the elder woman in slightly broken Basic. "My boy is finally home." The two embraced as Jin breathed a sigh of relief. After months training as a soldier against his own people, he was finally reunited with his family, if only for a little while.