Be one with the Force. Be one with the Light. Be one with the Universe. All connected, never separated. Trust in your instincts, and the Force will be your guide.
These were the principles taught to me as a padawan learner by my master, Master Anoon Bondara. I was his student, selected at the age of ten to learn the ways of the Jedi and the Force from him. It was an honour to be taught by such a master, who was highly respected and one of the most accomplished lightsaber duellists in the Order. He was skilful and wise, and I was eager to learn from him as much as I could in preparation for when I too would one become a Jedi Knight. I had such dreams. I intended to become something great, someone just as respected and honoured as he, my master, wanting nothing more than to become strong and independent.
It was the dream of every youngling and padawan, and under Master Bondara's tutelage, I saw no reason why I could not become one of the greatest Jedi Knights of all time. It was foolish of me, I see that now, but I was so young. Innocent. It was just a dream to me. My master was a venerated being in my eyes, and I would follow him closely, always watching in order to learn. He taught me the lightsaber forms, having me learn each one to perfection and the varying styles and weapons, intending for me to always be able to defend myself. Even with the slight, feminine figure that I possessed, I learned how to adapt and be swift, as strength was something I was not yet able to possess in comparison to my betters.
As much as I dreamed and trained, unfortunately, it transpired that I was not naturally gifted. I could learn the forms and the motions, but in combat, I was continuously beaten time and time again. It was disheartening, but my master was patient, and adept at hiding his concern and disappointment. Still, it did not help that other padawans such as Aurra Sing would continually put me down after each defeat, in which case I was lucky to have friends such as Aayla Secura to put Aurra in her place, as she was yet to defeat Aayla. The both of us had been friends since ever we could remember, having grown up since young in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, being the same age and both having masters of our own.
Both of us were blue skinned, though I was a great deal lighter in tone than she was, and I was not a Twi'lek. I was a Pantoran, and like my people, I had their characteristic traits. Blue skinned, with pale violet hair and bright golden eyes with swirling facial tattoos cresting at the centre of my forehead, my chin and winged at the corner of my eyes. They represented my family and our status, though I had no memory of them. All I had was my name. Theca Rouyn. As a Jedi, my loyalty and devotion will be to the Order, and not my family, to the protection of others and to strive for peace across all worlds. I never wished to know from whom I had come, though from research, it appeared that my family were a wealthy one.
Sometimes I would wonder about them, but then my master would remind me to keep my focus on the present, as not to become distracted. So I would train, and after two years as his padawan, I was allowed to venture beyond the temple in order to assist him on missions, carrying my standard lightsaber at my side with its deep blue blade. When not on a mission, my master would often take me to worlds in order to train and explore, testing me to see how I learned and adapted, though usually my achievements fell below the expectation. I was out of touch with my senses, Master Bondara said that I was unbalanced within myself, whatever that meant.
Half the time I didn't know what was coming out of his mouth, but I endeavoured to listen, intending to do better the next day. I loved him deeply as my master and something as a father figure, for although he was stern and strict, he was also caring and kind. Patient. Very patient. I could not have asked for a better master. Unfortunately, not everything lasts, and soon enough, I was ripped away from him through circumstances which were not of our own making. We had been sent by the Jedi Council to a star system where a distress signal had been received from explorers and adventurers who had settled on a world in order to explore only to discover that it was not as safe at it had first appeared. The planet was one that was far in the Outer Rim, barely touched as its atmosphere interfered greatly with any technical equipment, including scanners and communication frequencies. Even our shuttle was struggling to remain functional as we approached the planet, answering the distress call and being the first to arrive as we had been closest.
"Master, I'm not picking up any readings from the surface, but the interference is scrambling our scanners." I spoke up as I observed the information pad, only to receive a load of gibberish back. "Is it even safe to land?"
"We must be mindful, Theca, and cautious. Our mission is to rescue the explorers and bring them to safety, and that is what we will do." My master told me as he guided the ship in closer. The planet was predominantly red, with orange sand like clouds billowing in a swirling mass which made the planet rather uninhabitable, but from what the scanners could tell me, it was not a desert planet. In fact, it looked like it was full of vegetation.
"But if we don't know where they are, how are we to find them?"
"Through the Force, young one. It will be our guide." Quieting his mind, Master Bondara held out a hand towards the planet and I watched with silent fascination before trying to copy, reaching out with the Force but either my connection was weak, or I still had not yet fully understood how to listen. Lucky my master was there, otherwise I would never have been able to pinpoint those explorers' location. "I sense them." Lifting his head, Master Bondara guided the ship through the atmosphere which caused all systems to fluctuate but hold steady, allowing us to land.
As the scanners had indicated, the planet was full of vegetation, like a giant red rainforest full of beautiful looking flowers and plants, however the moment I stepped off the shuttle, one of these large plants suddenly came to life with a shudder. I screeched, hand jumping for my lightsaber in order to activate it, holding it up ready as I watched the petals peel back to reveal what I could only describe as a horrendous mouth with dozens upon dozens of sharp, spindly teeth as the stem expanded, stretching out the gullet ready to swallow me hole.
With a creeping sensation, vines began to slide and knot their way around me before I had even realised what was going on, making me cry out as I tried to step backwards only to realise that the entire planet was alive, and that it had now bound up my feet and I tripped backwards, falling to the ground in order to snake vines over my arms and pin me down as my master then stepped off the shuttle. With quick slashes of his own green bladed lightsaber, he had me free and decapitated the carnivorous plant then had me back on my feet. "Proceed with caution, padawan. I sense that this planet is not welcoming to visitors."
"Yes master." I gulped, shaking slightly from the fact that I had almost been eaten by a plant. Aurra Sing would have absolutely loved that, no doubt. She would find it absolutely hilarious to die such a miserable death. My master proved right about the planet, though. It was not friendly. Everything around us proved dangerous, from the vegetation to the giant leathery swamp-bats with venomous spit, to the toxic fumes of the gas geysers, and just about everything else around here. The only things that didn't try to kill us were some of the more docile species that inhabited the planet, who seemed to move in packs and avoided the more dangerous areas. They were four legged and had three tails and long, spindly limbs which they used to swing through the trees, harvesting different fruits from the higher branches above the canopy as my master and I moved through the dense jungle in order to find our missing explorers.
This was quickly made a planet I would not want to visit again, as it seemed everything wanted to attack me first, like the planet itself knew that I was weaker and more vulnerable than my master, who remained calm as he moved through the dangers largely unnoticed. "Master! How do you do that? Why are the plants and animals only going after me?!" Squeaking loudly as a giant insect-like creature flew at me with giant pincers and a sizeable stinger, I thrust out my hand in order to fling it away with a Force push, sending it crashing against one of the flowers which immediately snapped its toothy petals in order to swallow it as I almost tripped over a root and slip into an acidic pond which we had already discovered had the means to melt one's clothes even by just standing too closely.
"Because I am one with the Force, my young padawan. When you are one with the Force, you are as nothing. A calm in the storm, a pivot to the lever. Chaos may rage around you, yet you are still." He said to me, lightly climbing a twisted tree root and vaulting as it shuddered and flecked its bark to reveal poisonous needle like barbs which the tree flicked after him but he had already moved, avoiding them cleanly as I continued to stagger and trip everywhere I went, already feeling exhausted.
"But I don't know what that means. How can I be as nothing when I am something?" I asked him, but I never received my answer. Master Bondara suddenly vaulted back and landed beside me, closing a hand over my mouth with one hand and lifting me up with another in order to propel us both higher up into the tree towards some safer branches where a purple lichen seemed to be growing upon the bark. I remained still and silent, recognising the shift in my master to realise that something was wrong and upon further inspection of the ground below, I saw evidence of blaster marks and blood, the body of someone lying on the ground partially exposed though it was being slowly eaten by a long, serpentine creature with eight stubby limbs.
I tensed up, feeling a nervous spike of fear as I clung onto my master dependently, comforted by his presence. "We are not alone on this planet." He murmured knowingly as he slowly let me go, then gave me a series of signs of what he wanted me to do. We were to stay up high in the trees and follow the tracks that had been left behind, centring on the main location of the fight then continued as it seemed something had carted our explorers away. It didn't take long for us to come across a campsite deeper in the jungle, surrounded by an acidic bog which breathed the fumes upwards and we had to move in order to keep out of its reach, as the soles of my shoes were already starting to wear through.
These people here were natives, as it seemed, and they did not appear to have any qualms over where their meals came from. It was a large clan, and with horror and disgust, I saw that they were already eating some of the explorers that they had roasted alive on a spit. There were only three left alive, though they seemed badly wounded. I could sense them, kept tied up to a totem pole near to the leader's throne which was comprised completely from bones. They were a feline race, covered in fur but with heavy set jaws in the males and long fangs which protruded past their maws. The females were more distinguishable through their figure, being slighter and a great deal less hairy, as the men seemed to have a combination of thick mains, broader shoulders and long tails.
Their chief had what looked like the spoils from the fight at his feet, the belongings of the explorers mounded at his feet whilst he inspected one of the hand blasters curiously before he then aimed it and pulled the trigger. The red bolt seared through a nearby tree, burning a hole through it which caused many of the tribal people to hiss and snarl before the chief then laughed and cried out in his own language, one that I could not understand. It wasn't Basic or any of the other languages my master had me study, we really needed a protocol droid for this kind of thing, a translator.
Staying aloft in my tree, I looked across to my master who signalled to stay put and wait until there was a chance to rescue the explorers. Hopefully, that'll be before they get eaten. The smell of burning flesh mingled with the acidic scent of the bog caused my stomach to retch and I could barely keep myself from gagging, though I wanted nothing more than to leave this place immediately and never have to smell anything or see the mangled remains of dead bodies ever again. It was nightmarish.
My master approached the chief through the encampment, causing a great stir but when several of males spring for him with their primitive weapons of spears, knives and bows, Master Bondara merely used the Force to send them away, demonstrating his power before then striding on through to face the chief who levelled the blaster at my master's head. Remaining calm, my master pulled the weapon out of the chief's hand with the Force before then entering negotiations, speaking in Basic but using hand gestures to convey what he wanted, and to my surprise, a female hurried forwards in order to translate.
So these people weren't as primitive as they seemed. They had knowledge of the other worlds, even recognised the term 'Jedi', and had lived on this same planet for thousands of years, maintaining their traditions. All this time they had been left in peace, but when they had found intruders in their home, they had enacted a hunt, which to them was something of a sport, and now they enjoyed the spoils. The chief, who was called Nar'Tja, insisted that whoever landed in his territory became his prey, and it was his sacred right to hunt them.
Master continued to try and negotiate for the release of the remaining explorers, but Nar'Tja would not hear of it without some kind of repayment being offered, not only for the explorers, but also for my master's life being spared. He wanted more weapons, and means to travel the stars, but Master Bondara refused under the laws of the Republic, as we could not provide advanced technology to such an underdeveloped race, especially ones that seemed to have no qualms in eating people they didn't like. I waited in my tree to see how the negotiations would go, but upon seeing that they did not seem to be turning favourably, I knew that soon we would have to choose alternate means to free the explorers, or scientists as they were.
Seeing that my master was keeping the chief and clan busy, I began to descend from my tree with light movements, remaining agile and quiet in my descent whilst avoiding certain parts which appeared deadly to me, following the purple lichen until I was closer to the ground before leaping down behind a tent, which appeared to be made from…and I dreaded to think it…animal fur. I sincerely hoped it wasn't the fur from their dead, or worse, their own living. Shaking it off, I moved stealthily around the camp before reaching the totem pole where the explorers were being kept, remaining out of sight as they all lifted their heads and gasped with a weep of relief. "Jedi! You're…"
"Sh!" I hushed them quickly, keeping low to the ground and using them to cover me. "Quiet, we'll have to make a run for it soon. Wait for my master's signal." Freeing them from the rope that bound their hands, the three scientific explorers remained absolutely still as I then moved slightly, looking around in order to search for somewhere to move to before getting a better vantage point to make eye contact with my master. It was beginning to get dark, which I thought would be a good thing for us, however at the moment I moved to hide behind the throne of bones, the wind also changed directions, a breeze blowing against me and carrying my scent towards the feline clan, causing some to stop and sniff the air, including the chief.
Suddenly he snarled and without warning, the throne was flung aside to reveal me crouched behind it, blazing yellow eyes focused on me before claws lashed out and I barely dodged them in time, the sheer tips catching at my shoulder and tearing my padawan robes as Master Bondara called to me. "Theca, go!" I heard the hum of his lightsaber and the chief was dragged back with the Force, throwing him away from me as I launched myself back over to the three explorers and stood before them, holding out my own lightsaber as they struggled to their feet, the two fitter helping the third older and more severely injured woman. My master held the clan's main attention, blaster fire beginning to shoot in every direction as some of the clan had taken up the weapons that had been stolen.
"This way!" Utilising my knowledge of Form Three, I deflected the blaster bolts in order to cover the three explorers and directed them back in the direction of our transport, so that we could all escape. I knew that I could leave my master behind as he was more than capable of holding off the main body of the clan, however as we began our escape, several of them broke off in order to chase after us, including the females who were much faster than the males but no less aggressive and vicious. Letting the other three hobbled forwards I covered their retreat, blocking more blaster fire until one feline dropped at me from above and I had to throw them off with the Force, though she landed in an acid pool which allowed her only a brief scream before swallowing her hole, the burning scent of hair joining the acidic fumes.
Shuddering, I held off the others with as great a non-lethal effort as I possibly could, using the jungle around me to help by throwing rocks or redirecting plants and branches at them to hold them back, but they were born and raised on this planet, and they were able to scale trees and move with an agile quickness which left me little other choice than to kill them before they could kill us. "Help!" Hearing the cry from up ahead, I quickly dispatched the rather large male feline that had come at me with claws and spear before turning and racing after the explorers, who had been captured in a net, three more feline tribesmen surrounding them.
Leaping up into the air with an added Force push, I vaulted and landed amidst the fray, sending two back and kicked the third though it dodged and knocked my feet out from beneath me, making me grunt as I hit the ground. I lashed out again, this time kicking the feline in the face before I then swept myself back up onto my feet and sent them flying off into a dense grassland where it became stuck in the boggy marsh of quick sinking mud. "Hurry! Go now! Go!" Doing my best to sound confident and at ease, I cut them free of the net with a clean slash of my lightsaber before pointing in the direction that they needed to run, telling them to follow the path and not to fall into the marsh.
More of the feline tribe were now electing to chase after us, but we weren't moving quick enough so I signalled to the droid on our ship, shouting through the patchy communication frequency to start the ship and bring it to my coordinates so that we could get out of here faster. Although interference in the atmosphere meant that the message was patchy at best, thankfully the droid understood the desperate plea and responded that it understood, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief. Now able to focus fully on the enemy and the explorers, I pulled them off the main path and towards some sturdy looking rocks which overlooked a deep gorge where a powerful looking river rushed below. Although we were out in the open, it allowed me to see the enemy more clearly and as they came rushing at us, I continued to Force push them back.
"We can't stay here, we'll be slaughtered!" One of the explorers yelled at me, the three of them grouping together closely whilst trying to stay as far away from the edge as possible, hiding behind a rock as I continued to fight off the feline tribe who were now coming at us in droves.
"Give it a minute and our transport shuttle will be here!" I yelled back at them, sweat beginning to glisten all over my body as I sliced effortlessly through a spear as I pivoted on my foot and kicked a slender looking female in the gut, blocking another blaster bolt but just as I transitioned into my next stance, one of the males roared and launched himself upon me. I felt the claws sink into my skin to draw blood, the sharp sting and sensation of tearing flesh eliciting an outburst of pain as I twisted and Force propelled them off me, throwing them back into the reeds as I hit the ground with a considerable amount of momentum.
It compressed against my back and forced the air out of my lungs, my weapon flying out of my hand where it was then picked up as I froze, whipping onto my front to stare at the male feline who'd picked it up then crushed it with a single paw, claws breaking through the metal before then tearing it apart. "No!" My lightsaber! Without that I was defenceless, and they'd destroyed it as if it were nothing more than cheap material. It was dropped upon the ground and crumpled underfoot, all of us now surrounded as I staggered back onto my feet, hands now lifted. I flung them outwards, able to throw one or two of them back at a time as they all began to advance on us.
Now the fear began to settle in, thinking that there could be nothing worse than dying on a planet like this, and even worse being captured and eaten alive. I didn't want to die, I felt I had barely even begun to live, and this was not how I wanted to go. Looking to the ruined remains of my lightsaber, I caught the glint of the kyber crystal and quickly summoned it to me through the Force, pulling it through the air then quickly tucked it into my belt pouch to keep it safe, as I knew it would be difficult to find a replacement. My fingers fumbled for a moment, still holding up one hand in order to hold off the feline tribespeople, but there were too many of them to hold back.
Several of them lunged for me and I vaulted into the air, summersaulting so that they flew past and slipped over the edge of the rocks but upon landing, I found myself too close to the edge and my foot slipped as my heel found nothing to ground itself against. I stumbled, feeling a shooting flash of terror before I settled once more, but no sooner had I found my balance, a weapon came thrusting towards me. I veered back, and in that moment, I felt the sense of weightlessness as I fell upon the open, vast expanse of air behind me.
In desperation I grabbed onto the staff of the spear to keep myself from falling, crying out with a shout for my master as someone buried their fangs into my right leg, tearing another scream from me before I was trying to fight, kick and pull away from the edge all at once, a mass contusion of struggling limbs and bodies before with a frantic burst of energy, I willed the Force to explode outwards from me in a pulse that ripped all off of me with a mighty crash, throwing bodies in all directions as the explorers remained unharmed and untouched.
For a moment I thought all was well, sucking in a deep breath as I stepped forwards in order to move further away from the edge and the danger of falling, only to feel the entire ground shift beneath me. My Force blast had weakened it, caused the rock to crumble and crack underneath, and in the brief moment I had to draw in the information that the ground was broken, it then gave way in the same moment another female lunged at me. I jumped forward to escape the danger, not realising that she was coming at me so we collided in mid-air, swinging ourselves around from the might of our leaps before we hit the ground but her weight and power far surpassed mine, so we rolled backwards onto the collapsing rock and before I knew it, we were falling.
My hands darted out and gripped onto a jagged rock to keep from descending into the abyss below, alarm and fear reigning strong throughout my body as I shouted for someone to help me. I saw the faces of the explorers looking over, they were close. Close enough to reach for me, if only they would reach, but they remained frozen. "Please! Please help me!" I shouted, barely holding on and when I realised that the added weight was from the fact that I was also supporting the feline that had sprung at me, I knew I had no hope of climbing back up myself or use the Force to carry both our weight. I just wasn't strong enough. All they had to do was stretch down and let me grab on, to hold onto me long enough for my master to arrive, but they remained huddled where they were hidden, simply staring at me.
The rush of air whipped against us all, and our shuttle appeared with a thunderous gushing of sound which ripped through me as I struggled to hold on all the more as the force of the thrusters pressed against me. I tried to shout but my voice became lost, the explorers turning one last look at me before the three of them ran for the landing shuttle instead, leaving me behind. Below me I heard a snarl and the feline leaped across the rocks and buried her claws in, finding a much stronger foot hold before starting to climb. Part of me wanted to call out to her, to beg her help but my voice wouldn't come and my arms were trembling under my own weight, the sinews and muscles burning against the pressure until all at once, more rock gave way and an onslaught fell upon me, slamming into my body and ripped me away from the rock face.
I recalled feeling a blunt blow to my head before it all went dark, but then nothing beyond that. From logic, I deduced that I had fallen all the way into the ravine below and was carried away, out of sight and out of mind, far away from my master and any hope of rescue, as when I woke up, I found myself still on that hostile, carnivorous planet, only this time, I was all alone.