Chapter 4: Good enough
Varielle had judged it perfectly, as she felt the Force presence of the pilot whirling around the temple in the strange fighter. The presence was odd, almost two-fold, but two intertwined, like a mother and foetus; the dark one in the green clothing had felt like only one. Besides, these strange ones had killed all of the team and were trying to kill her. Curiosity could wait.
She clung to the rope ladder like a limpet, reaching for Amarell's lightsaber. "I won't dishonour it," she vowed to empty air, calmly dangling so far above ground she'd be dead if she fell. The strange craft whipped back around and lined up for another pass at the ground. Her gentle nudges at the pilot's mind to ignore her had given her the precious seconds she needed.
She jumped.
The Force flowed through her, around her, filling and emptying her at the same time. The impact nearly sent her falling, but she braced her feet against protrusions in the oddly decorated hull and hung on. After a few moments she straightened up and cut a hole in the clear canopy.
The pilot stared at her as if she was a madwoman, tilting the craft wildly, but one quick stroke and he was headless. The strange metal emblem on his forehead glinted in the sunlight. She told herself not to regret. She had her own life to worry about, and a message to deliver.
Gripping the edge of the cockpit with one hand, she waited as the craft rolled over and over, slamming her against the hull with bone-breaking force, until it was headed right into the temple wall. She dropped at the last possible minute, grabbing for the edges of the rock where the entry-way to the interior was. If she could just catch it and pull herself up…
…felt flaming wreckage hit her arm and send her spinning, slamming her into the rock and shattering her elbow…
…felt an icy stab of fear and bitterness…
…spared a moment to be glad that at least the strange people would never know where to look for her home and hurt her people this way…
…felt the open space and tried to move into it but feeling the Force twist away from her pain and her concentration slipping…
…felt the crushing knowledge of failure and certain death…
…felt rope coil itself on one shoulder briefly…
…felt the sudden surge of hope bring the Force back into reach…
…felt the strain of so much as moving a rope so she could stop her fall, and the bitter knowledge she really had overdone it this time during the long hit-and-run battle…
…felt herself slam into the wall, and if she didn't have broken ribs before she certainly did now…
…felt herself being hauled up to safety. The tall blonde man with the spectacles, the one who felt so strangely warm and cold, hauled her up as gently as he could, with the grey-haired military one reaching for some kind of box in his bag, and the dark-skinned alien one standing guard.
They were talking, but she couldn't hear them over the throbbing in her ears. She'd done something very nasty to one knee, but had no time to think about it.
Blessing Amarell for teaching her so well, even if she hated it at the time, she calmed herself and conquered the pain, at least temporarily. They looked shocked when she stood up in one smooth motion, breathing evenly with a calm face.
"I'll pay for this later," she said to herself, hobbling towards the ring room. Another one was there, a woman, a human - and how was that possible? - with light hair and fair skin. Three fair-skinned people. Unusual. That thought passed randomly through her head.
The blonde one, the one who had tried so hard to speak to her, said something and started hitting the symbols. Varielle's eyes flew wide open when it didn't stop after the fifth symbol. He smiled shyly at her and finished, a bright blue energy vortex replacing the view of the stone wall. It always put her in mind of a waterfall.
"Where are we going?" she asked dubiously.
Whatever he said, she could sense through the Force what he was trying to convey - their home, a safe place, somewhere to hide.
She nodded, slowly. She wouldn't lead them to her home, and she needed a doctor. She could take a little time to heal up and learn before reporting back; in fact, she would probably have to. She could barely walk now.
They might be enemies, in which case she need only die to erase all knowledge of how to get back. They might be allies, in which case she had a duty to learn their language and learn about them. Or they might be something even more peculiar. For now, they were willing to help and that was good enough.
Varielle had judged it perfectly, as she felt the Force presence of the pilot whirling around the temple in the strange fighter. The presence was odd, almost two-fold, but two intertwined, like a mother and foetus; the dark one in the green clothing had felt like only one. Besides, these strange ones had killed all of the team and were trying to kill her. Curiosity could wait.
She clung to the rope ladder like a limpet, reaching for Amarell's lightsaber. "I won't dishonour it," she vowed to empty air, calmly dangling so far above ground she'd be dead if she fell. The strange craft whipped back around and lined up for another pass at the ground. Her gentle nudges at the pilot's mind to ignore her had given her the precious seconds she needed.
She jumped.
The Force flowed through her, around her, filling and emptying her at the same time. The impact nearly sent her falling, but she braced her feet against protrusions in the oddly decorated hull and hung on. After a few moments she straightened up and cut a hole in the clear canopy.
The pilot stared at her as if she was a madwoman, tilting the craft wildly, but one quick stroke and he was headless. The strange metal emblem on his forehead glinted in the sunlight. She told herself not to regret. She had her own life to worry about, and a message to deliver.
Gripping the edge of the cockpit with one hand, she waited as the craft rolled over and over, slamming her against the hull with bone-breaking force, until it was headed right into the temple wall. She dropped at the last possible minute, grabbing for the edges of the rock where the entry-way to the interior was. If she could just catch it and pull herself up…
…felt flaming wreckage hit her arm and send her spinning, slamming her into the rock and shattering her elbow…
…felt an icy stab of fear and bitterness…
…spared a moment to be glad that at least the strange people would never know where to look for her home and hurt her people this way…
…felt the open space and tried to move into it but feeling the Force twist away from her pain and her concentration slipping…
…felt the crushing knowledge of failure and certain death…
…felt rope coil itself on one shoulder briefly…
…felt the sudden surge of hope bring the Force back into reach…
…felt the strain of so much as moving a rope so she could stop her fall, and the bitter knowledge she really had overdone it this time during the long hit-and-run battle…
…felt herself slam into the wall, and if she didn't have broken ribs before she certainly did now…
…felt herself being hauled up to safety. The tall blonde man with the spectacles, the one who felt so strangely warm and cold, hauled her up as gently as he could, with the grey-haired military one reaching for some kind of box in his bag, and the dark-skinned alien one standing guard.
They were talking, but she couldn't hear them over the throbbing in her ears. She'd done something very nasty to one knee, but had no time to think about it.
Blessing Amarell for teaching her so well, even if she hated it at the time, she calmed herself and conquered the pain, at least temporarily. They looked shocked when she stood up in one smooth motion, breathing evenly with a calm face.
"I'll pay for this later," she said to herself, hobbling towards the ring room. Another one was there, a woman, a human - and how was that possible? - with light hair and fair skin. Three fair-skinned people. Unusual. That thought passed randomly through her head.
The blonde one, the one who had tried so hard to speak to her, said something and started hitting the symbols. Varielle's eyes flew wide open when it didn't stop after the fifth symbol. He smiled shyly at her and finished, a bright blue energy vortex replacing the view of the stone wall. It always put her in mind of a waterfall.
"Where are we going?" she asked dubiously.
Whatever he said, she could sense through the Force what he was trying to convey - their home, a safe place, somewhere to hide.
She nodded, slowly. She wouldn't lead them to her home, and she needed a doctor. She could take a little time to heal up and learn before reporting back; in fact, she would probably have to. She could barely walk now.
They might be enemies, in which case she need only die to erase all knowledge of how to get back. They might be allies, in which case she had a duty to learn their language and learn about them. Or they might be something even more peculiar. For now, they were willing to help and that was good enough.