Chapter 23: Have a little compassion
Varielle bounced to her feet almost instantly as she came out of her healing trance to mend the remaining fractures in her bones. She felt like the fatigue under her skin, settling all through her body. She knew she would need to sleep, properly, and soon.
Virrenna came in while she was pulling on her boots. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To whichever shuttle bay the Jedi are docking at."
"Good luck finding where. Now sit down."
She closed her eyes, settled herself and extended her mind through the Force, feeling for the shuttle bay bustling with activity. "Bay twelve."
"How'd you know that?"
"I'm a Jedi. Work it out." She reached for her lightsaber. "I'll be fine."
"You are not fine, you're at the ragged edge of exhaustion."
"Fine. I'll sleep later, when there's time." She walked out the door.
Virrenna ran after her. "Look," he said intently, "You're hurt, hungry and exhausted. Don't do this."
"Don't have much choice, Virrenna. I'll be back, don't worry about it." She hurried out the door and down the hall. Her attire drew few looks, but many gave her a startled second look upon recognising her face. Evidently word had spread through the ship about her arrival and adventures.
She could feel the tension as the shuttle docked; she was just in time. The four robed Jedi swept majestically down the ramp, in contrast to her own jerky movements through the halls. "Master Yeren," she greeted her. "Master Darisole. Master Kingdon. Master Afi'arar." The Bothan nodded politely to her, fur ruffling slightly.
"Welcome home, Paduin Mizabwe," he intoned. "I was sorry to hear about Amarell's death."
"That's what we're here to investigate," Yeren rocked back on her heels. The tiny dark-haired woman looked a tenth her true age, and for all her size few would cross her in combat. "You have his lightsaber."
"He told me to take it. He knew he was going to die." Varielle forced her face and voice to calmness, and hated herself for it. It was like saying she shouldn't be mourning him. "There are some things you will need to hear, and not just about his death."
"Alright, Paduin. Lead on. And can we get something to eat?"
"I'll ask someone to send some food up. It won't be very good."
"Doesn't need to be," she said brusquely. "But I would like to hear about this 'alien' I get rumours of."
"We ran into more than one group out there," she said. "I'm not sure any of them are truly friendly. They don't know where we are, though. None of us told them anything."
"You're sure, Paduin?"
"None of us had time. They all died too fast. And I ran. Master Cordenn told me to, to warn our people."
"How many aliens are we talking about here?"
"In the group that attacked us? A few hundred, perhaps, but there are many more out there. Into the billions, I would say, though they're not unified. The group that - I suppose you could say they helped me - there's six billion or so of them, but again, not unified. There's many more out there they know of as well. One of the second group came back with me. It's going to be a long day."
"Do you think they'd be good allies?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. I'll tell you when we get to the conference room. It'll take me a couple of hours to recount everything."
"What about this alien?"
"He's sleeping. The Admiral assigned him a cabin. He's still learning our language."
"You picked up theirs like we hoped you would?"
"Yes."
"Does this alien have a name?"
"Daniel Jackson. They have the same custom we do of an individual and family name. He's very good at languages. Better than I'd be if I weren't a Jedi."
"That good?"
"Better. I think he must be one of their best."
"You're one of our best at languages."
"I can talk to him in his language and make myself understood," she allowed. "I know I'm not perfect at it. Not even close."
"Do they pose any immediate threat to us?" Darisole asked.
"No, sir. They don't know how to find us."
"How many destinations can the Ring have?"
"Apparently it's called a Stargate, and lots. They know of several thousand already, and they're finding more all the time."
"Several thousand? How did they build this system… ah. They didn't."
"Yes. Apparently it was built about three quarters of a million years ago, by a race they know only as the Ancient Ones. Daniel says he can read the Ancients' language and knows how it's supposed to be spoken, although he didn't say how he'd learned that. Evidently the species isn't around anymore. He didn't tell me what happened to them."
"You didn't ask?"
"I was more interested in learning how his people worked at the time, their command structure and technology level. One thing I can say, they've only recently learned how to make energy weapons and the use is definitely not wide-spread. But their projectile weapons, especially at the hand-held level, are better than any of ours. They've really refined the principle."
"How about science?"
"Behind us, but advancing. They have very good computers, at least the places I saw, and they have space travel, but they're very much still developing that. The Stargate system is their main form of interstellar transport. Mostly they're confined to one planet."
"How about their laws?"
"Slavery is illegal, sexes are equal, they have the right of free worship. Since there's only one sentient race on their planet they don't have any laws one way or the other about species discrimination. A lot of the rest varies, or I don't know enough about it to be certain. It's not something I really delved into; I didn't have time."
"We can wait for this Daniel Jackson to wake up?"
"Yes. It's been a long few days."
"Longer for you," Yeren said. "How much have you slept since Cordenn died? Not in a healing trance, but slept?"
"Um…" She had to pause and think. "Maybe twenty hours, total."
"In how many days?"
"About ten or twelve."
"We'll make this short, then."
"But Yeren…"
She waved a hand and Kingdon shut up. "We'll make this short. Have a little compassion, it would become a Jedi of your rank."
Varielle bounced to her feet almost instantly as she came out of her healing trance to mend the remaining fractures in her bones. She felt like the fatigue under her skin, settling all through her body. She knew she would need to sleep, properly, and soon.
Virrenna came in while she was pulling on her boots. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To whichever shuttle bay the Jedi are docking at."
"Good luck finding where. Now sit down."
She closed her eyes, settled herself and extended her mind through the Force, feeling for the shuttle bay bustling with activity. "Bay twelve."
"How'd you know that?"
"I'm a Jedi. Work it out." She reached for her lightsaber. "I'll be fine."
"You are not fine, you're at the ragged edge of exhaustion."
"Fine. I'll sleep later, when there's time." She walked out the door.
Virrenna ran after her. "Look," he said intently, "You're hurt, hungry and exhausted. Don't do this."
"Don't have much choice, Virrenna. I'll be back, don't worry about it." She hurried out the door and down the hall. Her attire drew few looks, but many gave her a startled second look upon recognising her face. Evidently word had spread through the ship about her arrival and adventures.
She could feel the tension as the shuttle docked; she was just in time. The four robed Jedi swept majestically down the ramp, in contrast to her own jerky movements through the halls. "Master Yeren," she greeted her. "Master Darisole. Master Kingdon. Master Afi'arar." The Bothan nodded politely to her, fur ruffling slightly.
"Welcome home, Paduin Mizabwe," he intoned. "I was sorry to hear about Amarell's death."
"That's what we're here to investigate," Yeren rocked back on her heels. The tiny dark-haired woman looked a tenth her true age, and for all her size few would cross her in combat. "You have his lightsaber."
"He told me to take it. He knew he was going to die." Varielle forced her face and voice to calmness, and hated herself for it. It was like saying she shouldn't be mourning him. "There are some things you will need to hear, and not just about his death."
"Alright, Paduin. Lead on. And can we get something to eat?"
"I'll ask someone to send some food up. It won't be very good."
"Doesn't need to be," she said brusquely. "But I would like to hear about this 'alien' I get rumours of."
"We ran into more than one group out there," she said. "I'm not sure any of them are truly friendly. They don't know where we are, though. None of us told them anything."
"You're sure, Paduin?"
"None of us had time. They all died too fast. And I ran. Master Cordenn told me to, to warn our people."
"How many aliens are we talking about here?"
"In the group that attacked us? A few hundred, perhaps, but there are many more out there. Into the billions, I would say, though they're not unified. The group that - I suppose you could say they helped me - there's six billion or so of them, but again, not unified. There's many more out there they know of as well. One of the second group came back with me. It's going to be a long day."
"Do you think they'd be good allies?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. I'll tell you when we get to the conference room. It'll take me a couple of hours to recount everything."
"What about this alien?"
"He's sleeping. The Admiral assigned him a cabin. He's still learning our language."
"You picked up theirs like we hoped you would?"
"Yes."
"Does this alien have a name?"
"Daniel Jackson. They have the same custom we do of an individual and family name. He's very good at languages. Better than I'd be if I weren't a Jedi."
"That good?"
"Better. I think he must be one of their best."
"You're one of our best at languages."
"I can talk to him in his language and make myself understood," she allowed. "I know I'm not perfect at it. Not even close."
"Do they pose any immediate threat to us?" Darisole asked.
"No, sir. They don't know how to find us."
"How many destinations can the Ring have?"
"Apparently it's called a Stargate, and lots. They know of several thousand already, and they're finding more all the time."
"Several thousand? How did they build this system… ah. They didn't."
"Yes. Apparently it was built about three quarters of a million years ago, by a race they know only as the Ancient Ones. Daniel says he can read the Ancients' language and knows how it's supposed to be spoken, although he didn't say how he'd learned that. Evidently the species isn't around anymore. He didn't tell me what happened to them."
"You didn't ask?"
"I was more interested in learning how his people worked at the time, their command structure and technology level. One thing I can say, they've only recently learned how to make energy weapons and the use is definitely not wide-spread. But their projectile weapons, especially at the hand-held level, are better than any of ours. They've really refined the principle."
"How about science?"
"Behind us, but advancing. They have very good computers, at least the places I saw, and they have space travel, but they're very much still developing that. The Stargate system is their main form of interstellar transport. Mostly they're confined to one planet."
"How about their laws?"
"Slavery is illegal, sexes are equal, they have the right of free worship. Since there's only one sentient race on their planet they don't have any laws one way or the other about species discrimination. A lot of the rest varies, or I don't know enough about it to be certain. It's not something I really delved into; I didn't have time."
"We can wait for this Daniel Jackson to wake up?"
"Yes. It's been a long few days."
"Longer for you," Yeren said. "How much have you slept since Cordenn died? Not in a healing trance, but slept?"
"Um…" She had to pause and think. "Maybe twenty hours, total."
"In how many days?"
"About ten or twelve."
"We'll make this short, then."
"But Yeren…"
She waved a hand and Kingdon shut up. "We'll make this short. Have a little compassion, it would become a Jedi of your rank."