68. The Cave
35th day, 6th month, standard year 24941
Okay, that was just tempting fate, wasn't it?
Oh well. There's nothing else to do; might as well explain myself. We've crash landed. We're not entirely sure where we are. Our comlinks don't seem to be working and the ship is pretty much smashed to pieces. Vulna's working with the comlinks, trying to construct something useful out of them.
There doesn't seem to be anything really dangerous here. Just a lot of swamp. Some of the plants are edible, although disgusting, and we have a water purifier, so no problems there either. Still...
And of course we all feel rather stupid for ending up in this situation in the first place. (The mission we were supposed to to undertake- that went well. Everything's fine there. That's alright, then.)
So, yes.
I'm sure there are better things I could be doing right now.
2nd day, 7th month, standard year 24941
Right, where were we?
While Vulna worked on the comlinks, he told me and Tahl to go away- go and explore or something. In all honesty, there wasn't much we could have done to help. Or he didn't think so, anyway.
So we headed off into the green, making sure not to fall into anything. We didn't see an awful lot. The creatures there seemed to mostly stay out of our way- perhaps they were afraid of us. I don't know.
I quite liked the place, really.
Eventually, we came to a cave.
"Right," Tahl said. "I'm not going in there." (Come to think of it, she had been in a bad mood for most of the day, which I suppose is understandable.)
I remember only shrugging my shoulders. "I don't know. If there's any sort of threat on this planet, we need to find out- we might be stuck here for a while. I'll go in. I won't be long."
"I'd rather you didn't."
"Don't worry."
So I went in.
I saw quite a lot.
Where do I begin...come to think of it, where do I finish? There was a sunset...sort of, it's kind of hard to explain, and a man who was probably Vulna grown up and with white hair, because he looked a bit like him...although I don't know why he was there...and then there was her. Master Ololian.
"As you are to me and a prophecy," she said, "so will you be to another."
And that was it, I suppose...no mortal danger or anything. But Tahl looked terrified when I came out.
"I was just going in to get you," she said. "I thought...this is a bad place."
"It's not," I said.
When we got back to where we'd left Vulna, near our crashed ship, he wasn't there.
"Maybe we should go and look for him.," Tahl said. "No, forget that. We really should."
"No," I said. "We should stay here, otherwise we'll miss each other."
"I don't like it here, Qui. I really don't."
We waited for a while- perhaps not that long, but it felt like ages, and maybe something had happpened to him -and all of a sudden he came back, through an opening in the trees carrying the gagdet hee'd constructed.
"You haven't been gone very long," he said.
"Well, where have you been?" Tahl asked.
"Chasing some animal that ran off with a bit of comlink. Anyway, I think-"
He sat down and dismantled the comlink. I couldn't tell what he was doing, but it didn't look like it was going to work, maybe he didn't know what he was doing after all- and as soon as I turned my back he said. "Okay, it works."
"Oh, well done," Tahl said, running to him. Vulna raised a piece of comlink to his mouth.
"Put me through to the Jedi Temple...can anyone
hear me? Hello? This is Vulna Rolab. Padawan Vulna Rolab. Can you..."
He pushed a button, and suddenly we heard Yoda's
voice.
"Padawan Rolab. Interupted our Council, you have."
"Sorry, Master," Vulna said. He rolled his eyes at us, since Yoda couldn't see.
"Your friends. Are they with you?" Yoda asked.
"Yes, Master," he answered.
"Worried, we were." Yoda said. "Back here you soon shall be, having done your duty."
And now that's where we are.
7th day, 7th month, standard year 24941
I made sure I told Master Kiloxan about Vulna and what he did on that planet- we might have been stuck there for longer if not for him. Master Kiloxan said he already knew.
I still wonder about Vulna, you know. It must have been him I saw in the cave- I don't know who else it could have been. I can't shake the feeling I've seen him before- the older him I mean. Like he's following me all over the place- that's what it feels like. Like he's something to do with me. I mean that in capital letters: Something To Do With Me. More than he actually is.
Maybe it wasn't him.
5th day, 8th month, standard year 24941
I just had a dream. It was dark and awful and it involved Rek, the brother who I haven't seen in years. The only last remaining member of my family.
I have done a lot of thinking. I don't want him to die.
Journal: I have this to say. People die all the time, and there's no way of stopping it. None of us can do anything apart from remember. And that's what we have to do. That's what beings everywhere do. We can watch the whole world go to dust and somehow we'll survive.
I know he's going to die, and I also know there's nothing I can do to stop it. So I won't try. And it hurts.
7th day, 8th month, standard year 24941
No. I won't try. Because if he dies, I'll survive it. I won't start messing around with other people's lives- their destinies. Because- you just can't. It's my choice, and I choose this.
I haven't even told anyone.
9th day, 8th month, standard year 24941
He's dead- he died on Telos. Don't know how, or why, or anything, and I probably never will.
It's my choice, and I chose that.