Disclaimer: The nickname Yuuzhie belongs to Vongchild (at least that's who I first heard it from).
Part 31: Saber Spirits
"I say we all stand down and stay back. I should go in alone." Sheng Lah suggested as his group of Jedi and soldiers hid in the shrubbery at the base of Kodachi Cha's command tower.
"And let you betray us all?" Objected a Twi'lek soldier.
"That's a good Yuuzhie." Another Jedi came to Sheng Lah's defense. The Yuuzhan Vong's hopes rose momentarily, only to be shot down. "However, I'm not sitting on my hands."
"What do you propose we do?" Sheng Lah said out loud. Yuuzhie. That's a good nickname in both languages; none of us will ever get insulted at that.
"Sheng, you go in alone and pretend to be a messenger from your domain while we hide and follow. I have a feeling you're going to be dead meat if you go in alone." The other Jedi grinned.
"Good point. I have no choice but to listen to you since you're the one with the foresight here. I'll leave my lightsaber with…" Sheng Lah glanced at his lightsaber and found himself unable to speak. It was as if the weapon had not only a life of its own, but a mind as well. Perhaps that was a consequence of listening to the Force and picking up unusual lightsaber studs when he was supposed to be in bed.
"Don't leave this weapon!" The distant voice of a human male begged. The volume was low, but the emotional tones were strong enough to move Sheng Lah's shaking hand and drain all the blood from the Yuuzhan Vong's normally blue face.
"We can't help you if you don't take your lightsaber. Your won't be able to use your pet snake once you're in creep-woman's lair." A second, male voice emanated from the lightsaber.
"Hey, Sheng, your lightsaber crystal's glowing." One of the Jedi in his group pointed out. Sheng almost sighed in relief when he, from the words, figured out that only he heard the voices in the saber stud.
"Never mind what I just said." Sheng Lah snatched his weapon and hid it under his armor as he strode off toward Kodachi Cha's command tower. The minute the other Jedi and the soldiers thought Sheng Lah was out of hearing distance, they began to gossip.
"Did you see that look in his eyes?" One whispered excitedly.
"Yeah. I'll bet he's an experiment and the council's using that lightsaber to control him. See the way he wanted to get rid of that thing?"
"You're getting it way over your head." Interjected the Jedi who came to defend Sheng Lah. "That's not even possible. Any Jedi would have enough respect not to ever mess around with that lightsaber. The weapon's several years older than he is, remember?"
"That's gotta be a copy. There'd have been no way he could have gotten away with even touching the real thing." A second Jedi shook his head. The Yuuzhan Vong Jedi wanted to shake his head and quicken his pace, but he did not want the others to know that he was eavesdropping on the insults and accusations thrown behind his back. He knew, since he was a child, that he could never truly be at home amongst the Yuuzhan Vong or the Jedi, but the malicious words still stung like a hive full of wild thud bugs.
"Makes sense to copy such a famous thing." One of the soldiers commented.
"No, it doesn't! Besides, that weapon's better suited for a Yuuzhie than all the other lightsabers in the galaxy put together!" Sheng Lah's friend nearly screamed.
"Still, it doesn't sound right for a little kid to touch that weapon and get to keep it without getting into trouble. I heard that Hapan princess, when she was eight, got into fifty times the trouble when she 'borrowed' the Queen Mother's weapon."
"There's a whole lot of differences you didn't count. First and foremost, we all know the Queen Mother's lightsaber ain't possessed, whereas Master Veila reported ghosts when she touched Sheng's weapon. Maybe those ghosts intervened on his behalf. Second, our Yuuzhie friend is one of the few people who could turn the blade on. Third, Sheng Lah didn't disturb anyone or wave the thing at little kids. I'm pretty sure that Hapan kid was in trouble mostly for playing with the lightsaber in front of little kids." With that lecture, the Jedi who defended Sheng Lah silenced the distrustful group.
As he neared the entrance, the Yuuzhan Vong Jedi deliberately disappeared into the decorative plants in the vicinity. He then removed his saber stud and hissed at it. "Sorry if my temper's short, but everyone's been eating it up as if it's an all-you-can-eat buffet lately. Now, tell me what you're hiding, every last bit of it! You're lucky I'm not some crazed priest or else you would have been sacrificed for being possessed."
"That's why we let you keep this weapon." One of the voices whispered again.
"What in the galaxies in going on?" Sheng Lah demanded.
"Calm down, Sheng! We've been protecting you and this is what we get in return? I see that it is my duty to tell you everything I know." The first voice spoke again and Sheng could envision a childhood superhero flying before his eyes.
"And I thought you were pompous when you were alive." Commented the second voice in the lightsaber.
"Ah yes, good Jedi! It is my duty as a heroic character to…" The first speaker's playful tone almost escalated to a goofy laugh.
"Ganner." The second person warned.
"I was just kidding."
"Ganner Rhysode? How did you guys end up in a lightsaber?"
"When you die in battle with this lightsaber in your hands, the lambent takes a part of you in." The second speaker answered.
"So you're Anakin Solo and I'm talking to a living mausoleum." The blue Jedi almost grinned and at the same time, gave a ghost of a snicker. If he was right---no, he was definitely right, for Ganner must have had help when he took down a thousand warriors---then the Yuuzhan Vong was finally going to receive some straight answers from an expert. He then prepared a list of questions, hoping that death did not make the famed Solo rhetorical.
"I guess."
"Why didn't I get in trouble when I touched this lightsaber?"
"We don't like to sit still, so we decided to let the first kid to turn on this saber keep it and kick some Vong butt with your help. Anakin talked to a lot of Masters to make sure you'd keep it." Answered Ganner's voice.
"It's either Yuuzhan Vong or any nickname but that. You're lucky you're already dead and I'm mild tempered for a warrior." Corrected the Yuuzhan Vong.
"Sorry. I knew you're not like the rest of those YV."
"Thanks. I take that as praise."
"Now can you do us a favor and get rid of that warmaster? I'm really getting sick of her." Requested Ganner.
'You died long before most of us even knew who Kodachi Cha was. How did you know about her?"
"We got some free newscasts. Comes with being dead." Sheng Lah could imagine the dead Solo shrugging.
"Answer my questions and I'll do it." Sheng Lah replied. Then, without waiting for a response, he continued. "How and why did I get the Force? How come my species, with a few exceptions, exist in a different spectrum within the larger Force?"
"I wish I could answer those questions, but I don't know." The Solo replied.
"Thanks for the help." Sheng Lah hesitated before adding. "My friends. The Force does not allot one like me a large number of friends." Then, in a hushed voice that he only used when he spoke to himself, the Jedi added. "That must have been mass chaos in there if the records about their personalities are true."
Sheng Lah scrambled out of the bushes and used his best 'arrogant warrior' pose as he strode into Kodachi Cha's command tower.
"Leave here." One of the guards warned as he blocked Sheng Lah's path with an amphistaff.
"I am a messenger from Domain Lah. Dare you to order the second-highest domain? I don't see the mark of Domain Cha on you." Sheng Lah stuck to his act, despite his discomfort. He was a warrior of Domain Lah, but he did not belong in his domain because of their actions and because of his upbringing away from the worldships and training facilities. He was a Jedi, but they always questioned his loyalty to the Force because of his species. He was a Shamed One in many ways, but that caste singled him out for worship. The uniqueness of being a Yuuzhan Vong Jedi had made him a foreigner to all. When the guard refused to lift his amphistaff and admit Sheng Lah into the building, the Jedi continued. "Dare you question this scar and this mark? The warmaster will know and deal with you accordingly."
"Alright, you can get in." The guard admitted the Jedi into the tower. Sheng Lah threw an evanescent glance over his shoulders at the Jedi and soldiers trying to weave their way through the crowd of warriors marching down the base of the tower before disappearing into the dimly lit structure to face Kodachi Cha.