Chapter XIV
The Wild Nomad exited from hyperspace to behold a massive black gas giant filled with violent storms. Lightning flashed and debris collided within the giant's thick atmosphere as Jade angled the bulky transport away from its vista and towards a small planet in its orbit.
The Nomad approached Nyr'itz from its night side, so from their angle, it was largely eclipsed in shadow. As the vessel grew closer, Jade was able to make out the finer details of their destination.
The small planet was wreathed in a thick layer of fog and mist. It felt strong and powerful, but also old, full of memories…
Despite this, Jade could make out lights; shining multicolored lights on the planet's darkest side.
"I thought Nyr'itz didn't have any cities," Bao commented.
Jade smiled as she brought the ship towards the atmosphere, "I don't think those are cities."
The Nomad descended into the atmosphere, flying across a rocky, barren surface, approaching a vast lake surrounded by one of the sources of the light.
True to Jade's predictions, the illumination wasn't artificial.
Apparently, the flora on Nyr'itz was bioluminescent. Vines, fungus, ferns, moss, algae, and who knew what other forms of life had evolved here, clustered around the bodies of water, glowing with endless varieties of color, a botanist's dream, a work of art sculpted by nature.
"Beautiful," Niner declared, peering past Artoo and Jade to get a closer look.
"It is beautiful," Jade responded. She had to get off this ship and see it up close.
The Nomad continued on, leaving the lake and the glowing jungle behind, flying across a sea of barren plateaus.
"I'm picking up some power readings," Val reported, "Faint. About eighty clicks to our left."
"Deet-breet!"
"Got it," Jade responded, adjusting the vessel's course. They flew past more patches of water surrounded by glowing plants, illuminating the night with more hues than a rainbow.
The ship approached a structure that stood in the distance. A pair of towers—small compared to the temple on Atarashi'ie, but still impressive—surrounded by more of the glowing flora.
The architecture was smooth and seamless, almost blending together. However, it was dotted with scars, and worn by age.
It looked like it had been attacked at least once, with faded craters in its surface. One of the towers had partially crumbled.
"It's there," Riko said eagerly.
"Padawan, Kali'sto might be long gone. Hopefully we'll find what we need to follow his trail."
Jade heard Riko sigh, reminding himself that he still had a long way to go.
"There are some faint depressions in the ground, just outside the entrance," Val reported, "It matches the profile of an Arrow's landing gear."
"Kali'sto's been here, then," Riko said in a slightly calmer tone. It didn't fool Jade in the slightest.
"Put us down in the same spot," Bao ordered.
"Got it," Jade responded.
She tightened her grip as she took the armored transport down to the surface. The closer they got to the temple, the more she felt…uneasy.
The Nomad landed in a clearing directly in front of a large, asymmetric hole in the wall that could only be the Temple's entrance. Further examining the structure through the viewport, Jade noticed that the portal's shape was asymmetric, almost as if the door had been blasted open millennia earlier. Bioluminescent vines wrapped around the walls and the hole's faded edges, the crimson glow of their fibers only highlighting the shadows within.
The entire crew had gathered around the table, finalizing their plans to explore the temple. All had seemed finished, until Jade had made her declaration.
"You'd like to come along?" Val repeated.
"I need to," Jade responded.
"I sense the dark side in this place," Bao responded, "You're certain it might not…"
"I can't be sure," Jade admitted, "But...I need to be on this one."
For a moment, everyone was silent.
"Jade," Bao responded, "I'm worried about you. Are you certain you're ready for this?"
"I need to do this," Jade insisted, "Please."
"I think we should let her come along, Bao," Val remarked.
"I second," Riko added.
Bao was silent, his throat grumbling in a pattern that Val associated with hesitance.
"Might I speak to Val and Emdee about this, alone?" Bao asked.
"No," Jade replied sharply, "If you're discussing me, I'd like to be present."
Val smirked beneath his helmet.
"You can't stay in the pilot's seat forever," Val responded, "What do you think, Emdee?"
"Finding a means to occupy one's mind can help recuperation," Emdee replied, "Maybe getting some fresh air will help."
Bao rattled his throat.
"Very well."
"Thanks," Jade smiled. She led Riko out of the living room.
"I'll keep an eye on Jade," Val assured Bao, "And I know Riko will, too."
"Watch them both."
Jade quickly walked into her quarters and started grabbing the essentials.
"Food…? No, Ration bar. Okay, ration bar, comlink…"
Following her list, Jade retrieved a ration bar, her wrist comlink/chrono, a small canteen of water, her fingerless gripping gloves, and…
It had been more than a month, yet it still lay in her cupboard.
Jade pulled out the drawer, seeing it for the first time in a while.
Her old lightsaber. Formerly one of a pair, it was short, designed to be held in one hand, and sprouted a green blade…
"Jade?" Riko asked, "We're about to go."
Jade blinked. She noticed that she was rubbing her wristband again.
She grabbed the hilt, opened its chassis, and inserted her crystal into the weapon.
"Coming!" Jade hurried out of the room, attaching her old weapon to her belt. She might very well have a need for it.
To Riko's discomfort and Jade's presumed excitement, they were surrounded by vines. All around them, vines with bright lights, ranging from amethyst to red to blue to green, illuminated the area, extending even into the temple itself.
The Temple's entrance was a small archway leading to an entrance hall, with corridors that branched off. It wasn't grand, but still welcoming. Or would have been, had the area not been full of char marks, rubble, and overgrown vegetation, which only partially illuminated the area.
Val's visor shifted from yellow to green, switching to night-vision. Artoo engaged his built-in flashlight. Riko activated his lightsaber.
"Look," Jade said as she traced her hand on a slate of stone wall surrounded – almost highlighted – by red-hued vines.
"What is it?" Val asked.
Artoo moved forward and shined his light on the rocky surface. Riko could make out a faint line, cut into the stone at an angle, filled with dirt and grime.
"Deet-breet!"
"A lightsaber?" Jade asked.
"Maybe," Riko replied, "I think this has been here a while."
"Deep vreet."
"Agreed," Val said, "Let's move on."
They walked to the opposite end of the chamber, discovering an arch-shaped corridor.
"Deet-veet-deet-beet-vreet-beet-tweet."
"You're not the only one," Val commented as he shined his rifle's flashlight down the corridor.
"Let's go," Jade said.
They entered the tunnel. It was narrow, with a sloping ceiling. There were more cuts, more broken structures, more char marks, more vegetation.
"Twoo-weeoo!"
"The power source should be down here," Riko translated.
"Be careful, everyone," Val cautioned.
Riko raised his saber. Beside him, Jade moved her hand towards something on her belt…
"You brought it along?" Riko commented.
"Quiet, kid," Val scolded.
"Sorry," Riko whispered.
"Oh," Jade responded, "Yep. I brought it."
Riko smiled.
"Deet-beet!" Artoo shined his light on the floor. A small, spherical object lay there, covered in a thin layer of dust.
Moving to his knees, Riko grabbed the object and examined it.
"I recognize this!" Riko declared elatedly, "This is Dad's water bottle! He always carried it with him."
"Deet-bee-vree-beet?" Artoo asked as Riko stuffed the bottle into his backpack.
"He must have dropped it in a hurry," Val replied, "We should be careful, kid."
"There has to be some kind of indicator," Riko observed, "He's close."
"Let's keep looking," Jade suggested, continuing down the tunnels.
For the next few minutes, they continued down the twisting labyrinth, finding additional rubble, strange pieces of metal, the remnants of old lightsaber duels, and overgrown luminous vegetation that was still surprisingly dimmed.
Throughout this, Jade took up the lead, with Artoo and Riko close behind, Val securing the rear.
Jade walked briskly, leaving Artoo little time to examine their surroundings.
"Jade, can you slow down?" Val asked.
Jade kept advancing ahead.
"Jade?" Riko asked, "Can you please slow down?"
Still silence. No, Riko could hear Jade breathing heavily.
"Deet-dweep. Deet deet dee bee?"
No answer.
"Jade?" Riko asked, "Are you okay?"
Jade started running ahead.
"Jade!" Riko ran, passing Artoo. Jade moved quickly, but Riko managed to intercept her. He passed Jade, stopped, and turned around as she slowed down.
Jade's eyes were unfocused, her teeth gritted. Something felt...wrong.
"Jade," Riko repeated, "Are you okay?"
Jade refocused her attention on him.
"Riko," she began, "I'm fine…"
As if a switch was flicked, Jade suddenly screamed and collapsed on the temple floor, convulsing, her hands clutching her temples.
"Deet-dweet-deet!" Artoo exclaimed alarmingly.
"Jade!" Riko yelled, deactivating his lightsaber, the only illumination provided by Artoo's lights and the fauna.
As Jade scurried against the wall, Artoo shined his light on her face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth struggling to form words, it was horrifying.
"Please, get out," Jade muttered quickly, "Get out, please leave me alone…"
"Jade!" Riko didn't know what to do.
"Jade, focus on our voices," Val said.
"No, no no no!"
"Jade," Riko grabbed one of her hands, "Come back, please come back…"
"Kill me!" Jade begged, "Just end it! Please!"
Jade broke free of his grip and sat against the wall, her face buried in her knees. She was sobbing.
"Jade," Riko whispered, "You're not alone. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you."
Jade continued sobbing, but she slowly grew quieter.
Riko sat next to her. He opened himself to the Force, and looked at the roiling storm that was Jade's withdrawn, wounded aura. He worried he was reopening a deep wound, but he didn't know what else to do.
I'm still here, Riko gently projected his consciousness into her thoughts, like she once did with him, Nothing can change that.
Riko felt Jade grab his hand.
Jade was panting, trying to catch her breath. She started coughing.
"Water?" Jade asked in between coughs.
"Here," Riko removed his canteen and handed it to her.
Jade drank, gulping down the water.
She dropped the canteen, breathing slowly. Her face was tear streaked, and covered in dust.
"Riko," Jade said, "We have to go. Now."
A lightsaber ignited, Riko heard a slash. Simultaneously, Artoo squealed, electricity flashing through his frame.
"WEEEOoooowww….." The droid powered down, his light went out. Val dropped the severed halves of his rifle to the floor.
The only illumination now was from the T-shaped visors of the two commandos who blocked the corridor and the lightsaber from the hooded figure in front of them.