The deep crimson red of the planet caused my innards to quiver tightly upon its sight, staring at it with a distant memory of the sounds it made day and night. The howling, the croaking, the crashing waves, the hisses and breaths of acid geysers. Soon I had to go to the transport ships, Master Plo escorting me as he asked for a final time, mere moments before we were to take off, if I wished for him to come with me. I smiled, able to offer him a small degree of reassurance that I was handling myself, despite the fact that I wasn't. "I'll be alright, master. Master Fisto will be with me, and I know the planet. I will overcome my fears, and return to you soon." I promised him, reaching out in order to cup his face beside his breathing mask and bring my head down from where I stood on the transport ship to press my forehead against him, in a symbolic gesture of his people. "Guard the skies for us, my master."
"Until your return, my former padawan." Smiling to him I then let go, and he was the last visage I saw before the doors closed and we took off to land upon the surface. With visual scanning, I was able to locate the safest spot for us all, an area covered in the purple lichen, where I immediately leaped out and had everyone wait in the ships until I was certain of safety. I cast out my senses, closing my eyes in order to listen and feel, and when the sharp prickle on the back of my neck touched me, I knew that there was danger nearby.
It launched itself at me from behind, a giant canine hybrid creature different to the ones that hunted in packs. This type was a loner, which was comforting, but just as dangerous as a pack. It was several times bigger, had two tails with a pair of stingers on each, and the needle fangs of its mouth were dripping with poison. As it roared, I dropped into a roll then rose up as it crashed to the ground before me, holding up my hand to order the men not to shoot, as the hide was too thick for blasters to penetrate, and instead focused the Force upon it. Now that I was older, stronger, and more deeply connected to the Force, I attempted to establish a bond with the creature, to at least send it away without having to hurt it, but it's predatory instincts were too strong to overcome, and it rushed at me again.
In a heartbeat I had turned and twirled my double bladed lightsaber and brought it slicing downwards, cutting through the creature's head to give it a swift death. The clones all stared with silent apprehension. "It is safe." I invited, gesturing for them to disembark. "We shall set up a perimeter here, do not stray beyond the purple lichen. We'll need sensory probes and the communication towards so that we can contact the fleet through the atmosphere. I want someone guarding every ten feet around the perimeter, once you've unloaded the ship, signal the next one to land. Also, take this and spread the carcass around the perimeter as well, spread the blood as much as you can as it will deter other predators from approaching." Gesturing to the head and body of the predator, I mounted a rock in order to climb and scope out the surroundings.
We were a fair way off from the jungle region, but anywhere else would have been too risky to set up a camp before someone got eaten. At least this way, we could act quickly, and once we had the team unloaded, could activate the shields to keep us safe within a protective bubble. I had decided on only ten clones in total for the first landing team, selecting them after scrutinising their strengths, their weaknesses, their service record, their distinctions, and their skill set. These were the ones I expected to have the highest chance of survival, and with ten clones and two Jedi, I felt a little more at ease.
Once we were all on the ground, we all worked to secure the broad area, setting up the weapons, generators, and the tents so that we would have a base to return to as I then measured the position of the sun in the sky, mapping it against the time and date and correlating it to what I had managed to study before so that I could gauge our daylight time and night hours. Unfortunately, we had missed the day and soon it would be night time, and if my calculations were correct, it would be one of the longer nights, though thankfully this should give way to a longer day, which would provide us with ample time to travel to the Rothian clan and begin the treaty.
"Master Plo, we'll be making camp and staying for the night. It's too late to return by transport, the ships would get frozen before they could leave the atmosphere." I reported in, linking my comm. link to the signal booster. "Sit tight and let us know if any Separatists arrive."
"Understood Theca, you just look after yourself down there and contact the fleet if anything goes wrong. Plo Koon out." Lowering my wrist comm. from my face, I ordered the clones to organise themselves into watches. Two per team, and rotating every four hours. As the last rays of sunlight began to fade, we activated the thermal generators and flooded our camp with warmth as everything outside the shields began to freeze and turn to ice, something that caused a general awe and interest around us as the clones got a look at the planet that I had painted to be some kind of horror field. It was only when a carnivorous plant suddenly attacked the outside of the shield did they remember the danger amongst the frigid beauty.
The shield held, and the plant withered away underground as I carefully sensed for its roots, ensuring that it did not attempt to bury its way in. In all this time, I had not had the chance to speak to Kit alone, and I knew that there would be no chance of privacy whilst in this small encampment surrounded by clone troopers, though we often glanced towards one another like a magnetic pull prompted us to see one another in order to refresh our own memories. When everyone save for the two clones went to their tents in order to rest, I planted myself down cross legged on the floor in order to join the watch, sitting near to the heater so that meditating myself into a transient state was not necessary to stay alive.
My nerves were on edge, buzzing like the coursing flow of electricity through me as I heard every shift and sound in the world around us. I knew that most predators could not withstand the cold, but there were still dangers in the night. Some predators, though they were rarer, could survive and even hunt during the night, and there was also the plants and flowers to think of, as they moved their root system under the ground in order to move and travel to wherever they could find food. I did not want to take any risks, especially on the first night, however after three rotations of the shifts, Kit then appeared from his tent and came towards me, joining me at my side. "You are not sleeping?"
"I have no intention of sleeping until I am back on one of those ships and thousands of light years away from this planet." I told him bluntly, still focusing my senses all around me to be aware of any potential threats.
"You must sleep, Theca. It is not like before, you are not alone this time." Kit murmured to me softly, raising his hand to brush against my lilac hair and blue skin. "I am here. I will not allow any harm to come to you, so sleep. I will keep watch." Although part of me did not want to entrust myself to someone who had yet to fully experience this planet, I then chastised myself. Kit was a Jedi Master, and his senses were just as sharp as mine, more so, even, as the tendrils on his head allowed him to read the emotions of those around him. So after a moment of consideration, I thought it would not hurt to just rest my eyes for a moment and so closed them, thinking to meditate for a while instead.
Kit, however, had different ideas, bringing his hand around my head and brought me to rest upon his shoulder with a quiet chuckle and a smile. I tried to resist, to stay awake despite his reassurance to watch over me, but the enticing call of sleep summoned me, and being with Kit always settled me into a state of serenity which seemed to naturally dull my hyperactive senses and allowed me to drift off, soon so deeply asleep that I could have convinced myself that rather being on the planet that had haunted my nightmares for so many years, I was back in my room at the temple, after having been with Kit for many hours and lay resting in his arms, never feeling safer or more content in all my life.