Isle of Berk, Ahch-To; Ahsoka POV...
In front of me, the strange men all have their weapons out, a look of wariness and confusion on their faces as they stare at me. Their leader continues to stand tall and proud, axe help tightly in his hand as he gazes down at me with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"What am I?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"What kind of creature are ye witch?" another one demands, this one with a black beard and croaky voice. I bristle at his words while the one with the blonde mustache rolls his eyes in exasperation.
"Oh give it a rest Spitelout," he comments dryly.
"Witch?!" I say incredulously, slightly insulted. "Creature?"
"Oh yeah!" the one called 'Spitelout' says again, uncaringly. "What are you?!"
"Enough Spitelout!" the leader snaps. Spitelout rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, grumbling to himself.
I put a hand on my hip and give them all a look. "Have none of you ever heard of a Togruta before?" I question in return.
They all glance at each other in confusion, which pretty much answers the question in and of itself. "What's... a Togruta?" one of them asks, and I shake my head.
"Guess that answers that question," I say dryly before turning back to them. "It's my species. I'm a Togruta," I inform them.
"You're not human?" another one asks in bewilderment. I almost facepalm at their stupidity. Thankfully the blonde mustached one does it for me.
"Oh for Thor's sake Hoark, of course she isn't! Just look at her!" he says, gesturing wildly.
I don't know whether to be offended or not at his comment.
"Who are you people then?" I ask in return.
"We're Vikings," the leader says. "What are you doing here on our island?"
"My ship crashed not to far away from here, and a close friend of mine in unconscious, so I went looking for help," I told him.
"We'll offer any help we can," he says. "What's your name?" the leader asks again.
"I'm Ahsoka," I reply.
"Chief Stoick the Vast," he says in response. "Do you know anything about that flaming object on fire that fell through the sky?"
I frown thoughtfully before nodding. "Yes, that was my ship."
Every single one of them stares at me as if I had suddenly grown three heads, which is impressive since they were already flustered by my appearance.
"Your ship?!" the mustache guy says in bewilderment.
"Yes, my ship," I reply in exasperation. "What, you've never seen a flying ship before?" I ask rhetorically with a roll of my eyes.
"Ships can't fly! They float on water!" Spitelout exclaims.
Now its my turn to stare at them, and my expression morphs from surprise to worry and finally dread as I realize the implications of what this meant. Unlike the Lurmen on Maridun, these 'Vikings' have no knowledge of space travel... which means we're stranded on this planet unless we can get the hyperdrive and engines fixed ourselves.
"Oh this is bad..." I mutter to myself, pacing around in a panic.
"Where is your... ship exactly?" Stoick questions.
The Vikings all mutter questioningly to themselves and I consider my options, before deciding to show them the ship, having nothing else better to do.
"It's this way," I told them heading off through the trees. "Follow me."
We spent the next few minutes traveling through the forest back in the direction of the Knight Hawk, and I could sense their eyes on me the entire time. They obviously had mixed feelings about me, some even considering me dangerous and disturbing, Spitelout in particular. They all respected their chief a great deal, so they went along with his word, trusting him. I had to admire that.
But if one of them attempted to attack me they'd see just how deadly I could be. And I wouldn't even have to use my lightsabers. Eventually we entered the small clearing created by the Knight Hawk skidding across the ground during its landing sequence, and I headed for the entrance to it. All of the Vikings looked at it in shock, muttering words of confusion, disbelief and wariness to each other.
"What is that?" the mustache guy, who I learned was named Gobber asked in shock. Seriously, who came up with their names they sound ridiculous!
"My ship of course," I replied.
"It doesn't even look like one!" Spitelout exclaimed.
"It flies, remember?" I remind him irritably.
"If it flies then where are its wings?" he asks.
"Wings? You mean like that fire-breathing reptile creature?" I question.
"Dragons." Stoick says. "Flying, firebeathing devils the lot of them," he says, rather seriously in fact. I could sense the hate all of them had for dragons, although why is the question.
"Speaking of which, how could you control them?!" Spitelout demands.
"I didn't control it," I reply.
"But you got it to stop attacking you," Stoick says, brows furrowed.
"I simply let it know I wasn't a threat," I say with a shrug.
A few of the vikings chuckle disbelievingly in amusement, some shaking their heads. "Hah! Good one!" one of them exclaimed. "As if those beasts even care about people who aren't threatening!"
"I'm not following," I say with a confused frown.
"Dragons don't just back down like that, they're savages! They attack everything living around them." Spitelout says.
"I doubt that, they're simply animals in the wild," I reply.
"No they're not," Stoick says, shaking his head.
I highly doubt that all dragons attack anything that lives, it just doesn't sound right. As soon as I let the dragon know I wasn't a threat it calmed down immediately! Sure, I influenced it slightly with the Force, but it regarded me kindly once I reassured it.
"If you say so," I respond disbelievingly.
Walking up to the entrance, I press the button to the ramp and lower it to reveal the cargo bay of the ship. A few of the Vikings gasp in surprise, backing up slightly in wariness.
"What- you know what, never mind," I say in resignation. This was a definitely a primitive people we were dealing with on this planet. Force only knows how touch it'll be to make our way back to the Rebellion.
As I head up the ramp, the Vikings starting to follow, the door up above opens and Mara rushes through, jumping over the railing to land in front of me.
"Mom, you're back!" she says happily, offering me and brief hug before noticing our special visitors.
"Uhhh... who are they?" Mara asks suspiciously, wrinkling her nose slightly. "And why do they smell so bad?"
I obviously could smell it to, but didn't comment even though it was unpleasant. As if on cue, all of the Vikings turn their heads to glare at Gobber, who fiddles with his beard before glancing up innocently.
"What? It's like my badge of honor!" he says defensively, and Mara grimaces while Stoick rubs his face with his hand in exasperation.
"That's gross," she says.
"Oh Gobber..." Stoick mutters.
"Mara, these are the natives of this island, called Vikings. Vikings, this is my adopted daughter Mara," I introduced, although a little tiredly.
"Adopted? Well, that makes sense," Gobber muses, rubbing his chin.
"Problem?" Mara says defensively.
"No no, lass there's no problem," he quickly said.
"Alright, well they've agreed to help us with Jarik's recovery if possible, alright Mara?" I tell her, and she nods in response.
"We'll do what we can," Stoick reassures us. Considering their original reaction to me I'm a little surprised at how well the chief is taking this. Obviously a few of his warriors don't agree and are very suspicious of us, but he seems to be relatively reasonable. Same with his friend Gobber, even though he's a little bit on the strange side.
With that being said, I exit the cargo hold and enter the ship, heading for the medical room. Mara stayed behind, continuing to glare suspiciously at the Vikings, much to my amusement and exasperation. She's an absolute sweetheart yet when it comes to new people she can be very defensive most of the time, at least until they warm up to each other.
Was I worried for Mara being alone with a few massive Vikings? Of course, but it's not like I could drag her along with me just to get Jarik. Besides, she possesses the Force, and has already proven to be a natural with it, having a firm grasp of control. She'd be fine for a couple of minutes.
R5 rolled by before coming to a stop, the dents in his chassis no longer there, although he still had a few scratches. He beeped questioningly at me.
"R5, you stay with the ship and try to get in contact with someone while me and Mara take Jarik to a village to recover," I told him.
He demanded to know why he wouldn't be come with us, so I happily obliged to inform him. "Well, this village much to our luck, is very primitive, and doesn't have electricity or ships to use," I told him.
Considering his options, he quickly changed his mind and agreed to staying with the ship, where he would actually be able to do something instead of rolling around a primitive village.
Smiling in amusement at the droid, I entered the healing room and moved up to Jarik. I carefully pulled the oxygen mask off of his face and lay it to the side, sending some energy to him over the bond. He didn't move or give any reaction, but he was currently alright, just very weak and still oxygen deprived, so the energy I'd send him would help a little bit.
Placing my arms under him, I carefully lifted him up, taking great care not to accidentally bang him against something. Using the Force to strengthen my muscles, I carried him back through the ship and to the cargo bay to witness Mara and Spitelout in a quiet but suspicious glaring contest with each other. A few of the other Vikings looked irritated, although from what I didn't know, nor did I care.
"Is that him?" Stoick asks roughly upon seeing me, breaking the two out of their stare-off.
"Uh huh," I replied, and Mara quickly moved over to my side. I could sense a few of the Vikings relief at him being a human, and did my best not to feel insulted. These were a primitive people after all.
"One of us could carry him if it's too hard-" Stoick begins to say before I cut him off.
"I can handle it," I say in response, stopping by him and giving him a stern look, not at all bothered by the fact that he was at least a foot and a half taller than me. He sighed irritably, but nodded. I may be trusting enough of these Vikings to allow them in the cargo bay, with Mara no less, but there was no kriffing way I'd let them carry my unconscious boyfriend, or maybe fiancée, I don't know.
"Do you want to stay, or come with us?" I ask Mara.
"I'm coming!" she declares, ready to fight for her want to come with us this time.
"Alright," I told her, turning back to the chief. "Lead the way."
He nodded, and with a gesture, the Vikings all quickly filed out of the cargo bay, relieved to be out of such unfamiliar surroundings and back where they knew what was around them for certain, although every one of them still had doubts about me, fearful of my powers with the Force. I could only imagine their reaction when they learn Mara and Jarik are Force-sensitive as well. That certainly wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to.
The walk back to their village was longer than I expected, and once we arrived, me and Mara looked on in wonder at the place, secretly admiring the peaceful vibe to seemed to give off, with absolutely stunning scenery as well. Walking through the forest was absolutely exhausting, especially from carrying Jarik the whole time but I persisted, using the Force to strengthen my exhausted muscles.
Instead of heading to the village however, Stoick, Gobber and Spitelout led us up an alternate path to a house nestled on top of a mountain overlooking the entire village. The other Vikings separated from us at Stoick's order, letting the three of them lead us.
He knocked on the door of the house we stood in front of, and I had to wonder how they even managed to successfully build this thing all the way up in a place like this without any hovercraft.
"Elder Gothi!" the chief said, knocking on the door again.
The door quickly opened to reveal a small, frail old woman with white hair and a small helmet on, carrying some sort of staff in her hand. She eyes the chief with a look of irritation, which I guess made sense considering the sun was almost down. I raised an eyebrow at the sight of her, and nudged Mara when she was openly gaping at her with a bewildered expression.
"A... foreigner, requests your aide for healing Elder," he said, showing respect for the woman, which I took notice of.
Gothi turned her head to look at us, widening her eyes in shock however upon seeing me. She didn't say anything, but continued to stare at me and Mara with a surprised expression, before narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.
Mara looked warily at Gothi, who paid her no mind. What really got my attention however was when she saw my lightsabers, letting out a small, but audible gasp. Apparently my lightsabers surprised her more than my appearance... Stoick and Gobber take notice as well.
"Gothi, what's got you in a twist?" Gobber asks, only to have his head banged rather quickly by her staff.
"Ow! Geez I wa sonkt asking a question!" he exclaimed in annoyance.
"You... recognize my lightsaber?" I asked in confusion.
"A what?" Spitelout asks with a frown.
Gothi merely nods, eyeing me with a new sense of interest before waving us in immediately. Yet she did not speak.
I walked into the house at her direction, Mara following after me with the three Vikings not far behind as well. The Elder gestured to a wooden bed with blankets against the wall, and I gently laid Jarik down, standing beside him while Gothi moved forwards with a bowl and a few other things I didn't recognize.
"What in Thor's name is a lightsaber?!" Spitelout demands.
I pull my main saber off of my belt and hold it up for them to see. "This is a lightsaber. It's my weapon of choice," I told them.
The three Vikings glance at each other in confusion. "That's... a weapon? I don't get it," Gobber says.
"Oh it is, and they are awesome!" Mara says with a wide grin in her face. I don't expect the Vikings to understand what it is of course.
Gothi then takes her staff and writes in a small sandpit nearby with weird scribbles I don't understand, banging her staff against the ground to get our attention. Gobber looks at the writing to read it, raising an eyebrow.
"She says, to get our chicken legs-" he translates, wincing when she bangs his head with her staff. "-ow! Oh, sorry, 'to get out of her house, but these two floating-" another hit. "-ah! Foreigners! These two foriegners stay here," he finishes.
"Geez woman, you don't have to hit me every time," he mutters, rubbing his head.
"Are you sure Gothi?" Stoick says, still not completely trusting of us, not by a longshot which is understandable. At her firm nod, he sighs but does as she says, and the three Vikings exit the house, leaving me and Mara alone with Gothi and an unconscious Jarik.
The Elder then turns her focus to Jarik. She lays a hand on his forehead to feel his skin, then examines his heartbeat and breathing. Mixing a few different herbs if some kind in a bowl, she has him drink down the concoction, and even in a coma he shivers, gagging slightly in disgust at the taste.
"I hope I don't have to drink that," Mara says with a grimace.
Jarik quickly settles down again, returning back to normal, although I can sense that whatever she made was already having a little bit of an effect in his recovery.
"Thank you, Elder Gothi," I say gratefully.
She eyes us with a thoughtful expression before moving over to a shelf, pulling out some old looking book. Geez, I haven't seen one of those in ages, only datapads. Crazy. She flips through a few of the pages before showing it to us, placing it on a nearby table. Curious, Mara and I look at the page for what is on it. The writing is a bit messy, and very much altered, but it does share a relation to Basic, so thankfully I can understand it.
"Umm... can you read this?" Mara asks sheepishly.
I let out a sigh as Gothi's face drops to one of slight annoyance. "I can read it, give it here Mara," I say.
She slides the book over to me, and I read the words written there, glancing at an image drawn beside them of some sort of stone structure on an island. What I read makes me blink in surprise, and I look up at her.
"You know the Jedi?" I ask.
"Wait, what?!" Mara exclaims in shock, looking at the picture before back at the Elder. "I thought this planet didn't have space travel!"
"Have you met Jedi before?" I question in interest.
She shakes her head no, hobbling forwards and flipping another few pages before stopping at another section. I read it carefully.
"Thousands of years ago in the birth of civilization, messengers from Asgard," I read, not sure what Asgard is. Maybe it's a place for their gods? "...came down to our world, teaching us many things. Our language, culture, amongst other subjects. Old temples were built, scattered across the world, however lost to time," I continued.
"Legends say these messengers were named Jedi... and the leader of their group was the Prime Jedi," I read, taking everything in.
"Woah..." Mara says in fascination.
Gothi nods her head with a small smile, and I think back to what I've been taught at the Temple. I'm sure I've heard of the Prime Jedi somewhere...
"The Prime Jedi...?" I mutter to myself, the gears in my head turning. "That was the founder of the Jedi Order!" I say with wide eyes.
"You mean, THE first Jedi?" Mara questions.
Gothi widens her eyes as well, listening intently. I guess the Vikings never knew that he was the first Jedi either. We certainly weren't gods or messengers of the gods however.
"Yes. The Prime Jedi founded the Order at least six thousand years ago, during the days of the Old Republic," I recalled. "History on him has been lost over time, and nobody has ever discovered where he founded the Jedi originally."
"Until now," Mara says in awe.
Both of us look over at Gothi, who's eyes are wide in awe and wonder as she moves to look at the book, and back at us. This certainly changes everything.
Jarik POV...
The misty landscape changed once again in my mind. Now I was standing before that strange island once again, with the winged reptiles flying far overhead through the sky.
On the island was a stone village, with small primitive huts and pathways. Nearby, a large, old tree loomed in the distance, constantly surrounded by an unnatural fog, whispers coming from it.
Then I was in the dark, crimson flashes of light appearing through the smoke before once again revealing a red throne room: Snoke.
"Your ancestor wielded remarkable power young Shan. The Light, and the Dark. The Prodigal Knight they called him," Snoke says with a gleeful smirk on his face. "Soon, you shall know the same power, and I will teach you, how it shall be."
While he speaks, I'm continually moving closer to him, whether I'm actually there or it's just a vision I don't know, but he looks absolutely terrifying, and not just in the physical sense.
"No!" I say in defiance, my thoughts dwelling on Ahsoka, as well as Mara. No amount of power would sway me into betraying them.
"Yes," he leers, reaching a hand out.
Then Snoke's throne room fades, and I'm left in a dark void, unidentifiable whispers all around me. Then the convor appears far in the distance, chirping softly. I rush for it, desperate to escape this seemingly endless prison of visions and temptations, especially angry and afraid of my so called 'true self' and Snoke.
