Chapter 5 – What Could Happen
Location: Zoni Tribe Village, Dathomir
Time: 17 Years Before the Battle of Yavin, 2 Years After Order 66
"The view never gets old." Denley said with a smile.
He wasn't lying. Only a twenty minute walk away from the village, a cliff edge provided quite a nice and relaxing view of the jungle canopy below for what seemed like miles, with mountains and even a lake in perfect view, like a painting. He wondered if he was the only outsider to have seen this very view, but then again, after spending two years with these people, he felt less and less every day that he even was an outsider.
"I've seen it so many times," Tika said as she sat down next to Denley, "I know every detail of it. It's static, sometimes I take it for granted, but not when I see it with you."
"Why's that?" he asked.
"You have a totally different perspective on everything." she explained, "It's like getting to relearn how I see the world. It's refreshing, nothing like spending all my time with the others."
"Well I'm glad I can be good for something other than my Jedi abilities for once!" he said jokingly.
A distinctly mechanical screech filled the air, it really stood out amongst the sounds of the nature that surrounded the village. High above, an unfamiliar looking one-man starfighter ripped through the air, its spherical viewport seemed to resemble an eye furiously scanning the area as it maneuvered with great precision. To Denley, it sounded like it utilized some type of ion engine, and the vessel had a very dark appearance that really stood out from the Separatist ships he was used to seeing.
"Imperial," Denley said, "If I had to guess."
"What do you think they're looking for here?" Tika asked.
"Honestly probably not me," he assumed, "They'd probably send more than just one ship for a Jedi. They're on the lookout for something though, maybe that factory we took out when I first found you guys."
"In any case, we should probably try to keep a low profile as long as they're around." Tika reasoned.
A commotion from far below halted their conversation. Even though they both heard it, neither could determine what exactly caused it. It sounded like something big was fleeing from something, fast, not worrying about how much noise it made, followed by voices trailing not far behind it. Denley and Tika both looked at each other and knew they were going to have to investigate. Whatever was pursuing the large creature wasn't going to be focusing on the cliff the two were on, as now the commotion had passed it, so they quickly began to scale down the side of the cliff.
"Bet I'll beat ya there." Tika said with a wink.
"Don't slip on your way down, girl." Denley replied as he maneuvered his way down.
In the two years he'd spent on Dathomir, Denley liked to think he had learned quite a bit about not just climbing, but doing it quickly and quietly, it made hunting so much easier. With his stone-tipped spear safely stashed away on his back, he carefully made his way down, trying not to be distracted watching Tika go down as well, she was so nimble and fluid.
Cute too... He was willing to let some of the Jedi teachings go in the two years since the Order vanished. Some of those teachings couldn't be forgotten though, as he could see the path she was taking, almost as if it were written out for him. In that path, a protruding stone, to the naked eye, a perfectly good grip for climbing, but he could see how loose it was.
"Hey," Denley said, "Watch that-"
As if on cue, as Tika grabbed onto the stone and put her weight onto it, it slipped from the cave wall, causing her to stumble and lose her balance. With his instincts kicking in, Denley dove to her and managed to catch her, making sure not to plunge down as well.
"Thanks love..." she said, shocked and out of breath from the fear, "How'd you do that?"
"Maybe I'll teach you some time!" Denley said with a laugh, "Come on, we still have a ways to go."
With that, the two successfully climbed the rest of the way down without incident. Weapons in hand, they followed the noises, heel to toe, without a sound, darting through the dark jungle canopy that now surrounded them. The creatures in pursuit were having trouble navigating this area, it slowed them down, almost as if they weren't from around here. As Denley and Tika got closer to the commotion, that thought was confirmed.
"Where'd he go?" a man called out.
"If I knew, I'd be blasting him, dumbass." another replied.
"Shut your stupid ass up," the first one barked, "It's your fault we lost him."
"He tried to bite me!" the second one said defensively, "What would you have done?"
"I dunno," the first one said, "Maybe shot straight?"
"Oh I can shoot straight," the second said, "I'll show you. I don't hear him running anymore, must be tired, start looking in the brush."
Clones. Denley had hoped he wouldn't see these guys again. The two clones had stopped running and were now combing the immediate area for something, using the lights on their helmets and rifles, easily giving away their positions.
"They're idiots..." Tika noted quietly, "Hard to believe these are the same guys who wiped out the Jedi."
"Yeah," Denley replied, "Wonder what they're doing here. None of our business though, we should stay out of their way."
"Oh shit there he is!" the second clone called out to his ally.
Now with their curiosity even more piqued, the pair continued to watch as the clones pushed through more foliage and shined their lights on a tiny Rancor, about the size of an Ugnaught. It was clearly terrified of these soldiers, and didn't try to put up any kind of fight. The two soldiers laughed and reveled in their victory.
"We need to stop this." Tika said as she readied her spear.
"No tools," Denley cautioned, "If the bodies are found with tool marks, they'll come looking for us. I have an idea."
With time clearly working against them, Denley used every ounce of skill he had to influence the mind of one of the soldiers. It was a technique he hadn't much practice on, but he didn't have time to worry about it, he had to act fast.
"What are you doing man?" the first soldier asked, "It's your kill, what are you waiting for?"
"I..." the second one said, "I don't feel right."
"It's that stuff that you had the other day," the first one reasoned, "I don't trust the fruit on this planet."
Now with their minds drawn away from the little Rancor, they became easier to manipulate. With his hands trembling, the second soldier slowly raised his gun at the first soldier's chest.
"Hey..." the first soldier said, frightened, "I know I made fun of you for not shooting straight but this isn't the way to prove me-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before the second soldier opened fire, striking the other over and over again with automatic fire, shredding him to pieces. A deathly silence filled the air, but only for a few moments, as the second soldier became conscious of what he'd just done. Confused at the whole ordeal, he collapsed to his knees in shock, tightly grasping his helmet as he removed it and tossed it aside.
"Oh god..." he said, "Why the hell did I just kill him?!" he screamed into the unforgiving jungle.
"I'm not done with him yet..." Denley said.
"How am I gonna explain this to the Sarge?" the soldier asked out loud.
He wouldn't have to, as the man was suddenly taken over by an unstoppable feeling compelling him to pull out his sidearm, which he did. With no hesitation, the clone quickly shot himself in the temple, killing himself instantly. Their time with the Empire had turned the once honorable clones into psychotic killing machines, or maybe they always were, and were now simply let off their leashes. Denley wondered if any of these clones had any good in them.
"Woah," Tika said, "That was kind of messed up. I get it, but damn."
"It'll look exactly how it went down," Denley replied coldly, "One of them went crazy, gunned the other down, couldn't live with himself. Maybe they'll think it was a malfunction in the clone's brain, who cares, they won't think about us at all. It had to be done, it was them or the Rancor."
"Speaking of," Tika said with a hand on her man's shoulder, "We should greet it, try and tend to it if it'll let us."
With the threat of the clones now eliminated, Denley and Tika stood up from the foliage and walked over to the frightened Rancor cub, which they could now more closely examine. It was quite young, its head was nearly parallel with its shoulders, meaning it was probably only a couple months old. Aside from looking like it had been a hot minute since its last meal, this Rancor seemed to be in decent health. Thankfully it didn't appear to have any blaster marks on it, it was just afraid. The two knelt down next to the young creature, and Denley watched as Tika began an old witch tradition.
"Are you going to control it?" Denley asked.
"Not necessarily..." Tika explained, "We want our Rancors to be with us of their own free will. We don't want slaves. I'm trying to see if this one has a mother around here somewhere, maybe it got separated."
Carefully, as to not accidentally provoke the young cub, Tika showed the creature her hand, then held out an open palm for the Rancor to put its hand in hers. It hesitated, but appeared to come to some realization, either that they were not a threat, or that they had eliminated the clones through magic. In any case, Denley was taken aback by how intelligent these things were, he really had no idea. The Rancor murmured a little, just enough for Tika to understand.
"This Rancor was taught well by his mother," she said, "He has a decent grasp on their vocalizations. Unfortunately, it seems as if this one lost his mother just yesterday, in that case he's really lucky to still be alive, the jungle is teeming with things that would love to just eat him up. I'm going to try to convince him to come home with us, help me, would you?"
"How can I help?" Denley asked, "It's not quite the same as a mind trick."
"He needs to gain the trust from both of us," she replied, "see that we have good intentions and that he can be okay with us. Hold your hand out to him."
"Hey I think Rancors are cool and all," Denley began, "I respect them... but uh... putting my hand out to one?"
"Oh come on," Tika teased, "I thought you were my big strong man! Look, I put my hand out to him and I'm fine! The worst he'll do is pinch you or maybe give you a little nibble, nothing serious."
"Alright..." Denley relented.
After slowly outstretching an open palm, and looking into the little Rancor's eyes with sincere care and respect, the two did what they could to show him that everything was alright. Denley could instantly feel the connection, and didn't have to break eye contact with it to know that Tika had made her progress as well. It didn't take a whole lot of time, but the Rancor grinned a little and exhaled through its nose a few times, then fully came out from the brush, still holding onto their hands.
"I take it he's cool with us now." Denley observed.
"Yep!" Tika said, "Easy, huh? I love Rancors."
"The rest of the galaxy should see them like this, how they really are back on their homeworld." Denley said with a smile.
"Aww..." Tika said, "We totally won you over."
"What can I say?" Denley admitted, "Being one of the only guys in a tribe full of beautiful women has its perks."
The rest of the walk back to the Zoni Tribe territory went by without incident, only with the occasional stop so that the tiny Rancor could sniff around some trees and such. With a new addition to their tribe in their hands, Denley and Tika were back home, the rest of the witches were out and about, doing their various tasks. Everyone was now used to Denley's presence, and his affection for Tika, so most of the teasing had subsided. However, he noticed some of the witches were glancing over at him, then quickly looking away, as if he'd done something wrong.
"What's going on?" Denley quietly asked Tika.
"I'm not sure," she replied, "I noticed it too."
"Kane." someone said.
Denley spun around, spotting Sister Kellt a couple feet away. In the years since he'd arrived on Dathomir, he was never able to figure out how she was always able to sneak up on him. Though this time, it didn't appear to be for fun, or intentional. Kellt had a look of sorrow in her eyes, and it seemed she was trying to be subtle as to not embarrass Denley in front of the witches.
"The Elders need to speak with you..." she said, "Tika, why don't we introduce this new Rancor to the rest?"
"What's happening?" Tika asked, ignoring Kellt's obvious distraction.
"I'll tell you later, sister." Kellt promised.
It was concerning, to say the least. Tika looked up at Denley with a worried look in her eyes. Normally those puppy dog eyes of hers were so full of energy, but they spoke louder than words to Denley now. He took her hands in his and locked eyes with her.
"I'll see what they want," he said, "I'll come find you, okay?"
"Okay..." she said.
After giving her a big kiss on the forehead, Denley let go of his lover's hands and headed in the direction of the Elders' longhouse, the only one with two chimneys protruding off the roof, constantly pumping out a mix of fumes that were the result of their highly advanced alchemy. Carefully pushing open the longhouse's cloth tent-style entrance, Denley was greeted by the three Zoni Village Elders, who all nodded to him as he entered. All three of the Elders were dressed in musky, brown hooded cloaks, and were easily in their late nineties, with long gray hair, sunken eyes, and frail figures, though they were all still very lucid and aware of their surroundings. They probably still had quite some time before they could be considered senile, as they were able to still pick up on many subtleties, even when speaking with a Jedi like Denley. The three wise Elders sat cross legged on separate platforms that were raised about two feet or so off the ground, with pits of burning sage on each end of the line of three platforms. Denley's eyes adjusted to the darkness as he walked to the center of the room and knelt down on one knee as a sign of respect.
"Kane..." Elder Kazin said, "Fate has led the Imperials back to you, twice today."
Denley tilted his head in confusion, not in an attempt to lie, but in wondering how she could have known about the incidents already.
"The mind of a Jedi..." Elder Vera began, "Often the easiest to read. Your kind are arrogant, you don't hide your thoughts well because you assume you have a the superior mind."
"My kind?" Denley said, almost sounding offended, "I'm one of you now."
"That is why we have convened..." Elder Mora said, "This is a very important decision."
"What are you trying to say?" Denley asked as politely as he could.
"NO!" Tika shouted from in the distance, "YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM LEAVE!"
Denley stood up in shock and confusion. An uncomfortable silence hit the Elders' Chambers, not only because the distant outburst ruined any chance of letting Denley down easy, but also because everyone knew Tika would probably be joining the discussion very soon. That thought proved correct as the hysterical girl burst into the Elders' Chambers, tears streaming down her beautiful pale face.
"Why are you doing this?!" she demanded.
"Hey," Denley cautioned, "Don't get yourself into any-"
"No I want to know what's going on!" Tika shouted over him.
Without a word, the three Elders all looked at one another in annoyance. Denley wasn't sure if they would consider Tika's tone and choice of words to be worthy of a punishment of any kind, it was enough that he was facing some sort of punishment of his own, the last thing he wanted for his distraught lover to face anything similar.
"The Imperials have come to Dathomir..." Elder Mora began, "They have brought their machines of war and their soldiers to bastardize the land."
"They won't know it was us that took out two of their troops," Denley said, "It'll look like a murder-suicide."
"That is not the point, my child..." Elder Kazin said, "The Empire is likely to stick around. You may not be so lucky to dispatch them the next time you encounter them. Having a fugitive of the Empire in our ranks is a risk we can no longer afford to take."
"So you're just going to send him out on his own?" Tika asked, choking back some tears, "If he dies out there, that's on you!"
"We think Kane understands..." Elder Vera said, looking to the young Jedi.
Tika looked up at her lover and could see it in his eyes, he accepted the truth of the situation, even though he didn't like it.
"No," Tika said, "You can't just go!"
"It's better to have you miss me and be alive, than be with me and wind up dead..." Denley explained, "I lost my master to the Empire, all of my people, my future with the Jedi Order. I don't think I'd be able to handle knowing I got anyone here killed too, especially you. That would be enough to push me over the edge."
"There has to be another way..." Tika said as she looked at Denley, then to the Elders, who seemed to be full of sorrow themselves.
"We wish there was..." Elder Mora said, "We can give you the rest of the day. In the morning, you will have access to the Separatist Shuttle we took from the factory, it will take you where you need to go."
"Thank you..." Denley said, "For the time and the ship, it's more than I could have asked for in this situation."
"It's the least we could do for a son worthy of the Zoni Tribe..." Elder Vera said, "Cherish the time you have left here today."
"Take care, Denley..." Elder Kazin said.
With a polite nod of respect, albeit with a look of sadness, Denley turned and left the tent, hand in hand with his distraught lover. The other witches did their best to not stare, knowing the gravity of the situation and in an attempt to not be rude. The two headed back to their tent and sat in silence for a while, embracing each other as long as they could, knowing they didn't have much time left.
Night fell, the two didn't get much sleep, how could they? With the terrifying reality hanging over them, it cast a dark shadow on an already dark night.
"Where are you going to go?" Tika asked quietly, breaking the silence.
"Gand." Denley said, "I'll see if I can find a job with some spacers. It'll be good to be on the move, stay busy, you know?"
"I won't be able to stop worrying about you..." she admitted, "How am I supposed to live with that?"
"You girls taught me a lot in these two years," he replied, "It'll keep me alive."
"It better." she said, cracking a smile for the first time since the news broke.
"There it is." Denley said with a smile of his own.
"You made the right decision to continue your training outside the Jedi Code..." Tika said, "But don't let your darkness corrupt you."
"I won't," Denley swore, "I promise."
Location: A cantina on The Compound Eye, an orbital station above Gand, in the Outer Rim
Time: 2 Days Later
Eeeeaaaugghh...
Denley could feel his head spinning. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to make sure his first time drinking went a little smoother. Wasn't this stuff supposed to make the bad times a little easier? Then again, this foreign swill that was sat in front of him was made by creatures of an entirely different genetic makeup. He wondered if Insectoids were more capable of holding down this type of liquor, though these thoughts did little to distract himself from the feeling of the whole galaxy spinning.
Get a grip on yourself, Denley... he thought to himself, it's just chemicals, you're supposed to be a Jedi!
What an interesting test. As he tried to purge his head of the drink's effects, he could sense a group of four beings entering the cantina, all decently armed, but none seemed to have any bad intentions, at least none that he could tell. Two of them were green skinned Niktos, one tall and one short. One of them was a pretty gruff 30-something human with fair skin and messy red hair, with plenty of battle scars decorating his mean looking face. As intimidating as this one was, he didn't seem to be the leader, no, that role appeared to go to the Dashade.
This one had definitely seem some miles. It was hard to guess his age, as Denley had never seen one of his species before, but he assumed by the tone of his voice that he was middle aged. The Dashade led his men to the opposite side of the bar as he seemed to be mocking someone they had recently encountered, much to the amusement of his men. Their obnoxious laughter made Denley's head rattle, and he considered just paying for his drink and leaving, but got an idea.
"Excuse me, sir." Denley said to the Gand bartender.
"Yes?" the insectoid replied politely as he continued loading one of the dishwashers.
"Are any of the Guild outposts on the surface worth checking out?" Denley asked, projecting his voice towards the crew without being too obvious, "I don't usually hunt around these parts, but I hear you guys hire offworlders to track down rogue findsmen, could use a challenge."
"Gand do that as a test for the findsmen, not for the offworlders..." the bartender stated as politely as possible, "No human has ever survived."
"Yeah because all they ever hire are hillbillies with toy blasters and cattle prods." Denley said, "I can handle myself."
"Gand does not doubt Human's abilities, Gand only attempts to warn the human." the bartender explained, "There is a station in the city nearest to the Compound Eye's tether, Gand believes that would be the human's best bet."
Trying to make a good impression, Denley downed the rest of his drink without making a funny face, then put down the credits for his drink, as well as a generous tip, then stood up and walked away from the bar without looking at the gang, who had definitely overheard the conversation. Now everything seemed to be spinning in two directions, but he still managed to make his way to the restroom, which was surprisingly clean given the fact that it was operated by insects.
Is that racist of me? he wondered as he chuckled to himself. Not long after washing up, he could sense someone approaching, a familiar presence, one of the crew members no doubt. Sure enough, the door opened up, and the red headed human crew member from earlier entered the restroom and made no attempt to hide the fact he was looking for Denley.
"How's it going?" the man asked.
"Sorry man," Denley slurred in a slightly exaggerated tone, "Ain't got anything for ya."
"I'm not looking for money," the man said, amused, "My friends and I couldn't help but overhear you're looking for Guild work. You some kind of freelancer?"
"I'm off the clock right now," Denley answered, "But yeah I get around, wherever there's a challenge, otherwise what's the point?"
"Those bugs are a little more than just a challenge..." the man warned, "A lone wolf like you's bound to end up skewered by one of those rogue findsmen if that's what you're after."
"Not my first job, pal," Denley replied, "besides there's money to be made, those findsmen ain't gonna find themselves? Heh, heh, get it? Nice talking with ya, man." he said as he politely made his way past the man.
"Why don't I introduce you to the guys?" the man offered, "Maybe they'll have something for ya, other than a bug hunt."
Denley stopped in his tracks, and couldn't help but grin, this dude was putty in his hands, so predictable. He wiped the look off his face before turning back to the man.
"Sure, why not?" he said, "I've got a little time to kill."