Chapter 2: Genesis

In the middle of the room directly below the cavern opening curled in a fetal position lay a corpse. The light from the afternoon sun illuminated the body in stark contrast to the darkness around it. Jarek's first reflex was to give it a wide birth and continue on his way, but for some unknown reason, his instincts carried him directly towards the macabre site.

As he drew near the body details began to manifest themselves. It was wrapped in a faded and weather-worn brown robe. The robe was so overgrown by moss to the point it was difficult to tell where it ended, and the garment began. Even though the flesh had long since melted away, the skeleton beneath was clearly alien. Horns curved downward from either side of its head; the tip ending just below its chin. Jarek recognized the species but the name escaped him.

It clutched something to its chest with skeletal hands. Jarek couldn't tell what it was but its metallic surface glinted in the light. The moment the reflected light caught his attention the young boy felt a chill run up his spine and down to his fingertips. A light breeze seemed to whisper in his ear, beckoning him nearer.

He complied.

Jarek slowly crept forward until he was kneeling next to the body. A closer inspection also revealed that both of its legs were broken and not because of the passage of time. Jarek glanced upward at the opening above and the green foliage beyond. It wasn't hard to surmise that, like Jarek, he had lost his way and fallen into the chamber. Unlike Jarek, he didn't have a pool of water to break his fall.

The empty eye sockets seemed to plead with him while also echoing with a lonely sorrow. Whoever this being had been he had died here, alone and in pain. The result of one careless misstep.

In more ways than one Jarek sympathized with him.

As if expecting him, the bones and sinew that had held the skeletal hands in place for so many years finally gave way. The hand fell forward as if freely offering its contents to its long-awaited recipient. The object was a dark blue cube trimmed in silver; it seemed to glow with the faintest inner light.

Mesmerized, Jarek reached forward. Ever so gently he removed it from the alien's hand.

He was running! Legs pumping! Heart hammering in his chest! Fear raced through his veins!

There is no emotion...there is only Peace

He was falling! Hand scrabbled for a grip but found none! Down he went into the void!

There is no Ignorance...only Knowledge

Pain coursed through his body! His legs were immobile and yet even breath caused the shattered bone to grate against torn muscle!

There is no passion...only serenity

Where was it?! There within reach! He clutched the cube tight to his breast! Such a little thing but it meant so much! The last vestige of better days.

There is no Chaos...only Harmony

Sorrow mixed with the deepest parts of grief swirled in his soul! The loss of much more than a loved one wracked his heart! The loss of a way of life, as well as a life never lived! Of love, he never got to share. Of the mother, he never knew.

There is no death...

The pain of his shattered legs was dull now. Fever and chills had replaced them. Hunger and thirst scraped at his throat and stomach for days, but even that was fading. The encroaching night was upon him. The sun passed into shadow one last time.

...there is only the Force...

No more pain...no more sorrow...the end of his path approached...the guiding light of oblivion beckoned him. Invisible hands and wings lifted him up and away. At last...he was at peace...

...and he died...

Jarek fell on his back, gasping for air. The cube landed on the moss between him and the corpse. Feeling moisture on his face, he reached up and touched it. It wasn't water. They were tears. Closing his eyes, Jarek tried to make sense of the images that passed across his vision and the wealth of emotion that accompanied them, but he was only seven cycles old. Many of the things he had seen - was seeing - and the feelings were as alien as the body before him.

Sitting up Jarek knelt next to the dead man. He stared into the hollow openings where eyes had once been. Of all the things he had felt and seen, that sense of loneliness and the yearning for the mother he would never know...that was the strongest feeling. It was something he could empathize with. Though they were separated by the expanse of time and divide between species, they had that in common.

The cube lay dormant, its inner light now snuffed out. He hesitated before picking it up, expecting to feel the same rush of sensations as before, but felt nothing.

It has served its purpose.

The thought was surreal, and he wasn't sure where it came from, but it rang of truth. He had no idea what the device was, but it seemed to house aspects of the-Ikotachi, that's what it was-the Ikotachi's memories. From what he'd seen Jarek knew that he'd witnessed the being's last moments.

Jarek shut his eyes more and tried to focus.

Breathe he thought. A few deep breathes later and Jarek saw something or rather...remembered something.

There is no emotion...there is only Peace

There is no Ignorance...there is only Knowledge

There is no Passion...there is only Serenity

There is no Chaos...there is only Harmony

There is no Death...there is only the Force

The mantra seemed to repeat endlessly in his mind and course through every cell in his body. It was a part of him. It was his life. Or rather the life of the dead Ikotachi.

He pondered on the implications but pushed them to the back of his mind. The time for...meditation...would come later, right then he had to figure out a way to escape the cavern.

"Jarek!"

The sound of his name caused the boy to leap to his feet. The shout reverberated off the walls making it hard to pinpoint the origin. Standing he looked around but aside from the way he came in he couldn't see another opening.

"Jarek! Can you hear me?"

That was when he finally recognized the voice as that of his adoptive father; Myler. His buir. With the second shout, Jarek was able to determine the location of his voice. He looked up at the opening. While he couldn't see him, the boy knew the man was close.

Taking a deep breath Jarek cupped his hands around his mouth. "Father!" he called out. Cocking his head to the side Jarek listened. Only a few heartbeats went by before he got a response.

"Jarek I hear you! Keep shouting!"

Heart hammering with nervous excitement, Jarek cupped his hands once more and yelled, "Myler! Myler down here!"

"I see the opening!" he replied his voice nearby. Within seconds Jarek saw the all too familiar rugged face peak over the edge. Jarek couldn't help but crow in excitement. The anxiety of the last hour draining away with just the sheer joy of seeing his father again. Myler's look of relief seemed to mirror his own. "Thank the ancestors. Ad'ika, are you hurt?" He asked, a combination of relief and concern lacing his tone.

"No, just," he glanced around at the corpse and the surrounding cave, "Just get me out of here."

"Ok wait one moment," Myler's voice shifted back to its no-nonsense, all-business tone. He disappeared briefly saying, "I'm dropping you a line." As he spoke a long thin cable fell, its end making a small loop at the ground at Jarek's feet. "Fix a hoop knot just as I showed you."

Jarek did just that, his tiny hands moving with a deftness only months of practice could produce. Before he stepped into the hoop knot he looked down at the corpse. Despite the grim circumstances of their meeting or the tragic event that lead to it being there in the first place, Jarek felt like the Ikotochi was finally at peace. His gaze fell on the cube. He hesitated only for a moment before grabbing it and placing it in his tunic. Stepping into the hoop Jarek tugged twice on the rope.

"Hold on tight, ad'ika," Myler called down right before pulling up on the rope. Jarek gave the cavern one more fleeting glance before he was bathed in sunlight. In a matter of minutes Myler, his close-cropped brown hair drenched in sweat hauled him up over the cave lip. The moment he was clear of the opening the older Mandalorian pulled Jarek into a tight embrace.

The act of affection briefly shocked the boy before he returned it. The hug was tight but warm and within his father's arms, Jarek felt that nothing could hurt him, not even the scorn of the mother. For a man not given to spontaneous acts of emotion, Myler was a great hugger. Stepping back and after composing himself Myler asked, "Nothing broken?"

"No buir," Jarek replied shaking his head.

Myler seemed to sigh in relief before his tone became as icy as the blue of his eyes. "What were you thinking, wandering off like that?" Jarek winced, staring down at his feet, "And going into the caves! You know they're dangerous! You could've been seriously hurt or even killed!"

Jarek stood and took the verbal onslaught. He felt guilty for making his father worry and even more so for putting them both in danger. Even knowing he deserved it still didn't help make it any easier.

"What were you doing, taking off like that?" he demanded.

Jarek didn't answer right away. Myler's stare told him he wouldn't move until he did. The earlier pain resurfaced as a recalled the mother's words and her hateful stare. He wanted to lie, and smother the emotions the memory brought up, but that would only make things worse. Eyes still cast downward Jarek replied, "I wanted to see the other children...and the mothers."

Something in Myler's cold gaze thawed and he seemed to deflate a bit. His anger subsiding a bit he said, "I see...and?"

Jarek felt the emotions of earlier returned. They still chaffed on his raw nerves, but he managed to keep from, crying. "They...ignored me...as if I wasn't even there."

Myler sighed once more and placed his hand on Jarek's shoulder. "Because we are outcast my cyr'ika. Dar'manda. They must ignore us. It's the way of the clan," he tilted his son's face up to look at him, "but I know that doesn't make it any easier." If only he father knew the whole story, Jarek wondered if his anger would match his, or if he'd react at all. Jarek wanted to demand why they should be treated so ugly when a glint of metal caught Myler's attention. "What is that?"

Jarek mentally stumbled at the sudden shift in the subject. He'd almost forgotten what he had stuffed in his tunic only mere moments ago. For some reason, he hesitated. Apart of him wanted to guard his recently acquired treasure. Perhaps sell it later or to barter passage off-world or even purchase a way into the Clan. The options seemed endless to his young mind. He was also curious to see if he could unlock more of its secrets if there were any more to be had.

The lack of light seemed to indicate otherwise as well as an inner feeling that he'd have more luck beating it with a rock. Another part of him felt wrong for coveting it. It was after all taken from a dead sentient whose entire being revolved around compassion and charity.

It has served its purpose, the voice whispered in the back of his mind once more. Jarek felt his decision was made and reached into his tunic. He withdrew the cube and deposited it into Myler's outstretched hand.

The large warrior's eyes widened at the sight of it. He rotated it to observe every angle before running his gloved fingers over the silver edges and across its dark blue faces. After a few minutes of examining the object, he spoke.

"You found this in the cave?" He asked, possibly wondering if there was more to the story.

Knowing it would've done little good to lie, Jarek nodded. "On a dead Ikotochi. He must have fallen in years ago. He was clutching it when he finally died."

"Was there anything else?"

Jarek shook his head. "No, My'buir. Other than bones and what remained of his clothes, there was nothing." He admitted to himself that it hadn't occurred to him to search the rest of the corpse. In hindsight, he didn't relish the idea. Not that it creeped him out, but rather it simply felt...wrong.

"Hmm," Myler hummed as he mused over the artifact glancing between it, the hole, and back.

After a minute of silence broken only by the sounds of nature, Jarek finally had to ask, "Do you know what it is?" Myler shook his head but said nothing. "Should we keep it?"

Shrugging Myler said, "Artifacts of the old world could be dangerous." Jarek felt his heart sink and he could just visualize his father tossing the cube back in, being such a pragmatic man and all. "But they can also be quite valuable." Jarek perked up at the words and the opportunistic upturn in his voice.

Myler stood unclipping his buc'ey - helmet - from his belt. He placed the cube in a pouch before donning the helmet. Like the various plates of his armored vest, the helmet was brown with streaks of green and black painted across it. Here and there the glint of metal shown through where it had been dinged and scratched. The black "T" shaped visor completely obscured Myler's face. In full beskar'gam, blaster pistol on his hip, the older Mandalorian was just as impressive as he was intimidating.

He glanced down saying, "We'll see about swapping it at the next supply run." Jarek couldn't help but shiver inwardly at the anonymous black visor. Within its placid surface he could only see his green eyes staring back at him. "If you're to become a hunter you'll need proper gear."

Jarek sputtered at the words and nearly tripped over himself as Myler started walking in the direction of their dwelling. Had he heard him, right? Did he mean to help him construct his very own Iron Skin? His own beskar'gam?

"...and if you insist on running about in the wilds, you'd better learn how to survive in them," Myler answered his son's unasked question. Most of the children in the village wouldn't begin their warrior training until they were eight or nine cycles old. It seemed his antics had accelerated his father's timetable.

Jarek glanced back at the hole, now barely indistinguishable from the surrounding foliage. He thought of the lone Ikotochi, and how so long ago, like him, it had stumbled into the cavern. Although he had died in agony, his actions had reached across many years to affect Jarek's own life...for the better. He was going to be a hunter...a warrior.

Thank you, he thought before turning and following his father.

A breeze whispered through the trees. It tickled the back of his neck causing him to shiver. Somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind he felt more than heard the reply.

May the Force guide you.