Kanan stood along with several others of the cell's leadership as they continued to ask the Twi'lek spy what she knew of the Imperial plans as well as to determine what she'd already told Moff Dume about them. It had been hours and tempers were getting short and he was aggravated, as well.
"Salora, you do realize that if I wanted, I could just reach into your mind and take what I need, right? But I don't want to do that since it is never pleasant, for either of us. So, I'm going to have to ask you one last time; how much does the Moff know about the base? About us?"
The pale blue Twi'lek glared at the Jedi. "I doubt it. If you could, you wouldn't have wasted so much time trying to get me to talk. So, spare me the theatrics."
Kanan turned toward the others and slumped his shoulders. He had hoped that the threat alone would have been enough but clearly it wasn't. He wasn't one to use this ability lightly, but it did have its purpose, and this was one instance of it.
He cleared his mind and focused on the woman restrained in the chair in front of him. He peeled one layer away from her mind and then another. Delving further until he found what she was trying to hide. The interrogation had brought the information to the surface of her mind since she was actively trying to monitor what she was saying in response to their questions.
Yes, the Moff knew exactly where they were and she wasn't due to report back in for another three rotations. So they had that long before the Imperials learned that something was up when she failed to contact them.
Kanan went just a little further and saw that Salora had been asked to give information regarding Kiara once it was made known that the two were at the same posting. That's when Kanan was shocked to learn that the woman had shared her knowledge that he was Kiara's brother with her Imperial contact. That meant that the Moff knew that he was his son and was the Jedi who helped to rescue is daughter.
When he pulled back he would have glared at the woman if he still could behind his mask that shielded his eyes. "We have three days before the Empire will suspect that something is wrong when she doesn't make contact. That's when she's due for her next transmission."
Salora sat back in shock. How did he know that? She never even really felt the man's invasion into her mind. She'd witnessed the same procedure performed by the Emperor's Sith Acolyte but it had looked absolutely painful for the poor individual who had been at the hands of the man that was called Vader. But this Jedi, he'd taken what he needed without so much as a twinge of pain.
"But she's told them everything. From base operations as well as the identity of those who are stationed here." Kanan then added, "And more. Send out the word of how long we have before we have to leave. What we can't get packed and loaded onto the ships we'll have to leave behind. We don't need another incident like Suaren."
Kanan turned and left. The others could handle the prisoner. He had to re-center himself after learning what he had. He headed toward where the rest of the crew of the Ghost were waiting for him, on the ship, so that he could share what he'd extracted from their Imperial spy. They each listened and it was Hera who spoke when he was finished.
"We'll be ready in three days. That's more time than we usually get before an evacuation order is sounded. But this about Salora telling the Moff about you... That's exactly one of the things that Kiara didn't want."
"I know. And we can't even tell her about it."
"That's not exactly true, Kanan." Sabine hopped off of a container that they had already loaded onto the ship. They were all in the cargo compartment when Kanan had found them and she had sat on it when it came time to have a confab. "We can still send a message to her ship. Even if she doesn't answer the call. It will then be logged into the ship's communications log. And if she doesn't check, I'm willing to bet that Tac will."
Zeb eyed the young woman. "What makes you so sure?"
Sabine grinned. "Because I've been doing it since she left. Tac will usually send a brief message just to say that she's alright. Even if he won't tell me anything else. But I've been trying to at least get a feel for where she's been by the trajectory of the transmissions."
"Sabine, I can't believe that the rest of us haven't thought about doing that." Hera chuckled. "So, any idea where she'd been?"
"Just generalized areas. Last week she was in the Mytaranor sector."
Kallus sat on his bunk, the bottom bunk, on the Ghost as they lifted off from the desert planet. He'll have to admit, he won't miss the heat that engulfed the base day in and day out. He hoped that the next planet would have a more temperate climate. Perhaps one that was closer to that of Yavin IV would be nice. Still, he knew that the harsher planets would be safer since the Empire was less likely to have a presence on them.
He and the rest of the members of the rebel cell had all worked hard for more than a full rotation without stopping to try to evacuate just in case Salora's contacts decided to come looking for her early. She was being transported to a camp on a small world in the Outer Rim where their prisoners of war were relocated. In a way, he sometimes wished that those who put his rebel allies in danger could face the same kind of punishment that the Empire enacts. But only those who actively and willingly work the kind of evil that the woman did. But then, he likely was being influenced by his own personal experiences with the Empire; both before and after joining the Rebellion.
After pushing himself so hard for the last rotation he was beyond exhausted. He leaned back and laid on his bunk and stared up at the bottom of the bunk above him. He swore that he'd rest for just a moment before he joined the rest of the crew in the common area. When he closed his eyes, he told himself that it would only be for a minute.
When he opened them up again the room was darkened and he could hear Zeb sleeping in his bunk above him. He sat up and looked to his chronometer on his wrist and saw that he'd been sleeping for nearly twelve hours. He never slept that long. Never. But then, combine the extra work, pushing through an entire rotation, and add his still healing body and he supposed it was a recipe for sacking out for such a long stretch. It felt strange that after all of this time, he was still healing, despite the fact that he appeared to have fully recovered by now.
He left the room as quietly as he could and made his way first to the common area and saw that no one was awake yet. It was still likely another hour or two before the rest of the crew woke up. Knowing that he was as alone as he could get on the ship he then went down to the cargo area and set himself to a modified workout routine. He climbed the ladder, hung upside down from it to perform crunches, and pulled himself up by his arms. By the time he could hear sounds from the rest of the crew as they awaken he'd been working out for a couple of hours and had worked up a sweat.
Kallus figured that he'd best go and get cleaned up for the day. He started to head back up toward the refresher but stopped when he heard the cry of the baby coming from Hera's cabin. The cry had him frozen in his steps. He swallowed as he heard the cries but not the ones from the babe. No. Instead, he heard those of others.
"Please! Please stop them!"
"Please! Please tell them what they want to know!"
"No! Please, Kallus! Stop them! Please!"
Zeb headed toward the refresher when he stepped out of his cabin. When he saw Sabine he nodded at her in greeting as he stretched.
"Kallus ever wake up?" Sabine asked since she'd been surprised when he'd turned in so early.
"Must have. He got up before I did," Zeb shrugged.
Sabine looked up and saw the man in question standing right outside of the refresher. He looked like he was in a daze. In fact, he had a bit of a glassy-eyed look to him. "Speaking of. There he is. But what's wrong with him?"
Zeb's brow furled as he took in the state that the other man was in. "Sabine, how about you leave us alone. I'll take care of him."
Sabine nodded. She figured she'd go and find Kanan and Hera and see how their night with the baby had gone. She had heard Jacen's morning wake up call. They may appreciate a relief if she volunteered to babysit the little boy. He was growing so fast and it wouldn't be long before the crew would have to figure out a way to babyproof the Ghost.
Zeb stepped forward softly, not trying to make any sudden movements or sounds. When he was within reach of the other man he spoke up but waited for a reply before attempting to place a hand on him.
"Kallus? Where are you, Kallus? What are you seeing? What are you hearing?" Zeb watched and saw that Kallus didn't even appear to have heard him. He reached out and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Kallus, listen to me. What you are seeing, it isn't real. It's over. You have to leave it behind. Kallus. Snap out of it."
When Kallus's eyes slowly became less glassy and he started to register what was going on around him Zeb kept his hand on the other man's shoulder to try to ground him. "Are you with me, yet, Pal?"
Kallus looked confused when he realized that Zeb was right in front of him. "Where did you come from?"
"I've been here for several minutes. Are you alright?"
Kallus stepped away so that Zeb's hand fell off of his shoulder and shook his head. "Of course I am. I was just going to go get cleaned up after a workout."
"Kallus, you need to talk about it?"
He looked up at the Lasat and saw the concern in his eyes. He'd lived through many years of war and it was clear that he knew what had just happened. He'd likely had moments just like it before. Still, he wasn't ready to talk about it. It had been hard enough to just give a report on his experience to the leadership when Mon Mothma and the others were at the Med-ship. He wasn't ready to relive his time on the Star Destroyer again just yet.
"I'll be fine. I promise." Kallus then gave his friend a smile. "But I appreciate your concern."
Tac continued to scan for the approach of any potential threats. The villages and the Imperial prison were on another continent but he was aware that patrols may be in the area. Not to mention, there may be individuals who weren't connected to the tribes and villages.
The droid didn't find patrols but it did find that there were large predatory reptilians known as rancors on the planet. He hoped that his mistress was alright. He decided that he'd best reactivate the cloak. At least for the night. He'd reevaluate the need for it come the morning. He didn't like being so exposed on a planet with not just Imperials but massive predators as well.
With the cloak reactivated he went back to monitoring frequency zero. He detected another brief change so he made sure that the data was saved for Mistress Kiara to go over it. He also had a few upgrades that he knew that his mistress had planned so he decided that he'd go ahead and tend to them for her. It was his primary function, after all.
He was down in the engine department when he heard the alarm sound that indicated another change to frequency zero came in. He floated up and raced toward the cockpit and saw that the harmonics weren't just altered a slight amount. The frequency had had a massive change. He then performed a scan of the entire system and was surprised to see that there were dozens of large objects in orbit. They read as organic. This was extremely important. He must contact his mistress.
"My dear child. Did you learn what you came here to find?" The airy whisper filled the chamber as Kiara found herself back in the darkened hallway.
It felt as if she'd not seen this place for years. Did time really work so differently inside the Infinity Gate? When she was inside it, she knew that if she had wanted, she could have gone nearly anywhere practically instantaneously. If the Empire learned of this temple it could be dangerous.
"I learned a lot. It's still a lot to take in. To process."
"We can sense your concern. These Imperials. They have desecrated many temples but this one will not fall to them. We will not allow it. The knowledge contained within these walls is not for those who would corrupt it. Only for those in the middle. Those who seek balance. Not to wield this knowledge as a weapon."
Kiara hoped that the guardians of this temple, the ghost, was able to protect it from the Empire. But then, this place has been here many thousands of years before the Jedi and Sith even existed. If it had been here this long then she had to have faith that it would be here for many more.
"Can I come back? You know, after I leave?" Kiara asked since she was sure that once she left she'd come up with more questions of the old ways. She had been in the portal for so long yet she had really been gone no time at all.
"Of course. Though, if you return to the Infinity Gateway, the Gateway of Knowledge, then you will once more be tested to ensure that your motives and desires haven't been darkened."
Kiara figured that was only to be expected. After all, people do change. She thanked the voice as respectfully as she could then left the temple. Her mind still reeling from the experience. She needed to put as much distance between it and her so that she could think clearly. Her head was filled with so much information regarding the force and the ancient ways from before the Jedi. She needed time to process it.
She went through the information in her head as she headed back toward the ship. She did have to try to stay aware of her surroundings, however, since there were many predators on this planet that were really quite dangerous for humans. It was no wonder that the population was so insignificant compared to its size. At least the slightly lighter than average gravity made the hike back to the ship just a bit easier.
When she approached where she'd left her ship she noticed that Tac must have reactivated the cloak since she was only able to see any part of it when the droid lowered the loading ramp upon her approach.
"Mistress Kiara! I am so pleased that you have returned. There has been a new development regarding the research that you've been performing. The harmonics changed on frequency zero and then very large organics have dropped out of hyperspace and have been in and around orbit for the last few hours."
"The purrgil! They are here? Did they bring anything with them?" Kiara raced up the loading ramp and figured that the secrets of the temple could wait.
"Not that I have been able to determine." Tac floated in behind his mistress. "Is that something that I should have been scanning for?"
"No, I never mentioned it before. I was just curious." Kiara climbed into the cockpit and threw over her shoulder, "Prepare for take off. Lets go see if we can go get a look at our friends up there."
Kiara focused on taking the ship up through the atmosphere and when she spotted the space dwelling animals she was struck by just how different they looked from this vantage point than the one she'd had when she'd been on Lothal and watched as they rid the planet of the Imperial invaders. She used her impulse engines to move in their direction then turned them off and allowed her ship to drift in space. She didn't want to spook them.
As the ship drifted toward the pod of the animals that looked as if they were a cross between a type of whale and octopi Kiara watched in amazement as they floated through the vacuum of space. A few times she considered firing up her engines as a stray animal came closer to her; almost as if they knew that she was there even though the ship was cloaked. One larger purrgil swam through space right over toward the ship and appeared as if it was looking directly through the cockpit at her.
Kiara put her hand to the pane of the viewscreen instinctively. She felt like she could just reach out and touch the animal. In a way, it felt as if the animal was trying to read her, much like she'd read those whom she played against at the gambling table. She mentally tried to remove the inner walls she had around her mind to make herself more open to the animal. She remained staring at the purrgil for more than an hour before the animals moved away from the ship and then their tentacles began to glow before the pod all jumped back into hyperspace.
Kiara read over the data from her computer and tried to determine the likely stop that the animals would go based on trajectory as well as the ancient stories and legends about them. She then readied her ship and sent it into hyperspace as well.
Was this the same pod that Ezra disappeared with? She didn't have a clue. But hopefully they could eventually lead her to the missing young man.
