Star Wars Book One: Force
Chapter 6: Arrival
In Hyperspace, En Route to Tatooine
The cargo hold wasn't as large as Tenzin had hoped, but it was sufficient. After briefing everyone on the plan after they arrive on Tatooine, as well as explaining just what Korra's training would involve, he had instructed everyone to stay out of the hold while he and Korra were conducting his planned regime.
That was what they were doing now. Korra had a naturally lean physique, enhanced and kept in tone from her years on the streets, but to be a Jedi, she needed more than just physical prowess on her side. To achieve this, Tenzin had arranged a series of exercises, some physical but mostly mental, in order for her to fully master her connection to the Force.
Korra was currently undergoing an exercise to test both her physical and mental abilities. She had been blindfolded, Tenzin's lightsaber in her hands. A practice probe circled her, occasionally firing off a small stun pulse from one of many emitters that dotted its surface. The purpose of the exercise was to test her reflexes, and her ability to use the Force to predict when the probe would fire, and block the pulse with the lightsaber.
So far she had failed to block a single shot.
Yelping from the stinging energy, Korra tore off her blindfold, her frustration boiling over.
"This is useless!" she yelled, extinguishing the lightsaber. "How am I supposed to block the probe if I can't see it?"
Tenzin sighed. He had hoped that Korra would be able to instinctively react, like she had done back in the docking bay on Kurlik. It would seem she needed more guidance than he thought.
"You are focusing too much on the physical action of blocking Korra," He began. "You must be able to react instinctively, as if the lightsaber is an extension of your own body."
Korra took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She couldn't lose herself. She had to master this if she was going to keep her emotions in check. She thought back to what Tenzin had made her memorise. The old Jedi code.
There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.
She repeated the mantra over and over again in her mind, allowing its words to soothe her, to calm her and ease her mind. Taking one final breath, she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry Tenzin, I'm just not used to all of this Force stuff yet."
"I know Korra," Tenzin said, his face kind. "I did not expect you to become a master overnight."
Standing up, Tenzin made his way towards her. "Let's try something else." He began, retying the blindfold over Korra's eyes. "Instead of trying to anticipate where the next blast is coming from, I want you to relax. Empty your mind and allow the Force to guide you."
Korra only nodded. She let all of her thoughts leave her mind until all she could feel was the throb of the ships engines under her feet, the near unperceivable breeze from the ships atmosphere recyclers, the slight creak of the hull as it was subjected to the rigours of hyperspace.
There was something more however. Almost like background noise. Korra reached out, her curiosity peaked. Her mind brushed the edge of the swirling energy, and was immediately enveloped in a maelstrom of power she could not even begin to fathom. Gasping, she stumbled, almost falling to the ground. As quickly as it had begun however, the vortex subsided. Korra now felt like she was adrift in a tranquil sea of cosmic energy. She could sense so much more than her immediate surroundings. She could feel Tenzin next to her, his mind coming up with new ways to test her. She could feel Bolin having his ass handed to him by Asami at a game of dejarik, and both her and Mako's amusement at his desperate attempts to pull it back in his favour. She could sense Lin in the cockpit, reading something on a datapad.
And above all else, she could feel the near infinite power of the Force flowing though her, like a cool refreshing breeze on a hot summers day, washing away her frustration and giving her a sense of great tranquillity.
The probe hovered around her, bobbing up and down on tiny puffs of gas from its impeller motors. It let off a quick trio of shots.
Sensing the danger Korra ignited the lightsaber, and blocked every single one.
She could feel Tenzin swell at her success. She tore the blindfold off once again, this time beaming with excitement.
"I did it! Did you see that Tenzin I did it!" Korra whooped, bouncing up and down, unable to contain herself.
"Well done Korra." Tenzin said, a warm smile gracing his features. "You connected with the Force, allowed it to guide your movement. You have taken the first step on the path of the Jedi."
Korra couldn't control the grin on her face. She felt so…. so alive! Like she had been living in the dark and suddenly she found the sun, feeling its warm rays on her face and bathing in its luminance.
"We will continue with this exercise until I am sure you can maintain your connection. Once I am happy with your progress, we will move onto more strenuous exercises."
Korra was about to ask what he meant when the ships intercom beeped. Tenzin turned and walked towards the console by the door, answering the call.
Lin's voice rang out across the hold.
"Just thought you'd want to know we'll be coming out of hyperspace in ten minutes."
"About time." Korra grumbled. They had been in hyperspace for close to two days now. Apparently Tatooine was on the other side of the damn galaxy from Kurlik.
"Thank you Lin, we're on our way." Tenzin responded.
Shutting off the intercom, he turned back to his new Padawan.
"Training will have to wait for now." He said, keying the door control which opened with a hiss of pneumatics. Making their way to the cockpit, Korra thought back on their voyage. During their little game, she and Asami had gotten to know each other very well, talking about this and that while Asami absolutely destroyed her. They had even shared some of their stories about Mako with each other, much to the embarrassment of said street rat. Not long after they had finished, Tenzin had turned up and dragged Korra away to the cargo hold to begin her training. That first session had been her formal introduction to the ways of the Jedi. No actual physical or mental exercise had taken place, instead Tenzin had opted to teach Korra the fundamental role of the Jedi, and their guiding philosophy, including the Jedi code.
It had been more difficult than Tenzin had hoped to get Korra to pay attention. More than once he had caught her dozing off as he attempted to pass on the wisdom that his master had ingrained in his memory. He had only managed to gain her full attention after he had decided to take a more practical approach. Korra had been in awe as he had demonstrated the power that the Force can grant, moving cargo crates as it they were in zero gravity, blocking shots with his lightsaber, a brilliant green white blur as it spun in elegant arcs, deflecting the probes stun pulses harmlessly into the bulkheads of the cargo bay. Korra had been much more attentive to his words after that.
Arriving in the cockpit, they were greeted by the rest of the makeshift crew. Asami was once again seated next to Lin in the co-pilot seat, engrossed in her new duties. Mako and Bolin were standing behind her, Mako's arm around Bolin's shoulder. Apparently Bolin had been so badly defeated by Asami he needed his brother to console him.
"You'll get her next time bro." Korra heard Mako say as the doors opened. Turning around, the brothers greeted her with warm smiles.
"Hey! How was it?" Mako asked.
Korra was still beaming. "It was amazing Mako! I connected to the Force. I felt everything on the ship like I was right next to it!"
Mako smiled, any doubts he had about Tenzin finally fading away. He very rarely saw Korra so excited, happy almost. They had lived a hard life back on Kurlik. He almost thanked the stars for the Empire placing that bounty on their heads, otherwise they never would have tried to get off world. Now they had a chance to start over, make something of themselves on a world where nobody would recognise them.
And they would be safe. From what he understood, Tatooine was far away from the Empire, though he had heard that the Hutts had the planet firmly under their control. Mako could live with that. If the Hutts here were anything like his old gang, he would know how to make sure everyone stayed out of trouble with them.
The navicomputer beeped. They were coming up on Tatooine now.
"Alright, get ready Asami." Lin said. The two women reached for the hyperdrive control. "Now."
Pushing the lever forward, the maelstrom of hyperspace dissipated, the stars before them realising themselves as white streaks, before finally settling into the familiar, glittery black expanse of real space. Sat before them was their goal, an angry, pale orange globe against the pristine void.
"Tatooine." Lin began. "Kriff it's even more barren than I thought."
"Is there anywhere we can land?" Tenzin asked.
Lin leaned forward, studying the ships scanners. "Looks like there's a settlement in the northern hemisphere, pretty big from the look of it. It has to have a starport."
"Let's head there then." Mako said. "It looks like it's our only option."
"No." Tenzin began, leaning forward to study the scanner. "We should not draw attention to ourselves. Land us outside that smaller town to the south, far enough that they cannot see us but not outside walking distance."
Asami nodded. Lin just shrugged. Turning their attention back to the helm, the two women took them down. Descending through the atmosphere, the ship's hull shuddering from the sudden turbulence, they made their way towards a sand blasted mesa to the south east of the town. The freighter came in low across the terrain, below the limits of what any decent sensors can detect, kicking up a dust storm as the wake of the ships repulsorlift drive met the ground. At the last minute Lin pulled back on the controls, narrowly missing the sheer face of their makeshift landing zone.
With a clank and a whir, the freighters landing struts lowered from their bays. Kicking up a maelstrom of dust and sand, the freighter set down on the sun baked earth, their long voyage finally came to an end.
The first thing that Korra felt when the ramp lowered was the heat. Such dry, scalding heat! It was as if the entire planet was one great furnace! The second thing she noticed was how bright it was, Tatooine's twin suns responsible for both of these environmental extremes. She couldn't look at the sand for long, the bone white sea reflecting the light as if it were shining off of a mirror. On the plus side, the sky was nearly perfectly clear, a wonderful blue expanse broken by only a few wisps of cloud.
They didn't have much time to contemplate their new home before Tenzin broke their reverie.
"Let's get moving." He said, "The settlement is a good distance away, and we cannot be out in this heat for long."
The ship's cargo ramp lowered from its belly with a hiss, their transport making its way down the metal incline. Lin had provided them with an old speeder bike, big enough for two people to sit comfortably. Tenzin had decided that he and Korra would be the ones to make the initial journey into whatever cesspit awaited them. Mounting the aging vehicle, Tenzin powered up its repulsorlift drive. Rising from the sun bleached rock of the mesa, he gunned the throttle, the speeder bike taking off with a reverberating roar.
Korra clung on for dear life. The speeder bike had no safety restraints, so she was forced to hold onto the frame of the vehicle, finding hand grips where there the bike's designers really hadn't considered putting any. Tenzin, with his grip firmly on the bike's controls, didn't have that problem. They made good speed, the ground beneath them a blur as they raced towards their destination.
"Where first?" Korra yelled, struggling to make herself heard over the din of the bike's engine.
"We'll try to find better transport." Tenzin replied, his attention never wavering from the makeshift road. "Then, we'll try and find somewhere more permanent to lay low. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."
"Yeah, you've already said that." Korra deadpanned. In her mind, Tenzin was being far too cautious. They were entire sectors from Kurlik, and the Empire couldn't have managed to follow them through hyperspace. They were safe on this backwater.
At least that's what she hoped.
Anchorhead, Tatooine
Owen Lars was a man on a mission. His nephew had once again run off after his chores. The boy was too spirited for his own good, always making his own adventures much to his chagrin. He swore that when he finally caught up to him he'll be scrubbing power converters for a week! And Owen knew exactly where to look for him.
Tosche Station. Ever since that Fixer character had taken over the place, it was the go to meet up for Luke and his little group of friends. Owen sometimes regretted letting him get that Skyhopper. Sure, it gave Luke something to do, and he was glad to see his nephew so happy after he had taken it out for a spin, but it was all that he spent his spare time on for the last few months, ever since he turned seventeen. Making his way to the small repair shop on the outskirts of the town, he could already see the mop of sandy blond hair that stood Luke apart from the rest of the crowd. He was about to call out to him, remind him of his responsibilities, when a rundown old speeder bike raced past him towards the building, its engine whooping as it spun down. Undeterred, he continued his advance.
"Luke! You and I need to have a word young man!"
Luke Skywalker cringed, turning from his conversation with his friend Biggs, knowing what was about to happen. It must be important, normally Uncle Owen wouldn't make the trip from their moisture farm to Anchorhead without good reason, especially since Luke had finally gotten a speeder of his own and could do all the supply runs himself. Turning back to his friends, he made his goodbyes and moved towards his glowering guardian, ready to face what promised to be one hell of a talking to.
"Hey Uncle Owen." Luke said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"How many times do I need to tell you Luke, you can't just run off on me and your aunt like that!" Owen ranted. "What if we needed you? What if the sand people come and we don't have the speeder to make a getaway?"
Luke's gaze dropped. "Sorry Uncle Owen, I wasn't thinking."
"Damn right you weren't." Owen's face softened. "Luke, I don't mind you hanging out with your friends. You're growing up, and you can make your own decisions in life. But you need to consider others around you before you do. I needed you to help me with the vaporators after you'd finished your chores, and I wasn't happy to find you'd taken yourself off."
Luke was a little surprised. Uncle Owen was normally quite harsh when Luke stepped out of line. Why was he being so lenient now?
"You're not going to make me clean power converters are you?"
At that Owen laughed. "I was going to, but I think it's past time for me to dole out punishments. I guess I hadn't realised how much you've grown since you were a baby."
Luke gaze dropped to the ground. Why Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had never told him about his parents had always bothered him. Anytime he did ask, Uncle Owen always said his father had been the pilot of a spice trader during the Clone Wars and left it at that. For some reason the topic made both of them uncomfortable. They never talked about his mother. All he had known was his aunt and uncle, and while he was grateful for all that they had done for him, teaching him to be a good person and providing him with so much despite their low status, he was beginning to chafe under their care. He longed to escape this world. He wished to see the star more than anything, to travel to other worlds and meet new people.
He didn't want to spend the rest of his life on a moisture farm.
"We'll talk more when we get back to the farm" Owen said, snapping Luke out of his reverie. "You can stay here for a while longer but we need those vaporators running properly before sundown."
"Ok. I'll be back in an hour then." Luke said perking up.
Owen turned to leave. "Remember, before sundown. And I mean both suns!"
Luke smiled, waving his uncle goodbye. He turned and made his way back to Tosche Station, only to find that Biggs had gone. With a sigh, he made his way inside to see if Fixer was still around. Sure enough he was, though he was deep in conversation with a man Luke had never seen before. He hadn't been there before Uncle Owen had turned up that's for sure. From what he overheard he was looking to buy a land speeder, and something about looking for any work that needed done around town. Deciding that it wasn't any of his business, Luke turned around with a shrug, exiting back into the scorching heat of a Tatooine Midday. Finding some shade by the side of the main hanger, he leaned against the wall and let out an explosive sigh. His conversation with Uncle Owen had gotten him thinking about his future again. What was the best way off of this world? The only thing he could think of was to join the Imperial Academy, maybe becoming a fighter pilot. He was still only seventeen though, and he wouldn't qualify for training for about another nine months.
"Rough day huh?"
He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of her voice, both kind and dangerous at once. Turning, he found her deeper in the shadow of the hanger, a light cloak draped around her.
"No actually." Luke replied, his voice wavering from his surprise. He studied her more closely, catching sight of her piercing blue eyes and dark skin under the cloaks hood.
Shrugging, the mystery girl pushed herself off the wall. "Lucky you." She said moving towards him. "You live around here?"
"Just a bit outside town, why do you ask?"
"My friend inside asked me to see if anyone needed any work done. You wouldn't know anyone who needs help would you?"
Luke made a show of looking around, his eyebrows raised. "Bit of a strange place to be looking for work don't you think?"
The woman smirked. "There wasn't anyone around. No point in drying out in the sun like a prune is there?"
Luke returned her gesture, holding out his hand. "I'm Luke by the way. Luke Skywalker."
"I'm Korra." she smiled, returning his handshake. "So, do you know anyone who's hiring?"
Luke leaned his head back, trying to recall if anyone he knew had advertised. "I think they're looking for people at the cantina. Other than that the only work around here is on moisture farms. Actually, my uncle might be looking for a few new hands to help out."
"Well, let me know if that's the case. We kind of need the money."
"Hope there's not a whole group of you looking." Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We don't really have much money to pay more than a couple of people."
"That's fine. The others can find work somewhere else." She replied, moving out of the shadows towards the main building. Luke followed her.
"You're not from around here are you?" he asked.
"No we actually just got here." Korra replied. "How could you tell?"
"Anchorhead isn't a big place. You kind of know everyone who's local after living here a while." Luke said, his smirk returning. "So where are you from?"
At that Korra's good cheer faltered, the events of the last few days rushing back into her mind.
"I, um…." she began. Luke noticed her discomfort immediately.
"I'm sorry." He said. "You don't have to say if it makes you uncomfortable."
Korra smiled. There was something about this guy that put her at ease, as if he exuded an aura of hope. She had never felt anything like it before, yet it was very familiar. Almost like how she felt when Tenzin had shown up back on Kurlik. Familiar, yet different. It was as if his aura was incredibly more powerful than Tenzin's, as if his destiny was already written in the stars.
"Let's just say I'm from off world and leave it at that." She finally said.
Korra nearly burst out laughing at Luke's face, at that point the picture of confusion.
"Why would you come to Tatooine?" he asked. "There's literally nothing here."
"That's exactly why we came here."
Finally making it inside the building, Korra was about to introduce Tenzin to her new friend, but stopped herself when she had taken in her surroundings.
Tenzin had gone.
Puzzled, Korra looked to and from, trying to find her master. Luke noticed her confusion and tried to help, but she was a woman possessed.
"Where the hell is he?"
Luke spotted Fixer working on his landspeeder, swapping out a worn out power cell for a new one. He had to know where Korras' friend had taken off to.
"Hey Fixer!" Luke called. "Was there a man here earlier?"
Fixer looked up, his work goggles making him look like an inquisitive insect. "You mean the bald guy in the cloak?"
Korra pushed past Luke, determined to get to the bottom of their little mystery.
"Did you see where he went?" she demanded. Luke could see the desperation on her face.
Fixer backed up a little, slightly taken aback. "Um, Yeah. He took off on his bike, went right for the Jundland Wastes."
At that Luke blanched. "What? Why would he go there alone?"
Fixer shrugged. "Probably doesn't know what's waiting for him there. I tried to warn him, but he took off before I could say anything."
Korra looked between the two men. "What's so dangerous about this place?"
Luke turned to face her. "It's where the Sand People live, this worlds natives. Trust me, your friend's in a lot of trouble."
"Tenzin will be fine. He can handle himself." Korra said. "I just want to know why he would leave like that."