Chapter 13: The Big Sleep
It was a relief to arrive at their destination. While the speeder bike ride started out fun, Xev had a renewed appreciation for the relative comfort of riding inside a Lexx moth. She was left feeling chilled after an hour of nearly constant fifty kilometer per hour wind. This was in addition to the occasional stinging smack of an unlucky bug colliding with bare skin during the ride, the footrests digging into the soles of her feet, and her fingers stiff and cramped from gripping the fake ion generator.
Yoda brought the speeder to a stop. "We are here," he said, and leaped off the speeder, leaving Xev bouncing slightly. "Come, come." Yoda called, motioning to a dome-like circular structure that seemed to grow out of the base of a very large tree. Surrounding the structure were half-filled pools that, during the rainy season, were filled nearly to the brim with water. Without waiting, Yoda turned and walked slowly towards the entrance, crossing what looked like a land bridge between the pools.
Xev took her feet off the bars and slowly stood up, stretched stiff muscles and flexed her fingers to get the blood circulating again. She carefully swung a leg over the speeder and looked around. They were in deep woods, gigantic, old, moss-covered trees towering all around. She could hear the cries and calls of creatures in every direction, and yet, somehow, it didn't sound as hospitable to her ears as did the inhabitants back at the clearing. There was something, some edge about this place that caused Xev to experience a shudder that had nothing to do with feeling cold from the speeder ride.
With a shake of her head, Xev quickly followed after Yoda. The circular doorway was so low Xev had to crawl in on hands and knees. She immediately felt better as she looked around and smiled. Everything was scaled to Yoda's diminutive size, giving Xev the feeling of crawling into a playhouse. The domed ceiling was too low for her to stand up, but at least there was enough height for her to walk bent over instead of crawling. She sat down close enough to the stove to feel its heat, where Yoda stood.
"Dagobah tea?" Yoda asked as he measured herbs into a pot and added boiling water.
"Yes please," Xev replied quickly while looking around. Yoda's home had a familiar, organic look, as if it had been grown instead of built – and perhaps it had been grown. The interior reminded her of the Lexx.
Yoda poured the mixture into two small mugs and handled one to Xev. "Something is bothering you, yes?" Yoda asked as he watched Xev.
Xev blew on the drink and took a hesitant sip. It tasted of ginger, lemon and a hint of something else. "This is good," Xev said as she sipped some more, and hesitated. "There's something about this place – not your home – your home is nice, but the surrounding woods. It somehow doesn't feel as pleasant… or friendly might be the word, as the clearing did."
Yoda's eyes widened and his ears perked up. "Oh," he said, pleased. "Noticed that did you? Good." Yoda waived his arm, encompassing the area around them. "Imprinted with the dark side of the Force, this part of Dagobah is. You feel it even without training."
"The Force has a dark side?" said Xev, dismayed. That idea had not occurred to her.
"Some debate this. No light or dark side to the Force, they claim," Yoda explained. "That which we call 'light' or 'dark,' a reflection of the person who uses the Force, it is." He paused has he took a sip of tea. "This I do not believe. Hundreds of years ago, a Dark Jedi fought and died not far from here. If just a reflection of the person the Force is, then long dissipated the dark influence should be. No. More to the Force there is than mere reflection."
"Does that mean this is a bad place to live?" Xev asked as she looked out a round window.
"No," Yoda replied. "Neither good nor evil, nature is. An echo of the past is what you feel."
"But still," Xev persisted. "You could live anywhere you want on Dagobah. Why live here when there are nicer places?"
Yoda sighed as he finished his tea. "So many questions. Too tired I am to continue. Must rest, yes. A busy day it has been."
"Oh, of course," responded Xev as Yoda walked to his bed. He climbed in, pulled up the covers, and to Xev's surprise, was asleep in seconds. With nothing better to do, Xev carefully got to her feet and explored around Yoda's house. She found an alcove with bedding large enough for her to sleep on. Apparently, Yoda was prepared for the occasional human-sized guest. Glad to be able to stretch out, Xev was soon asleep herself.
The beeping of Xev's comm unit woke her up the next morning. She hurriedly switched it off to stop the beeping and crawled out the door. Once outside she straightened up and turned the comm unit back on, only to have it beep once again before she could call the Lexx. "What?" she yelled at the unit, feeling irritated.
"Hey Xev. Are you awake?" came Stanley's cheerful voice.
Xev suppressed an impulse to throw the comm unit as far away as possible. "Well duh! What do you want?"
"Oh! Sorry. I just wanted to let you know as soon as I heard that it's going to be about five days before the first replacement moth will be ready. Kai plans to breed parts for a good ten or twelve moths so we'll have plenty on hand."
Xev thought about it. "Okay, that's fine, as long as they're not all bunched together like before, just waiting to be destroyed."
"Way ahead of you. Kai's idea is to leave a couple of fully assembled moths plus parts for four more stored in the moth breeding chamber, and split the rest between the main landing pad and bridge landing pad."
"All right then, thanks for the news. See you in five days." Xev broke the connection and stretched, looking around her. There was still that strange sense of foreboding, but at least she knew the cause now. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn't eaten since yesterday, wiping away any concerns about the dark side of the Force. Perhaps I can find something fresh for us to eat, she thought to herself.
Less than an hour later, Xev crawled back through doorway, a double handful of leafy greens and tubers clutched in her hands. Yoda, she was surprised to find, was still asleep, so she busied herself investigating the kitchen area. She soon had a vegetable soup cooking on the cooktop. Xev was sure the aroma of cooking food would stir Yoda awake, but it didn't. She quietly checked on him. He was breathing steadily and even seemed to be dreaming, so Xev left him alone. She finished off a bowl of soup and went back outside, determined to continue familiarizing herself with this part of Dagobah.
She scouted the area, slowly spiraling out from Yoda's home. After an hour she came across a large pond around the same size as Stanley's Big Bad Pond. She wanted to swim, but was the pond safe? Yoda wasn't around to ask. Xev closed her eyes and imagined swimming. She didn't like the feeling it gave her. She snapped her eyes back open, and there in the water she could make out something big just below the surface. It slowly sank down out of sight without causing a ripple. She mentally crossed this pond off – at least for swimming – and gave it wide berth as she continued her exploration.
By late afternoon, as a few slanted rays of sunlight flickered through the trees, Xev made her final return trip to the house, this time bringing back two fish to add to her growing harvest. The plants collected earlier had been added to the growing pot of soup, along with a few dried herbs Xev thought might add to the flavor. After preparing and pan-frying the fish, she once again checked on her host.
"Yoda? Would you like something to eat?" she tried. Yoda stirred and rolled over. "You've been sleeping all day…."
Yoda opened his eyes, and seemed to have trouble focusing on Xev. "Must rest for now… yes," he groggily replied, and closed his eyes again. Not knowing what else to do, Xev left him alone and ate her meal. That evening she lay awake in bed, but eventually fell asleep to the patter of rain which began sometime in the night. Listening to the rain was much more enjoyable when one had a warm, dry, comfortable shelter.
It was still raining steadily in the morning. Once again Xev tried to wake up Yoda, this time with a bit more success. He sat up in bed and ate about half a bowl of soup before insisting he was quiet full and needed to rest. Now Xev was really starting to worry. She took her comm unit and went outside in the rain to avoid disturbing Yoda.
"Hey Xev! What's up?" came Stanley's voice. He seemed his usual self.
"Xev my precious love bunny!" exclaimed 790. "It's been too long!"
"Hey listen guys!" Xev interjected quickly, hoping to forestall any chitchat. "I'm worried about Yoda. He doesn't seem to be himself. All he's done since we arrived at his place is sleep."
"Who cares about a talking frog?" 790 jumped in. "We know nothing about him! I'm concerned about you my sweet!"
"790 that's enough!" shouted Xev. "I don't want to hear any more out of you!"
"As obnoxious as 790 is," said Stanley, "he actually does have a point. We don't really know anything about Yoda's species. For all we know, this could be ordinary behavior for him and you shouldn't be trying to wake him up."
"Maybe," Xev replied slowly, "but I don't think so. What we need to do is to find someone who knows Yoda, and I think I know who. Is Kai there?"
"I am here," came Kai's familiar voice.
Xev took in a deep breath. Her friends weren't going to like what she had to say. "There's something Yoda told me in confidence about how to contact the rebels. Since I'm stuck down here, I'll tell Kai, but only Kai. Stanley and 790? I'm asking both of you to leave the bridge out of earshot. Kai? Please make sure they do."
"That's not fair!" exclaimed 790, sounding hurt.
"What's with the cloak and dagger stuff Xev?" protested Stanley.
"Look," said Xev, exasperated. "I don't really know how important it is to keep this secret, but Yoda clearly thought so."
"But honeybun!" 790 said. "I'm not weak like Tweedle! You can tell me! I can keep a secret!"
"No you can't," replied Xev. "Kai? Let me know when we are free to speak."
Stanley walked onto the bridge of the Lexx, carrying 790 under his arm. "Well, what now?" he said to Kai as he put 790 down on its rolling platform.
"Xev would like us to depart without delay for a planet called Alderaan," Kai said in a calm voice. "790, do you have the coordinates?"
"Of course I do!" 790 snorted indignantly. "But why should I tell you?"
"Excuse me?" said a startled Stanley, who looked suspiciously at 790.
"I think it's obvious Xev is under the thrall of that frog!" said an angry 790. "I say we stay here until a moth is ready, then fly down and take Xev away with us! My Xev shouldn't be left alone with that frog a moment longer than necessary."
Stanley sputtered, trying to keep his anger under control. "Of all the petty, self-centered…. You're jealous, aren't you? You're jealous of Yoda!"
"No I'm not!" shot back 790, glaring at Stanley.
"790," intoned Kai. "I do not believe Xev is in any danger, or I too would recommend staying. If you truly love Xev, you will do as she asks." Stanley had been about to add a comment, but instead quietly stepped up onto the pilot station, waiting to see what the temperamental robot head would say.
"Oh all right," 790 finally grumbled.
Stanley quickly passed his hand through the glowing holoprint. "Lexx, it's time to go. Set course for Alderaan. 790 will give you the coordinates."
"As you command, Stan," replied the Lexx. A minute later, the Lexx broke orbit and began to accelerate towards the galactic core.