An old slug, a young slug

by riayi

On his 12th birthday, Beldorion awakes from a troubled sleep. He recalls fragmented scenes of a human striking a burning slash under a muscular Hutt, the lightsaber spilling his organs. He died, he thinks, confused, before his eyes shut again, and he begins forgetting. Beldorion dies, but hundreds of cycles earlier, young Bel begins dreaming of the future.

15. Chapter Yminus1

Chapter Y-1: Disaster strikes, opportunity calls

By the year 768 after the Ruusan reformation, Jedi Master Yoda had become well acquainted with Master Beldorion, having collaborated on a number of missions. The long years together in the Order meant they had outlived most other Jedi, and Yoda didn't think of Beldorion as that prophetic Hutt youngling anymore, as the Visions had seemed to dwindle in frequency and then disappear altogether. That was why he didn't think it strange that there was no clear warning from his fellow Jedi before the Great Disaster struck, causing chaos across the Galaxy. As the Order's most senior Masters, it was also expected they'd be sent to assist in the recovery, as well as investigating the incident itself.

In short order, Beldorion reported that it had all been started by the Legacy Run's destruction, an event which could be traced to a secret group of conspirators, the rogue group was also a familiar foe, descended from the Path of the Open Hand, a defunct anti-Jedi group. Not so defunct after all, Yoda considered, this was a powerful gesture after all if they meant to become prominent in the Galaxy again. And at the cheap cost of thousands of innocent lives, he grumbled, 150 years are nothing, forever they should have gone. Their method, this time, shied away from the use of the Nameless and took advantage of the properties of hyperspace itself, causing untold, unpredictable destruction.

Though the rescue at the Hetzal system had been succesful, to a point, what had come to be called "Emergences" remained a looming threat, and the Chancellor had declared a moratorium on travel in nearby systems. A death toll in the hundreds of thousands was small considering those that had been at risk, but it was heart-wrenching considering it was no natural disaster, but a malicious attack, intended to harm the Galaxy and the Jedi themselves. It was a sobering reminder that the most evil acts could be independent of the Dark Side of the Force, and had no need of the Sith to become deadly.

After weeks of investigation, Beldorion's efforts had allowed them to find and capture the culprits before they could escape to wreak havoc with another demonstration, their plans to destroy Starlight Beacon (which hadn't even been inaugurated yet) foiled with no victims. Just like in Jedha, stopped before their poison allowed to spread was. Could it be, Yoda wondered, that the Visions were not gone but kept to the Seer instead? Little difference, it makes, as long as the Force it serves. And there had been no indication that they, and Beldorion himself, didn't serve the Force, the Order flourishing in the last decades.

Meanwhile, his colleague's studious nature had seen him captured by the possibilities of the "Path engines" the Nihil employed, though Yoda saw little point in an alternative to traditional engines. Much like the power of Space Fold, it was a niche trick, unnecessary when technology allowed non-Force sensitives to achieve the same feats with relatively little training. But then again, Beldorion was like that, Yoda mused, always fascinated by the most random happenings around him. Beldorion, of course, thought different, and embraced obscure techniques and technologies, claiming change and growth were the future, with an almost un-Jedi passion. It was just one of his foibles, like claiming the Sith were in hiding somewhere, planning to overthrow the Order. It was fortunate, then, that his scholarly pursuits provided an outlet for his runaway imagination. And a mean sparring partner, he makes as well.

Hopefully, Master Fay would drop by in the next few decades, and they could all have a reunion to complain about the young ones. Shame that the healer project had been dropped, few Jedi interested when Bacta tanks were almost as effective and less Jedi-intensive. Yoda himself had learned the basics, and was always up to healing a scrape after lightsaber sessions, but it seemed like some paths were just unpopular choices for Padawans to pursue.

Oblivious to Yoda's plan, back in the Hetzal system, Beldorion was hard at work studying a Path engine. The device disassembled in a table before him, he worked silently, comparing it to the hologram of a standard hyperspace engine. The path engine really was an incredible creation, bypassing the need for a known hyper lane completely, limited only by the need for an space sensitive to provide the Paths. That was, of course, Beldorion mused, more of an advantage than a limitation in this case. It would be relatively easy to train new adepts into Path finding, and with their help and that of the Forge, space would change forever.

So I'll become an unknown villain, he mused, or perhaps an anti-hero. He smiled grimly. But I should let Yoda know at the very least, in the end. I'm sure he'll love the idea. His smile faded. It must be done, even if none else will understand it, even if none will know about it. It was ultimately meaningless if the Jedi knew, but it was somewhat of a relief to know they wouldn't hate him. Even if he didn't believe to deserve their hate, it was better not to be the object of it. Alone in the darkness, he continued his study. It would soon be time to contact the Banites... they had their part to play as well.

Author's note:

A snippet of a prelude to chapter Y. It was a plan long in coming, Yoda, and you were never very good at catching those.