Author's Note: Hello there, first of all I want to give my outmost gratitude to all who have read this story, and to those who reviewed it as well. This had been a passion project of mine for a while but it's thank to your wonderful reception that I've harnessed the true motivation to see it through. I aim to have a consistent posting schedule of at least a chapter every 2 weeks or so, however life may sometimes get crazy so apologies if sometimes I'm not as consistent as I want to be. I hope the next batch of chapters will be to your liking and I can't express enough just how grateful I am for your readership and to this, I give you Chapter 4. Enjoy.
Escape from Jakku, after having acquired all necessary components and only narrowly escaping their arid prison, Kyle Katarn and Polina find themselves in route to find the JEDI ORDER and whatever remains of the NEW REPUBLIC. However, despite Katarn's best efforts, he may find this to be a much more difficult task than he assumes...
The tranquil skies painted a serene and peaceful dusk over the landscape. A gentle pinkish fog draped the marshes that stretched towards the mountains leading to the ancient city. The waning sunlight created a unique twilight, a phenomenon distinct to this place. The Bright Jewel, a bluish sphere, was nestled among the mountain ranges of Ord Mantell, emitting a soft aura as it retreated into the peaks. This breathtaking panorama was Old Goat Senth's everyday vista. He was a relic from bygone times who had found solace in this secluded corner of the universe. His fur, longer than customary for his Gotal species, defied the local climate's tendency to shed. Despite Ord Mantell's temperate and occasionally humid weather, grooming seemed unimportant to him.
Senth reclined on his hover chair by his modest shack's porch. With a tabac pipe in hand, he ignited the auto-lighter and inhaled the grey smoke that billowed across his foyer. The pungent scent signified true freedom for him, a liberation from the turmoil and vastness of the galaxy. From his perch, he relished the view—something rare in his life. Amidst the galaxy's endless cycle of calamities and cataclysms, this haven provided unwavering peace. The serenity embraced him, offering a sanctuary where his desires dictated reality. Here, tranquility was more than an illusion; it was his cherished reality.
As the Bright Jewel dimmed on the horizon, a glimmer caught Senth's attention in the darkening sky. Not just another star; this was different. The brightness grew, compelling him to grip his horns tightly, attempting to fend off the excruciating discomfort caused by hyperspace energy waves. Gotals, like Senth, had the rare ability to sense these waves, especially when a ship emerged from hyperspace. The incoming vessel—crash or wreck—was on a collision course with his homestead.
With widened eyes and a racing heart, Senth watched the impending threat. His peace shattered in an instant, and he grappled with pain radiating through his body and closed his eyes deeply. Then, as swiftly as it began, the pain ebbed, and Senth opened his eyes. Smoke now emanated from a crash site, only a short distance away. Resolute, Senth knew that whatever had intruded upon his sanctuary required immediate attention. He grabbed his scatter-blaster from the porch, activated it, and prepared for confrontation.
Amidst his furious gait, Old Goat Senth had no inkling of what was truly unfolding within the crash site.
Kyle and Polina's escape from Jakku had been a daring triumph. Fleeing aboard a relic from the past, they had soared to salvation. Yet, their fortune seemed to have ended abruptly as their current vehicle spiraled out of control, systems failing and hyperdrive overheating. Kyle wrestled with the controls, struggling to regain stability. The disarray mirrored their chaotic escape from Jakku. The vessel hurtled through the atmosphere, the Jedi master's sole focus: finding a safe landing spot.
Polina clung to her seat's rails, her fear palpable. Trust in the Force seemed distant as they plummeted toward the planet's surface. The Jedi master's determination was unwavering meanwhile, his attention fixed on a flat, open field ahead.
"Alright kid, hang on tight, this'll be a forceful landing!" Kyle's voice echoed in the cockpit, a warning about the impending forceful landing.
"I think by that you mean we're gonna crash!" Polina shot back as she held on to dear life once more, so much for trusting the force.
"Just hang on tight!" Kyle yelled out as the ship kept descending, down and down it went as Kyle kept a grip on the controls to the very last second. And then, impact.
The U-Wing crashed right through the tall greenery of the marshes of Ord Mantell's glades, piercing through the surface of the water and into the deep muddy terrain within, leaving a long trail of mud and debris behind it. Pieces of the ship flew in all directions as the S-foils had completely fallen out, scattered across the wetlands. Though the crash had been ugly, both passengers had found themselves virtually unscathed, Kyle could breathe a sigh of relief as it seemed that years of missions, and being aboard other ships hadn't failed to give him so much experience in how to properly crash land one, if that was something to learn.
"You call that flying?" Polina suddenly uttered as she once more found herself holding onto anything next to her, her grip stronger than that of an angry wookie, though perhaps it only felt as such to her.
Kyle scoffed, "Kid, once you've stolen Death Star plans, battled Sith cultists, and fought intergalactic raiders, then we'll talk flying. Now, let's move."
With urgency, Kyle unbuckled his belt standing tall amidst the wrecked up cockpit of the now unusable U-Wing. He immediately started gathering supplies from the wreckage – blaster charge packs, power cells, and more, storing them within a dusty back.
Polina for her part seemed to be in a daze as she dropped out from her seat and could barely stand still, feeling like her legs would fall off any moment. She had never experienced something like that before, the numbness of most of her body and her head twirling and spinning, at least that's how she felt. She couldn't even understand what Kyle had just said to her.
Kyle meanwhile continued to take everything that could be of use, a few portion packets from back in Jakku, nimate batteries, some unused glon embedder and even some electro-plasma scissors, he had not seen that in years. It seemed that was all he could take as he noticed smoke billowing from the ship, he knew time was limited. "Polina, we need to go," he urged. Yet, his haste was interrupted as Polina collapsed.
Kyle immediately rushed to her aid, kneeling down to her he shook her desperately, her eyes were twitching uncontrollably and her skin began to look increasingly pale.
"Come on kid, don't go out on me…" Kyle said as he kept trying to wake up to not avail. Finally the Jedi set on his backpack and hoisted her onto his shoulders, the fumes from the burning engines and mechanism began to invade the cabin further as it became a toxic death trap.
"Alright, time to get out of here on the double!" Kyle murmured as he covered the girl's mouth and nose with a rag, he himself lifted his shirt to cover his mouth. The Jedi once more made haste as he approached the side door, pressing onto the control switch on the side the door began to slowly open up, but it soon stopped not even a quarter of the way open.
"I got no time for this!" Kyle said in anger as he then held Polina against his shoulders with one arm and pulled out his lightsaber with the other, igniting the blue blade he easily cut right through the enclosed metallic door and with one single kick brought it down onto the waters of the marshes.
Finally the Jedi and the girl exited through the tight fit, Kyle holding Polina closely to his chest as the two made it out of the wrecked U-Wing and into the knee high waters of the marshes. Tall green bushes obscured Kyle's immediate sight but he was not concerned with that as he kept Polina onto his arms and began to make his way hurriedly away from the wreck.
As he carried her, Polina murmured incomprehensible words. Kyle strained to listen, but her muttering remained cryptic.
"Sa… Sa…" Polina's words were barely comprehensible to Kyle, he continued to make space between the ship and himself as well as the girl but he couldn't hold but look puzzledly at her.
A sense of urgency gripped him, and he knelt beside her, his hand on her forehead. Closing his eyes, he focused on the Force, attempting to understand her ailment. The darkness he encountered was unlike anything he'd seen before.
"Salvation… Salvation is within… Within it, within it… they locked away salvation… locked us away…once free... will live forever" Polina continued to stutter much to Kyle's bewilderment.
"Hey, hey kid… Polina!?" Kyle kept trying to wake her up, his confusion had turned once more into worry. He had promised to get her off Jakku, that much he had achieved, but for her to quite possibly die in his arms, that's something he would not allow. Kyle had to take a deep breath, remember the teachings of Luke to see within oneself during times of trouble, that had worked back in the desert and he had to do it once more. To trust in the force.
"Breathe, feel the energy…" Kyle reminded himself as he continued to attempt to see within Polina's living force. He continued to see darkness, darkness that was unnatural for such a young age and he also saw suffering, suffering indicative of years of repression and isolation. Within the struggle with the darkness Kyle could see glimmers of light, happiness and joy, but also melancholy and loneliness. All of these were natural within every being of the galaxy but Polina had experienced little of the light, and he couldn't help but feel for her more than before.
Suddenly, a set of horrifying eyes appeared within his own mind, causing Kyle to recoil in fear as he fell back onto the waters of the marshes, still holding onto the unconscious Polina. He opened his eyes, and before he could delve further into Polina's condition, the sound of a blaster aimed at him interrupted his concentration.
The Jedi looked up above and saw the concerning sight of an armed Gotal standing atop a hover-raft and with what seemed to be a short barrelled blaster, a scattergun type by the looks of it. Kyle remained still, looking straight at the assailant and not making any sudden moves.
"You betteeer have a good reason to have crashed that dang fossil onto my marshes boy," the Gotal asked with an accusatory coarse tone, his eyes covered by a pair of darkened visors but he had a mean face and Kyle could tell he was in no mood for coyness, and he himself had not time to waste.
"W-we went off course,the hyperdrive overloaded and we exited out here… I have no idea wher-"
"You're in Ord Mantell boy, but this hereee is my farm and you're ruining the seeds of my labor, add insult to injury that you drove all the dang krill away…" The Gotal, clearly of an older age and continuing with the rolling of the e's cut off the clearly distraught Kyle.
Kyle gulped as he tried to think of the right approach, he had an unconscious Polina on his arms and an angry alien pointing a blaster at him, this was not the best situation to be in, "Mister, I swear to you, I'll make it up to you… You can salvage anything from our ship, all I ne-"
"You mean that heap of junk?" The Gotal once more interrupted, "and the name is Senth boy, Old Goat Senth to you…"
"Right, my apologies mi-, Old Goat Senth…" Kyle said with a calm yet shaky voice, "There's still some valuables inside, all you hav-" Kyle abruptly flinched as the U-Wing only some meters away from them began to be engulfed in flames much to his dismay, he looked back at Old Goat Senth and he knew this could go only two ways for all it seemed.
"Well boy, it seems there won't be much to salvage hereee after all," Old Goat Senth said sarcastically, still aiming his weapon at the intruder. He had never been keen to strangers, much less those that disrupted his simple yet calm life. He had the drop on the stranger, he could fill him with a good array of bolts now and put an end to this mischief, but as he made his considerations he noticed something about the man, how he now held the little girl in his arms in direction away from the scattergun's range.
"If you're gonna kill me, at least spare the kid…" Kyle said as he continued to cover Polina with his own body.
Old Goat Senth's scowl then turned into a more calm yet still stern expression. He realized this man and his child were lost and confused, and whoever this man was he was not one to try to put his life above her's. That meant something to the Old Goat, even if he wanted to pretend otherwise.
Kyle continued to keep Polina tightly to his chest with one hand, while with the other he had begun to slowly move it towards his holstered pistol which the Gotal had not noticed, his left arm slowly creeping towards it across Polina's back. The Jedi knew he would have to be fast, and not miss, he didn't want to kill the old man but he would do so if he gave him no other choice and he knew these few precious seconds would determine that. It was then that he heard the next set of words from the Old Goat Senth.
"Climb up," followed by the sound of a folding ladder dropping onto the water.
Kyle turned around, eyes widened as he kept carrying Polina, the U-Wing at his side continued to go up in flames as he looked up to the Old Goat Senth with what were clearly eyes of gratitude.
"Well come on then boy, I ain't got all day…" Old Goat Senth was in no mode for dramatics as he lowered the scattergun, however he still had it ready to blast the stranger if he tried anything.
"Thank you… Thank you…" Kyle said as he moved over towards the ladder and with one hand he held onto it and began to climb up, holding the now fully unconscious Polina over his shoulder.
Guided by Senth's gesture, Kyle carried the unconscious Polina onto the hover-raft, where a worn but functional protocol droid operated the controls, its chassis a discolored blue. Kyle set the girl over a mound of what seemed to be nets, he did so lightly and with care, she was still breathing but she was looking paler by the minute.
"It's gon take weeeks to get this cleared up, krill season is about to end," As the farmer expressed his displeasure at the loss of his marshland and livelihood, an unexpected detail caught his attention – a lightsaber hanging from Kyle's belt. Old Goat Senth's hostility surged once more.
"Lightsaber!" Old Goat Senth said with a heightened voice as he once more aimed his weapon at Kyle, the Gotal knew being trusty was a mistake now. Kyle for his part rose up from where Polina was and turned around, now looking at the newly murderous Gotal straight in the eyes, no longer with a wailing and desperate expression but an apathetic look as he lowered his brow at the farmer.
"Be thankful at least your little girl won't have your blood all over her, I'll tell her you died in the crash" Old Goat Senth said as he readied himself and was just about to squeeze the trigger, then as if in the blink of an eye he saw his scattergun fly right out of his hands and drift away from his grip and towards the stranger who casually reached up and now he held the scattergun at the defenseless Old Goat Senth.
"Now, you were talking about me dying in some crash, right?" Kyle said coldly.
The two locked eyes, each assessing the other's intentions. It would seem that one man was not getting out of this raft alive, at least that's how it seemed to be heading for Old Goat Senth as he remained steadfast and surprisingly stern, his eyes continued to stare at the Jedi coldly as the only regret that the Gotal could feel at that moment was not having fully enjoyed his evening tabac. Finally as he let out a breath and slowly closed his eyes, Old Goat Senth readied himself for what was to come.
And yet as what he thought would be his last seconds turned into what seemed like an eternal limbo, nothing came. Senth had expected to have his chest pumped full of blaster bolts, and yet he remained breathing.
As Old Goat Senth opened up his eyes the sight beholding him was that of his scatter-blaster, levitating softly in front of him with the barrel not pointing at him but upwards away from both him and the stranger. Senth felt a strange sensation of relief and confusion as he looked at the stranger with uncertain eyes .
"Is this some kind of twisted Jedi trick, just get it done with and kill me already," Senth said, skeptic as always.
Kyle remained unfazed, chin up and his cold stare had turned into a more understanding glare.
"I'm not a murderer," Kyle answered plainly, "all I need is a place to stay for the night, she's sick…"
In the midst of this standoff, the memory of Polina's vulnerability rekindled Senth's empathy as he looked over to the girl who had remained on the mound of nets, her appearance disheveled and sickly. The farmer's scowl transformed into contemplation, recognizing the complex interplay of intentions and the fragile thread connecting their fates. He still felt a certain nervousness about the Jedi, or at least the man who he thought was a Jedi, but despite his own intentions to him only moments ago the man had spared him and was even handing him back his weapon. He realized the man truly was endeared to the girl, something he knew of as well despite his otherwise grim and uncaring disposition.
Acknowledging that the girl's safety trumped all else, Senth took a hold of the floating scatter-gun by its forearm, slowly. A shared understanding began to form, transcending the initial hostility as the Gotal nodded to the Jedi who then let go of the weapon's through the force.
"A-D10, get us back home," Old Goat Senth spoke up as he held the blaster down, him and the stranger still looking at each other directly, the protocol droid behind the controls of the quickly obeyed.
"Certainly master Senth," the protocol droid replied as the hover-raft moved through the marshes, Kyle and Old Goat Senth found themselves in an uncertain alliance, their fates intertwined by the wellbeing of the sickly scavenger girl named Polina.