Chapter13
Freak out and revelations
Hina slammed the door shut behind her as she ushered the other three into her room. She stormed over to her footlocker and threw the contents out before revealing the false bottom and pulling her medical kit and scanner out, in her single minded state she completely ignored the other three original occupants of the room. She pointed to her bed
"Jaune, Pyrrha, Velvet. Sit!" She ordered
She tapped her foot impatiently till the three sat down, she approached Jaune first and placed the collector against his neck. There was a small hiss as it collected a sample. Hina pulled her comlink to her using the force and opened it
"TD25 come in." She snapped into it
"State the nature of your emergency." The metallic voice returned
"I am sending you blood samples I need midichlorian counts immediately." Hina replied
"What the kriff, Hina!" Jaune exclaimed
"What are midichlorians? why are you checking Jaune's? What is that thing in your hand." Pyrrha demanded rapidly
"Why are you freaking out like this, people unlock their semblances it is nothing unusual." Velvet added
"It was not a kriffing semblance, Jaune used the Presence." Hina snapped
"What?!" Jaune exclaimed
Hina rubbed her face before using her hands to cover her face
"Jaune, When I meditated I pushed my senses into the Presence. You were lit up like never before, as were these two. And when your presences linked the intensity increased all three of you were burning like a sunflare." Hina said
"What the hell is going on?" Velvet and Pyrrha exclaimed at the same time
Hina's comlink bleeped as it received a message. She looked at it and dropped onto Katja.s bed, dropping the comlink beside her
"Your count is nearly double what it was." She said
Jaune extended his hand to the comlink and the devices flipped tail over top as it moved to him. He caught it in one hand and looked at the device in mild shock
I guess that proves it. You were never able to do that before." Yara said
Hina looked around the room and sighed deeply.
"Is anyone going to explain!?" Velvet demanded
Jaune rubbed his neck
"We will, but first there I sa lot of background information you will need. Give me two minutes to grab a few things from my room."
Jaune got up and quickly exited the room. He came back holding a glowing cube and a scrollpad. The pad looked very different to the ones that the Remnant natives were used to. Jaune locked the door before dropping the blinds and closing the curtains. Leaving the room in mild darkness. He pressed a tab on the lapscroll and an image rose into the air, something a lapscroll should not be able to do. The image looked very similar to images the three natives had seen in planetariums.
"This is the known Galaxy, what you are looking at is what is called the Core Worlds. The oldest, richest and most settled and developed in the galaxy for the most part, Heading out you have the expansions zone, the Perleminium trade routes, the Corporate and mining sections"
As he spoke the images became smaller as the map expanded. He pointed to an area that was irregularly marked lining a grey area with even fewer markers
"The irregularly marked areas is the edge and the grey area is the unexplored regions." Jaune explained
The map shrunk and expanded beyond the grey was a large swath of red and a few markers one was blinking
"This is wild space and this is the Remnant Sector."
Jaune touched the blinking marker and it expanded to show a much more familiar picture. Moving closer the natives recognised the broken moon but were shocked by the appearance of the body it circled
"Is that…Remnant?" April gasped
"It is." Katya confirmed
There was a shower of dust and not so muttered swearing before Nora dropped into the room in a cloud of dust and broken ceiling panels. She looked up sheepishly from amidst the mess she had made
"This is not what it looks like." She said
"Go on, tell us what you could possibly be doing in the ceiling above our room." Katya stated, slowly unsheathing her claws
Velvet and Pyrrha jumped up and joined Nora, Aprils scrambled around the room and joined them. All three took up an combat stance
"Katya stow it, you are not helping." Hina said
" Just what are you?" Velvet asked, her lips trembling.
Jaune manipulated the map and a nothe rplanet became visible
"They are a species called Yuki, one of several feline based species. This is the planet their species has a colony on. It is called Arkaxia."
"A colony, where is the main planet?" April asked jumping on the word
"Destroyed, our species planet of origin had been rendered inimicable to life by an ancient enemy." Katya replied
All three of themhad their earsa dntails drooping on uttering that explanation
"Is that why you are here? Looking for a planet to conquer?" Velvet asked
"Is Jaune even human as he claims?" April asked
"Are there sloths in space?" Nora got her two Lien in
Her three companions spared a moment to look at her is stupefied disbelief
"It is a fair question." She defended herself.
"Never change, Nora." Jaune chuckled
He switched the map of
"I am as human as Pyrrha and Ren, Ruby Yang and Weiss." He said
"You forgot Blake." Pyrrha pointed out
"No Blake is a feline faunus trying to hide what she is." Jaune shook his head
"The bow right?" Nora stated
"Yes, the bow, She hides her ears under that bow. She is lucky no one really takes a closer look at her, which is why she hides behind a book most of the time." Yara replied
"That is why you keep on giving her fish when you think no one is looking." April said snapping her fingers
" Okay never mind Blake , which planet are you from Jaune?" Velvet asked
" Here." Jaune replied
Jaune sat forward on the bed
"My name is truly Jaune Arc, for a long time I had gone as Jaune Noname. I was three or four when I was visiting my aunt and grandparents in the settlement of Little Rock away from Fort Freedom."
"Little Rock, it was raided by bandits and then it got swarmed by the Grim." Velvet said
"Don't know about the Grim, but it was not bandidts. It was a slaver group looking for merchandise." Jaune stated
"You were a slave to space aliens?" Nora demanded
"Prove it." Velvet challenged
Jaune pointed to the mark in his neck before standing up and taking his shirt off and turning around. His back was a lattice work of this scars with one or two thicker scars. Pyrrha gasped and bit her lip
" The slaver that took me decided to keep me as a personal prize, I woke up on cold deck being whipped awake. I can barely recall anything from those days beyond despair and pain. I can not recall my family, and knowing what I do. I can only hope they died in that attack." Jaune said softly
"Put your shirt back on." Katya said gently
Yara took up the tale.
"There are hundreds of sentient species in the known galaxy, some good some evil. Some smart, some as dumb as are advanced civililizations and some are pre industrial levels, in some cases deliberately so. Being so far from the rim it is astounding that your planet had been found at all." She said
"What is common by a large denomination of them is in something called the Force or as we Yuki call it the presence. Amongst all the beings some have learned or developed a way to interact and use it." Hina stated
Yara pointed to Jaune
"Jaune was rescued by a group of those users from slavery. They called themselves the Jedi. But once rescued they experienced a problem."
"I could tell them nothing but my name. I could not read nor write or tell them anything useful." Jaune added
"Normally that would have ended with Jaune being placed in an orphanage or into the system at one of the Agricorp worlds, However one the rescuers took Jaune in, and that was despite a lot of protest from the Jedi governing body. The thing is, Jaune had a lot of the markers that show a being as being Force sensitive, but till today he could not access the ability. The midichlorians I tested earlier is those markers." Hina continued
Katya lifted a hand to prevent any questions
"As Hina said Jaune now had a person looking after him, but something was coming. The Republic was the ruling system among the planets for thousands of years and the Jedi were closely aligned with it. However the Republic was mired and handicapped by ludicrous administrative constraints and corruption and nepotism from the highest to the lowest levels. There was a growing call by several planets mostly those away from the core for Seperation, this was echoed by several multi planet Coomercial concerns, despite those concerns being the onse who bribed the most. The conflict began with the blockade of Naboo by the Trade federation and much later the battle of Geonosis that marked the start of the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Seperatists." Katya continued
"This led to a massive civil war and ultimately the destruction of the Republic and the Jedi." Hina concluded
"So the Seperatists won." Velvet said
"No, according to the Emperor the leaders were killed resisting arrest by the last loyal Jedi and their armies shut down. You see the Seperatists used robotic forces with very few organic units in all thei campaigns. The Republic relied on hundreds of thousands of clones and the Jedi."
"Then what happened?" Pyrrha asked
"The then Chancellor Palpatine appeared in the sensate heavily injured and disfigured and claimed he survived an assassination attempt by the Jedi who wanted to seize control of the Republic, he also claimed they killed Master Skywalker, the one who took down the Seperatist command structure. Palpatine had ordered the clones to attack and destroy the Jedi. He then proclaimed himself to be the Emperor and that he was reforming the Republic into the Empire." Hina concluded
"I am sure I am missing a lot of context, but how did you survive the attacks Jaune?" Velvet asked
" Master Jacarda was already dead from natural causes before the fall. I had been among the Altarian Rangers at the time. I drifted around for a year or two before signing up with a salvage ship as crew where I met Katya and Yara. We got lucky enough on a job that I earned enough to buy a heavily damaged ship that I repaired and they joined me as crew." Jaune said
Katya looked down in shame
"We were struggling for credits when I did something stupid. I made a deal and brought illegal cargo onto the ship and delivered it for an organisation. I nearly got killed delivering it and Jaune and Yara saved me, but the underworld then had its claws into us and we could not get away. We became smugglers for the Hutts. Though Jaune insisted on three rules no spice, no narcotics and no slaves, it amused them to let us keep to the three rules."
"It all came undone on Rendill. We were forced to take on cargo for delivery to the head of The Hutt clans. The one who delivered the cargo was the slaver Jaune had been freed from." Yara stated
"Me and Yara got revenge for Jaune. We sabotaged his ship and stole his data. The bastard and his crew died sucking vacuum." Katya said savagely
Yara coughed and Jaune moved to the small fridge they kept in the room and passed her some water
"There was aproblem with the cargo and when we looked closer we realised they had given us a load of slaves for cargo. We decided that we will no longer work for them and ran for it. As we went over the slavers data we found where he got his cargo and decided to return them home and find a place to hide. As far as we could see that only he had the data as to where Remanant is, it has not shown up on any other navicomputer map and we reckoned it was the best place to lie low" Katya continued
"The biggest surprise we had was finding out, that one of the slaves is Jaune's biological sister." Yara said smiled
"Which bring us to here and now." Hina concluded
Hina rubbed her eyes
"I have a theory as to how Jaune activated his force abilities, I believe it was due to his aura being unlocked, but it does not explain why Velvet is also feeling like a force sensitive. We only found Pyrrha with Jaune in the Emerald forest."
Velvet cleared her throat and looked down
"I was there too. I was acting as guardian during the initiation. Normally it is only third and fourth years doing protection detail for the initiates but there was a shortage and some second year teams were used." Velvet said
"That explains your presence there but not your involvement." Hina stated
Velvet blushed and twisted her toe into the carpet
"I was in a tree above them when Pyrrha unlocked Jaune's aura." She said
"And?" Katya prodded
"I fell out of the tree and my Aura connected to theirs. I passed out and was helped to the evacuation zone by my team" Velvet said softly looking down
Snickering filled the room and Velvet's blush increased. Hina stopped snickering and thought for a moment
"It actually makes sense, It took two Professors to unlock my Aura, so unlocking Jaune's would explain all three passing out. But it does not explain why they are feeling like force sensitives to me."
"Because the force is about balance my dear." A new voice spoke
All the heads in the room spin towards the direction of the window. A figure was seated on the desk. She was dressed ina white tunic, knee high black boots and an open brown overrobe. Like the sisters she was feline too but clearly a different species. Her form was translucent and edged by bright blue
"Master Jacarda." Jaune exclaimed
"Hell Kitten, it is good to see you again. You have done well in my absence though I have to ask why is there no grandchildren yet? All these fertile young kittens and no litters." She replied
The room seemed to be tinted in red at that statement with the exception of one. She merely twisted her head to the side
"Are all aliens cats?" Nora broke in
"If only." The felines in the room stated
"Most of the galaxy is filled with humans." Jaune replied coughing
Yara lifted a hand
"Wait, you are a Jedi master. Why are you asking for grandchildren when Jedi are not allowed to have families." She demanded
"One of the many things I and other Jedi did not agree on with the High Council and the codes. As there had been for all the times the code was in use." Jacarda replied
Jacard motioned for silence
"I can not stay long. Pyrrha and Velvet feel like force user because they are now. By unlocking Jaune's potential they also unlocked theirs and Awakened. But as the Force gives it also takes, Pyrrha, Velvet your Semblences are no more. You still have your Aura as it is part of your soul, but semblances are not part of your souls merely a manifestation of an ability. And with the Force balance is all and semblences are not balanced."
The two paled at hearing that
"Jaune, the four of you have to train every moment you have to spare. The Emperor felt your Unbinding and the Awakening of Pyrrha and Velvet. He and his apprentice is hunting you. You are safe here for now, use the time to prepare to be able to escape their clutches when the time comes. You will find what you need on the Green Dawn and in the holocron I made for you. Pyrrha, Velvet, listen to Jaune and Hina and train as hard as them, be wary of the headmaster and do not allow yourselves or your friends to become entangled in the webs he weaves."
Hina cleared her throat
"I will help them where I can, but I do not have the power needed in the presence to do so." She said
"I would suggest checking your own levels first before making general statements like that my dear."
Jacarda started fading away and ultimately left nine young beings together in a small crowded room. Silence descended as they were left with their own thoughts. Jaune rolled the cube he brought with him over and over in his hands, Hina braced herself and placed the collector against her neck and the device hissed. She sent the data forward.
Pyrrha took several steps closer and sat down before Hina, She pulled her hair to the side exposing her neck
"Test me next." She said
"Pyrrha, you seriously can not believe this." Velvet stated
Pyrrha extended her hand to a soda can standing on the desk. Nothing happened.
"See it is a lie, Hina and Jaune must have telekinetic semblance." Velvet said
"It should have moved my Semblance is polarity. I can attract or repulse anything metallic. That is one of the reasons I was so good in the competitions. One of my earliest exercises was pulling cans towards me." Pyrrha said
Velvet moved to the door
"I am out of here." She stated
Katya tried to follow her but was stopped by Jaune
"Leave her, she will have to come to terms with this in her own time as will we all."
"Where does that leave me and the rest of your team?" April asked
She had slid down the wall and was now seated in the corner of the room. Her legs tightly held against her chest
"Wherever you want to be. We know a lot has changed in a mere hour, but we still consider you a good friend." Katya replied
"A friend you lied too." April pointed out
"We did and we are sorry for it. The fact that we thought we had no other choice does not make up for it. All we can do is hope you forgive us and tell you the as far as we can" Yara said
April leaned forward
"Why are you all so freaked out about this Emperor and his apprentice? I noticed all of you paling on hearing about him." April stated
"It comes back to the Jedi and the Force. The Jedi had an ancient enemy called the Sith. And they and the Sith have been at war for centuries, most of the time covert and at times dragging the entire galaxy into their tiffs. There is a strong belief that the Emperor is a Sith Lord. The strongest of all the Sith. And if not just for that, looking at the last war a lot of beings suspect Palpatine set it up as a smokescreen to get to his enemies and gain power. He set up the factions against one another and sparked a war in which close to a billion beings died. That alone should tell yo how ruthless he is." Hina answered
" Should he come here the wisest thing this planet can do is surrender immediately." Katya said firmly
"You do not think the Hunters will be able to defend our planet."
Yara sat down beside April
"No, they may put up a brave fight but it will be doomed. Hunters are trained to hunt Bandits and kill Grim. Not fight armies. A Single Star Destroyer can turn this planet to glass from outside of the atmosphere. As far as we can see the planet has no fighter craft and even your air units are geared for dealing with ground attacks. Battles are won and fought in the air and space, ground combat has very limited use. And in electronic warfare the battle will be lost before you even know you were under attack." Yara said bluntly
Yara pointed in the direction of where the CCT tower stood
"Remanant is dependant on four Towers for all your communications. Take out one tower and you entire network collapses and you are back to having to physically deliver messages from one point to another or using ancient radio signals that can be blocked."
"What would you do differently with the technology you have available here?"
"Multiple satellites and relay stations. You have better surface cover and should a centre be taken out the others can cover the loss." Katya answered
"You do know we are unable to reach space with what we have available?" April stated
"And that also confuses us. Why have Remnant not moved beyond a single fuel to other types. You have a strong technology base but it is dependant on a dwindling resource. Most planets actively look at other fuel sources, here it is almost as if you are deliberately kept to one source. There are others that you should be able to access with the knowledge you already have." Jaune replied
"What else do you find strange?" Pyrrha asked
"Why is most of your population concentrated in four areas, and I guess this should also include why do you not have standing armies. Your population is basically surrounded by enemies and yet you depend on the few hundreds of Hunters and poorly equipped Militias to defend your populations. Having Army regiments in proximity to your agricultural areas should enable you to produce more. Even building towns close to Army bases for protection would ease a lot of the congestion you have in the cities." Jaune pointed out
Hina's comlink chimed twice. She looked at the results
"My count has nearly doubled and Pyrrha has a count close to yours Jaune." She said
Jaune extended the cube to Pyrrha
"Just hold it and think of opening it." He suggested
The cube lit up and a form appeared above it. Pyrrha yelped and dropped the cube and the light and the form disappeared
"More proof." Hina said shrugging
Nora laid down on the bed beside Jaune and propped herself up on her arms
"So about those Sloths?" She asked
"There is a species that looks like them but you don't want to be anywhere near them." Hina replied
"Oh? Why is that?" Nora asked
"They are three metres tall and cannibalistic , that's why?" Katya replied dryly
"Any other cute critters?" Nora asked disappointed
"Well there are Ewoks." Yara said thoughtfully
"Who are tribalistic, do not speak a civilized language and if reports are true cannibals too." Jaune replied
"Loth Cats." Hina suggested
"No! Those things are not cats!" Yara exclaimed
She pouted as Jaune and Katya snickered at her. Hina looked between Yara and them
"I believe there is story there." She said
"Oh, there is a story allright." Jaune snickered
"You are not telling them that story." Yara said demandingly
Nora gathered Yara in a firm hug and held her close
"It can not be that bad." She said comfortingly
"No it is that bad." Katya grinned
Katya cleared her throat
"We flew into Lothal carrying builder droids and construction materials as the Imperial government had decided to move the government centre. Once we landed we noticed signs with a cat and a stick figure on it. On all these signs there was a red line drawn through them. The cats looked the same but looking at the signs all the stick figures were performing different actions. We could not understand it till the dockmaster explained it, sort of." Katya started
"If you can call telling us to shoot the kriffers on sight could be called explaining." Jaune added
"So we asked around some more. And the general message was they look cute but you do not let them come near you." Katya continued
Yara crossed her arms and pouted when Katya pointed at her
"Then miss clever over there decided that she knew better and she would show that she knew better. After all as a cat no cat can resist being nicer to its own and superior cat species than to humans and other lesser species."
"So there we were having decided to take a tour while we waited for clearance to take off. Halfway through the tour the landspeeders stopped and the guides point out coteries of Loth Cats. Of course they say stay in the vehicle and do not approach." Jaune took over for a moment
"While we sit watching them we notice Yara climbing from the landspeeder she was in. The guides try to stop her and with the intercoms linked between the speeders we hear every word. So after telling them they knew shit about cats miss clever prances into the field between two coteries. First they look at her as if she was crazy and then she kneels down to pet one." Katya started chuckling
Jaune started laughing as well
"First the cats do nothing and Yara turned to bow to the guides. Then all hell breaks loose. Both packs decide to maul her. Somehow they mauled her clothes off and left her naked and scratched up in the fields before they decided to settle their turf fight on top of her. We eventually got her out of there and to a doctor who asked if we were sure we wanted him to treat her instead of letting nature takes it course and take another idiot out of the gene pool." Jaune continued
"We get back to the ship and still no clearance to leave. With nothing better to do we link to the local holonet channels and get this. Pyrrha is not the only celebrity we know." Katya cried out laughing
Jaune tapped on his datapad. He motioned for April and Pyrrha to come closer
"Ladies I present to you the star of the newest public awareness campaign courtesy of Lothal wildlife services, suitably censored for younger viewers of course with all the best in sound editing and strategic blurring to not show public nudity." Jaune said
"Jaune, I know where you sleep!" Yara said struggling in Nora's grip.
Jaune switched it to hologram mode and laid the pad on the desk before pressing play.
