The envirosuit definitely took some getting used to, as Seth noticed within the first few minutes outside the Hrakrt Rift's airlock. He had to focus on taking in long, slow breaths of the suit's oxygen to fill his lungs, as short, shallow breaths would leave him lightheaded and under-oxygenated. Still, with the thick suit pressed up tightly against him, Seth had a relative amount of freedom in his movement throughout the water, and though his steps were a bit sluggish, he was able to walk along the outer catwalks of the facility with ease. His boots had solid steel bases to keep his otherwise airy suit from floating up from the ocean floor, and his already loud footfalls against the metal catwalk were amplified through the water, a slow, steady drumming beat that soon matched Seth's heartbeat as he allowed himself to reach out to the living Force and calm his unsteady nerves.
He tried hard not to think about the fact that the suit provided mere inches of protection from death by drowning. In fact he tried hard not to think of anything at all other than getting across the catwalk to the second section of the facility that he could clearly see ahead of him despite how long it was taking for him to fight the water to get to it. He couldn't run, and he could barely walk, and so Seth had to draw every bit of patience he had in order to get there.
The young Jedi wasn't used to having his speed hindered, though it reminded him of his field training with Drill Sergeant Waters back at the academy. Seth allowed himself a smile at the irony of the name of the sergeant surfacing in his memory in relation to his current situation, but his smile faded as he recalled exactly why the current situation reminded him of Waters. Although Seth had been no special case and Waters had had a tendency to treat all of his recruits like they were nothing more than the grime wiped off the bottom of his military regulation boots, the soldier-turned-Jedi still had an immense distaste for the man in his mouth, and wished dearly that the sergeant could see where Seth was now, if only to get a salute for outranking the man thanks to his newfound Jedi status.
For now though, Seth could only allow himself to recall the memory of Waters' hoarse voice shouting at Academy recruits as they slogged through thick, waist-high muck towards a pristine white flag flapping about in the light Coruscant breeze. The "shit pit," as the students of the Academy had dubbed the hundred-meter long pool of filth, had been built specifically for training recruits while in the midst of a Republic clash with the Mandalorians on the swampy surface of Hutta during the Mandalorian War. From that moment forward, all Republic recruits were expected to train for such environments, and unfortunately for those who attended the Coruscant Military Academy, that particular portion of their training was to be overseen by Drill Sergeant Waters. Seth remembered fighting as much with the thick muck as he did his own body in order to retrieve the white flag at the end of the course within a time frame satisfactory enough for Waters' tastes. That time frame was near impossible to achieve, and once Seth finally had reached it, he'd thrown the flag into the shit pit, staining the pure white material and earning himself several extra disciplinary runs through the pit afterwards.
Although he was much gladder to be in the clear blue waters of Manaan's oceans than the filthy muck of the pit back at the Academy, and relieved to be allowed to complete the task set before him within his own time and not that of the grumpy sergeant of his memory, Seth couldn't help but draw the comparison. And he found himself thinking, not for the first time, how much things had changed since his time at the Academy. There was no way he could have predicted, even with the assistance of the Force, the turn of events that were to be set in motion the moment he set foot on the Endar Spire for the first time. There was no way he could have ever imagined in the moments he spent slogging through the filth of the pit that he one day would trade his blaster for a lightsaber and embark on a quest directly affecting the fate of the galaxy. The Seth of back then had joined the military for the purpose of escaping a life of crime on the streets of Coruscant with the glorious glimmer of hope that he'd be able to make a real difference in the galaxy. He'd matured so much since then, knowing that the ability to make that difference was hardly as glorious as he'd imagined and realizing that he carried a weight of responsibility he hadn't known back then.
A flash of movement ahead of him stilled his thoughts, and Seth allowed his movement to slow a bit, counting the seconds between each careful step of his foot, making contact with the catwalk in a cautious heel-to-toe motion. 1-2-3, step, 1-2-3, step. Seth counted inwardly as he reached out with the Force, extending his senses beyond what he could see or touch. He was met with several living Force signatures ahead, and he forced himself to keep taking slow and careful breaths even as his pulse began to race.
Fear began to take a gentle grip of his heart, like icy fingers carefully and deliberately probing his soul, as he realized he had nothing to stop the advance of the oncoming firaxa.
Mission sighed uneasily as she sat on the dirty durasteel flooring of the Hrakrt station, her back propped up against a rather large crate and her legs tangled up in a crisscross position. She stared down at the Pazaak cards spread out before her, trying her best to actually stay focused on the cards despite where her distracted mind continued to wander.
She stole a glance at Canderous and Bastila across the room and wished that Zaalbar had joined the shore party for this excursion, because the silence was killing her. Big Z had never been one for long conversation or small talk, but he'd always known when to oblige the young twi'lek when she needed it. And she definitely needed it now, mostly due to the fact that she realized the thick, awkward silence that hung in the air was her fault. She'd been the cause of the massive elephant in the room that still left the ghost of a feeling upon her lips even twenty minutes after Seth's departure.
Mission drew a card from her main deck, computing the totals in her head and switching card faces as she sized up possibilities for final totals. Playing Pazaak alone had never been much fun for her, but it served to be as good of a distraction as any, and a distraction was sorely needed to pull her thoughts from what had just happened with Seth.
Deep down, Mission knew that kissing Seth had been a mistake; just as kissing him every time before then had been a mistake. Despite the fact that she was unwittingly falling for the young Jedi in the face of her most valiant attempts not to, Mission knew that the progression of their relationship was moving at much too fast a rate for either of the two teenagers to keep up with. Often, Mission couldn't tell where the line stood between 'friends' and 'more than friends' until she had made a clear bounding leap beyond that line, typically including her lips pressed up against the soft warmth of Seth's. And she knew that wasn't healthy. Mission desired, more than anything, to know Seth and be known by Seth without the complications of jealousy and hormones and feelings getting in the way. She wanted to first develop an unbreakable bond of friendship before testing the waters of a deeper, more intimate relationship, if that was even possible given the current circumstances and their likely very contrasting futures. She wanted to do things right, if not for her sake than for his.
But it felt like she'd messed up any chance at that long ago, through stolen kisses in the cargo hold and brief moments as the Ebon Hawk slipped through hyperspace, as they'd slipped into a more-than-friends relationship without putting a label on it and causing a world of confusion around the still-developing friendship between the two. And Mission didn't know how to fix it. She just knew that she desperately wanted to.
"Is that Pazaak?"
Bastila's accented voice shook Mission from her thoughts, and she glanced up to see the lady Jedi standing over her, looking quizzically at the cards scattered in front of the twi'lek, hand characteristically on hip as always. "Yeah," Mission answered slowly, both in confusion as to how Bastila couldn't automatically recognize the most played card game in the galaxy as well as why the older woman was talking to her in the first place.
Bastila shuffled her weight from one foot to another, dragging her lower lip between her teeth before hesitantly asking, "Would you mind teaching me to play? I've always meant to learn, but circumstances never –"
Mission cut her off with a silencing hand and motioned for her to sit, although still thoroughly bewildered by Bastila's sudden interest in the game, learning from Mission, and just the overall idea of Bastila associating with her in any positive manner whatsoever. What intrigued the young twi'lek further was the hesitancy in Bastila's request, and the fact that it seemed she almost wasn't going to ask. She couldn't help but wonder what the lady Jedi was afraid of.
"Okay, so," Mission paused to wipe the sweat from her palms on the fabric of her trousers as Bastila took a cross-legged seated position on the floor in front of her. Mission began to shuffle the deck before taking a second side-deck from Seth's knapsack, which he'd left in her care before stepping out into Manaan's endless ocean expanse. "You're gonna need your own side-deck whenever you play, but for now I'm sure Seth won't mind if you use his." She passed the stack of worn cards bound together with a thick rubber band across to Bastila, and proceeded to explain the rules to the lady Jedi. Bastila caught on rather quickly, and although she still had yet to beat Mission three games in, she'd managed to grasp an understanding of the game.
"Blast it," Bastila whispered to herself, allowing a very un-Jedi like flare of frustration to overcome her as she busted yet another set with a total of twenty-six.
"It's alright," Mission said, unsure of why her first thought was to encourage the woman she so often butted heads with. "That's a pretty high total, and most players don't choose to pack their side decks with minus six cards. Just bad luck with that one. Besides, we're playing Republic Senate rules, so nothing's really at stake." The twi'lek shrugged. "One more set?"
The Jedi nodded her agreement to that proposition, and Mission gathered the cards together to shuffle them once again. "So…" the younger woman said conversationally, still caught a bit off-guard by Bastila's sudden willingness to associate with her. "What made you wanna learn to play here and now, of all places and times?"
"I've always been curious," Bastila said simply, grey eyes following the movement of Mission's fingers as they shuffled the deck. "I see you and the others play it in the Ebon Hawk's main hold so often that I figured I may as well try and understand the game, even if gambling's not my strong suit."
"And why not ask Seth to teach you? Or Carth? Or Juhani? Heck, I would have even expected you to ask T3 before coming to me for help!" Mission didn't intend for the note of sass to creep into her tone of voice, but it came, and Bastila frowned upon hearing it.
"I…could have," she said slowly, as if trying to both maintain composure as well as find the perfect words to convey her point. "But I also have been reflecting a lot upon my relationships with the crew of the Ebon Hawk, something that I think has come from the strengthening of my bond with Seth. I've never allowed myself to be close to anyone, yet I've hardly had a choice with him. But in turn I've been able to experience the positive reactions of his close relationships with members of the crew, and it's intrigued me. Given that he thinks so highly of you, and your contributions to the mission so far, it's only logical that I set aside my personal, and fairly childish feelings about you to the side so that I can attempt to see what he sees in you."
Mission didn't quite know what to say to that, so she merely nodded toward the shuffled deck between them. "Um… you can go first this time."
She could have sworn she'd seen the ghost of the smile etched across the Jedi's lips as Bastila's slender fingers reached for a card.
Seth's heart raced as the sharks continued their advance toward him, long tails swishing about lazily through the water. They were taking their time. He reached out in the Force and didn't feel any bloodthirstiness – not yet, at least. The firaxa were simply curious as to what this rather large, bumbling yellow thing crashing down the catwalk was. He knew that as they drew closer, however, the deadly fish were going to realize that Seth was a tasty snack sitting wide in the open for them. Frantically, he tried to recall Zhar's teachings on the ancient Jedi beast tricks, and prayed silently that the mind of a firaxa was similar to that of a kath hound, as the animals were the only ones he'd had a chance to practice on during his stay on Dantooine.
He reached out with his senses, squeezing his eyes shut and extending an open palm toward the sharks. "Come on," he whispered quietly as he felt himself slip inside their subconscious. "I'm a friend. A very bitter-tasting one at that. Come on." Gently he poked about the firaxa's minds, and soon enough they ambled past him and onto the next interesting underwater fixture to catch their attention. Seth released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and continued his advance toward the second part of the facility. The door was much closer now, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he finally made it, punching the outer controls to open the first compartment of the airlock.
He allowed a small smile as the door sealed behind him and the water began to drain from the compartment as fresh oxygen began to fill the space instead. When the water was at his ankles, Seth reached his hands up to the seals of his helmet, a satisfying hiss noise reaching his ears as he pulled the helmet from his head. As the airlock sequence completed, Seth stepped through the second door of the compartment to come face-to-face with the faint purple glow of an energy shield. A man cowered behind the shield, crouched next to a durasteel crate, and Seth squinted to see a second person peek her head out from the other side of the crate. She stood to full height after a moment of examining Seth, and the young Jedi found himself locking eyes with a tall, dark, athletic-looking woman. "Kono!" she exclaimed, nudging the crouching man with the toe of her boot gently. "Kono, he's a human."
The trembling man took another glance at Seth, standing shakily to his feet. He cautiously approached the energy shield, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked the boy over from head to foot. "Who are you?" he asked, an attempt to come across as commanding and confident foiled by the obvious fear in his voice.
"M'name's Seth Avery, I'm with the Republic." Seth flashed a reassuring smile at Kono before looking past the man's shoulder at the woman, who was slowly inching closer to the shield now that Seth had been deemed, in her mind, a friendly face. If the man was Kono, Seth assumed that the woman with him must be Sami.
"Are you a soldier?" she asked hopefully. "You must be if you were able to survive the Selkath."
Seth shrugged. "I'm still not sure how to answer that question, honestly," he said simply, preparing to over-share despite the fact that a simple 'yes' or 'no' would have likely satisfied the woman. "I trained on Coruscant and was shipped out and given the rank of Private within the Republic fleet, but shortly after began training with the Jedi and was given the rank of Padawan, so although I'm technically still a member of the fleet, I'm not so sure if I count as a soldier anymore. Jedi ranking within the fleet is still rather rudimentary, you see, and-"
Kono lifted a hand to signal for Seth to stop, and the boy snapped his mouth shut dejectedly. "A Jedi," he said thoughtfully, exchanging a glance with his partner.
"He could help, Kono. He already got through the Selkath and made his way through the firaxa to get here! He could be the solution we've been waiting for."
"Don't be ridiculous, Sami, that thing is still out there, and I doubt even he can get close enough to deal with it! He's a kid."
Seth cleared his throat rather loudly, and two pairs of eyes snapped their attention back to the boy. "No need to talk about me as if I'm not here," he said, an obvious bit of attitude in his voice. "She's right, you know. I fought my way through Selkath and pushed through sharks to get here, so obviously my age isn't much of a hindrance. Just fill me in, I deserve to know what's going on at the very least."
Kono sighed, flaring a bit of his own attitude with a subtle roll of his eyes. "Well, the Selkath-"
This time it was Seth who cut the other man off. "I know the Selkath went mad and slaughtered just about everyone on the base, and I know you two were some of the few who escaped. So you can explain from that point onward." Kono opened his mouth to speak again, but before his lips could form words Seth piped up once more. "Could we also lower this energy shield? I'm sure you've deemed I'm no threat by now."
Kono's lips formed a thin line in his irritation, and he turned toward the console on the wall that controlled the shield. "Why don't you tell him, Sami?" he muttered as the shield's purple glow began to fade away; he was obviously done with trying to speak to the lad.
Sami allowed the ghost of a smile to grace her features. "Well, to put it simply, we've both been through a lot. To give you a bit of background, however, all this started about a week ago. Over the past few years, our scientists have been working with amenable Selkath scientists to engineer a kolto harvesting machine that would allow the Republic to bypass the strict kolto trade deals that Ahto City government has put in place. Very illegal, but also very necessary to the Republic war effort, as I'm sure you realize. This would allow us to ship greater quantities of kolto to the front lines at nearly half the cost. The Selkath working with us are those who realize that allowing the Sith to win this war would bring about a greater evil to the galaxy than the government of Manaan realizes.
"We've been making advancements on this machine and it's technology for quite some time, but only just recently began building it just on the other side of this facility. It's not fully functional yet, but still has some basic functionality. However, we hit a road block in construction after unearthing some strange alien ruins on the ocean floor."
Seth's eyebrows rose at this bit of information. "Those ruins might just be what I came to this planet for in the first place."
"Well, if you need to get to them, you may need to do something for us first," Sami said, wringing her hands nervously. "As I said, about a week ago we reached some problems with the construction of the harvester. We've pressed ourselves flush up against the Rift, and discovered a massive, ancient firaxa shark that's been living and feeding off the kolto for… Force… hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, I estimate? At first it only caused slight problems. A casualty here or there, but it quickly grew more agitated. It called out one day, with this head-splitting squeal, and all the firaxa in the area just went wild. And the Selkath…" Sami visibly shuddered at the memory. "The Selkath went mad. Their eyes went this soulless black color, and all hints of sentient, self-aware, self-conscious thought were gone. They became animals, and acted as such." Sami stole a glance at Kono. "Our team was eaten alive right before our eyes. We barely made it."
Seth considered reaching out a sympathetic hand to her shoulder, but decided against it, considering how jumpy the two had been during their initial encounter. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I know what it's like to lose comrades." A picture-perfect memory of Trask disappearing behind the blast doors on the Endar Spire flashed across Seth's closed eyelids for a moment, and he wished he hadn't opened up the avenue to that memory as the pain gripped his heart as joltingly and violently as it had that very day.
Sami allowed a sad smile. "We're lucky to be here," she said quietly. "Anyways, that giant firaxa is still out there, right in your pathway to those alien ruins. You'll have to deal with it before you can proceed. Kono and I have devised a few potential plans, but neither of us have the ability to get out there and close enough to the beast to pull it off."
Seth crossed his arms casually. "Just tell me what to do."
Fifteen minutes later, Seth was back in the envirosuit, a poison canister that he had no intent to use clutched in his hand. As he walked the short distance to the harvester's control panel, he nearly discarded the canister, but decided it would simply be safer if he got rid of it after traveling back up to Ahto City. The potential of damaging the kolto was too great a risk, and it was a risk he wouldn't have been willing to take had there been a blaster to his head. Seth knew firsthand the powerful healing capabilities of kolto, and the still-faint soreness in his shoulder from his injury earlier that day served as a reminder of that.
He may have traded his private's badge for a lightsaber, and he wasn't sure if he'd be returning to the fleet or the Jedi temple when this was all over, but deep within his soul still burned a fire for the Republic with the pride only a soldier could have. He knew just how important the Republic's kolto supply was to the men on the front lines. He'd be damned if he were to put that supply at risk.
Still, despite his resolve to save the kolto, Seth took one look at the giant firaxa and realized that the poison canister would make his job a hell of a lot easier. He flexed his fingers slightly and took a rather sharp intake of breath as his eyes scanned the breadth of the beast. Provided that the envirosuit helmet and the water weren't magnifying the firaxa's appearance too much, Seth could have sworn that the shark was just a few meters shy of matching the Ebon Hawk in terms of size. It seemed considerably rounder and fatter than the smaller firaxa sharks he'd encountered previously, with long fins and a golden-brown tint to its scales. Massive gills opened and closed as the firaxa took a breath, agitatedly swimming back and forth in front of the harvester. Its eyes flicked over to observe Seth for a brief moment, but it seemed that the shark deemed him of no importance and it quickly returned its attention to the harvester.
Seth tiptoed as best he could in the bulky suit over to the control panel ahead and tucked the canister under his arm so that he could freely use both hands. It took a few moments of finessing the levels of the gas injected into the harvester in order to achieve the highly explosive liquid state Sami had told him about. Now, he just needed a trigger. Reaching out in the Force, Seth telekinetically took hold of a decent sized rock and lifted it from the ocean floor. He breathed a sigh of relief at how much his abilities had grown, because moving the rock through the water was exhausting enough already. With a forceful push, Seth hurled the rock into the harvester's exhaust vents.
It did the trick. There was a low rumbling noise as the explosive chemicals began to react with one another, and the firaxa began to back away cautiously. It had just barely moved outside the blast radius when the harvester exploded in a magnificent display of oranges and golds, the flames extinguished by the ocean water as quickly as they had sprung up. The firaxa moved in a bit closer to inspect the damage, then turned to face Seth, large eyes landing on the poor boy standing at the console.
"Crap," Seth breathed, and no sooner had the word left his lips than the giant shark rushed at him with astonishing speed. It stopped centimeters shy from his face, towering above the young Jedi, and Seth's heart felt as if it were about to punch a hole right through his chest, it was pounding so hard. The firaxa observed him carefully, nudged him with its fin, and swam off, leaving Seth breathing heavy sighs of relief. He took a moment to collect himself and allow his breathing and heart rate return to normal, before advancing forward.
The odd, pyramid-like structure of the Star Map was visible even from where he was standing, and Seth let a grin split his features at the realization that he'd just completed the first leg of his quest. He took in the new information that the Star Map offered for a moment, his eyes following the trails of planets and stars until the map's incompletion made it impossible for him to follow the trails further, before downloading the contents of the map to his datapad. Seth allowed his shoulders to perk up slightly as he began the slow and solitary walk back to the Hrakrt Station.