Bridge The Fallen Spear Jedha System, Mid-Rim
Jedha. The Kyber Heart. The Pilgrim Moon. Ancient seat of the Jedi.
Now, it was a turbulent waste. Muz stared through the transparisteel, through the asteroids that used to be a part of it, resting his darkened eyes on the world below. Questions fluttered behind his eyes, laden with promise and potential. The world once bore myriad crystals, supplying the Jedi with their weapons for generations, before the Empire. He himself had a handful that were from those days, their matrices having some tells in their structures that proved their lineage. He wondered if the Empire, normally so thorough, may have left some there after their work.
Muz nodded at Blackwind, the commander of the Fallen Spear reacting smoothly, silently directing the crew to take the ship to the surface in response. Ashen watched the man work as he let his mind wander. Below, the Cult of Madness had waxed and waned for ages, the Abyss corrupting their minds as surely as the Heart of Jedha had influenced the Whills. Even now, diminished as it was, pilgrims came to see what remained, to feel the effects of the place. Muz supposed he would be considered one of them.
Turning to watch Jedha grow ever closer, he chuckled at the absurdity of it all.
“A few credits more…” the thought of purchasing an upgraded hyperdrive tugged at the mind of Captain Riggs. It consumed his focus. Afterall, wandering the Galaxy was a way of life.
A blue swirl spat his ship, the Prodigal Sun, into existence. He had been skipping through Burke’s Trailing when the communique came through.
”Potential fortune - Jedha - ruins, artifacts…” yadda yadda. Luna, his daughter, always said he had selective hearing. It was probably true. She was rarely wrong. Even for a youngin’
Nevertheless, his Shistavanen info-broker came through.
He trimmed the controls of his vessel with precision and decreased the throttle as a decaying world sprawled out before his eyes. Ripe for the picking as it gradually consumed the entirety of his cockpit’s view.
He had heard the grim history of the Planet on the Holonet but it didn’t compare to the first hand experience of his mentor. She told him all about her time as a rookie cargo pilot running Kyber for the Empire before she passed. The things she had seen made a shiver run up his spine. But now, he could relate as he had witnessed some pretty dark things himself; blissfully enslaved by the Dread Lord of Plagueis.
Just your run-of-the-mill exceptionally crafty Scoundrel in service to a darker power. The forcies were definitely a unique bunch. But he had learned a lot. Even what a Fallen Spear looked like.
ODN Resurgent Command Deck
Mihoshi stood at the front of the command center, staring at the blurred expanse beyond the viewport of the Resurgent. The High Councillor had approved her use of the Second Fleet to ensure this threat never set foot on Kiast again. Within the lane behind them followed the Dawnblade and the Deliverance. Those were in turn followed by two strike groups. The Sorenn and the Archenksova carried elements of the Army’s Infantry and armoured division as well as First Marine’s 1st Regiment.
“Councillor Keibatsu, we are about to exit hyperspace to the Jedha System,” Captain Jastra Vel said from the command chair. “All forces are reporting green as well.”
The small woman turned and looked at the Captain, a small smile on her lips. “I feel like today is going to be a day of infinite surprises for many.”
Stepping to a communications console, Mihoshi picked up the small transmitter. “Second Fleet, this is the War Councillor. We are coming up on Jedha and we are doing so for one purpose. Vengeance. These bastards came to our home and laid siege to it. Now, we are here to hunt them down and rid ourselves of this menace.”
“For too long, our people have borne the scars left by the Children. For too long have we waited for their second coming.” The Proconsul of Odan-Urr shook her head almost sadly. “Now we have a chance to lay those lost souls to rest. A chance to heal the wounds suffered at the hands of animals.”
Mihoshi set the transmitter back in its cradle and turned to Jastra. “Begin exit procedures.”
A burst of static came across the communications frequency and a rough voice followed it. “Now, lass. You wouldna be thinkin’ o’ ‘avin’ a party without us, hm?”
The raucous laughter that followed told the bridge that the less than savory crew, The Wildcards, were stowed away somewhere.
“Always a pleasure to have pirates on our side. Eh, Captain? I wonder what they’ll loot this time.”
======
The Second Fleet translated from hyperspace, the Resurgent in the lead. Each vessel took up their preordained place in the formation as another command cut through the empty space between the ships. “Take positions around the moon. If anything not aligned with the Brotherhood tries to leave.” Her voice hardened as she finished. “Atomize them.”
Captain Vel saluted her smartly, her voice strong and proud. “We have detected several Brotherhood signatures in the area. May the Force be with you, Councillor.”
As she headed towards the hangar, Mihosh said over her shoulder. “Have the Wildcards head planet side. I’ll meet them there in a shuttle. If I need them, I’ll have you deploy the remaining forces.”
The Odanite Proconsul stalked down the corridors towards the hangar. “Let’s go see who they sent to help with this.”
Hyperspace
The Wildgrowth II
Meditation Chamber
The Neti sat in deep contemplation. It had been 745 years, 4 months, 12 days, 4 hours, 8 minutes, and 25 seconds since he’d last set foot on Jedha. It had been a festival and he’d been there as an official representative of the Jedi Council.
The lesson all long lived races learn instinctively is that everything changes. Change cannot be prevented, so most of these species are adapted to dealing with this. Even so, the holonet’s information regarding Jedha spoke of quite a century. Entire organizations extinguished, the planet itself damaged beyond belief…
The cold data painted quite the picture. Ood had taken the effort to consciously bypass the Neti mental attitude of coping with change. He needed to worry and prepare. The psychological defense mechanism was designed to help Neti handle a universe that moved far quicker than they did. Based on the texts, the voice of the planet, its song in the Force had been altered due to the imperial efforts to get at the crystal heart. A defense against change was good, but if it left him unprepared for a planet emanating screams and despair where it used to sing in the Force and project hope and unity, he wouldn’t be of much use to anyone.
Soon, the ship’s computer would pull them out of Hyperspace. He needed to center himself and be ready for whatever awaited him there…
The Spear swung past the wound that was once Jedha city, the plateau caved in from the orbital bombardment. Muz watched quietly as the scenery swept past his eyes. Palpatine’s plan wasn’t perfect, after all. Sith were always too wasteful, handicapping themselves in so many ways that it was almost miraculous that they had survived as long as they did. Having taken what they wanted from this world, their departing salvo did prize little to extinguish the Jedi. Hell, the galvanizing effect it had on the survivors certainly didn’t help. Perhaps that was a part of Plagueis’s plan, bleeding over into Palpatine’s machinations. To drive the Jedi into hiding, like the Sith had done for generations, to make them feel hunted and hated.
He blinked, watching the lonely spire grow closer in view. The natural stone spike jutted out toward the stars, a marker for …something that eluded his memory and toyed with his senses. It was a thought inside of a dream that led him to this side, far away from the assembled consuls that were to descend upon the old world. They had come for adventure, for the bragging rights and baubles that brought. Not Muz. As always, he came for answers.
Muz raised an eyebrow as he silently directed the pilots to veer off starboard and approach the broken bits of what used to be mountains a millennia ago. A display lit up near tactical, a black uniformed crewman relaying information to Blackwind’s terminal. The man read it and nodded, standing up slowly, a hand caressing the edges of his mustache before addressing him. “My Lord, it appears that we have a tail.”
Muz nodded. Of course they did. They hadn’t bothered to cloak when they came into the system, on DarkHawk’s request. He wanted people to know that the Lion of Tarthos was with them. Perhaps they were curious, eager to learn at his side. Perhaps they were clever, following him toward whatever drew his attention. Or perhaps… Muz let the start of a smile twist the corner of his mouth.
Jedha High Orbit The Wildgrowth II
Fear
…
Pain
…
Agony
…
Healing
…
Promise
…
A damaged song filled the Force with too many conflicting messages and emotions.
…
…
…
…
Slowly reality realigned itself
That had been something else. His preparations probably saved his sanity. And the fact he had a droid brain piloting his ship, once again saved his life.
“Set us down near the coordinates provided, let’s go see what’s going on.”
As the ship calmly adhered to directives from the spaceport and got into line waiting for a berth, the Neti noticed a ship ignore guidelines and make its own path…
“Isn’t that The Spear?”
Riggs avoided direct contact, for now, he knew what the Grand Master was capable of and was in Brotherhood space long enough to know. Sticking your nose where it didn’t belong could have dire consequences.
For now, he set a course for the planet while not so non-chalantly tailing the others bearing the marks of the Clans.