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| - Despite her terrified utterance, Laera opened the hatchway as a sense of morbid inevitability seemed to force her hand. As it thudded against the permacrete below, she caught sight of her visitors. There they were, the older Bothan, the older Gand, and... “You're a Sa'ari?” “Indeed I am, Starborne One,” the T'lessian native replied, a respect bordering on reverence injected liberally into her voice. The other two glanced back at her, then up at Laera, then beyond her to Silas. Laera followed the three visitors' gazes and a spasm of icy fear arced down her spine. He had gone stock-still, not a single hair or whisker moving, and his eyes had gone from violet to a bright, almost luminescent blue; Laera touched his arm but he did not move. Instead, his normally dark-red aura burned with a brilliant azure light, one against which Laera had to close her eyes and reel in her Force-awareness. “T'NOK! HOW DARE YOU!” The voice came from Silas's slack mouth, but it was not his nor anything even remotely recognizable. It blazed with righteous fury, a fiery indignation that only a black hole could smother, and before Laera or anyone else could react, the blinding aura of Force-energy that enveloped her lover lashed out. The Sa'ari standing at the entryway was blasted backward, her body impacting with a sickening thud upon the retaining wall backstopping the landing area. “Eld-eldarch B-Bellinega?!” the woman struggled to ask, her voice barely audible as she strained against the telekinetic bonds that held her fast. “Is that...but how...?” Silas's form began to walk stiffly down the ramp toward the Sa'ari, as though it was guided by a remote control device held by a being with ten thumbs. Laera had to scramble out of his—out of its way—but try as she might, she could not restrain this abomination's forward progress. “Help me!” Laera pleaded. “I don't...know...what's happening!” The Bothan and Gand couple swiftly joined Laera in her efforts; with their combined strength, they were able to check his...its...advance. “Your friend is not well,” the Gand said, his words coming out warped due to the strain of keeping Silas's body-snatcher at bay. “He and she are warring for dominance...for control of the physical self!” Laera's stomach knotted up tightly as she digested what the Gand was saying. She knew better than to try and debate his assessment; he was as attuned to the Force as her old DI had been, in their species' imitable way. “Can you two keep him still?” she asked through clenched teeth. “I'm going to try something...” “We will do our best,” the Gand said. He and the Bothan redoubled their grip on Silas as Laera forced herself into a locking hold to help keep him from bowling them over, yet would allow her to focus her energies elsewhere. Taking a deep breath as she called upon the Force for aid, she closed her eyes and plunged headlong into her companion's mind. What she could see of the Challenger and the spaceport beyond vanished from around her, the sights disappearing amidst a whirlwind of colors and a riot of noise. — — — A thunderous silence echoed throughout the blankness that replaced her surroundings. Taking her time, for it seemed to be in abundance, Laera looked around the mental landscape that she found herself in. Everywhere was a neutral white; there was no discernible floor, ceiling, or walls, and certainly no doors. Despite this, she could definitely feel her feet as they supported her upon some sort of solid base as well as sense her own kinesthesia. But there was also no air, nothing to indicate that this place was connected to any physical realm. Laera had half-expected this when she had made the choice to attempt such a radical procedure, but the experience of it was somewhat unsettling. As she began to pace the blankness in order to help solidify its presence around her, Laera heard a loud, echoing thunderclap, followed by another and then a third, each as strong as the first. A fourth allowed her to get a fix on where to go, and she didn't have to maneuver herself far to find the source of the disturbance. Two figures stood out from a barrage of dark gray storm clouds; the taller of the two was bathed in that same intense blue light she had seen in the physical world, while the other was sheathed in dark red energy that sparked with thin yellow arcs. They were grappling with one another, the shorter combatant clearly at a disadvantage as he struggled against the one-armed grip applied to his head by the taller, stronger force. As she cast her mental gaze upon the struggle, the floodgates opened and Laera suddenly understood. All the signs that she had seen previously; the occasional blank spots, his unexpected shifting of attention, the fluctuations in his aura, it all pointed to what their Sa'ari visitor had guessed at. This realization nearly broke Laera's heart. Bellinega's gift, given with the best of intentions, had gone incredibly, horribly wrong. Laera didn't have a clue what to do, but she knew that she had to act before the blue conquered the red and her lover's personality was forever lost. Dashing wordlessly into the fray, for words seemed to be useless, unnecessary things on this plane of existence, she leaped into a flying tackle that took the blue form by surprise. The two entities “rolled” for some time, finally separating as the thunderheads around them vanished. Laera resumed her “feet” first; she turned back to find the blue form splayed out on the “floor” while Silas's avatar straightened up and slowly, cautiously attempted to reassert itself. what sort of place is this? the blue form asked as it turned its head to look upon Laera, its words forming as thoughts within her mind. where am i? you are in the mind of silas dan'kre, my companion, Laera thought back, her mind still, tranquil, for perhaps the first time in weeks. you are the eldarch bellinega t'ledra, yes? i am...or rather...i was, Bellinega replied in the same way, her thoughts uncertain, distended. Her feelings had become peaceful, however, a stark contrast to the hellish fury her...personality, was that it?...had demonstrated. how did i come to be here? i do not know, Laera said hesitantly, not yet having a complete picture and not wanting to upset this apparition if she could help it. Even with her in this shade form, she didn't want to test Bellinega's powers, especially in this realm. but i do know that you should not be here. then where am i to be? Bellinega asked, her thoughts tinged with sadness. lost...we lost, didn't we? Laera mentally shrugged, momentarily at a loss for what to say. Perhaps this shade, this essence, was faulty. The real Bellinega, she knew, would never have given in to such an emotional outburst, nor would she have used her abilities to attack another without just cause. we won, bellinega, Laera replied after a thoughtful pause. pelenora is dead, you killed her. At the mention of Pelenora T'Yelc and her death, the shade shot to her feet and attempted to run down Silas's aura. Laera, perhaps expecting this, followed her instinct and dashed forward to intercede. bellinega, stop! she shouted, not knowing where the knowledge to realize this came from. you will kill him if you take full control! As the azure shade skidded to a halt, the universe around them began to shake violently, causing all three auras to lose their balance and fall. Laera felt as though she plummeted for a parsec... — — — Ooryl crossed his arms and looked over his and Asyr's three patients once more. Each of them had been laid out upon emergency bedrolls in the old ship's main compartment, though the middle being's legs extended about a quarter meter further down from the end. He and Asyr had at first laid Silas's unconscious form there, with Laera to the left and the the blue alien on the right, but the Bothan had started to make odd motions that caused his heart rate to accelerate. Only by rearranging them so that the Marines were on either side of this mysterious woman did all three of them repose without incident. The Gand could see that the mists bound all three of them together, but he knew that only once they had been revived could he begin to decipher what import this held or how to proceed further. Ooryl privately admired the Human woman for having had the courage to do what she had done, even if he didn't quite understand the mechanics of it. Seemingly within moments her idea had borne fruit, with the one that not-Silas had called T'Nok collapsing as the entity's grip had gone slack. The other two had succumbed to exhaustion almost immediately afterward, leaving himself and Asyr to clean up the mess. Fortunately, their physical bodies had borne little evidence of injury. “You know, things haven't been this exciting for me since the ambush at Distna,” Asyr remarked as she crouched next to Silas's mat, her expression rueful. That had been the incident that had changed her life; her near-death experience in the wake of that desperate dogfight giving her the perspective she had needed to sort things out, to figure out where in the universe she belonged. “Now I kind of understand Laera's sour tone and why she wasn't too eager to entertain us.” “She and her companion have been through much hardship,” Ooryl said in low tones, moving to examine the alien whose species he had never before encountered, much less even heard of. “This one, however, intrigues me almost as much as they do.” “Me too,” Asyr replied as she brushed a lock of Silas's hair. “But him...I've never met one of my kind who was so...tall...” “Such a physical abnormality is irrelevant,” Ooryl muttered reprovingly. “His plight is mental, a conflict to be waged among the mists of his mind.” “I know,” Asyr said, offering a worried sigh. “I'm just anxious; I don't have a clue what we're supposed to be doing right now, and if feels like we caused this.” “We do nothing until one of them awakens,” Ooryl replied, his high voice confident as he ignored Asyr's assertion of guilt. “They will know this situation far better than ourselves; until then, we simply watch and wait.” Asyr nodded, then returned her gaze to Silas as she continued to brush his face and arms. For his part, Ooryl was interested in examining the one that Laera had called a Sa'ari. Her skin was the color of the noontime sky, her bare scalp divided into six evenly-distributed, graceful ridges ending in blunt nubs of cartilage. The back of her humanoid skull was enfolded in stiff but flexible flaps of thick, dark skin around yet more cartilage. Other than these features she resembled an ordinary, well-proportioned Human female, albeit at over two meters an extremely tall one, and he felt her resonance within the mists—what the Jedi called the Force. Her beige clothes were simple but of an unfamiliar cut, suggesting that she could be a traveler; however, he had not found anything on her that would have enabled her to wander the galaxy alone and yet sustain herself. No credits, no identity cards, nothing beyond the robes she lay in. What was even more intriguing was the fact that she had seemed to know who Laera and Silas were; the only words he had heard her say were in the form of a respectful greeting, the kind given to a famous and respectable person—or perhaps royalty. As he ran a finger along her arm, gently caressing her with his own awareness, Ooryl caught sight of her eyelids as they began to flutter. She opened them, revealing Human-like orbs with brown irises, and locked stares with his own compound eyes. A sudden, invisible spark of energy seemed to arc between them, and the Gand knew that he had been right in supposing that she was sensitive; quite strongly so, in fact. “Be calm,” he cautioned as the Sa'ari made to try and move herself. “We want to help.” There was a pregnant pause as the alien relaxed her body and gathered her thoughts. “It is not me you should be worried for,” she said mildly, though her voice was tinged with worry. “It is Silas...no, both the Starborne Ones. They...” “...they are resting comfortably,” Asyr assured the alien as she looked them up and down. “Do you know what has happened to them?” The Sa'ari began to rise; with Ooryl's help she settled into a sitting position, her legs crossed as she placed her hands on Laera and Silas's foreheads. “They are both among the...” she began after a few moments' silent thought. “Laera, Silas...and the Eldarch Bellinega are together in another realm. It is difficult to explain, but Laera will be well once she navigates her way back to consciousness. As for Silas...his ordeal has gone on for some time. This is merely the climax.” “What is your name?” Ooryl asked. “And how do you know this?” “I am Ari T'Nok,” she replied wearily, withdrawing her hands and holding her arms slack in her lap; her expression gave further testimony to her fatigue. “I was once a partner of the former Youngarch of the Order of the Blue Light, herself once the protégé of its Eldarch.” Ooryl and Asyr exchanged uncomprehending glances. “As I suspected, that holds no meaning for you,” Ari said, her tone neither condescending nor disappointed. “I come from a world that your civilization does not yet know about, the first of my kind to leave our home system. My flight was neither official nor authorized, and may be considered criminal by your standards as well, I do not yet know for certain.” “Silas, he...when he saw you...he mentioned your name,” Asyr said, unsure how to phrase the observation. “Please, tell us more.” “By all means,” Ari said, shifting her legs and rising to a squatting position. “You must know the truth if I am to be of use in solving this crisis and saving your friends.” She attempted to stand, but her legs began to wobble visibly with the effort; she gratefully accepted Ooryl's help as he guided her to a seat at the central table. “However...I do require sustenance,” she admitted. “This has not been an easy journey.” “If this vessel does not contain provisions, then we must procure them in the city,” Ooryl observed. “Are you capable of ingesting Bothan food?” Ari seemed to consider this for a few moments before glancing at Asyr. “I do not know for certain, however I have spent the previous day in scouting and gathering information on this planet and its populace. In addition to what I have learned, I do know that the Starborne Ones can draw nourishment from Sa'ari cuisine. Given that, the risk from poisoning is limited, and one I will accept.” It didn't take long for them to find where the ship's ration supply was stored, and within a half hour all three of them had eaten. Ooryl insisted that Ari take another helping, which she did without hesitation. The effect was visible even as she swallowed the last of her second batch of nerf sausages. As she finished, she cast another, somewhat mournful, look toward where Silas and Laera rested. “I stilled their minds temporarily,” she said by way of explanation. “Even in my weakened state, the technique seems to have had the desired effect.” “So you are a Force-user, then?” Asyr asked, her eyes wide and brimming with curiosity. “Since that is what your people call the Blue, the answer is yes,” Ari replied affirmatively. “More importantly, however, you must know why I am here and what has transpired. It starts with the arrival on my world of the Starborne Ones approximately three quarters of a T'lessian year ago...” — — — The world was still neutral white, neither bright nor dull, but for now Laera seemed to float within it rather than stand or sit. Her movements were unrestricted, but for all her initial attempts at locomotion, it seemed as though there was nowhere for her to go. Drawing her legs to her chest and clasping her hands around them, she began to let the Force flow through her; it seemed that this was not her actual form, but some sort of mental projection within some other realm, much like earlier. Closing her “eyes” and extending her feelings outward, she soon found the blue and red avatars representing Bellinega's shade and Silas's identity lingering nearby. Both were unmoving, hovering as they floated, curled up in a fetal position. Wondering how she could extricate herself from this realm and return to consciousness, Laera admitted to herself that she probably could have handled this development in another fashion. However, after several long moments of introspection, she couldn't come up with any sort of alternate plan that would have worked, or even bought them some time to resolve this conundrum. Clearly, self-recrimination wasn't going to get her anywhere, so she concentrated instead on what she was going to do for the moment. After another long span of silent contemplation, she floated herself toward the two auras and gradually brushed Bellinega into whatever amounted to wakefulness on this plane of existence. what is it? the dead Eldarch asked. i was resting. who is t'nok? Laera asked instead. why did you attack her? she...she was with her... Bellinega replied fitfully, her mind switching back and forth along various lines of thought. ari t'nok was one of my best pupils during her learner days...she was such a charmer...it is little wonder t'yelc worked with her...plotted with her...twisted her... what did she do? Laera prodded gently. whatever it was, it must have been terrible... t'yelc was always her own counsel, Bellinega said, her thoughts becoming more coherent, almost as though her assertions about this Ari T'Nok character had been based on speculation. that was one reason why i took her as my youngarch...she would have made a strong leader for my people if i had been more vigilant, if i had kept her free from the blackness... what t'yelc did was not your fault, Laera thought bluntly, extending her mental touch to Bellinega's shade. luke skywalker said this himself, and i believe him. regardless, you had no cause to attack t'nok as you did. i was angry with her, Bellinega replied mournfully. she represented what i had let t'yelc become. yet more proof that i was right to die in that challenge, that it was time for a new generation. even as i sought to help him, i have caused much harm to your bondmate. i think i understand what happened, Laera assured the shade after several moments of contemplative silence, extending a broader connection toward her to ease her ruminations. your gift was well-intended, but it came with complications. some part of yourself was planted within him... — — — “...and it must be removed if he is to recover and if she is to fully become one with the Blue.” Her explanation of the last nine months and what her homeworld had gone through had taken well over three hours by her estimate, but Ari's audience had taken in every word. In relating to them her duplicity, she had found to her great surprise that she felt even more free now than when she had first confronted these questions the previous day. The insect seemed particularly attuned to Ari's earnestness and desire for whatever sort of redemption she could acquire; his assurances had been enough to ease the initial misgivings of the native. They really were fascinating people, Asyr Sei'lar and Ooryl Qrygg. Ari had to admit that meeting them in person and getting to know them as sentient beings face-to-face had been much more gratifying than pulling disjointed thoughts from their minds at random. The Bothan's life work was admirable in its scope and ambition, and she had even managed to make some headway—in a manner that was quite the opposite of that which Pelenora had advocated. The Gand, who had been a fighter pilot with an elite squadron not so long ago by Sa'ari standards, was a marvel not unlike her own people; a species with its own unique perception of the universe. For the first time in many years, she felt that she was now on the path that would take her to where she truly wanted to go. “While you were out, Ooryl said that all we could do was wait,” Asyr said after several moments in quiet thought, wringing her hands in agitation. “He was correct,” Ari said, placing one of her own hands upon Asyr's in an attempt to comfort her. “But there is a way to help them. Ooryl, how familiar are you with mental interfacing?” “Ooryl apologizes,” the Gand said, “but his perception of the mists—of the Force—does not work that way. He finds, but he does not steal.” “He means that his senses are tuned differently,” Asyr attempted to explain. “It's like...I'm not sure how to put this...it's like the difference between scanning a comet using a visual sensor array, or impacting a mass spectrometer probe to find out its composition. I don't know if your people...” “...yes, we do possess an understanding of spectroscopy,” Ari finished for her. “And yes, that metaphor is quite apt. That said, there is still a way we can get a message through to Laera, but with our limited resources it would be risky and I would rather wait for her to figure things out for herself. She knew Bellinega and Silas more than I ever will, and it will be up to her to mediate this dispute, at least for now.” “Once again, all we must do is wait,” Ooryl said, tapping the table with his chitinous fingers. — — — The azure shade recoiled in horror at Laera's assessment of the situation, flaring brightly and speeding off into the distance far too quickly for her to track. In a sense, she couldn't blame the Eldarch for her reaction; Laera had been in the same situation, albeit with different circumstances, without her consent, and with entirely different results. well, this is interesting, she mused as she floated by herself. there's no chance of finding her if she doesn't want to be found. Laera then caught sight of Silas's aura; he seemed to have regained himself for the most part, his signature feeling only mildly dazed. She had wanted to make certain that Bellinega's spirit couldn't cause any more complications before she had attended to him, and it made sense for her to learn as much as she could from the shade before trying to figure out how they would get this situation resolved. With the Eldarch temporarily out of the picture, Leara drifted over to the dark red avatar. are you alright, dear? she asked into his thoughts. i am...well, i suppose i'm fine, he commented idly, casting his “eyes” about the ethereal realm. say, you wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you? we're in your mind, silas, Laera replied, her thoughts rueful. you had a little...complication. there's a sa'ari in our new ship and...well... Her thoughts fell silent as Silas's aura attempted to decipher what he was feeling. Laera doubted he would be able to garner much information; his mind and body weren't naturally sensitive, after all. Though her understanding of the Force wasn't that extensive, she knew enough to imagine that Silas's mind was likely perceiving this featureless world as something akin to a normal dream, one with its own unique mental landscape. Whether or not he could feel her presence was something she couldn't tell, but at least he could hear her thoughts. well what, sweetheart? Silas prompted, his “arm” reaching for Laera. She sighed with relief as his presence brushed hers, confirming that in this state they could exchange sensations of touch as well as thought. it's tough to explain, she began, caressing his face as she shared with him her thoughts and feelings on the matter. i should've known it was too good to be true, Silas sighed once she had finished. everything has consequences, every act of such magnitude has repercussions. i think you told me that once. i did, Laera replied sadly. silas, i'm so sorry this has happened to you. don't worry about it, laera, he said affectionately. it's about time i got the short end of the stick instead of you; goodness knows you've suffered enough for ten lifetimes. of course not, Silas said, his aura flickering with a mixture of relief, contentment and regret. i had you to support me, and for a while i got to feel the sensations that you feel, to do the kinds of physical stunts that you do. now, how do we get you and her out of my mind? feel free to call the skywalkers if you need to, Silas quipped. that is, if they're available.
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