Leena Kil

With a sickening crack that seemed to carry throughout the unholy chamber a cacophony of things happened in a moment. The tree, it’s heartwood torn from it’s body, seemed to breath it’s last; her massive limbs slowly and splashing down into a stillness as their life seemed to radiate away on the ripples across the surface of the waters, vanishing. Zeris’ body wracked with pain, her back snapped as it was overcome by the augmentations as she fell, pain radiating from her atop the lifeless tree. The dias itself, worn smooth by the unrelenting waves of the force, it’s jagged edges rounded, sigils erased, cracked as the channel of darkness was severed from it. Leena was sent tumbling backwards into the water as the dias was cleft in two by an invisible blade of the force. All about them, the statues of Sith sorcerers and masters wailed. Their undead voices filling the vaulted ceilings of the chamber with wicked painful screaming songs, words unintelligible but wracked with emotion. The statues rattled and shook atop their ornate podiums before one by one they careened forward falling into the waters with crashes and splashes beyond what they ought to have been capable of. The air itself seemed to wretch and roil in pain. Sitting up in the water on the cracked steps below the surface, Leena covered her head instinctually to protect herself from the falling statues, as if her arms would do anything against the weighty simulacrums. At the least, they kept the spray of dark water out of her face. All around them, the headless seedling spawn of the dark tree being scurried away. No linger bound to their mother, the younglings hurried for the doorway, scurrying from the nest of their fallen mother intent on taking root elsewhere and beginning life anew. The crackle of fires smoldered in the tree’s limbs and as the statues came to rest, toppled, cracked, and decapitated in the water, the voices faded into silence. All that remained was an eerie presence, unpalatable, yet there. Slowly Leena picked herself up, her body bruised and aching. Squinting into the shadows, she whispered, “Is everyone ok?”

Leena poured herself entirely into the force; giving herself over to the cosmic power drawn from life. The life of the tree and her brood, of Zeris, of the scrub brush and algaes that made their way here in the dark of this world, and beyond. Out into the cosmos itself, Leena’s presence flowed, washing about the lives of space mites and monsters, of distant travelers, even out unto other worlds. It washed like the ocean, seen in twain places, but their connection invisible across the vastness of existence. It mattered not to the force; for the force was one, a pure pool of lige itself spread across the galaxies and beyond. It was this sea that Leena submerged herself into, washing the taint of darkness away from herself as she was bathed in light and purity. It radiated from her very pores, a warm glow of life. It shone from her eyes as they became beacons of white light that illuminated the shadows. The incoming crash of tidal energies on the force, surged into the world using Leena as a conduit, driving against the font of darkness. Each wave lapped at the encrusted dias and rooted system that held the tree in place wearing away at the long-held grasp of darkness. It wore at it constantly, 10,000 years of tidal wear and tear in a moment as the darkness was driven back from the light, worn smooth before it was severed from the anchor of darkness this world radiated. Cut off, the flaming tree’s attacks faltered. They were still strong, still lethal, still honed and hungering; but they were different. They were no longer empowered by the darkness. The dark voices that seemed to play in the air falling silent as the purity of the force, untainted, filled the room. From a thousand worlds, the purity that was the essence of life radiated into the room. Even the hunger of the tree was sated in some as powerful empowering energies of life rolled off the Jedi Master. To touch it, to be dedicated to the cause of natural right, was to be invigorated and complete. With a sickening crack, the tree’s roots broke, falling back beneath the onslaught of the three, the Jedi, a natural being, the droid, a creation of metal, and Zeris, an amalgamation of both. Sliding from the sacrificial altar of stone, the tree fell into the waters behind it with a great crash and splash that sent water spraying in every direction. Each droplet caught the light of the force that radiated from the Jedi and as they hung in the air illuminated the room as it was painted in a million refractions like a glorious ballroom of yore. The tree, still aflame, flailed and grasped for the heroes trying to extinguish itself, shocked by what was happening. It’s minions were torn from their attack as they rushed to their mother and began to bat at the flames, splashing water and alighting their own bodies as one. It was as if some dark sacrificial ritual had overcome them. Yet, the massive tree, spanning the room from dias to a shadowy doorway blocked by the flaming limbs, flailed like a wounded beast. Standing upon the dias amongst broken roots, ancient Sith sigils became visible. A sacrificial altar that had been bathed in the blood of countless innocents stood illuminated from where it had been hidden beneath the mass of the tree. The stoney faceted faces of the altar were blasted with waves of the living force as they surged outwards from the Jedi, driving back even the water that lapped at the steps. It’s surface was visibly wearing as Leena turned the brunt of the force energies she was channeling upon it, seeking to sever the darkness within. With e darkness of the place severed at it’s source, Leena hoped that her comrades would be able to deal with the tree in some way. Outside, the darkness of an entire world pressed inwards and even if this focal point of darkness on the planet was closed, they would have the rest of the world to contend with.

The sap of the liquified headless things made the rooted dias sticky. Arcing her force-made shield about to cover the backside of the spear-wielding Zeris seemed to work, at least in part; but the press of vines and children were pushing them closer and closer to the trunk until Leena took a step back and collided with the thick knotted bark of the creation. “This might not have been a good idea.” She muttered as her eyes flicked about at the encroach of doom. The darkside swirled, reaching out with grasping tendrils of darkness that sought recess on the minds of the foreigners, to instill in them a sense of hopelessness, encouraging them to give in to the inevitable, to accept their fate, it was, after all, only natural. Leena’s shield sputtered and went out. The sinewy creatures taking advantage of the fault in their defenses as they surged forward filling the gap. Their clawed fingers reached forward to rake clothes and exposed flesh. It was hopeless. Leena could feel it in her soul. Her vision had drawn not just her here, but others too following her on this mad quest. She was responsible for them. Their lives lost were her responsibility. And then it changed. In the dark wet environment a flash of light and heat erupted up amongst the crown of leaves and branches in a burst of flame. Ruin’s grenade a beacon of hope in the darkness. It was enough to break the concentration of the beasts for a moment, to cause the tree itself to flail in an effort to extinguish itself; limbs and branches beating at the flames. Rising, the tree exposed it’s rooted base atop the sacrificial dias. Leena’s large bulbous eyes reflected the burst of flame and a surge of hope flickered in her heart. It was enough, hope. The force erupted within. It filled her to the brim and spilled over. Light shone from her eyes and beamed from the palms of her hands. The power of the Living Force radiated outwards in purifying light. Turning to face the tree, Leena’s drove her hands down into the roots. Her eyes focusing on where her hands were, burning into the tree, extinguishing the twisted unnatural darkness of the force that surged from the dias into the tree. Drawing in the truth, on the life that existed even here, Leena became a conduit of the purity of the force. Cut off from it’s power, the massive tree continued to flail, angrier now as a hunger, sated by the darkness for years, churned within one thousand times more powerful. These morsels would be the first to be feasted upon.

Chaos. That is what broke loose again. This time; however, the adventurers were prepared for it. With the mechanized duo of murderbots taking the lead, the air was filled with shrapnel and a cacophony of violence. Leena sighed. It was the language of so many in the galaxy, and yet one that felt foreign to her. Still, here she was in the thick of it yet again. Her body felt weighted. Her eyelids were heavy. Her limbs deadened by the weigh of sheer exhaustion. She had not slept well in weeks and now here, at the heart of the thing, she felt the overwhelming press of the source of her visions. Whatever this place was, it radiated a dark evil; one that reached across the cosmos. But why? Was it feeding and growing on the looming horizon of chaos about the befall the galaxy as a whole? It was not something for Leena to ponder however. The team began to move, striking in tandem at the massive viney tree. In an instant, the tree’s branches began to flail, thick tendriled vines snaking through the waters towards unsuspecting legs hoping to pull them under, to drown them. That intent was clear enough. Other vines arced through the air, propelled like rockets hoping to lash the attackers and drive them back or catch and pull them in. Many of them were severed and tumbled to the floor in the rain of Ruin’s onslaught. It only made the tree’s desire to ensnare him greater and she directed more and more attention to the vicious attack by the droid. Instinctively, Leena took a step back, drawing on the power of the living force. Around them was life, minute and corrupted as it may be, life had found a way and in it, it connected them all to the web of the force, the great sea of power from which all life was drawn. It was that which Leena tapped into, pulling it inward, nurturing it in an instant and broadcast back out. A faint ripple of energy seemed to coalesce into a solid albeit watery transparent disc before her. It was a shield, comprised of the force itself. Leena splashed towards their pilot with a burst of speed, sure to keep the shield between she and the tree. Viney tendrils ricocheted off the barrier of force power, a flash of light filling the air with each connection. Leaping over a snaking vine, Leena brought the shield down into the water, severing the tendril as she splashed to a stop beside Zeris. “Let’s get to the tree.” She breathed before driving herself forward to provide cover for the spear wielding biomechanical woman. Charging into the hanging vines, Leena’s shield drove them apart so they could pass into the shadows within; but even as they did so, the large golden fruits of the tree-being began to quiver and burst, bloodsacks, each containing a headless ape-like child mind-linked the the base of the tree and consumed by the hunger of their mother, fueled by the dark side of the force. Leena and Zeris were cut off from the outside and outside the canopy, the children charged frantically, with rabid abandon and hunger, uncaring for their own wellbeing, after the others. They would capture these as well and being them close; after all, their mother must be fed. Swirling about, Leena guided the shield to attempt to block incoming snares and beasts; once even rolling to the base of the stairs to intercept a wild blast of flechettes sprayed from Ruin’s attack as the tree sought to grasp the metal man in it’s tendrils and crush him. It was time. Do or die. Now or never. Leena was not sure how to fell such a mighty plant; but figured that attacking it at the source might help. It might make it worse too, one could never be sure; but here, on the root-covered dias, the swell of dark side energy was so thick it almost choked the life from her connection. The Jedi Master’s shield sputtered several times as Leena sought to focus her mind, calming herself in the fray, and maintain the connection. The mind of the tree was palpable, if not foreign. It hungered. Corrupted by the dark side, an already amoral mind now bent on evil, natural desires twisted to be unrecognizable. Gluttony fueled desire. The power seemed to fill the room just as the tree itself did.

Given Lok’s assessment, Leena slowly nodded. Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene. She could feel it as if it were crawling up her skin, the dark presence of an ancient and foreign mind. The world about them was dark and heavy, but peaceful. Zeris’ request seemed unusual; but Leena had watched the bionic woman beat timbers to pulp and dust on Felucia. She had little doubt that their pilot might do the same here if given the opportunity. The statues seemed to dance in the firelight and as much as Leena was drawn to the focal point in the force, the desecrated altar beneath the massive willowy tree, her eyes were drawn to the white stone memorials. It seemed like their eyes followed them and their mouths whispered silent curses on the force itself. They seemed to conduct the power of this place; to contain it; to focus it onto the altar and the tree that grew there, drawing life and nutrients from the force and the waters. And then it all changed in a millisecond. As the droids approached the tree, passing beneath the thick hanging branches, a cataclysmic upheaval roiled on the force, the cavern shook and the water trembled. Visages of hunger and destruction coursed through the air. The branches swung violently, tossing the droids back into the waters and driving back anyone too near the tree. Any who didn’t was battered by dark side fueled thorn-coated limbs. Faster than the naked eye and as forceful as a charging reek. It’s onslaught was undefendable. As the group fell back to a safer distance, the tree calmed. The churned force matched the churned waters whipped up by the tree. It frothed as it lapped against the dias, the roots, walls and statues. Slowly a sense of calm foreboding fell over the room as Leena picked herself up from the waters where she had dove clear of a flaying limb. ”I don’t think it wants to be touched.” She muttered, shaking her head. ”I felt this, this thing, in my dreams.” She assessed as she turned inwards, focusing the shimmers of the light they carried. “It cannot be allowed to escape.” Faint whispers, whispers that seemed to reach from beyond the grave carried on the heavy air. They seemed to come from everywhere and from nowhere; ancient unintelligible languages that were heavy with power. The statues did not move as the flames danced over them. They were impervious to attack as the sun began to set outside, out of sight. The darkness continued to grow, to manifest carried by the undead whispers. They focused their power on the altar, energizing the tree with corrupting energy and power. The tree seemed to radiate with it, the power spilling from it’s uneven bark as pods grew in the dingy shadows, weighing down the heavy limbs of the tree before their very eyes. The foreign presence grew engorged with the darkness until it’s daunting presence filled the room, palpably pressing on all within line the weight of the world in the depths of the sea. It was real. It was corrupt. It was sentient. ”We have to stop it.” Leena whispered looking to the others. “Together.”

Leena nodded slowly in agreement with Lok’s assessment. The darkness was strong here. It seemed to beckon them with a subtle temptation of it’s peaceful embrace. “Whatever is here is dangerous. I am glad to have each of you with me. This place, I feel like I have seen it in my visions. It’s inky web of tempestuous lies. Whatever reached across the cosmos, I can feel it now, even awake. Let us be cautious.” And it was true. The visions that had only plagued her in her fitful bouts of sleep seemed to press in on fringes of her mind, the edges of her actual vision lime shadowy wraiths. When she would try to focus on them, they were gone. Somehow, Leena felt them lurking yet. This was more than the strange beasts. Stepping up beside the hulking war hunter droid, Leena placed her hand on his cool iron shoulder. “I can feel the Sith presence,” she whispered loudly. “My friend, can you lead the way? Lets see what is down here.” Stepping up to the maw of the cave Leena ran her hand along the clearly manmade addition of the trenched torches, feeling the sticky flammable tar. Leena looked back at Zeris. “Would you like to light the torches friend? Even if the force can show us what is there, I wonder if it would be better to see as well.” The cracked surface revealed a destroyed blast door lying crumpled just within the shadows. It was as if it had been smashed inwards, torn from hinges long worn away from the cliff face. The waist deep waters rippled as the group moved into the cavern single file. Walking two abreast even would be tight with shoulder scraping the deftly hewn stone. One hundred and sixty or so feet inward the cavern opened upwards and outwards the flickering flames reaching upwards into a yawning cavern, the inky darkness swallowing the dim flickering lights. The room was large enough that the lights that arced three quarters of the way around the curved outer edges of the room barely illuminated the center. Along the walls were dozens upon dozens of statues, different Sith lords of yore, some known, some forgotten to the ravages of time, stood in various states. Some were pristine, protected by unknown dark side magics, others worn, cracked or collapsed. Even raised as they were, their feet and lower legs were covered by the still eerie black waters that seemed to have flooded the place. The statues seemed to almost writhe and dance in the flickering shadows and flames. The floors, once large stone blocks were worn and slick with an unknown slimy film, algae and goo. Leena was careful as she silently followed behind Ruin. She clung to the flickering light of the force that she carried within her soul. She stoked it, using it to radiate a faint glow from her eyes, focused wherever she looked. Inside this cavern, the torches extinguished into inky black about 3/4 of the way around, leaving a black inky maw at the back of the room. This was lost, however, by the large tendrilled willowy tree that seemed to grow atop a raised stoney dias in the middle of the room’s shadows. It was black in the shadowy flames, hanging heavily with large dark yellow fruits weighing it down. It’s roots were massive, engorged growths that clung to the stone and reached down into the water and out along the floor into the room. The too of the tree reached high into the blackness above. Leena gasped at the sight of the tree. “Its massive!” Standing in the entrance, Leena could feel the long dried blood, the stolen life force of the countless blood spilled on the cracked and collapsed pagan altar crushed beneath the huge tree. As she felt the darkness, it was as if the dancing statues became even more lifelike, the spirits of the long gone Sith of yore pressing in, lending an undead energy to the room. And yet, nothing moved but the flickering fire and the rippled water where our heroes stood. Through the heavy stillness the force seemed to lie stagnant even as it swirled unmovingly, something else was there. A sentience that seemed as foreign and alien as the planet itself, but distinct, hung in the air. To those who could sense it, it was completely foreign. Nothing about it seemed the same as another sentient being; yet sentient it surely was. It hungered. Nothing else moved. Only the life-sized statutes and the tree atop the raised dias and crushed altar rose from waters. Leena inhaled. “This is the place.” She said with surety. “Isn’t it?” She asked aloud.

Strong strokes borne from a lifetime of swimming carried Leena against the sucking pull of an outgoing tide. Even growing up in the Jedi Temple, Leena had found plenty of time to be surrounded by her native element. Aligned with her natural physicality, Leena was able to glide through the tugging icy tendrils of the sea line a blade through bantha butter. She even made it look easy. The water was not cold. It was not exactly warm either. It was dark. It was murky even amongst the break and spray. If one was not swept out to sea, there was a real fear of being crushed against the craggy cliff face. Crawling beneath the choppy surface, Leena skimmed along the bottom, following the shallow-ish curve of the sandy bottom, a beach before the waters had risen. She o ly sirfaced as she came even with the black cleft in the cliffside. It had been a long-enough swim amidst the push and pull of the surf; bit even through it all, the force seemed to call from this inky maw. Blinking the lukewarm salt water from her eyes, Leena stared into the darkness. She could hear the whispers of the force, it’s hunger. It beckoned her in with a tempting embrace of warmth. It was the soothing warmth of a hearth fire in winter. It was a temptation of eternal contentment, of power realized and sustained, of eternal peace. It was almost soothing, sickeningly so. Waiting for the others, Leena stepped to the shadowy lip of the crevasse; a line that divided light from day. Squinting her eyes, Leena could see the waist deep waters that extended into the heavy humid nothingness. It would be hot inside, and humid. The water would make sure of that. At the edges of her vision, mere feet into the slitted cavern, a single narrow trench jutted from each wall and ran into the darkness. Inside each was a slight layer of sticky flammable material, a torch of sorts that would bathe the walkway in flickering light. Looking over her shoulder, Leena watched for the others. They would do this together. The darkness called seductively from the pitch black silence.

Fun was not the word Leena would have chosen, nothing close. She always struggled to understand why soldiers seemed to think that anything about the devastation, destruction, and loss of life on the battlefield was entertaining in any way. Sure, she could appreciate the fine display of skill put on by martial artists and combatants; but anything like this; this was something else entirely. And yet, she would not begrudge their pilot, who she knew so little about, a sense of joy from their near-death experience. It was obvious the woman had seen them before and lived to tell about it, if only just. As the ramp descended, Leena offered a genuine smile towards Ruin. What she hated about war and combat was assuaged in the mete existence of such a being. Droid laws and money saved lives. Where blood would be spilled, spare parts and machinery took their place. It was a noble existence. Patting the cocked weapon in Ruin’s hand she spoke softly, “Thank you friend. You are a credit to your kind. What do you propose we do next?” Stepping to the bottom of the ramp, Leena noticed the group heading out into the falling rain and water-laden muck of the relatively lifeless world. For being her quest, a hopeful act to cleanse the nightmares that plagued her and follow the mysterious currents of the force, these few were sure anxious to see it through. “The force works in mysterious ways.” She whispered with a chuckle to herself as she shook her head, falling into a soft trot after the group. At the shoreline, they stopped. Leena looked out over the waters. There was nothing noteworthy there and yet she wondered what an enterprising Sith-spawned world might hide beneath the surface. As Lok stood beside her, Leena turbed as he spoke, jndicating the shoreline where it disappeared against the cliff face. Where cliff met water, that was where Lok was indicating the creatures had retreated to. Leena shook her head. She did not like it. Yet, she could feel it in her heart, knowing he spoke the truth. Something was alive down there, out of sight, almost as if it was within the cliffside hill itself; something larger, darker, than the headless abominations that had sought to harvest their flesh the night before. It’s hunger, unfulfilled, growing in devouring anger. “I fear you are right brother.” Leena looked to the others before gesturing down the shoreline beyond where the sands and cliff and water met. “Whatever we are after might just be down there.” She glanced at Zeris and Ruin, genuinely concerned, “How do your electronics do submerged? Looks like we might have to swim a bit.” Where the sands ended and the cliff began, the shoreline dropped off rapidly mere feet from the cliff face. Out of sight a short distance down the cliff, a natural cleft full of shadows and the sound of lapping waters within seemed to emanate dark power. Yet, there was no sign of the beasts from the night before, anywhere. It was like they had vanished, consumed by the blackish gray sea that churned beneath the storm. The winds began to pick up and Leena pulled her outer cloak tighter about her fishy body. Setting off down the shoreline, Leena plunged into the surging wake.

And so did the rest of the night pass with little incident. Safely nestled within the confines of the ship, the party was untouchable by the ravenous headless abominations. The ship was buffeted by the storm as the muted thunder continued to roll. Just before dawn crested the distant horizon, an odd peace seemed to fall over the ship. Finally the scratching and clawing of the horde fell away. All that remained was the steady drumming of heavy rainfall and the distance peal of thunder as it tumbled across the sky. The horde fell back, retreating like the outgoing tide to the sea. Inside, Leena had finally picked herself up and made her way to her bunk. There she spent the remainder of the night in a restless fitful sleep. The sounds of the beasts coupled with the storm mingled with the overwhelming probing of the dark side against their lifeboat of light. As the beasts receded, finally Leena slipped into a deep drool-inducing sleep, her body cocooned within a tidal pool of residual light side energies. The storm would carry on throughout the day. The world returned to a lifeless plain of grays, browns, and blacks. Any sign of the beasts was gone, the fallen carried back to the seashore by their brethren and back along the coastline towards the cliffs where they vanished into a flooded cleft of inky shadow. Waking when the others did, Leena changed into a fresh set of heavy Jedi robes, the traditional browns and beiges in opposition to her usual medical whites. Grabbing a pair nutrition bars, Leena offered one to Zeris. She smiled, tiredly. “You did a good job last night my friend. Where did Joe manage to find you? You are truly a blessing from the force. Last night made me wish I still had my lightsaber; even if I am not a warrior of your caliber.” Unwrapping her nutri-stick with a crinkle, Leena took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully.

Coming to a rolling stop in a puddle of water, Leena laid staring up at the bright interior lights of the ship even as Ruin charged passed her into the fray. Rolling over her shoulders to a seated position, Leena had enough time to take in the absolute chaos that was becoming outside just as Zeris rushed by her. Pulling herself to her knees, Leena embraced the force. It flowed around her and through her crackling with the purity of energy found within the heart of a maelstrom, the maelstrom. Into the storm of darkness, evil, chaos, bodies and water her allies flew from their safety. Their purpose, to rescue one of their own. It was the Jedi way and Leena was a Master of it. Without leaving the hold where her exhausted body sat, she directed the force itself to the aid of her allies, sharpening their senses and empowering their movements. Hopefully, it would be enough. And as the eclectic crew fell to safety within the ship, the cute buzzdroid activated the ramp. Behind them surged a tidal force of hungering darkness, a swell of dark side powered carried upon the headless shoulders of the ape-men. As she sat atop both knees, Leena leaned forward, her body pressing into the swelling clash that was the force. Light and dark collided like a tidal breaker sending sprays of energy in every direction as Leena’s hands extended. Her fingers stretched pulling her palms taut. A concrete barrier of energy materialized in a shimmering haze at the end of the ramp bowling monsters back atop one another as the dark side crackled and sparked against the purity of purpose that drove them back. It arced from the wall to the ship in a glorious blaze of blue and white that illuminated the dark thundering rainfall. And against the onslaught, it held. The wall, nor Leena, faltered until the ramp clanged shut with a heavy resounding gong. The heroes were sealed within the space-faring casket as the hungering forces of darkness clawed outside seeking purchase upon which to tear into the craft and claw and dig until the succulent morsels of flesh could be attained beneath the husk. In that moment, Leena fell forward, crumpling to the floor as her defensive wall faded in surrender to the protections of durasteel. All was silent aboard the craft, aside from the clawing of the condemned outside. Water pooled from the heroes. The dark side continued to swirl about seeking purchase. As Ruin gingerly placed the limp form of Lok beside her, Leena rolled her head to regard the fallen Knight. She inhaled deeply, searching for the deep reserve of purity that the Jedi Master always carried deep beneath the surface. The battle may be over for the moment; but she was not just a warrior or a guardian. She was a healer. When others could relax, she still had work to do. Slowly, the Jedi pushed herself to her hands and knees, gathering the strength to push herself back onto her haunches as she turned to survey the Knight, her mind already probing her comrade in the force as she zeroed her attentions first to his physical welfare. Faster than the most advanced supercomputers the galaxy had ever seen, Leena’s eyes and mind scanned Lok Skyshatter’s body seeking any malady or malformation that might present immediate danger. To the casual observer, Leena’s eyes seemed to unfocus as she gave herself over completely to the force, the art of the small. Her body remained present, but her presence seemed to all but vanish as she found any wounds that required immediate attention on the man and started them on a rapid path to healing; pulling his exhausted body from the brink. The Living Force was alive and strong within the ship. Sensing that Lok was not awake even now and something else was amiss, Leena turned herself from the Imperial’s body to his mind; a much more complex thing. And there it was, a strand of darkness that had found root. Even in the glow of light, it held fast to it’s purchase, seeking to replicate, to grow, and consume. It was a poison; a poison Leena knew all to well. Without rapid intervention, it could take hold and never fully be recovered from. Erupting back into the fullness of her body, unsecured items within the hold shook as waves of light energy rocked the interior of the ship. Leena was a master surgeon within the force, small intricate movements to bring about larger results. There were times; however, where a more brutal effect was needed. Where time was of the essence, Leena could not molecule by molecule build a protective barrier. So she resorted to a much simpler skill, one of the first taught within the Circle of Healers to any initiated Jedi. Inhaling, Leena pooled the force within her every cell until it felt she could contain no more. She grew the light exponentially until it seemed to emanate in a glow from her physical body. Then and only then, did the Jedi release that power in a slicing axe-blade of energy. Leena shouted. It was loud and wild within the controlled space it was unleashed in. Slamming her fists down on either side of Lok’s head, pure light side power erupted from her hands severing the tendrils of darkness and driving them from the shadowy alcoves of the Imperial Knight’s mind, inundating him with pure light side healing power. Outside, the clawing monsters fell back for a moment stunned by the display of light aide power before they were pressed on by their simple animalistic desire to find sacrifices fueled by the rage of a planet consumed by the dark side. On her hands and knees, Leena’s face was mere inches from Lok’s. Her breathing was heavy and ragged as she waited for him to wake. When he did, a tired smile crossed her face and she rolled to the side, collapsing to the deck plating. And all about them, the storm raged on. It ravaged the countryside preventing any take off as the winds buffeted and lightning struck. And the thunder rolled.

From the center of the cleared land, Leena slowly stood as the ramp behind her shuddered and lowered to the ground. The droids, cut a swath through the chaos, bursting into sight like an angry alien spawn clawing through the chest of it’s host. They tumbled aboard behind Zeris as she too clamored to safety in the one headless plant-child field. The rain continued to fall from the sky. It was bot a gentle rain, but every minute seemed to double in intensity. Falling in sheets, visibility quickly reduced to feet. Turning, Leena squinting against the onslaught, before making a mad dash for the white glow of the ship’s interior lighting as it glowed against the darkness, illuminating the rain in it’s warmth. As the thunder rolled overhead and the lightning danced across the distance sky, the darkness howled on the growing winds. It’s presence was strong, as natural as the power of the destructive power of the storm. It was twisted and starving for more, just lime the beasts that glistened beneath the droves of beating rain. As a particularly loud, earth-shaking pulse of thunder rocked the scene and a bolt of lightning struck the ground sending plumes of headless seedling children flying through the air in flaming gouts, the darkness shine through the fog of combat. To those that were looking, a dark presence, a natural and foreign being that survived against all odds, taking the dark and making it it’s own seemed to materialized in the storm clouds above for a passing moment. The face of a female, beautiful and terrifying in it’s raw hunger. These countless vine-men were but immature children, bore by her womb for one purpose, to feed their dark mistress with no sense of self preservation. And then it was gone, the iron grip of a Sith Lord’s forgotten font of power erasing the ethereal vision and the shimmering connections. An ancient structure that oozed power, contained within long cooled forges that would spew forth ancient powers and forbidden magics to whoever possessed the power to overcome it. The storm tapped it’s power, feeding upon it as it was fueled by the unknown and ravaged the windswept hills of the world. Unnatural as it was powerful. Whoever and whatever was in it’s grasp, man, beast, or machine, would not be let go without a fight. Flight would not be a viable option in the night. Making it to the ramp, Leena scrambled upwards, slipping in the downpour of rain. Her soaked clothes slapped against the ramp as she fell. Scrambling of all fours, Leena rolled into the ship. Bits of water flecked inwards out of the downpour. Outside, the beasts began to close on the ship again, having been repulsed for but a few moments. Even in the downpour, some flaming headless ape-plants advanced like hell-escaped demon spawns seeking their prey.

Against the dark sky, it was impossible to tell the size of the mass that pressed in on them from all sides. It was like a rapid fungal growth, nothing was left in it’s path that it did not cling to and seek to absorb. Like this seemingly idyllic world, they served a darker master. Things were not as they seemed on this strangely inactive cesspool of darkness. This ship and her contents had disrupted had disrupted the delicate balance of this living yet dead ecosystem, finely crafted by the manipulations of the Sith of legend. Backed against Zeris, Leena felt the force moving all about them. She could feel Lok moving amongst the massive growth that was the biologic shadow in the force. Elsewhere, plumes of flame erupted in the falling rain. The mechanized war machine made his own dent in the ethereal sea of the force. As it teamed with darkness, the unnaturally-natural darkness was beat back one flame-clubbed tree carcass at a time. The force flowed like a raging current of purity mirroring the rain that rolled down her salmon skin. In and through the Jedi, deployed in a protective aura against the press as she and her cohorts struggled against the seemingly endless hungering horde. A peal of thunder rumbled across the black sky followed by a solitary bolt of yellow-hued electricity. For a brief second the entire scene was illuminated. The scrub grass was slick with blood-like sap an rain. Seemingly innumerable clawing bodies clamored over one another from the sea banks to the ship, surrounding it, tearing at the craft as they made their way towards their one hive-minded goal; flesh, souls, life. In that moment, the force, clouded by the dark side, shone clear. Like a rippling brook refracting a drop of sunlight to illuminate the shadows and crevices beneath, Leena saw what she needed to do. Sending a rippling wave of energy down the ship, Leena turned her head to shout over the din of the clawing monsters, “We are not going to make it like this. Follow me!” The force billowed, pushing rain aside as it pummeled tendrilled seekers aside. And then, she let the shield fall. Counting on Zeris’ cybernetic limbs to carry her where the force would take the Jedi Master, Leena’s legs tensed and she leapt. Borne upon the surging current of the force, the rain-soaked Jedi launched upwards away from the cacophony of dark chaos below. There, for a moment, washed by the purifying rains that fell from the dark sky, Leena was at one with the force itself. The line between physical and ethereal blurred and blended. A beacon of light against the darkness, she radiated the warmth and goodness of the natural force, empowered even by the life forces of these twisted and grotesque forms that sought to drag them to certain doom. As her momentum crested, Leena turned to face the rain-soaked ground below. Drawn by the sight of Ruin waiving the flaming corpse of a plant goon like a divine executioner, she plummeted towards the ground, her body accelerating beyond that which gravity would naturally compel her; compelled by the incoming tide of the force. She hurled towards the ground, cocooned in a protective aura of the very power that pushed her. Slamming into the ground, Leena’s knees touched first. Her fists followed, cratering the rolling hill and billowing it outwards. Protected by the force, Leena’s momentum blasted outward in every direction. Radiating from her point of impact the ground buckled and rolled; the air shimmered as the force churned in a shockwave of power. Bodies were knocked down and thrown into the air leaving a ring of empty cracked earth that stretched from the ship rocking in the blast’s wake to Ruin’s fire swinging body. Flames caught other headless plant-apes. Leena’s eyes crackled with pure energy as the force radiated from every pore of her body. Slowly she stood. The thunder overhead cracked and another jagged bolt of lightning illuminated the field of play reflecting off of Leena’s glistening skin. Stretching her hands, Leena regarded the battlefield. She felt the impact in her knuckles and joints even though the force had born the brunt of it. Looking to her Imperial Knight brother-in-arms, Leena saw him fall. With a telekinetic tug, she reached for the warrior to wrench him towards her into the safety of the cleared circumference. “Let’s go!”

Leena inhaled, drawing on the force as she followed Lok partially down the ramp. What was visible beyond the sliver of silvered light from the hold was flitting shadows of beastly forms. The voice of the diminutive destruction droid, echoed on the ship’s internal speak system. Already, the force users were plunging into the chaos. Leena stopped as she went down the ramp, slapping the closing button for the ramp. She hoped that Zeris had a way back in. She did not think it was worth the risk of allowing these unknown . . . things . . . from gaining access to the ship; their only way off planet. As Lok’s blade illuminated the darkness accompanied by the blast of Ruin’s weapon echoing against the open landscape. Aside from the squish of plants guts, the headless beings made no sound. Lack of mouth abd audible capabilities would do that. So to were they missing eyes and ears, drawn by other senses. The force perhaps? Something else? On the ground, Leeba could see that Lok and Ruin were making short work of the swarm, despite it’s continuing press. With an agile backflip, belayed by the force itself, she arced into the air, landing with a thud of her boots on the angular topside of their ship. Here the beasts were clambering to get to the others. Calling on the force, she felt it all around her, pooling like a reservoir of purity within her soul. Extending her hand towards a pair of sinewy ape-things that had made it atop the ship, she broadcast a surging wave of energy in their direction. It extended outward, expanding into a circular shielding disc. Invisible to the naked eye, it was as strong as durasteel and the beasts ran headlong into it, clawing at the sudden barrier in their path. With one hand outstretched, Leena turned to find Zeris with her eyes. Seeing their captain approaching the crest of the ship, Leena used her other webbed hand to send a concussive blast of energy towards the beasts that clawed at her. Like the roar of a tidal surge breaking on a rocky outcrop the shockwave of energy rippled outwards. It’s power would be felt by the cyborg as it pulled at her. Leena hoped Zeris was holding on. The true cacophony of the moves power; however, would not be realized until it crashed into the pursuing creatures, sending them cartwheeling in a mess of twisted limbs through the night sky. ————————————- Prey, that is what they were. Little more. With the flight of the banthas, there was little other option on the desolate plane. On Byss, where life was rare, every opportunity to feed must be seized with absolute vigor. The beasts would not let these escape. The droids, a mere threat, would be torn to bolts and plating, if they had their way. The children would see to it. The organics, full of life, would be drug into the sea to feed their mistress, the mother of abomination. But first, they would need to be overcome, for it did not seem that they would come quietly. And so with the strength of choking vines and the ferocity of creeping thorns, the headless monsters fought, unrepulsed by injury or show of force. They were plants, sentient together in their unity, alone little more than hungering masses with singular purpose; a hive. The night was still long and they would only cease when they were each cut down and rendered unable to function or when the light of dawn would crest the horizon. ————————————- Leena offered a grim nod to Zeris, having not considered Fera’s fate in the shockwave of the force. Her eyes flashed a grim determination, knowing they were in for a long night, if they made it that long. As she nodded to Zeris, the Jedi councilwoman backed herself towards the other so that they could fight in tandem. A deep part of her wished she had taken the time to construct a new saber, even as another part of her rejected the thought immediately. With one hand, she held the shield, pushing it outward towards the edge of the ship that she faced, looking down upon Lok at the closed ramp of the ship; with the other she sent boiling blast after blast of telekinetic energy surging into what beasts she could to drive them back. The blasts snapped limbs with sickening cracks like branches in a storm; and so it was, stood the Jedi Master, a beacon of light side energy rebuffing the dark storm all about offering safe harbor within the shelter of the force.

The sun began to set over the distance waters. The world was almost peaceful, save for that almost electrical buzz of the dark side that seemed to be an ever present source of distraction from total focus. Leena could not help but agree with the others. Sleeping shipside seemed to be a wise decision. One could never be too cautious and there was no telling what came out after dark on this strange dark world. A breeze blew off the water, carrying a cool bite against the lowering air temperature. Turning, Leena made her way aboard, content there was little that she could do to help in the moment. Aboard, a cachunk reverberated through the craft as the entire thibgb switched to emergency power. Dim running lights in case of a speedy exit were all that illuminated the gloom. The Healer assumed that had to do with whatever repairs Zeris had indicated. Besides, the droids were out there still too. If something happened, the Jedi had high expectations that the martial display made on Felucia could be put to lethal effect by their pilot. The droids, they just seemed to exude an aura of deep crime syndicate challenge to anyone that dared to cross them. Squinting her eyes, Leena carefully made her way to what passed as her ‘quarters’, a corner of the ship that she had laid claim to. She passed by Lok as he set up his own makeshift sleeping area. Rolling out her own bedroll, she took a moment to watch the Knight, grateful to have him along. Whatever was to come, someone as sure with a blade and centered in the force would be a welcome ally. Rolling herself up, Leena fell into a light, albeit fitful sleep plagued by strange jolted dreams of dark imagery and energy, of shadowy monsters and an evil queen. Tossing and turning she slept, subconsciously clinging to the faintest tendrils of light to keep from being pulled into an abysmal maw of leeching dark side energies. Outside, the sky grew dark. The few faint stars that were visible against the whirling vortexes of space did little to illuminate the near pitch black that overcame the world with sundown. Even the almost still waters could not reflect the few lights that shone in the distant sky. Beyond the horizon, whatever Sith temples of citadels were enshrouded in a gloom that could not break the night. Nearby the herd of bantha moved carefully in the night, their beastly calls all that seemed to permeate the world beyond the gentle lapping of the sea and the work being done on the ship itself. And so it was, for hours. Nothing moved. Nothing changed. The world stood at a stand still, even the force lay stagnate if not pressing from all sides. And so it was, until, it was not. in the not so distant distance m, between the waters and the ship, a painful cry of surprise, fear, and pain erupted from a bantha, or so it would sound. This was followed by many beastly cries of rage and pain as the very ground began to shake beneath the ship. The majority of the herd thundered past and around it, bodies slamming into the aged vessel, as they fled or charged into the dark. The jostling of the ship and the animalistic emotions, amplified by the force itself were enough to wrench Leena from her sleep. Drenched in sweat, she looked worriedly over at Lok. “There is more.” She hissed, her dreams and reality having nearly meshed at the point of awakening. Rolling out of her sleeping bag, Leena climbed to her feet, grabbing a support handle to steady herself against the sway of the craft. “Where are the others?” She asked, looking at Lok, as she began to draw on the force, seeking a calm center to find anchor in, creating a pool of it from which to draw on. Outside, after the ship quit jostling, a calm seemed to descend over the area as the thundering herd of bantha vanished into the night. A calm fell over the area, until a skittering of thorny claws against the side of the ship interrupted the darkness. On the force, it was as if nothing was there aside from a vague tendril of dark connection stretching like a microscopic web across the area and down the coast. Suddenly, without cry or noise, aside from the scratching, headless ape-like creatures materialized in the dim light of Zeris’ worklight. As if as one, the headless beasts, clawed at the the cyborg. Their thin covering of hair obscured their bloodless origin, more plant than animal. These monsters had one intent, to immobilize and drag any organic substance back into the sea. Any that resisted would be attacked mercilessly. The monsters immune to pain and even disemboweling, their innards sinew veins of vine and grass and ichor. Strong and unthinking, the headless harvesters had one intention, harvest the living, destroy what stood in their way. Poison dripped from their claws as the silent sinewy musclebound monkey-things attacked. Zeris was their first target until they could crack the shell of the ship and salvage the morsels within. The droids would be ignored until they presented a threat to their sole goal.

As the aged gunship began it’s descent to the non-descript world below, Leena turned her attention to the Imperial Knight’s approach. She smiled at him. In the pressing darkness of the world that enveloped them, she knew they needed to maintain a united, if eclectic, front. She nodded slowly as he spoke, not daring to interrupt. She knew firsthand how hard such an admission could be to make. After he finished, the silence hing there for a long moment before they were interrupted by the ship touching down and Ruin’s announcements that he was going to go find Sith . Leena grimaced at the thought as the droids followed their pilot outside. Before following Leena turned back to face Lok, staring into his eyes with her own deep bulbous ones. “Apology accepted Master Knight, but do not worry. Both of our orders are far from the perfect ideal they seek to portray and become. What matters is that we serve the force, and not the corruption of it that we sense here. We must guard our minds, lest your friendly neighborhood robots sense some semblance of darkness within us and deem us a threat to their programming.” She smiled at the half joke, expressing her concern over the droids. “Tell me, have you trained in the use of shields and wards? Our minds will need protected while we are here.” Falling in beside Lok, she walked with him out the ship after the others into the bleakness that was Byss. It held a sort of otherworldly beauty; one that was only partially veiled by the seemingly constant thrum of the dark side at the base of her skull. Without it, she could see how such a place could become an attractive escape to those who could make it this far Core-ward. The vast nothingness of the rolling hills and scrubbed planes, dotted only by a spare wind-worn tree here and there met the vast waters that stretched to where it fogged against the horizon. The black waters spoke of a depth beyond simple measure and the beach of worn sand that abutted the gentle waves told a story of little tidal wear except where the water lapped against the cliff face against the sea. The herd of Bantha, somewhat stockier built and coarser haired than most seen about the galaxy, numbered somewhere about a dozen, maybe a few more. They were a peaceful addition to a the picturesque scene. It seemed deceptively off, tainted by the darkness; open vastness that seemed incapable of holding secrets against the vast gray sky. The starry sun was sinking against the sea, clutched by a haze that obscured it’s edges and contributed to the long shadows that even now continued to grow. Night would soon be upon them; and yet, nothing seemed to offer signs of detection or threat. Still, the darkness buzzed on near a palpable level prodding minds and circuits alike; strangers to this world. Standing at the bottom of the ramp, Leena reached out upon the force, reaching, feeling, for the glimmers of light, like star pricks against an inky sky. She opened herself up to this light, letting it trickle inward and encompass her heart, her soul, her mind. She allowed it to build within, encouraging it and nurturing it exponentially until it became a radiating aura that spilled from her very pores. The whole task was almost as simple as breathing for the Jedi Master. What she added to it was a ward of light, a wall to shelter her mind against the encroaching darkness. What the aura might not be able to subdue with the light, such a wall would serve as a bulwarked defense. As Zeris came back into sight about the far side of the ship, Leena offered her a warm smile. “Excellent work Master Pilot. You are truly a credit to your profession.” Gesturing to the world about them, she queried, “What do you think of this world?” Leena did not want to admit that she was unsure of what to do next. The whole world was enshrouded in the gloom of darkness. Where to go after landing was as lost to the Jedi as this world seemed to be to the galaxy itself. Maybe after a night’s rest, things would be clearer; even if that meant a return of the dreams, whatever they may be, here, closer to the source. “Are we to make camp?”

Leena spent the majority of the trip in silent meditation, touching, feeling, and offering an encouraging, almost palpable, energy to all within while still reaching out into the warping cosmos about the ship and feeling the endless tidal power of the force there as they plowed deeper into the Core. Several times, she felt the tension of their close scrapes with death as the ship shuddered, and even moreso, the very tendrils of darkness seemed to claw at them from the deep. With a breath out, she put forth an invisible barrier between the ship and the gravitations that sought to reduce them to an atomized state. Even so, it was only due to their pilot’s extreme skill or luck that they made it through alive. Wherever the Squibs had found this woman, they had really come through. She smiled; she should have never doubted them. They always came through for her. It was not like they had picked up any random pilot in a bar somewhere. As the ship settled into real space, Leena’s closed eyes fluttered open with a start. A gasp was barely contained between her lips. The surge of darkness was strong, immense, and sudden. It was as if was ingrained in the very molecules of the system itself. With a shuddered breath, the Master Healer sought to refocus herself, standing from her spot in the floor to walk towards the cockpit to see the planet approaching in the distance. It was a single marble against a backdrop of the stars and warped realities of the deep Core and somehow, Leena felt like she knew the world. “That is it.” She whispered behind Zeris, a mixture of relief and worry evident in her words. As the ship descended through the atmosphere, Leena felt the growth of dark energies. Breaking the low-hanging hazy cloud cover, they were met with an uninspiring view. Plains and low hills covered in sparse shrubs and rough hardened, short prickly tufts of grass. The lack of life here was concerning in and of itself. In the distance a weathered city broke the endless plains. A citadel of the Sith. Abandoned long ago; but how abandoned? That remained to be seen. Within it’s cruel and crumbling walls remained the last remnants of a Sith training academy. Instinctively, Leena knew that was not where they were to go. She pointed towards the sweeping plains. Maybe that was where they needed to go. Here, even her dreams were warped by the press of darkness. “Lets keep away from the city. I am not sure we want to risk that right now.” A yawn escaped the Mon Cal’s mouth as she spoke, the weariness of the trip catching up with her even as she relaxed at having made it this far. Out over the endless rolling plains, there was little. Bodies of water broke the surface here and there, contained within knolls and divots. Lakes, standing streams, ponds; little life was to be found there either. They would fly inwards until the horizon was embraced by a brackishly brown-blue sea. “Can we set down there?” Leena pointed out a herd of Bantha-like creatures grazing near the shoreline. “Not too close though. We don’t want to scare them.” In the distance, behind the gray clouds, the distant sun began to set. The darkness pressed in from everywhere, it was as if the world itself was wrought of the stuff; and still, life found a way to endure. Leena was not sure what they would do next. Perhaps after a night’s rest things would look different; but somehow, she doubted it. Now that they were, she needed to figure out what to do next.

Leena walked along beside the Knight, ignoring his recoil at her touch. Whatever plagued the man was deeper than a surface revulsion if she, her position, or her order. She regarded the man for a moment before falling back into step with him as they walked. She listened as he spoke. A smile tugged at the corners of her weary face. She did not understand the bleeping droid, unsure if it was angry or joyful as it careened through the underbrush. She took that it could not be too bad. The bot was following them after all. After Lok finished speaking, Leena turned his words over in her mind. It was true, they were going in blind as it were; as blind as one might be, “In the force, one is never truly blind my brother. These friends of mine have saved my life a thousand times over. They have never steered me wrong before. Just as I am a Jedi and you a Knight of the Empress, there are many paths of life. One is not better than the other so long as they follow the truth and do not seek to edify selfish ambitions. We do not know how those paths will journey; but we all put our trust in something greater.” As they rounded a bend in the path, the gunship came into view as a band of Felucian warriors turned and scurried into the brush, vanishing as if they never were. Even in the force their presence was clouded by the living world, the force around them. Pausing, Leena turned to face Lok. She looked him in the eye. “I know your Empress. She and I trained together when I was but a Padawan. She is a good woman. I would trust that anyone who followed her had a purity of heart worthy of such an appointment. I also know the Admiral that sent you to me. He comes from yet another path; raised among the Mandalorians, dedicated to spy craft and war. He carries a goodness of will and steel character that carries his spirit towards the light of truth.” “You seem troubled though, Sir Knight. Where we are going, I sense a strange rippling darkness that consumes all it touches. What it is, I do not know. I do not even know how to get there. For that, I am trusting our pilot, one who is not in the orders of you or I; but who is here under my invitation. I am trusting the force to guide us. What happens will happen. We will find what it is that we are seeking, be it Sith atrocities, Dark Side malevolence, or peoples in need. If you do not desire to accompany us, I will respect that.” Leena knew that the droids and cyborg were a protective layer against the manipulations the dark side especially where force users might be concerned. She had poured over whatever bits of information she could find on Byss. It was not much and what she could find was unnerving at best. Grabbing Lok by the shoulder, Leena nodded knowingly to the Knight before dropping her arm to her side. Turning she made her way towards the others at the ship. She offered a smile and a nod to Zeris. “Captain. Lovely spear.” She paused giving the primitive weapon a once over. “My gear should be along momentarily. Then we are in your capable hands and . . . (¿) ship (?). We can depart when you give the word.” Her eyes ran over the worn vessel. She inhaled, calming her internal turmoil. Surely such a craft, kept by such a being, had it where it counted. Looking to Ruin, “If you could avoid turning people into flambé, that would be appreciated. That being said, if the Sith monsters get out of hand,” she gestured to the flamethrower encouragingly. A few minutes later a wheeled droid rolled down the bumpy path, chirping angrily at each dip and divot. “I am a medical droid. I am meant to be left indoors!” It carried a case of medical equipment and spare robes. Rolling up to Ruin, the fine-appendaged bot addressed the hulking war machine his tone straying from pure annoyance to one tinged with shades of respect. “These are for Jedi Council Master Kil for her journey. Where should I deposit them?”

Leena canted her head at the odd pair of droids. While she held no reservations towards them for being automated, she did not know nearly as much about how they functioned compared to standard organics. So the whirs and beeps of Fera’s communications would seem cute had not Leena realized the droid was trying to communicate . . . something. The larger automaton was not a slouch either. Clearly it carried some sort of combat programming beyond ‘bodyguard’. Yet it clearly held some sort of resentment, be it developed or programmed, towards the Sith specifically. Time would tell if that would be help or hinderance where they were going. Before she could respond Zeris and the bots had taken off towards the ship. For a brief moment, Leena wondered if the mechanized portions of them had some invisible draw towards other things of a mechanical nature? It was a thought she quickly bypassed, something for another time. There were more pressing matters at hand. Leena turned her attention to the Imperial Knight. It was clear, beneath the surface, the man was perturbed to even be here. His guarded stance and mind betrayed a troublesome enigma beneath their protective barriers. What it was, remained to be seen. Offering a warm, albeit tired, smile, Leena turned so she stood side by side with the Knight. She slid an arm up to rest her hand on his shoulder in comfort, not control. A Knight did well to guard against the darkness, for their order strayed closer to it than the Jedi would dare. A warmth relayed from her fingertips, the cleansing soul purifying dignity that came with being renewed in body and mind. Before she could speak, the buzz droid had returned, this time without her larger companion. Leena shook her head. “I do not understand you little friend. And in a place like this, I am not sure there are many that would” Looking from the brains of the droid duo to Lok and back, she nodded at Lok’s words. “I wish I had more answers myself. Sadly, any answer I have found only opens more questions. What I know is that our pilot was hired by my friends. So she is not Imperial is my guess. She knows where we are going, and presumably how to get us there in one piece. Before she arrived, I did not even know that. Byss is a world shrouded in mystery. The Sith held it once. Probably why my friends did not want to go there. Still, they were able to find where these visions seem to connect too.” She shrugged. “Maybe that is why I am having visions of the place. The Sith were there, some old sorceries or something, maybe something worse? Dark visions. Shadows just out of sight that crawl into my dreams. Ancient Sith writing. Spells? Scriptures? Instructions? I don’t know. And that is what we are going to find, answers; what this all means. I am not a Jedi of futures, of dreams and visions. I am a healer, called to mend the broken and destroyed. Maybe,” her voice took on an air of hope, “we can mend whatever rift this is too.” And they began to turn, walking slowly in the direction of the ship. “So I imagine that is where you come in. I reached out to an old Imperial friend and asked for some help. No sense pulling Jedi away in a time like this and where we might be going, uniformed soldiers or anyone associated openly with either of our orders might draw unwanted attention. Like your bigger friend noted, I do not have a lightsaber. Mine was lost in the last great battle. I am not sure if I want to craft another one. In a galaxy plagued by violence,” she trailed off shaking her head. A moment later, she turned to look at Fera. she winked. “If violence is necessary, I hope you lot are up to the challenge. By the looks of it your friend would welcome a Sith entanglement. I hope it does not come to that. But given what we know, who knows. I am happy to have all of you along.” _______________________________ Back at the ship, a small gaggle of native Felucians stood admiring the vessel. They had seen craft often enough, but this lot lived deep enough in the jungles that the opportunity to really examine one up close came rarely. Excitedly they ran their hands over the craft, examining the plating, guns, all of it with wonder. It was not their way, the ways of their people; but death had rained down in such craft. To study the enemy, to know their ways, exploit their weaknesses, it was the way of the warrior. But like they that brought death, so did others come with other intentions; some to help, some with other ideations. Like she that had come in this craft, part being and part machine, like the Sith monstrosities that had devastated their homes. Thankfully this one was different. She came and helped. Wether to make amends for her people’s actions or something else, who knew. When Ruin and Zeris approached, the natives clambered off the craft. One, their leader, a sinewy and taut war-painted veteran hefted an intricately crafted spear of salvaged durasteel and held it up in two hands, parallel to the ground. The head was fused to the shaft and offered a wicked jagged point complete with spines that seemed to be intent on inflicting as much fleshy damage as possible. “For you.” He proffered the weapon. “To kill those that did this. Avenge us.” Another warrior hefted two sealed containers. One was a sealed container of acidic metal-dissolving goo derived by unspoken ritual by their people. The second, a fast-hardening resin to recoat the spear to make sure the acid did not eat it away. The warrior that pressed the ornate containers into Zeris’ hands hissed with a chuckle as he eyed Ruin. “Works on those brutes too.”

The Mon Cal worked tirelessly. The force rippled in the air with the power that radiated about the room. Wounds knitted themselves shut beneath her hands, purged of infection and disease. Throughout the ward and beyond, the tingle of life bloomed and grew. It best back the darkness of unwarranted suffering and death. Through it all, Leena’s light melodic hum carried as she and healers and medics worked with force-imbued vigor. As the wooden door creaked on it’s hinges at the arrival of the eclectic group, Leena’s eyes were drawn to their arrival. Nodding to Zeris and company, Leena finished tying off the bandage she was working on before turning to walk towards the others. Grabbing a clean rag, she wiped her hands clean, her white robes flecked with blood still. A worn smile crossed Leena’s face. The constant work and plaguing dreams had taken their toll on her. At last, they would be off looking for answers. Visages of darkness played at the back of her mind. Thoughts of the mysteriously shrouded dark world, monsters, Sith emblems, what did it all mean? Why was she being called to them? What was this world and what was the force summoning her there for? ”Captain Mons,” Leena bowed slightly in greeting to the cybernetic warrior, “You have already been of great service here, but I believe the time of our departure is upon us. Thank you.” Turning to Lok Skyshatter and Ruin & Fera, Leena looked them over with a glance. One was an Imperial Knight; not what she had expected when she had reached out to her intelligence associate, but not a total surprise either. “Welcome Knight. I am glad to have your blade by my side.” Turning her gaze to the duo of droids, she scratched her head. They were more what she had expected; but still, she was intrigued by them. “You are quit the cute little buzzdroid,” she complemented with a smile, knowing full well each droid probably possessed the ability to destroy the entire village. “Tell me friend, what is your primary designation?” Gesturing for the group to step out of the ward into the village clearing, she pulled the door behind her. “I am glad you are all here. Too much time has elapsed already. There is much to discuss. I do not know what you have been told already. Even I do not have all the answers, all I know is that we are traveling to a world of darkness, unnatural evil wrought by the Sith in some way. If you have any pressing questions, ask them now; otherwise, let us gather what supplies we need and meet with Captain Mons and her ship.” Leena turned to Zeris with a gesture, allowing her to give details of her ship and where to go.

Leena smiled as the cybernetic mercenary made her way into the destroyed village followed by a gaggle of villagers. It warmed her heart; this hardened warrior, her heart still held a warmth for others. Why else would she go to help they that she had no other connection to? “That Reaper Joe, always full of surprises,” she chuckled softly shaking her head as she turned and made her way back towards the makeshift medical ward in one of the few yet standing longhouses. Soon enough the sound of Zeris’ jackhammering blows rang through the heavy jungle air. Back in the ward, Leena pushed up her sleeves. The hot dense humid air was still here, making it even stickier as it mingled with the distinct odors of injury and illness. Grabbing a pot of clean water mixed with sanitizer and what passed for a stack of sterile rags, the Jedi Healer moved towards a fevered villager with a gapping wound that ran down his broken leg. With an expert eye, Leena eyed the poor workman, took in his pain and felt it pressing against her heart. Leena inhaled, reaching for the force. It was all about her as thick as the hot heavy humidity that hung in the air. She drew the man’s pain, coating it in protective healing energies. She extinguished the pain with a touch of the man’s forehead, using the rag to mop away his fevered sweat. Dipping it in the cool water, she set the cloth atop the man’s forehead before moving towards the source of the bodily devastation; the torn and broken leg. He had been crushed by the very pillar Zeris was even now addressing. With the skills of a surgeon, her hands led by the force, Leena began to gingerly purge the infection from the man’s elongated wound. She hummed softly as she worked, her voice crossing between the natural and supernatural, calling forth the pain and sickness, fostering tissue growth and healing at an exponential rate. Puss oozed forth at her calling. She wiped it away as her fingers chased the trails of deadened flesh cauterizing it away with a touch. Her presence filled the room, her very works aiding the healing of others that she was not even attending. Healing and life poured forth as she drew on the living force, connecting each wounded and sick patient to the healers and medics at work and to those in the village beyond. Attitudes were bolstered and footsteps quickened. Muscles strengthened and exhaustion dissipated like course sand beneath the tide. Life itself seemed to flourish in the village-encompassing aura of the Mon Cal. The smell of salted sea water seemed to settle across the village bringing with it a gentle cool mist against the heat of the day. As she worked, Leena’s warm joyful song, gently hummed between concentrated lips, a second natured act as the woman focused on her task at hand, seemed to waft across the village, a faint tune in the ear of anyone that stopped to hear it. It told a wordless story of regeneration and life, of the conquering of death and darkness. It spoke of a love of life and passionate compassion for the least of these. All who heard it would be encouraged, empowered deep in their soul, to embrace their lightest and most pure traits and to act upon them in selfless acts for the greater good.

The villagers watched carefully as a ship landed at their outskirts. Before this any aid had been caravanned through the jungles, mostly by animal or wagon, some by cautious speeder. The mechanized being gave them pause, sending a ripple of fear through the village. Such an automaton-abomination was all too clear a reminder of the faceless war machines and creations of the Sith that had sought to suppress them and drive them as slaves before them. Members of the Jungle Felucian warrior castes, this village had been hard pressed in the Sith onslaught, it was why Leena was there helping to tend to their wounded. Even after the battle, it was these skullblade wielding warriors who were the first to venture into the devastating mists looking for their people and tending to those they came across. So now, even as the one that looked to be a Sith dream come to fruition strode into their village, they met her with an envoy of regailed and painted combatants while from the trees and shadows a dozen plus more watched, their bows held to the ready. They sniffed at the air, sniffing the woman’s presence within the force itself; cautious to believe she meant them no harm. They had seen deceit masqueraded before them all too often. One particularly brave fellow stepped forward, a spear held guardedly in his hands, colorful feathers adorning the shaft where the poke met the razored edges of jagged durasteel salvaged from the jungle’ depths. —————————- “No no no.” Cane a voice from out of sight as a slight fishy Mon Cal in brown robes caked in blood and mud rounded the corner, carving a path through the even shorter native Jungle Felucians. “She is here for me.” A growl escaped the gathered warriors as their glinting eyes and blades shifted towards Zeris. Animalistic and predatory, it signaled an immediate dislike for the nee arrival. It was a reason. That was all they needed. ”No!” Leena’s voice carried over the cacophony with alarm. “With me! She is here WITH me, not, oh nevermind.” The Healer offered Zeris an exasperated smile as she rolled her eyes. “Welcome to the jungle,” she shrugged her shoulders making her way through the rest and brushing away the leader’s poison-tipped spear. “Miss Zeris Mons I presume? You made excellent time in getting here. We are still waiting for the others. I suspect they will be along any time. As you can see,” she held up her hands, “Things are busy around here. These warriors have been out helping other villages and areas that have been hard hit. Their village is still in pretty big disarray and they have several sick and wounded. If you wanted to stick around, you’d be most welcome. I’d be happy to take a look at those,” she gestured to Zeris’ cybernetic limbs as she began to walk back deeper into the devastated village. It was apparent that there was still a lot of cleaning up to do and that the locals were making the best of the situation. “Make sure they’re synced right or even see about growing you some skin or new arms and legs. When time allows of course. Is there any chance you would want to go and heft a few fallen beams from some collapsed huts on the east side of the village? They haven’t had the time what with going out every day and nursing their own. Besides,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning in towards the mercenary, “they are wirey and strong, but it will take a half dozen of them with pulleys and winches working all day to clean up those firebombed community buildings”

Leena nodded at the response and then promptly hurried off to investigate these mystery coordinates. What she found was startling to say the least. Byss. A world shrouded in as much mystery as lack of accessibility. If this Zeris was good enough to get them there and back again, she might be worth the exorbitant sum she had originally asked for. ____________________ Clearance was quickly given for the ship. It was, in fact, expected. Leena had seen to that much. A landing pad several kilometers from the temple, adjacent to a ramshackle customs office and surrounded by a pop up settlement of Felucian refugee resettlers waited. It was like something out of an b-grade adventure holovid set deep in uncivilized space. As the ship settled, a lone Jedi stepped out of the office onto the landing pad. He stood just off from where the ramp would descend. Curious local onlookers peered through the trees with wonder. “Greetings traveller.” the middle-aged Iktotchi greeted Zelis with a distinctly unemotional, entirely dull voice as he held up a scanner. The ship was scanned in an instant and the Jedi’s datapad gave a readout. “I see you have come for the healers. Funny, you do not look injured.” He shrugged his shoulders, brushing the idea away. “Not any of my business anyway. Let’s see,” he stared down at his datapad, “do you have any highly contagious maladies, non-local flora or fauna, items expressly forbidden by Rebel Alliance, Imperial Remnant, or Jedi Order laws, orders or mandates or any other items of potentially toxic, dangerous, or questionable nature that you wish to declare?” Without even looking up from his pad, the Jedi held out a thick clawed hand. “Papers please.”

**An encrypted message dinged on Xeris Mons’ communicator, what followed was not a prerecorded holomessage, but a written correspondence on Jedi letterhead** Ms Mons, Your offer of assistance is much appreciated. If Reaper Joe has asked you to assist me, I am sure that you are quite qualified. I do wonder if our Squib associate left out some certain key details. You seem to know more than I do at this point. Reaper Joe was supposed to be locating an unidentified world for me and arranging transport for myself and a few associates to investigate an unknown force disturbance. The payment you are requesting, may be higher than I am able to provide. The 10% of the base can be provided to you upon your arrival at Felucia. In addition, if you are taking this task from Reaper Joe and company, I can extend the same offering to you as has been given to them. Any salvageable scrap and wares, the owners of which cannot be identified or who have been labelled enemies of the Order, and having no intrinsic monastic value to the Jedi Order are, by rights, salvageable and obtainable by, in this case, you, one Zeris Mons. I look forward to meeting with you. At this time, I am awaiting the arrival of my associates and upon the arrival of our team, we will be ready to depart under your expert piloting and navigational guidance. Signed Leena Kil Leena Kil Jedi Master Healer

Leena tried to content herself with her work about the temple and surrounding villages; but her mind remained troubled. All she could do now was wait. Meditate as she might, focusing her mind in the force, Leena was still troubled by the dreams. They continued to morph with each materialization and yet she still did not know where these dreams were leading her. Her soul, though, felt pulled from this place. Her mind distracted and unable to focus fully in her work. So when her comm chimed, Leena jerked in surprise upsetting the boxes of medical supplies she had been cataloging and stacking in a storage closet. Pulling her comm out with more than a hint of hopeful annoyance, she played the prerecorded message. An unidentified woman materialized above the receiver, a three dimensional holovision of someone Leena had no recollection of ever having met or interacted with before. The Mon Cal scrunched her left eye in confusion as she watched and listened. It seemed odd that this lady would know Reaper Joe, much less that Leena needed to go towards the Core. Even Leena did not know where she needed to go. The request for payment was very mercenary in nature and not something Leena was used too. All in all, the thing seemed very strange. Maybe this was some sort of trick or trap. Maybe her Squib friends were in trouble. Leena easily shook off the last idea. Even now, a few Squib could be found about the Temple and if their more reckless brethren were in trouble, the Healer knew she would be one of the first to be alerted. She had saved them as often as they had helped her. The Squibs and Leena had a very odd yet symbiotic relationship. As such, outsourcing her latest request seemed even more odd, unless . . . perhaps they had found something about the world she sought; something that scared even them beyond the temptations of untapped wealth. Setting the comm down on a nearby counter, Leena began to restock the boxes. She was still awaiting a response from the Remnant, and so it would not make much sense to jump into this unknown situation blindly. So she stacked, and pondered. Once she was done, she had an idea. Sending the resume off to an associate of hers, she figured a check into this Zeris Mons might yield some answers. Meanwhile, she carfully tried to craft a response. It was simple and once she looked it over, sent it back to the corresponding frequency code.