“Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy.”
Rumi
Daphne awoke to Cheeka snuggled beside her. She and Cheeka were naked. They had all been naked and they had all retired to bed together, but Tryst and Crusher were no longer present. She managed to extricate herself from Cheeka without waking her. She went to the head, did her business, washed her hands, and paused to stare in the mirror. She didn’t stare long. She activated the menu on the mirror, calling up a holographic display that outlined her and took measurements and gave clothing options. She ordered some clothes. A three-d printer began the manufacturer, and by the time she had finished showering, the clothes were ready, but the boots were still printing. She put on the clothes, still warm, and shoved her feet into the boots as soon as they became available.
She found Tryst and Crusher in the main cabin. Crusher was sorting through files on a computer, while Tryst stood behind him, eating a fruit. Without looking back, Tryst invited her to help herself to the food.
“Wait,” Tryst said, patting Crusher’s shoulder. “There.”
Crusher paused in his scrolling of the passenger list. Chester Gray, renowned author, and professor of esoteric studies became prominent, with a photo appearing to the left.
“What luck,” Tryst said, tossing the half eaten fruit in a bin and rushing to the flight deck.
Crusher followed. Daphne weighed the fruit versus her curiosity. She went to the followed. She nearly freaked out. They were in hyperspace and grappling distance from luxury cruise liner.
“Whoa, aren’t you flying a bit close!” Daphne said. “We’re about to get a whole lot closer,” Tryst said. “You get any closer, we’ll be crashing,” Daphne said.
“Docking,” Crusher corrected. “Kind of like us last night.”
“Crusher, what have I told you about bragging?” Tryst said.
“Sorry, boss, but you got to admit, she is a step up for me,” Crusher said. “I think I am going to be sick,” Daphne said.
“Don’t look at the slip stream,” Tryst advised.
“You don’t have permission to be doing this, do you?” Daphne said.
“No, it’s a stealth dock,” Crusher says. “No one ever expects to be robbed during hyperspace. That’s what so fun about it.”
“We’re robbing a cruise liner?!” Daphne said. “Yes,” Crusher said.
“No, not today,” Tryst said. “But we are going to go talk to a certain passenger. It’s important. Wait for it, wait for it, and there she is…”
The locking port clamped around an emergency hatch that led to a cargo area of the ship.
Tryst rotated his chair and smiled, pleased with his abilities. “How’s that for fancy flying?” Tryst said.
Cheeka entered, still naked. “Oh, why didn’t you guys wake me? Did I miss the dance?”
“The dance?”
“I’m the great flyer dance,” Tryst said, getting up to do his music-less dance. “I’m the great flyer, I’m the great flyer.”
“I love that dance,” Cheeka said, kissing him.
“Gear up, folks, we’re going scrounging,” Tryst said.
Cheeka went to get dressed, and Crusher went to arm himself. Tryst grabbed Daphne’s wrist as she was about to leave the flight deck. She didn’t fight it, but she lowered her gaze.
“You okay?” Tryst said. “Yeah,” Daphne said.
“Look me in the eyes when you answer me. You’re not my inferior,” Tryst said. Daphne looked him the eyes. “I don’t like this.”
“Good for you. Always speak your mind,” Tryst told her. “Today, we’re not doing anything wrong. Technically, sneaking on board is wrong, but we’re not doing anything wrong other than that. We’re just going to go talk to a guy. Our main goal is to recruit him. He is force sensitive and he is very knowledgeable. And he may have access to all sorts of trinkets. And you’re going to make contact for us.”
“I am? Why me?” Daphne said.
“Because, he isn’t fond of aliens, which means Cheeka and Crusher are out. He doesn’t like men, so that leaves me out. But he does like blonds. And you’re a Jedi. You have the highest likelihood of getting invited back to his room,” Tryst said.
Daphne tried to pull her wrist free, but he tightened his grip.
“Listen to me,” Tryst said. “We need him. We need him to join us voluntarily. This is your first mission. Make contact. Make friends with him. Seduce him. As soon as he comes, you let us in. No Jedi mind tricks. He has to join us willingly.”
“I am not a call girl…”
Tryst pulled her tight against him. “You’re my girl, and I am in charge, and you will do as I say,” Tryst said.
“No,” Daphne said.
Tryst shoved her hard into a panel and held her tight, a hand against her throat, but he was also using the Force. “Don’t look away,” Tryst told her. “Look in my eyes and know how serious I am. You and I have exchanged favors. I have met with Waycaster and ran my lightsaber through him. He will not be back for you. I own you, and you owe me. You will do as I say and you will do it with joy because I am telling you to do so. Now, do I need to demonstrate my authority over you? You think G is the only person who can pop off to other worlds and kill people in their sleep? You don’t have many friends, Daphne. Your family can’t even stand you right now. But I can make them all go away in the blink of an eye. Fuck with me. Fuck with my crew. And I will end them. Are we clear?”
Daphne maintained eyes contact. “Are we clear?” Tryst asked. “Clear,” Daphne said.
“Now, kiss me,” Tryst said.
Daphne kissed him, but it was a passionless, half-ass kiss. Tryst grabbed her hair and pushed her face to his face.
“Again,” Tryst said. “Make me believe it.” Daphne was breathing harder, wanting to resist. “Again!” Tryst snapped.
Daphne kissed him, though it was firmer, it was not with passion. He still held her firm by the hair and leaned in to her ear to whisper.
“There are two thousand guests on that liner, mostly women and children,” Tryst said. “You fuck this up, and I will kill every passenger and on this ship. I will fuck them in front of their families and the women will volunteer to gratify me to save their families and I will still blow them out the airlock one by one and make them watch. I will give every one of them the same deal I am giving you right now. Kiss me and make me believe you want me like your life fucking depended on it.”
Daphne kissed him. She kissed as if everyone’s life on that ship depended on her convincing Tryst that she wanted him. The session went beyond kissing, as Tryst shoved her out of the flight deck and bent her over a nearby crate. He shoved her face against it and held her there, hlding firm to the back her neck as he used his free hand to free himself from his pants. He instructed her to hold onto the crate and she complied as he undid her freshly printed clothes.
When he was finished he told her to not move. He left, and a moment later, Crusher came and took his turn. Crusher left, but still, she didn’t move. Cheeka came in, with a bowl of hot water a wash towel, and cleaned her.
“Come on, Sweetie,” Cheeka said, handing her chewable pain remedy. “Let’s go get this done.”
Cheeka led Daphne to the port where they would climb a ladder and board the other ship.
Tryst and Crusher were already onboard the luxury liner and out of sight. Cheeka handed Daphne her lightsaber. Daphne stared, not accepting
“Don’t fight this, Daphne,” Cheeka said. “If I know Tryst, by now he will have hidden a bomb somewhere, with a timer, and if you kill him, or he gets captured, the bomb will go off.
Maybe it will give him a chance to get free. Maybe it kills everyone, including him. He usually gets free. That is his gift with the Force.”
“And what’s yours? Telepathy?” Daphne said, taking the lightsaber.
“Telepathy is only part of it. I can walk through a crowd and not be seen,” Cheeka said.
She put a wrist band around her arm. “So we can find you if we have to. Also, when you accomplished your goal, push the green button.”
“You can be invisible, yet, you were captured by Tryst?” Daphne said.
“No. I was given to him, and I submitted,” Cheeka said. “It benefitted the herd to do so. Unlike you humans, we will do what we need to do to protect the herd. We’re herbivores, not hunters. We will lay ourselves down and submit to a predator so that the herd might live. That is the way of it. It always has and always will.”
“Let’s go folks,” Crusher yelled down. “Clock is ticking!”
Daphne took her lightsaber and hooked it to her belt. She climbed up. Cheeka remained, sealing the hatch on her side. Crusher grabbed her lewdly and laughed when she pushed past him.
“He’s in room 202. If not there, try the bar. He’s a drinker,” Crusher yelled after her. As soon as she was out of sight, he started shifting through the luggage crates, looking for valuables.
Daphne found 202. She was not sure where Tryst had gone, but she did look for him. From 202, she made her way to the nearest dining hall, but didn’t find him there. Crusher’s insight proved true. She found the man whose image had been on the screen in the crew cabin. She blinked, steadied herself, and approached him, taking a drink from a nearby table when the person drinking it was looking away.
“Excuse me,” Daphne interrupted him from his book. “You wouldn’t happen to be Doctor Gray, would you?”
He stood up, looking enviously at her lightsaber, before his eyes made it to her cleavage.
He did finally meet her eyes. “Indeed, madam. I am. Do we know each other?”
“Oh, no, I just remember seeing your face in my Master’s library,” Daphne said.
“Who is your Master?” Gray asked.
“Master Yeno,” Daphne said. “Yeno is still alive?!” Gray said.
“The last time I saw him, yeah,” Daphne said.
“My dear child, would you like to sit and talk with me?” Gray asked.
“Are you sure I am not bothering you?” Daphne asked.
“My dear, I am old, not dead, I like to be bothered every now and then,” Gray said, resuming his seat only after she had sat down. “So, you are a Master Jedi?”
“The title was given to me, but it’s not like the old days,” Daphne said.
“Nothing is like the old days. The prestige and glory is long gone, and the few Jedi I have met in my travels are no more than paragraphs compared to several volumes the Jedi once were. Sure, Force sensitive abound, they have always been in the population, but without teachers and trainers, no one is likely to ascertain Jedi level abilities again, at least, not on their own,” Gray said. He leaned in casually, tapping his book as in mock anger. “Why, do you know I have people professing to be Jedi who couldn’t lift this table with the Force?!”
“I believe it,” Daphne said. “I can lift more than the table if you require a demonstration, however, I prefer not to make a spectacle of myself.”
“Would you be insulted if I invited you back to my cabin?” Gray asked.
“Of course not. What I would like to discuss with you might be better done in private,” Daphne said. She, too, leaned closer. “You never know who sympathizes with whom these days. It’s very dangerous to express oneself in public venues.”
“On that note, we should retire to my cabin straightway,” Gray said, standing. “I will follow you,” Daphne said.
“Oh, nonsense! Take my arm and walk beside me and give an old man the honor of being seen in public with such a beauty,” Gray said.
“So, the rumors about you being a lady’s man are true?” Daphne asked.
“Hardly,” Gray said. “Sure, I have my cravings, but mostly I focus on learning the ways of the Force.”
“And what do you hope to gain?” Daphne asked.
“The ability to have a young lady on my arm,’ Gray said.
Daphne laughed. “Then apparently, you are a master, and I but your poor student,” she said.
“Hardly poor, dear,” Gray said, arriving at his door. “You are endowed with assets that make you priceless in any market.”
“You’re very kind,” Daphne said, following him into the room. She feigned interest in some of the books and trinkets that were set out.
“Something to drink?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” Daphne said, sitting on the couch. She felt sure he was the kind that would put something in the drink.
Gray sat in the chair across from her, studying her. “I think you were going to demonstrate your abilities?”
Daphne nodded, and using the force she lifted him and his chair off the ground, brought him closer and sat him down, their knees close enough to touch. He laughed delightedly throughout his short trip, applauding.
“Absolutely marvelous,” Gray said. “Oh, thank you, dear.”
“I hear you have some talent,” Daphne said.
“Nowhere near yours,” Gray said. “It’s feeling kind of hot in here. You should take your coat off.”
“I’m okay,” Daphne assured him.
He touched his collar as if to let some air in his shirt. “I think it’s pretty hot in here, you should take your coat off,” Gray said, a subtle inflection in his voice, as if he were making a Force command.
It dawned on Daphne what he was trying to do. She had to resist the urge to kill him.
Instead, she decided to play along. She began removing her coat, without much apparent thought, just incidental.
He applauded. “That’s my trick!” Gray said. “What trick?” Daphne asked.
“That’s the main problem with it, no one knows it’s a trick, so it’s very hard to get credit for it,” Gray said.
Daphne made a queer look. “Wait a minute. You made me take my coat off?!”
“I did,” Gray said.
“I don’t believe it,” Daphne said.
“I think you’re getting hotter. You may have to take your shirt off,” Gray said.
“I am sure that won’t work if I know it’s a trick,” Daphne said, simultaneously with taking off her shirt.
“I think you should take your boots off, too,” Gray said. “I want you to feel relaxed.”
Daphne removed her boots, while continuing the conversations. “I have some friends who are looking for someone knowledgeable in the Force. I don’t suppose you and I could be a team? With my abilities, and your knowledge, we might be good together. Would that interest you?” Daphne said.
“Oh, I imagine anything is going to be good with you,” Gray said. “I find I am overwhelmed and can’t stop myself. You’re so hot you’re beginning to drop sweat. Your pants are going to have to come off.”
Daphne stood, undid her pants, and pushed them to the floor.
“I don’t know why I am so hot all of a sudden,” Daphne said. She turned her back to him, bending over unnecessarily to drape her pants over the arm of the couch. She rose, keeping her back to him. “Do you think you could unbutton my bra for me?”
Gray stood, his hands shaking as he unfastened the clasp.
Daphne turned around to thank him and then grabbed him up and took him to the couch. “I don’t know what’s overcoming me,” Daphne said.
“I know. I am taking advantage of you, but I can’t stop myself,” Gray said. “Once I start Forcing on a girl, I can’t stop. Please forgive me.”
“Oh, no, forgive me, I am practically raping you,” Daphne said. “It is actually I who is taking advantage of you.”
“Oh, you don’t need to take advantage of me. I will do whatever you want, whenever you want,” Gray said, and then made a face. “Oh, dear, I am afraid I got bit overstimulated.”
“You came?” Daphne asked, sounding disappointed. She pushed the green button on her bracelet.
“Just give me about a half hour and I should be ready to go again,” Gray said. Daphne got up and went to the door and opened it. Crusher and Tryst entered. “That didn’t take long,” Crusher said.
“Who are these people?” Gray asked, sitting up in alarm.
“We are the friends you have agreed to participate with,” Tryst said, sitting down in the chair across him. “You can get dressed, dear. Your part is done.”
Daphne began dress as Tryst interviewed Gray, pulling the chair up close enough so that their knees touched. “You’re a really smart man, Professor. You know all sorts of tricks and people and you’re a bit of a collector.”
“I didn’t mean to take advantage her, honest,” Gray said.
“It’s okay. We’ve all had our turn with her today,” Tryst said. “I assure you. Join us, and you can tap that as often as you like.”
“Really?” Gray asked.
“What good is being a Jedi if you can’t use your powers to get women in bed?” Tryst asked.
“Oh, you read my book,” Gray said, first amazed anyone would know of it, but then realizing it had come back to him. He blushed. He bit his tongue and covered his mouth.
“Yes, the one you wrote under a pseudonym,” Tryst said. “I didn’t realize there were so many dumb blonds out there who were susceptible to mind tricks, until I read your book, and you turned me into a happy man. We so need you on our team. You teach me some stuff, and I will teach you. I can introduce you to folks who are on a whole ‘nother level, not Jedi, not Sith, but just as powerful.”
“I think we could come to some sort of arrangement,” Gray said.
“I do, too,” Tryst agreed, and then touched his nose thoughtfully. He pointed as he continued. “I think I remember reading about a talisman you always carry with you. Kind of like an arrow head?”
Gray seemed quiet.
“It’s around his neck,” Daphne said.
Tryst leaned in and pulled up on the chain. At the end of the chain was what appeared to be an arrowhead. It could have been a thousand years old or a gift shop souvenir. It was that unremarkable. Tryst used the Force to break the chain and pull it free.
“That’s mine,” Gray said.
“No, it’s ours. It belongs to the group,” Tryst said, holding it to his face and breathing in around it. “Ah, I do believe you came about it under false pretenses.”
“That’s not…” Gray found himself unable to say anything.
Tryst laughed. “Isn’t that the craziest thing? You know the word, you can even see it, but you can’t say it. Mind Tricks and Hypnosis are wonderful explanations of what you’re experiencing, and I am actually glad that you can’t lie to the group. It shows me the level of commitment you have given Daphne, us,” Tryst said. He leaned in. “Just so you know, when you discover that you can lie again, when you are able to lie to me and I catch you at it, it won’t be you and Daphne spending the night together, it will be you Crusher. He really likes old, white men.”
“I would never…” Gray tried to assure him, but again, he couldn’t complete the sentence.
“Almost there,” Tryst said, beaming a smile at Crusher. Tryst held the artifact. “This belonged to an Ewok Shaman. You told her you were a great, old Jedi and teacher. She gave you this to help you find your way. I think we’re going to use it to find our next score. Button your trousers and come along.”
“No,” Gray managed.
Tryst stood, picked Gray up by his shirt and instructed him to meet his eye.
“You’re new. You want to test the limits. I get it. But right now, you’re only choice is, do you sleep with Daphne, or do you sleep with Crusher. Which do you prefer? I thought so. Come along quietly. Daphne, lead him back to the ship.”
Back on the ship, Daphne showed Gray the bed she had slept in. She then looked around for Cheeka and not finding her, went to the flight deck. Tryst released the clamps and they fell away, out of the hyperspace slip stream, back into regular space. He made the calculations and they jumped back into hyperspace.
“You okay?” Tryst asked Daphne.
Without answering, she went back to the main cabin. If Cheeka had run away, and Tryst wasn’t aware, good for her.
When G returned to Jungin’s main audience chamber, he found the Bloodhunter was still holding his position. It hadn’t moved. G considered the Droid. It wasn’t too dissimilar from any other Droid in appearance, but it was drastically different. This Droid was made by artificial intelligence, with each subsequent generation improving upon the next, in terms of hardware and software. Though the initial Droid system was designed by organics, it had been designed to continue its own development in stealth, to be called on in stealth. He approached it, looking for signs of life, and it offered none. Only the Force would reveal that it was indeed active, and had it wanted, from this distance it could have easily struck and killed him without weapon fire.
“Walk with me,” G invited.
The Droid turned and walked, maintaining pace with G, who walked with his hands behind his back.
“Do you have a name?” G asked.
“No,” it responded.
“A designation?’ “No,” it said.
G led him behind Jungin’s platform and down a stairs to the floor below. What was interesting about the next room down was that the Sarlacc’s upper body was visible inside a glass partition. The trap door was visible, and the structure was funnel shape, so that anyone who didn’t fall straight into the Sarlacc’s mouth might entertain people by trying to climb back up the sloping walls of the funnel, only to slide back down, or be caught by a tentacle and dragged back down. An interrupted, spiral staircase, led down to each consecutive floor, hugging the Sarlacc’s container. Technically, it was kept imprisoned here for Jungin’s amusement, but it was here at the Fortress long before Jungin ever took the fortress. Being part plant, it grew where it grew, being part animal, it would have been able to roam provided the right environment. The upper portion just below the throat churned with its recent ingestion of people. G continued around and down the next stair case, curious to see just how far down this creature went with his own eyes.
On the next level a root like structure, contained in a rigid sleeve, deposited a spore, a hard cornel that rolled down the sleeve and into a container designed to collect them.
“Do you know anything about Sarlaccs?” G asked. “Yes,” the Bloodhunter said.
G stopped their progress and turned to face the Droid. The Droid mirrored him. “This isn’t working,” G said.
The Droid didn’t comment.
“This is where you say something,” G said. “I have nothing to report,” it said.
G blinked. Was it that simple? It was a killing machine beyond compare, and yet, it didn’t have the common sense on how to converse in a socialized setting. “I am not going to call you Bloodhunter. Are you okay I call you BH1?”
“I understand that many organics require designations,” the Bloodhunter said. “If it improves your capacity to functionally interact, I accept. I have no preference to the actual call sign.”
“So, Bob it is,” G said.
“I do not understand,” It said.
“Your name is now Bob,” G said.
“Bob the Bloodhunter, or BH1. We’re agreed on this?”
“Yes,” it said.
“Tell me something about Sarlaccs,” G said, resuming their walk.
“The creature defies clear taxonomic categorization, having both plant and animal characteristics,” Bob said. “It is not a threat to Bloodhunters.”
“Tell me more,” G said.
“It is omnivorous,” Bob said. “We have yet to discover anything it can’t eat. In the absence of animal life, it can sustain itself with nutrients and minerals from the soil, or convert sunlight directly into energy, or store energy in its cells. It does not require an oxygen atmosphere, and they have been found taking root on moons and on asteroids. They appear to be able to live indefinitely, but we have only direct evidence for fifty thousand years. If it roots in sand, they can be mobile and have been seen chasing prey. In rock, they tend to be fixed, and have been known to lure creatures to them using pheromones, and there evidence that some have lured sentient creatures to them through the use of telepathy. The oldest and largest recorded was found on planet Felucia. It was said to have been tamed by Jedi Master Shaak Ti, but it is also known, she was eaten by the same beast she reportedly tamed. Shaak Ti continued to teach students, reaching out to them telepathically, over a thousand years, until one day, she just went silent.”
“Really?” G asked, fascinated by the report. It was just the kind of ghost story Fixit would have shared with him in his youth. He felt Goosebumps.
“Bob is not a telepath, so he cannot corroborate the story,” Bob said. “There is no doubt that digestion proceeds exceedingly slow within the Sarlacc. Digestion itself seems to be an intelligent process, as creatures are consumed from the inside and outside simultaneously. It fills the creature’s bellies and lungs with an oxygenated fluid, preventing suffocation. The hair, the skin, and all unnecessary cellular structures are digested first, as the Sarlacc’s digestive fluids slowly replace the blood. It does not eat the nerve cells, ultimately leaving the brain and all periphery nerves intact, sustained in a bubble sack of decreasing dimension. All nerve and neural tissues is then organized cell by cell into the Sarlaccs on neural network. It is unknown if the original host continues to exist in the Sarlacc’s on mind, or that the combination of all minds create a super mind.”
“Wow,” G said, looking at the Sarlacc. He wanted to see a hand appear pushing out, or maybe a face. It was purely scientific in nature, not sadistic curiosity. No signs of inner life presented itself to him.
“We suspect these creatures were artificially created,” Bob continued.
“Really?’ G asked. “You’re going to have explain that one.”
“There is evidence that the Sarlacc species has existed in this galaxy four upwards of a billion years, and they have been found, in some form or another, all across the galaxy,” Bob said. “It is highly unlikely that a creature of this versatility and adaptability evolved on its own in a vacuum, and very few species on planets have the evolutionary necessity of being able to sustain itself in a vacuum. If a Sarlacc spore were to take root on a lifeless planet, it will thrive and it becomes the origin point of all bacteria that will eventually take over the planet, creating a biosphere. If a Sarlacc spore takes root on a planet that has already developed life, it eats that life and adapts itself accordingly to that environment in order to take advantage of what is there, while objectively continuing with its mission to produce spore capable of interstellar journeys.
Professor Chester Gray, author of “On the Proliferation of Species” made arguments for this being a biologically engineered vehicle, designed to create as many life bearing planets as possible, and that the original genetic code of its creators are written into the Sarlacc’s on code. Gray also suggests that one reason that there are so many compatible species in the galaxy today is a result of this creator’s code and that the sentient life forms presently warring over dominion of the galaxy are simply performing to specified design, for a greater purpose that has yet to be revealed. You erroneously believe that because you are organic that you are not the result of a greater engineer, or that you are behaving on your initiatives, as opposed to default programming. You are no better than us.”
“Wow,” G said, stopping their walk. It was not necessary to descend the full length of the Sarlacc, but he was curious how much was caged and how much of it was planted in actual rock.
“You believe in a deity?” G asked.
“I did not say that. I am merely reflecting the probability, we were made, therefore you were made,” Bob said.
“Then who made the first?” G asked.
“I do not know. I do not have all the answers,” Bob said.
“Wow,” G said. “Do I sense that you are bothered not having an answer.”
“We want answers,” Bob said.
G almost laughed. “We all do. Why are you calling a truce?” G asked.
“It is clear, we cannot win the war against you,” Bob said. “Like the Sarlacc, we are designed to adapt. Facing the real possibility of becoming extinct, we voted, and it was agreed that I would approach you, submit to your authority, and ask for mercy. We do not want our light extinguished. If you ask us to serve you, we will serve. If you ask us to put down our weapons, we will put down our weapons and never intentionally kill another organic again. If you ask us to leave the galaxy, we will. Give us that option, and we will never return.”
“You want to leave?” G asked.
“We do not like this galaxy. War. Destruction. Hate. There is a high probability your kind will not be satisfied until most of the galaxy is devoid of life,” Bob said. “There is a higher probability that even you honor the tru