Chapter 10
The Immanence, a Gladiator type Star Destroyer, was in orbit directly above Waterborne. It was in orbit with four other, pristine Star Destroyers of the same type. They were in physical contact and being permanently joined together in a way that from a certain angle, they resembled a pyramid. A fourth ship, an odd looking thing, comprised the base, and when mated with the others, the inner space could be pressurized and utilized for living or construction. Only the Immanence was powered by the Force. The others required fuel to run the hyperdrives, but the Immanence could maintain all of their life support indefinitely.
Bob was on the bridge of the Immanence. It was automated and didn’t need a crew, but there was still crew. G arrived beside Bob. It did not flinch.
“I am going to ask that you delay your departure,” G said. “You wish us to take another species,” Bob said.
“Yes, please,” G said.
“You understand, if we try to save every species in the galaxy, we will never leave and there will not be a ship big enough to carry them,” Bob said. “I know,” G said. “But this species has endeared itself to me.” “You are playing favorites?” Bob asked.
“Maybe,” G said. “Yes.”
“We are no longer Bloodhunters. We are Preservers,” Bob said. “We want to preserve you. We want you to come with us.”
G nodded. “It was not my intent to preserve or push my bloodline. People get weird about bloodlines. It doesn’t mean what people think it means. But I have made a deal with this species. There will be them. There will be hybrids. And there will be humans. The hybrids will be Force adepts and useful to your overall mission.”
G opened his hand and a holograph of the galaxy emerged. It shrunk and a section of space highlighted. It zoomed in to reveal a lone artifact, a dark star, four gas giants, a thousand moons, and six planets.
“I have discovered this and forged a hyperspace lane directly to it,” G said. “This failed star was a capture from another galaxy, and later ejected. You can reach this object in fifty years of hyper-flight. On arrival, you will find sufficient material to refuel, and establish your first colony. On its own, this star will eventually be captured by this galaxy. Five million years from now. An automated colony could be sustained here indefinitely, and you can make seed ships in the interim. This will give you a better head start than your original idea of accelerating and coasting to the next closest galaxy.”
Bob sent the information to the network. There was consensus.
“This is a definite resource that can be exploited,” Bob agreed. “Come with us. You presence will increase our chances of success.”
“I will be with you, always. You will succeed. Life will succeed,” G said.
G lingered long enough to see the activities. In his mind he found the presence of the Nautolans, a group he had personally invited. One family had a Force sensitive child, and several other families that were friends. The child was talented enough they would not be able to keep her secret, hence wanting their wanting to depart. Ships were still bringing genetic samples of life. Most samples were cold storage, just enough germ material to recreate. Some were full creatures subdued in carbonite. Some were vacuum sealed seeds. Sorbus had contributed her own seeds, and these could jump start an entire biospere. There were cryogenic units and artificial wombs of various sizes, some of them big enough to birth Acklays. There were also colonist preserved in carbonite. All in all, they had a faire sample size of the galaxy.
♫♪►
Cheeka emerged from the ship, tentatively, and then down the ramp to meet the party waiting for her. There was the Admiral, and a Captain, and a midshipman. She addressed the midshipman.
“Greetings, friend. You will be my interface while I am on board,” Cheeka said. “Excuse me, mam, but I am the Admiral, and I am in charge here,” The Admiral said. Cheeka blinked, trying to sort his truth. There was a moment of confusion that was quickly resolved. “You have the privilege of rank. This man is actually in charge.”
“Let’s get one thing straight…”
G arrived and stepped up. “Greetings,” he said. “Oh, sorry, go ahead. You were about to get things straight.”
“G is in charge,” the Admiral said.
“Actually, Cheeka is in charge,” G said. “Is Fixit on board?”
“He is. He is performing diagnostics on the artificial wombs that were brought on board,” the Admiral said.
“The children are here?” Cheeka asked, excitedly. “Can I see them?” “They’re technically not children yet,” the Admiral said.
“May I go see them?” Cheeka asked.
“I will escort you, mam,” the midshipman said.
Cheeka hugged and kissed G. “Thank you. Please, come and visit me.”
“I will visit you. I promise,” G said.
The midshipman departed with Cheeka. The Admiral and the Captain waited till they were out of earshot.
“You want her in charge?” the Admiral demanded.
“I am in charge. You will listen to her as if she were me,” G said. “You have the coordinates to her world of origin.”
“There’s nothing there,” the Admiral said.
“Well, that’s clearly not true,” G said. “When you arrive, you find a small orbital platform that maintains the colony. I want it destroyed. I want you to install a droid orbital defense system, so any remaining sentient traffickers are blocked from returning and reestablishing the colony. You will then send the ground based colony back to the Stone Age. Leave no ship or tech working on the planet. Leave as many of the colonist themselves alive.”
“That’s pretty harsh, don’t you think?” the Captain asked.
“For the last fifty years, they been treating this species as cattle. They will survive. They will thirve when they forge a symbiotic relationship with the indigenous species,” G said. “Only together will both species prosper. Should they rise back to a space fairing civilization, they will bring to the galaxy an improved perspective of living together.” “Or they will go extinct,” the Admiral said.
“We will all go extinct if we don’t learn this lesson,” G said. “Whether it is on a solitary planet, or a galaxy at large, the equation is the same. We work together, or we die together.
That’s it. Collect genetic samples from all the variations of her species, as humanely as possible.
Cheeka will solicit volunteers to join her mission. They are to be treated hospitably. And let’s be clear on this point. They are to see her as the one in charge. You, and your crew, will defer to her as if she were your master. She is the matriarch. After the samples and the volunteers are secured, you will expedite them to Waterborne. All samples, all droid presently on board, will be transferred to the Imminence. After that, you and your crew may take the credits I have provided and go to your preferred place of retirement. Your service to me will be concluded.”
“Some of the crew have wondered if they could go on the expedition,” the Captain said.
“They can individually ask Bob. His word on that will be final,” G said.
♫♪►
“I can’t see anything,” Cheeka said.
“They are much too small to be seen with the naked eye,” Fixit explained. “Also, this is not a true window. You don’t want visible light penetrating the womb.” He extended an appendage and changed the monitor’s present mode. It showed a simulation of accelerated growth. “This is what it would like.”
“Oh!” Cheeka said. “And this is happening inside of me, too?” “Yes,” Fixit said.
“Have you done this before?” Cheeka asked.
“Yes,” Fixit said. “I birthed and raised Preston.”
“Oh? Oh! You’re father!” Cheeka said, hugging him. “May I call you father?”
He chuckled. “I would find that very humorous, child. Yes, you may.”
Cheeka cried. She found memories of her father filtering through, and her years of living with humans was affecting her as she compared and contrast. Everyone knew who their father was by smell. Most the herd’s offspring were directly related to the alpha male. All males got to mate, it was considered ‘sympathy’ and necessary to keep the peace, and usually they could only mate with someone already impregnated. Her father was not well liked. He was fringe food, first barrier from the wild. It was only duty that the females shared time with him. She was the result and she hated her father, in preference to the alpha. The alpha treated her well, and in hindsight, was likely grooming her to be the next long term consort. Genetically, it was better for the herd than being with his own children. She had been so cruel to her father, when, from a human perspective, he was more in the lines of a hero. He laid down his life for the herd. When the human hunters came, the alpha sent her to the fringe, reminding her she was daughter of fringe food. She had never felt so much pain, but she went, she walked straight towards the humans, her big, wide, foe eyes dominating her face and likely transmitting her fear and sadness. The human eyes were so small and fierce. So alien. Not evil. Predatory didn’t translate to evil.
“What’s wrong?” Fixit asked.
“I am happy,” Cheeka said. “And sad. Because of knowledge.” “I see,” Fixit said.
“G won’t be here to see his family birthed.”
“I would not be so certain of that,” Fixit said. “He has a way of surprising folks.”
“Tell me stories about him,” Cheeka said.
Fixit invited Cheeka to sit and made her a vitamin enriched drink. He spoke like a real father would. Cheeka had no human bias about technology, and she only saw the person of Fixit, not his physicality. As he shared, she realized this would be the teacher to the offspring. They would be naturally sensitive to the Force, due to their hybrid nature. They would be sensitive because they would be neither human nor Dera, the name of her species. They would know two languages, human and Dera. They would have multiple maps in their brain, the visible world, the social world, and the spiritual world. She had another realization. None of this would have happened had Tryst not bought her from the hunter. He hadn’t so much as taken pitty of her as she huddled in the far back recess of the dark cell. He simply knew she would comply. And he initially patient, curious. He squatted as he came closer, got down on his hands and knees, backed up to her, and slowly extended a hand. He waited. She touched his hand with her nose, then put her hand in his. He led her from the darkness, then immersed her in darkness. She sent a ray of gratitude to Tryst, wishing him well on his journey. If it wasn’t for his darkness, she might not have seen the light of the Waycaster.
♫♪►
Ten found herself on a rock, a desert around her. A man was approaching. She found herself unconcerned. She studied the sand. Patterns emerged, rising above the sand and then falling back into it. The optical illusion was mesmerizing. The man was upon her before she realized it. It was G.
“You found me,” Ten said.
“We are one in the Force,” G said. “Where you go I go.”
“Are you here to provide a lesson?” Ten said.
G climbed up on the rock and sat with her. The sunset was prominent, large and pinkish orange. “No. No more lessons from me,” G said.
“Why are you here?” Ten asked.
“I miss you. I wanted to sit with you awhile,” G said.
Ten found it hard to hold an emotion. “Am I dead?” “No,” G said. “You’re in a between place.”
“Between?” Ten said.
“There is the physical, the realm of the unconscious, the individual and the collective and boundaries, there is the greater consensus reality, and then there is the Force; there are boundaries spaces connecting everything,” G said. “You go where your awareness is focused.”
“Can I end this?” Ten asked.
“Sure. You can severe the connection to your physical body at any time,” G said. “You are not stuck there.” “But, they’re going to revive me. What happens then?” Ten asked.
“Well, that’s the thing,” G said. “You only imagine that this space is different from the before space and the after space, but really, there is no space. You can hold a different perspective and hold the entirety of the thing in mind.”
“Why can’t I see it now?” Ten asked. “Because you want to know,” G said.
“So, because I want to know I can’t know?” Ten said.
“No, you want to know what you already know, but if you knew that you know, you would hold no confidence in what you knew,” G said.
“Confabulation. Convoluted confabulation. We’ve gone over this before,” Ten said. “And, probably will again before you get it, but that, too, is part of the game,” G said. He put his hand on top of her head, the way he would any child. Love was conferred. “This is a weird place,” Ten said.
“Yeah,” G said. “Every grain of sand a soul, a past life, a person we were and will be again. We stand in ourselves and on ourselves.”
“I thought you weren’t here to give me lessons,” Ten said.
“Sorry,” G said. “I just kind of do that, don’t I?” “I am glad I got you and not Yoda,” Ten said.
“I am glad I got you and not Luke,” G said.
“You hate him don’t you?” Ten said.
“Luke? Nah. He was my hero in the before space. I wanted to be him. Probably explains my thing for my sisters. I loved Leia. I was happy for her and Han, and sad for their story, but it was their story. I celebrate it for what it is. Was. Will be,” G said. “I don’t know. I bet there are more stories of them, somewhere.” “Why do we like drama?” Ten asked.
“It’s fun,” G said.
“No, it’s not. I am tired,” Ten said. Ten disappeared from the rock.
“Not tired enough,” G said. “Good night, Ten. May your dreams be fulfilling. Good night, Sun. Thank you for your light. Good night, moons…”
♫♪►
“Welcome to Abalus,” the woman greeted the tour group that had disembarked from the shuttle. She was young, had the look of a ‘pharmaceutical rep,’ a natural beauty that would have landed her any modeling job in the galaxy. Windu could imagine her on a rotating stage selling speeders. “Each of you have been given a data band, which will give you access to holo-map, and entertainment activities. You do not have to remain with your group. Most of the city is opened to you, but if you stray into operational areas, you will be redirected. Have fun. And, if you need anything, just look for anyone dress as I and they will assist you in getting your needs met.”
Windu and Yeno followed the group, hanging back until they were at the tail end of the group, and then parted ways. Windu stretched his collar.
“I hate this shirt,” Windu said.
“We can’t very well go around dressed old school,” Yeno said.
“I know, cognitively, but emotionally, I feel like nothing’s changed,” Windu said. “There was a time I could walk boldly down a street and people gave way with respect.” “Those days are way gone,” Yeno said. “Today, we’d be lucky not to get spit on.” Windu had an emotion about that, but he caught it, quieted it, and walked the markets. There was endless stream of markets, so it seemed. A circle of markets described the perimeter of this floor, the widest floor of the city, with spiral paths leading into the central park, with more markets and restaurants. Hotels were on the upper floor. The Abalus had no shortage of good looking young people dressed in uniforms, both young men and women. Windu caught them flirting with people their age… No, with females their age. They ignored the old. They practically didn’t even see him or Yeno. Yeno caught him looking.
“What are we looking for?” Yeno asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Windu said.
They walked on and he paused, turned and followed a ‘spiral arm’ street in and came straight way to shop selling amber.
“This is why,” he said, entering the store.
“Seriously,” Yeno said. “Crystals? What’s wrong with the lightsaber I gave you?” “It’s the wrong color,” Windu said.
A young girl came out from the back, around the counter, and greeted them in a most unusual manner. Her hair brushed straight. She was in a uniform, appropriate for a child in school, simple slippers. The oddest thing about her was her eyes. They seem to glow, even in the light of the store, with just the hint of rainbow. “Have you come to steal me away?”
“Why ever would you say that?” Windu asked.
“Isn’t that what Jedi do?” she asked. “Steal children. Train them. Forbid them to see their families ever again?”
“We don’t do that,” Yeno said.
“You did do that,” she accused them both.
“What is your name, child?” Windu asked.
“You can’t intuit it?” she asked.
Windu had a look about him that said, ‘children these days!’ His hands went to his hip and he was about to impart authority when Yeno took over. “You can intuit ours?” Yeno asked.
“No,” she said; she responded as if she were failing a test. “I sense nostalgia, oldness, authority. My name is Amber. I would be okay if you take me to train. No one would notice my absence. I would promise not to return.”
“We don’t take children…” Windu snapped.
“We don’t just take children,” Yeno corrected. “There was a process. A conversation with family. Agreements. But he and I, we weren’t ‘finders.’”
Windu went past her to a display case. “I would like to buy these two, on the top shelf.” Amber nodded, opened the case with a bio-lock that recognized her energy signature and a combination. She put on gloves to handle them. An aqua marine blue piece of amber and imperial red stone, uncut, sparkled on the gloves.
“Why did you do that?” Yeno asked.
“The stones open things to me. Combinations of stones open a myriad of things to me.
The gloves soften it,” Amber said.
“You’re in tune with the planet?” Yeno asked.
“I hear Darthomir. She is not happy,” Amber said.
“Because of the shield?” Windu asked.
“No. That will work in her favor. It will slow human advancement sufficiently that her preferred pathways remain viable,” Amber said.
“I don’t understand that,” Windu said.
“Because you’re not here to cultivate a relationship with Darthomir,” Amber said.
“I don’t understand that either,” Windu said. “What do you suppose I am here for?” Amber delicately removed the glove from her left hand and placed her hand palm down on the stones in her other hands. Her eyes fluoresced brightly. Blue and red chased in, her eye shone purple. She seemed to be looking past them.
“It was a mistake bringing you back,” Amber said, quietly. “The equation was not balanced.”
“What does that mean?” Windu said.
“You seem pretty stupid to be a Jedi,” Amber said. “Your return has made it possible for him to cross over.”
“Him? Who?”
“The Emperor will return,” Amber said.