Endor's Terrain

The shuttle roared to life for the first time in ages. It groaned and stretched under stress, and Dee felt exhilaration at the prospect of flying again. AVI was excited in his own way, not cautioning her against overstressing the ship too much. So, where are we heading?

AVI lit up in a holographic display and pulsed as he spoke. Let’s make sure the shuttle can move first. Once we are in the air, I’ll get a location added for you. For now, go play.

She didn’t need to be told twice. Lifting the landing gear and boarding ramp, she let the shuttle hover for a few moments before easing it out of the hangar. Once free, she gunned the throttle and pulled back on the stick. The old Lambda roared to life as its outer wings folded into their flight positions. The ship wasn’t a racing machine, but the freedom of flight made Dee cheer for joy.  AVI, we’re flying! My goddess, we're flying!

After several minutes of getting her bearings back, and with her breath settled again, she poked AVI's holographic image. Ok, go ahead and plug in the coordinates for me, let’s go check out your hidden black site.

what would have been a 10-hour ride on the bike, was shortened to an hour flight. While it wasn’t as action filled as a bike ride through the forest, it was far more exhilarating for Dee to finally be off the ground once again. They began circling the supposed hole in AVI's map, seeing nothing more than a few buildings, one of which towered above the others. Dee put the shuttle down in the gravel clearing on the side of the mountain.

Getting out, Dee braced herself against the windy chill of the mountain. She marched over to one of the outpost buildings and opened the door. Inside, three mummified bodies were sprawled out over the floor. The three imperial officers seemed to have been forgotten and were left behind when the Empire was driven from the moon. They must have been hiding quite the secret to die rather than be rescued by the Rebels, huh AVI?

AVI began waking up the computer systems in the cold room. Going through the files, he found little of use. Indeed, it seems as if everything was deleted about what this site was about. Everything. Staff logs, inventory, power usage, all of it is gone. There was data here at one point, but it’s just blank.

Dee picked up a blaster off the floor by one of the dead bodies. Murder-suicide?

Perhaps to keep secrets from the Rebels.

Cool. Let’s go see what secrets they were hiding

The long ride was cold and dark. Every once in a while, the whole lift would shudder and moan as it slowly descended into the darkness. Dee had put on a hi-vis vest that was lined with strip lights; she glowed amber light. A hard hat that was just a little too big was affixed with some hairpins she had in her personal pack. Not sure how much battery life remained in the LED's she kept that light off for the entirety of the ride.

The pack she picked up had several flares, handheld lights, and old rations that were long expired. She tossed those to the side of the lift, saving what little bit of weight she could.

Dee, we may be nearing the bottom.

She sorted out the bag quickly and closed it up, standing and throwing it over her shoulder just as the lift hit bottom. With a deep breath of the stale air, she turned on the headlamp. White light flooded the hallway. It appeared to be constructed of steel and concrete, but its structure and design were not of the Empire or anything she recognized. It was clean and neat, but odd. Most of the control panels were analog buttons and lights, but everything was dark.

Stepping out of the lift, she cautiously headed down the corridor. It was silent, only the sounds of her breathing and footsteps filled the rooms. No humming of lights, no buzzing of electricity.

The archaic door panels didn’t provide her with any access points to connect her holopad. She tried a couple, but nothing was responding to her inputs. She only passed a couple of doors in the long corridor and was starting to wonder if she had wasted her time coming down here.

The corridor came to a four-way, and Dee reached into the bag, placing a single flare on the floor where she had come from, and she headed off to the right. The air felt cooler coming from that direction.

Down a small flight of stairs was a great hall with an open atrium. She stood on the third floor of five and walked over to the railing as she looked down. Her light revealed a large workspace with multiple stations with equipment that looked like a mixture of Imperial and the foreign systems.

A nearby stairwell took her to the bottom, and she approached the first workstation. Inspecting it, she tried plugging into the Imperial terminal. Without power, there wasn’t much she could do. Perhaps there was a small battery pack in the bag she grabbed? Finding nothing that would fit, she started to look around the area for anything that might help hear research.

Several side offices outlined the room, and none of them had closed doors. She peeked her head into a few but didn’t find anything of use. The room was a dead end, only a few droids left in their charging bays, and a bunch of terminals that were useless without power. She headed back out in search of a power source.

Imperial markings pointed to a generator room that was deeper into the facility. Slowly and surely, Dee made her way down the hallways that looked to be under construction. Wires, cabling and ducting were dangling from the ceiling. More locked doors to side rooms were unresponsive. She was starting to get used to the lonely silence and chill of the corridors. It was odd being an explorer. Being planetside wasn’t her favorite thing, but she just imagined herself being on a ship instead, and most of her anxiety melted away. It felt similar to when she first found AVI, though this time she didn’t have any backup. Ignore that fact and move on.

The generator room was built around a geodesic structure that looked like a rudimentary laser fusion system but on a minuscule scale. I was unlike anything she had seen before =, but the scope of the structure and the technology coming from it added to the possibility that this was what she was looking for. In the corner of the room was a side office with a dim green glow. This was the first light she saw at the facility, and it spooked her a little.

Heading to the room, a green-screened terminal blinked with a single cursor. Beside it was a laminated sheet of instructions written in Basic instruction how to work the archaic computing systems. She followed the commands to the letter, though it took several minutes of typing and checking her work. There was no way for AVI to jump in and help, not that she saw at least. With the stroke of the last key, a whooshing noise filled the room. Moments later, all of the lights came on in the facility. Dee turned off her headlamp and walked out of the room and started inspecting the odd generator. The sounds of a droid approaching made her turn around and come face to face with a lanky imperial droid. It was tall and semi-humanoid. She had never encountered a droid that looked like this one, and she was nervous and puzzled at it bent down and looked at her.

Greetings Administrator Lonn. It has been quite some time since my last activation, and my chronometer seems to be malfunctioning. Nevertheless, it is good to see you again. It appears you have changed your hair since we last spoke. And your gender.

The droid stood straight up, looking at Dee with a tilted head.

You are not Administrator Lonn. Please state your rank, name, and title for processing.

Um, I am his grand-daughter, Admiral Dee, I am not with the Empire, I am here on, uh, assignment as a, uh, contractor.

An Admiral who is also a contractor? Odd. However, since you are not with the Empire, I must detain you until your security clearance is confirmed with the original owner of that vest.

The RX-series droid approached Dee to apprehend her, but its movements were sluggish. Time and neglect hindered its once fluid movements, and she was able to run away.

She sprinted down the hallway only to be confronted by another RX-series droid coming out of a side office that was once locked.

Administrator Lonn, how good to see you again after all this time.

She ran past it before it processed who she was. It seemed as though their networking was offline, and she quietly thanked the goddess. Out of breath, she ran up a series of stairs and into a large room that looked to be stacks and stacks of data equipment. It was all slowly booting up as lights and fans began powering on. She could hear the clanking of the two droids pursuing her. Diving into the stacks, she searched until she found a terminal that was Imperial in origin. Plugging her datapad in, AVI was able to get to work.

Having direct access to the data center that was coming online, AVI began digging. It would take him some time to filter through everything as it was still warming up. In the meantime, he found something for Dee. Her datapad lit up with an area map.

Dee, Head up three levels, there is an armory there, and you can get something to take these droids out.

She got up just as she saw the two RX droids enter the data stack. Running out and up a set of stairs, she went to find the armory.

The lambda shuttle was cooling and popping from the heat of re-entry. Dee had taken it to the upper atmosphere and played around in low orbit, taking the time to enjoy zero gravity with the systems offline. It had been a long time since she had a chance just to play and enjoy herself. She had been a weightless child.

AVI had constructed a small satellite relay that they took to a stationary position in orbit. It was a bit of a flight to and from, but with it operational, they could communicate with the relay base they had called home for the past week from the comfort of the temple in the south.

Walking through the hangar of the communications relay base, Dee gathered her things and some of the trinkets she had collected. Crates loaded up, she drove them up the ramp on a repulsor cart. She had a slight skip in her step. Having the shuttle made the stay so much better, and now that AVI had an actual body to help, it made it seem like she wasn’t quite so alone.

AVI drove the bike up the ramp as she was coming down. She laughed at him Don't you look so cool on that bike

You think so? He hopped off and threw his hands out to his sides You think I looked cool?

Yes, but you're still a goof.

AVI ran after her down the ramp Having the freedom of movement Is something I haven’t experienced before. This week has been amazing!  I can see why so many species evolved with an ability to transport themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I will help with computational tasks as I always have, but now I can actually help you do things, physical things.

He picked up the last crate and jogged on board. Dee looked around the hangar and sighed. She was ready for a warm shower and some fresh clothes. She did her best not to think about her hair. Ok, well let’s get moving. She boarded the ramp as AVI began the shuttle startup sequence. The hot engines struggled for a moment. Dee just glared at the shuttle, and as if her stare was the magic switch, the shuttle roared back to life. Plopping in the pilot’s seat, Dee leaned back and let AVI take command. He backed the shuttle out and blasted off to the south. Dee closed her eyes and fell asleep somewhere over the horizon.

-----

Startled awake in Master Val's room, Dee jumped out of the chair. She shook her head and began to undress, pulling the robe up over her head AVI, did you carry me up here?

No, I did- Ope! The hologram of Ne'aol popped up, and he immediately covered his face. Dee yelped and quickly covered herself with the removed robe.

Gah! Call back later!

Yup! The hologram dissipated, and Dee tried once again to bring her heart rate down.

Jerk, doesn’t he knock first? He finished undressing and jumped into the shower. She was hit with waves of goosebumps as the hot water rushed over her back. Biting her lip, she decided to take a longer shower.

-----

In the library, she sat on a chair with her legs curled up underneath her. A soft bathrobe swaddled her skin as she read a book she had found. Ne'aol walked around the corner and bowed at Dee. Apologies for earlier, I didn’t mean to burst in on you like that.

She looked up from the book, its crisp pages crackling under her fingers. Don't worry about it. You know, these ancient Night Jedi texts are real page turners. Have you read them all?

He stammered as he searched for words. Well, I…uh...

She laughed and set the book down before stretching and yawning. So, what’s up?

Ne'aol took a seat next to her and handed her a rose. It was a Marian Rose, bluer than Dee had remembered. This is a third generation rose with many times the potency of the wild roses. We have been able to accelerate their growth here with artificial lights and plenty of nutrients. AVI and I talked about having you try a small dose of the wild variety to see how it could affect you. He set the rose down on top of the book and leaned back in his seat. We would have you fully monitored in our medical facilities here, but if you are interested, I think now is a better time than any to give it a shot.

Dee smiled and bit her lip. You tell the other me I'm about to get paid to trip balls?

Ne'aol laughed heartily No, no, nothing like that. She knows there is a wild variety, but I have left out the unique aspect of it. She would probably leave here immediately and come to get some herself if she knew.

Dee burst out laughing. I never thought…you know I have never purposefully tried mind-altering drugs, aside from Xhro?

Ne'aol nodded. I figured. Our Dee is the same way but given the unique opportunity-

No, I understand. Believe me.

He stood up and extended a hand to her to help her up. She smiled and accepted the offer. If this works, it will be a unique opportunity for you to hold you till we can get you home. You may have some luck with our Spice on Tatooine if you get a chance to check it out. There may be some significant residuals at the mining facility there.

Slowly opening her eyes, Dee looked at AVI who was staring at her monitor. Two of the medical droids were lazily tending to IV's and instruments. Nobody seemed to be in much of a hurry. AVI?

She was groggy, and her voice was a little slurred. He turned to her and waved before looking back at her charts. Welcome back. Did you have fun on your little adventure?

He head was spinning still. Ghosts of the elves crossed her vision and echoes of their song bounced around in her head before being forgotten. She could see laughter and hear the colors of the monitors. The lights were loud. Fine, still in Wonderland a little bit. Can we turn the lights down, they are too loud. AVI waved a hand and the lights in the room shut off. Only the monitors remained online. Dee fell back to the bed and focused on her breathing. Her mouth was dry, and as if reading her mind, a droid appeared with a glass of clear liquid. She took a sip and noted it was loaded with minerals and tasted chalky. Ugh. Can’t you give me anything that tastes good or am I being punished for something?

Sorry Dee, not much here in the way of flavoring things. Just focus on getting back to real space, and we can get you out of here.

Dee slowly nursed the bitter beverage and looked around the room. Where's Ne'aol?

He left several hours ago. Based on his current schedule, he should be back in two point three hours. You’ve been asleep for a while. we gave you some sedatives when it became apparent you were well under the influence. Some of that drink is to pull you back out of sedation.

Her head was clearing as the drink went down. The echoes and shadows were quickly fading away and the color of the room was starting to return. After about fifteen minutes, Dee was released and took the opportunity to head for the mess and then take a walk outside.

Weeks had been spent in around the temple grounds. Food was still plentiful. Fruits and vegetables supplemented the hunting that was done around the area. While her meals weren’t the most amazing things she had ever consumed, they were still better than what she had when she first landed. It helped pass the time in between her studies and meditations. Beyond that, she was having limited success repairing the hyperdrive on the shuttle. With the right components scrounged up, she may be able to get the backup drive going again.

In the long darks, she flew around to gather the materials she needed. It was slow going since she was alone with AVI, but his mechanical frame was making the going much easier. He could do any heavy lifting that needed to be done, and she could focus on her own efforts.

The long dark this cycle had ended a few hours ago, but it was marred by a thunderstorm that had enveloped the hemisphere. Several small microsatellites tracked the movement, but they weren’t technological powerhouses. She and AVI had put them up only a few days before, so their calibrations were still a bit off, but the visual data they provided was adequate. At this point, any intel was better than no intel.

Dee had just finished another round of repairs on the shuttle and was heading down the ramp into the open hangar. The cold rush of damp air filled the hangar as torrents of water told her to say inside for the day. She wasn’t going to argue with that logic, she just stood and watched the rain and listened to its rush. It was days like this she wished she had other company to share. AVI was great, and his new form made him more personable than ever, but she wanted companionship. She wanted to be able to reach over and grab the warm hand of her lover, feel the loving smile, hear the light giggle.

The rain was a roar with intermittent thudding of thunder in the distance. The air circulation systems were a droning growl in the background of her mind. The temple had become her home in the weeks, months she had been its sole living inhabitant. At least she had hoped she was the sole living inhabitant. Sentient inhabitant for sure. The visits by Ne'aol were fewer and further in between as the progress he was making on his end was plateauing as they ran up against the boundaries of natural known science and were dancing deep into theoretical physics that surpassed most science fiction.

Dee was getting restless in the temple. The seclusion of the Sanctuary Moon was unlike anything she had experienced before, and as far as she was concerned made up for any missed vacation time, she had ever missed or would ever miss.

The tinkering on the shuttle was an invaluable pastime. The library had a virtually endless supply of literature to consume. The Mess hall was limited in many of its provisions, but it was astounding what it could do with so little.

Dee was bored and lonely. After standing and staring at the rushing rain, she turned on her heel and headed for her room to clear her mind and take the edge off.

In his office, Ne'aol and AVI were looking over the development of the Marian rose and making plans for the next iteration. It seemed to thrive is a more acidic soil base, producing more potent flowers. Thanks to the specific breeding purposes, the more negative side effects were bred out, leaving it purer than ever.

Ne'aol suddenly looked up, and the astral projection blinked out of existence. AVI looked over at the now empty space for a few moments before his own sensors began registering the orbiting threat. The hologram fizzled and vanished.

-

Hot water poured over her back. With head pressed against the stone shower wall, its cool surface contrasting the heat of the water, she breathed slowly and methodically. Her mind was on her home, in it, staring at her lover. Dee massaged her breast with one hand, while the other had vanished between her legs. She saw Aponia, uncovered and staring back with a sly grin, her own hands feeling the soft curves before one disappeared under a sheet. It was a moment of mutual pleasure, separated by uncrossable barriers of space-time, but Dee didn’t think of that now, she only saw her one and only love, and she felt the throes of ecstasy start to pull at the hairs on the back of her neck.

The lights dimmed, and an alarm started to sound. Dee was ripped out of her moment and threw her back to the cold stone shower wall and looked around, gasping and knees still a little rubbery.

AVI?! What the heck!?

Her shout was met with a cold response from the other room.

First Order is in Orbit. We have to leave.

Chills covered her body from the top of her head to her toes and back again. It was not waves of pleasure. It was not from the cold of the stone or the heat of the water. The chills raced down her body again as she caught her suddenly mixed and racing thoughts. A million scenarios played in her mind in a few moments and condensed into one.

She rinsed off, shut off the water, dried herself as best as she could and began fitting herself into her Stillsuit. In the corner, the multicolored amorphous sphere of light that AVI liked to take on, shimmered and shifted to a visual of the Forested Moon with the current location of the Night Jedi enclave and the current position of the orbiting First Order ships as their compliment of fighters and probes began to descend into search patterns.

We may only have a few minutes. I have droids ensuring the shuttle is loaded with sufficient supplies. I am still trying to gather what data I can on the ships in orbit, but with limited sensor data that could take a few more minutes.

Dee was cinching the suit down and tightly lacing up the boots, and she looked over at the holoprojection of the current situation.

Are those Interdictors?

Possibly.

KRIFF ME!

AVI thought of a quip but decided against vocalizing it this time. Dee angrily strapped on the riding armor cursing the orbiting ships with every curse and every language she knew. Tossing a robe over the entire compliment, she snatched her helmet and ran into the hangar.

AVI, I need to know how much time I have because this hyperdrive is barely functional. In fact, the only fun of the functional part could smear our bits for a thousand light years.

The search vessels are beginning their search patterns, we have a few minutes, but I cannot guarantee we have much time at all.

She ran up the ramp and slid under the still exposed hyperdrive, picking up her tools where she left off. AVI, aboard his frame, was trotting up the ramp with a crate of supplies as droids in the hangar were scurrying about organizing things for him to load. Ne'aol appeared beside Dee, kneeling and still looking to the distant sky.

Dee, there isn’t much time until they find us.

I know!

I am shutting down the temple to try and buy us some time, but the residual heat will give us away in time if the shield doesn’t give us away first.

Dee cast an angry glance at him as she worked.

Kriffing First Order couldn’t give me one more day to be gone, could they? I just wanted a kriffing few minutes to myself to unwind, but NoOoOo I can’t Do ThAt cAn I?! Kriff!

She slammed her fist into the hyperdrive, and it kicked on for a moment before winding down again. She slammed it with both of her fists in rage. She slid out from under the work in progress and threw her arms around Ne'aol. He hugged her back before pushing her off. He looked her in the eyes with seriousness and sincerity.

Survive. We will find you a way home.

She nodded and went back to work. She looked back to where he was, but he had already vanished once again. She hurriedly went back to work, and AVI was securing the last crate aboard the shuttle.

Dee, it seems they have found the Jedi Shadows Enclave. It is only a matter of time before they find us. I- is there anything I can do to help?

Her hands were moving as deftly as she could muster them. Her mind was on the task at hand and barely recognized his question until a few moments later.

Just make sure we have everything we need to survive if we make it out of this place alive. Get a couple of speeders aboard.

A droid walked up to the ramp and handed AVI a crate that was lit up with its own internal power supply and life support systems. Taking it, he found a secure spot and tucked away the live specimens of the Marian Rose, a few of the last of its most potent potentials and recent generations. Only a few would survive this encounter, and they were potentially some of the last of their species in the galaxy.

He went over the supply logs to ensure they had sufficient food and water for a journey with the slow and broken hyperdrive. Aboard were several goods to be traded and weapons, armor, clothing, and tools for most scenarios. Satisfied, and not wanting to overload the shuttle with too much weight, AVI finished securing the two speeder bikes and closed the ramp to the temple for the last time. Dee was too busy to notice.

-

Atop the temple, as the literal and metaphorical storm raged around him, the scream of the first TIE's came ripping over the treetops and blasted over the top of the temple. He watched it race by and vanish in the rain, but the sound of its engine gave its position away as it turned to make another pass. As it raced towards the temple, he reached out with a single hand, palm up and fingers outstretched. Through the Force, he found the cockpit, its metal frame, and pulsing electronics. He balled his hand into a fist and pulled downward.

More fighters raced overhead, and he turned and looked skyward. Though he could not see the orbiting ships, he could feel their energy. The forest was a roar of the storm of rain and TIE fighters.

AVI, if you have firing solutions, send a warning salvo across the bow, then reposition and take out the cruiser if you can.

::Aye.::

Ne'aol readied the shield systems as the distant thuds of the V-150 Planet Defender flinging its ion rounds into orbit impacted the dense air. By the time Ne'aol heard the sounds, the orbiting ships would have already seen the bolts pass by their noses. A few moments later, the sounds of another salvo impacted him in the chest.

Here we go.

The Ion Cannon released a single shot of its third salvo, but the shot was intercepted by incoming orbital laser fire a few hundred kilometers out from the cannon. The impact sent a powerful explosion echoing through the forest and ionizing radiation outward at the speed of light. The incoming radiation intercepted the second shot out of the ion cannon and stopped it dead in its tracks, severely damaging the cannon. It was the rest of the incoming orbital fire that pierced the armor and subsequently the reactor that was the nail in the coffin for the aging infrastructure. The entire spherical cannon blossomed into a fireball and a satisfying final explosive "THUD."

A hologram appeared next to Ne'aol

Ion Cannon offline. The other defensive weaponry is failing to respond. I suspect age has not been kind to them. Base shields are now at full capacity but based on the energy readings I got before the cannon was destroyed, we will not be able to remain here for long.

Ne'aol stretched and shifted his footing, planting himself firmly to the top of the temple. With arms outstretched to his sides, he reached up toward the skies in time for the first of the laser fire to pierce the heavens.

The clouds recoiled and opened up as the massive bolts began to rain down. The superheated plasma began to impart its energy to the atmosphere around the cone of destruction as the water turned to steam and expanded outward.

Ne’aol’s hands were dancing before him as he began directing the bolts away from the core of the temple and out toward the surrounding forest. It wasn’t much movement, but it was enough that the bolts weren’t directly striking the shield. At most, a few were glancing blows.

The first impacts into the forest vaporized the immediate area, and the damp underbrush in the surrounding areas flashed to steam and inferno that quickly spread. There was only so much energy that Ne'aol could extend deflecting the bolts and he reached out through the force to contact Dee.

<<How’s that hyperdrive coming along?>>

In the shuttle, Dee was moving quickly. As the explosive thud of the ion cannon echoed past the temple, she was putting the final wiring in place to do a final test run of the hyperdrive. She was in a zone of focus, so much so that she missed the hell storm raging outside the temple hangar.

Hands on the controls, she was about to run the test when she heard Ne'aol's voice over her shoulder, and she responded as though he were right behind her.

We're about to find out.

The hum of the internal systems began to resonate around her, and she ran the test of the hyperdrive. For the first time in countless years, the inertial pumps began to spool up in a distinctive whine. Dee let out a little yip of excitement.

We're green to go. Now if we can hold off on the hell raining down, we can get out of here!

Ne'aol, atop the temple, nodded in agreement and began to devise a plan to stop the incoming fire. As a test, he tried grabbing a laser bolt midair, but his grip slipped, and it directly impacted the shield and washed over it in a blaze of splendor. He went back to deflecting and tried to grab another a moment later — no dice. Now he was getting frustrated.

Kriff

<<Yeah, working on it. Start getting coordinates for Tatooine figured out, and I will get us some clearance.>>

As he worked to continue deflecting the incoming doom, he practiced grabbing the incoming fire. Though, he was starting to get exhausted.

Dee was working to secure the rest of her handiwork on the hyperdrive, and AVI was standing nearby, picking up her tools and stowing them away. With everything sealed back up, she sprinted back into the cockpit and readied the shuttle for takeoff.

Life support, shields, fuel, engines, me? Good. Okay, so Tatooine eh?

She closed her eyes and began plotting a course to take them off the doomed moon. With a taste of the spice, the world faded away, and she mentally ascended if but for a moment.

The increase in firepower was not lost on Ne'aol, and he struggled to keep up. More and more bolts were getting past him and impacting the shield, rippling over the invisible field. Deflecting the fire was made more difficult with the randomized firing patterns. Anger started to well up from within. He would survive this encounter. He screamed. He had to ensure Dee did as well.


Through the dark void, a familiar feeling overcame her. It was peaceful, quiet. In the nexus of the force energy of the temple, her focus was compounded, and soon the boundaries of reality fell away; replaced with the sparks of distant stars coming into focus.

Dee stood and began to wander among the nebulae and the wandering worlds in the void leaving little Endor behind. Weaving her way through the vastness of the gulf between her and her goal: Tatooine.

It appeared as a speck at first. It was obscured by the intensity of the twin stars at the heart of the system. She found that she could weave between them to slow down her approach to the planet, though the maneuver could prove to be a risk. She looked back behind her as she felt an odd tug.

She retraced her footsteps and wove a path that would pull her away from the small moon right at surface level, fling her past a neutron star system and slingshot her right to Tatooine.

Satisfied with her work, she closed her eyes and began to work her way back to the shuttle.


Ne'aol's arms were shaking at the onslaught, yet he continued to push past the pain when a familiar presence approached from behind. He turned and was met with the gleaming grin of Master Fitz. Fitz? I must be hallucinating.

Nah Man. I'm here to give you a couple more hands.

Reaching toward the sky, the fresh Master began to deflect the bolts. Ne'aol stopped and admired the friend he had not seen in many years. The slight blue glow around his form hinted at the reason why.

Out of the air around him, two others joined in. Job, Val. You came back.

Val looked at him and cupped her hand over his cheek. The ghostly blue glow sent tingles across his body, and he closed his eyes to hide the tears. Ne'aol, we never left this place. And we never will. However, it is time for you to go. Let us go. Let this place go. It is time for you to move on with your own story, just as we have with our own.

We have to get Dee and AVI out of here.

She nodded at him and smiled, lifting her hands toward the sky along with Fitz. We will do everything in our remaining power to make that happen.


The air was suddenly filled with intense pressure. Looking up, Ne’aol saw two more ships come in from hyperspace above the moon. Moments later, he felt the interdiction fields envelop the system, and he cried out with anger and fear. Master Job nodded and vanished from the temple rooftop while Val and Fitz continued to block the incoming bolts.

Dee was just about out of her trance when she suddenly felt the crushing strength of the new obstacles. It was so sudden and vast that she felt as though she had been flung against the wall.

She opened her eyes and indeed found herself pinned against the wall of the shuttle. It hurt to breathe, and her chest ached. Her vision had not yet come back fully as things were still a little blurry. She was seeing her vision and reality. Looking up she saw through space and time and glared angrily at the interdictors in orbit.

Slamming her fist into the floor, she reached for the spice and inhaled twice the dosage.

Reality stood still and fell away with a rush, and she stared into the center of creation itself in awe. She was lost in light and whispers of the ancient ones rained all around her.

Ne’aol let his arms fall to his side.

Shoulders slumped, he fell backward against the rooftop of the temple as he gazed up into the waiting maw of the makeshift supernovae held aloft above his head. Val knelt down and picked up his head and placed it in her lap. The electric feel of her against his head was soothing, and she began to brush his hair gently. The two of them were specters separated in an infinite ocean, linked by the Force.

She began to hum. He began to tear up again.

Stretching out a hand to the doom that hovered above them, he grabbed it and pulled.

Fitz spread his arms out and basked in the destructive glory with a grin.

Val continued to hum and stroke Ne’aol’s hair.

Goodbye.


Dee watched as spacetime around the shuttle warped and distorted. The universe ahead of the shuttle stretched out into infinity, and it pulled her along with it.