A Dangerous Accident

[Manu Xextos]

The niggling feeling continued through the days. I can’t chase it off, and yet everyone I know and care for is accounted for. So then, why am I floating in the Brynyar near Mandalorian space with every bone in my body refusing to leave?

So maybe it’s time to stop and listen.

And something, a weak and precious flicker, comes. Boy is it a doozy. [member="Beth Cadera"] , the daughter of my once-student [member="Kaine Australis"], whom I have not seen in a long time.

The girl.

The one my mother [member="Ahani Zambrano"] looked into the future to see fall. Beth, simple caring Beth, is the crux point of the galactic spirit. If she falls, hope dies… and now I know why my mind forced me to keep my crew in these spaces, hovering around Hapes and Onderon.

I place the white robes of my Mastery of the Force over my silver hair, and lift my hands to the Light. Seeking. Searching. A brief, and barely present flicker tempts my mind…

… and with the sound of waves crashing on a shore, my mind descends to a planet, which burns and cries and quivers. My presence washes over Beth: calm, warm waters against the bitter horror.

‘Do not be afraid, I have not come to harm you’ My booming telepathic voice thunders, a breaker on a jagged cliff-face. ‘Beth… Bethany, I am Manu Xextos. Your father’s Master. The one you tried to see on Sabarene… tell me, what do you need? Your fear is shouting so hard, I’ve been searching for you for days.’ The Light comes to those who search for it. Safety is a jump away.

[member="Cleru"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth stared out the window beside [member="Cleru"], her mind racing with what all had happened. What might happen. If she couldn’t catch someone… Would her and Cleru be forced to fight survival out on this planet? They would no one – the Ascendancy, the Mandalorians, Beth’s family. They would truly be alone. Beth sighed as she rubbed her arms together before she walked beside Cleru, placing her hands on his shoulders as she pushed her fingers into his tensed muscles.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said quietly. And for the first time, she actually meant it. It wasn’t weak, or fake, it was true. It took her a second to realize that the infusion of optimism, of light. From [member="Manu Xextos"], one of the most light sided individuals in the galaxy these days. From Sabarene. In truth, it was the first time since Commenor that Beth truly felt so much… Light. On some level, she realized something.

Beth reacted quickly to the realization that she finally reached someone, despite how much it took out of her. She squeezed Cleru’s arms with wide eyes, her depressed ears going straight up. She nearly fell how fast as she sat down on the floor, crossing her legs. To listen. To feel. To hear. They may only have one shot at this and so… She had to find her focus. She had to weave herself through the very fabric of the Force. A feat not so easily down to a young woman, but… Beth was no ordinary young woman.

She heard his voice boom in her mind, finally. Her eyes burned with tears of relief, and of the calmness that he brought. “Master Xextos,” she said quietly. She was unaware if she said it outloud or in her mind, but she only knew he could maybe hear her. “We’re trapped. Me and Cleru, on this… Hell planet. There was this outbreak and… Extreme aggression from those infected and… They just rip people apart. Please help, I don’t know where we are. I hope you can feel me. Feel where I am through the Force, Manu, please,” she said, her voice practically pleading for rescue. “I don’t know how long I can keep the connection,” she said after a moment, her breath heavy and sweat forming on her brows.

Her and Cleru were not eating enough. They were severely dehydrated, and in all aspects heavily wounded. She just didn't have the physical strength to keep it up.

 

[Manu Xextos]

Oh you poor flower, how wilted you are. [member="Beth Cadera"]’s energy flickered like a fading firefly, succoured only by the presence in the Force I extend, and her own dogged will not to die.

‘Listen to the rain, sweetie. Feel the water on your skin, it is the Light, soak it in. Take all you need.’ To stay with… someone I cannot for the life of me, feel. I dive deeper, anchoring on the portion of Beth’s mind she opens for me, and the waters of my inner self rain down upon her dry riverbed, hopefully to soak in and sustain her a little longer.

Light freely given. Health freely sustained, and donated by my own ever open connection to the life force of the universe. The Living Force.

‘I’ve been triangulating your position for days, hold onto my voice and the rain. Keep picturing that rain, Beth. Nothing but a blue ocean as far as you can see, and rain. Do that for me.’ I raise my hand, waving over one of my descendants with a holomap of the region. I work the map with my fingers, zeroing in a sector at a time, pulling at Beth’s fledgeling connection.

‘Rain, Beth. Don’t worry about your strain or your surroundings. Don’t think on the problems of the outbreak. All I need you to do is picture the ocean, and the rain.’ I grit my teeth. This would be far easier if she were better trained.

That’s when I feel more. Sparks of life… ‘Beth, sweetie how many people are with you? Cleru, I… how old is he? I can’t feel another larger aura around you. Only you, and two sparks.’

I cling to her wavering connection, gripping at it with the assurance of a Master, who has been concentrating on the Living Force for eight hundred years.

“Take us on this vector. Prep my med shuttle… and some firestarters.” My descendant salutes and rushes off, another taking her place at my side.

My brow furrows.

‘Beth, hey, tell me about Cleru, okay? What’s he look like? Where did you meet, what is it that brought you two together?’ Keep her distracted, keep her with me, without concentrating on the strain. I pull more of her mental strain into myself, body healing the damage as I delve deeper in.

Honing in.

‘… the lake. Got you.’ My finger expands a planet, and I tap at its’ appropriate hemisphere. There. That must be where they are. ‘My ship is jumping in, Beth. I feel where you are… near the lake, in the house. Stay low, keep talking to me, okay? Talk to me, and seep in as much of that rain as you can. Feel for the strength of the planet, you can open yourself to the Life within, and without. The rain. Tell me what the rain feels like.’

If I can keep her concentrating, I can give her more… hopefully it would be enough to sustain our connection until we get close enough to the surface.

[member="Cleru"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth reached for [member="Cleru"]'s hand. She tightened her hand around his. She did it. Or rather, Manu probably did it. It sounded like he knew something was wrong. Had the Force been helping from the very beginning? It didn't matter at the moment. All she knew was that Manu had found her. And that meant her and Cleru could get out.

Manu's voice sounded like a breath of relief. She inhaled, trying to focus solely on the connection with Manu. She had to ignore the aches, pains, hunger and thirst. It had to be pushed to the back of her mind. But... Listen to the rain. Manu instructed, and Beth tried her best to obey. Her mind focused on the relief of the Light as it soaked upon her skin.

Each dropped made her feel... Calm again. A sense of hope. A new will to live. Beth nodded as she listened to [member="Manu Xextos"] instruct her. Her mind pictured an ocean that never ended - like on Westralis, or Dremulae. "I'm so tired," she whispered to Manu. "I'm trying... There was a kid..." she added a moment later as she inhaled, exhaled, and tried to regulate her breathing. No, she couldn't picture that. She had to push it back, no matter how much it tried to infiltrate her thoughts.

"Two sparks? It's only me. Cleru is Force Dead, you can't feel him. There can't be anyone else here," Beth replied with a wince as her body ached. Unless... There was those mutated people, somewhere nearby. "Cleru is... Amazing. I never thought I'd say someone could be a dream come true but..." she said quietly as her hand squeezed his harder. "He is so kind, sweet, absolutely charming. An amazing baker. He doesn't know how amazing he is. We met at the Chiss masquerade," she chuckled quietly as the memories came back.

"He was just standing there so I walked up to him. He even flirted with me, and I panicked, and he thought I was so uncomfortable when I was just completely panicking," she said with a warm smile. The second smile she'd had over the past several days.

"Got you." Had he found them? Beth didn't realize it, but her eyes had streaks of tears flowing from them. Out of relief, out of the emotion, out of the Force? Who knew. "Manu, we're here! That is where we're at," she said as she whimpered out. "Be careful, they are attracted to sound," she said a moment later. "It's... Warm. It feels like when I was little, and would play in the sand, and... Manu, please hurry." Why did she even say sand? She lived on a snowball during her youth.

 

[Manu Xextos]

When [member="Beth Cadera"] denies the inevitable, I do what any man in my situation would. I shut the feth up. Best I can do is keep her comfortable, and focused.

‘Yes, Bethany I know you’re tired, I can feel it. Your body is nothing but a collection of atoms. You, all you are, is energy. Energy cannot be destroyed, and neither can you. Soak up the rain. It is a replenishing blessing from the Living Force, the life that sustains us all. You are not your pain. You are not your hunger. You are the energy which makes up your experience, and that is infinite. Hold to the rain. Soak it in, we’re getting closer.’ I feel like I’m teaching her first steps, and I cannot help the niggling question of why Kaine didn’t teach his daughter what I taught him.

What is happening on Mandalore?

She waxes on about [member="Cleru"], and I feel her energies shift. Yes, there we go. There we are, she has endless focus for him. ‘What did the Chiss Masquerade look like? Who was there? The walls, what colour were they?’

The closer we get, the stronger my connection. I’m starting to feel her now, and I reach out with my etheric body and caress her cheek.

‘No sound, got it. Rest in the waters, Bethany. Drink in the rain.’ It’s all I can give her, and the desperation in my own mind of knowing if she’s this weak, and we lose the connection, I might not be able to find her. If she goes unconscious, there’s no other mind to link to that could hear me. Not with a Force Dead Chiss her ‘only’ companion.

We get closer, the planet coming to view and I rush to the shuttle which will take my landing party down. My pilot grits her teeth, purple-dyed hair braided in a wild side-crop down her left shoulder. She knows by now to pilot based on my sensations, and I point in the direction I feel Beth in. The planet is a gaping horror.

Its’ cries make my muscles clench, my teeth grit.

‘Beth, we’re making atmo. How’s the rain feel?’ The closer I get, the more I can wrap my spirit around her, push energy in to repair what was lost. Small cuts could heal, bruises fade. Nothing in her mind but the Light and its’ many, holy waters.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth took a deep breath, hopeful that she could keep herself strong enough for Manu to rescue them. He knew how she felt, though. She was just energy - well, she wished her atoms would work a little better. Although, considering her state, perhaps it was a miracle that her atoms were holding together at all. "Manu... Don't stop the rain," she whispered as she inhaled as she let the Living Force flow over her. How long had it been since she felt this close to the Force? At least 5 years... There was few moments where she could feel the purity of the Force and despite the horrors that had happened, at least there was this.

A part of her felt guilt, though. She was receiving relief while [member="Cleru"] had to continue to suffer. She held tight onto his hand, as if somehow some of this would pass through to him. It may have been impossible but at least she had him. At least he had her. That was something, right?

"It... Was beautiful. I hadn't realized how much culture, how much beauty there was. I think.. The Chiss probably saw more, though, than we did. Eyes and things," she chuckled weakly. "My grandmother who was brought back to the dead was there, along with our walking tank [member="Adenn Kyramud"].. But the only thing that really mattered from that night is with me here." Beth winced as her muscles contracting in pain from the action.

Beth felt weaker despite the Force he gave her and despite the rain of light that washed upon her. She was just... Tired. Her body was tired. Mentally, tired. But she held on. She held onto that connection as though it was the last thing she'd ever do. "Are you close?" She asked with a soft whimper, her hand reaching up to rest upon his. Perhaps to Cleru it would look as though she was simply holding her own cheek. But no, she felt his hand.

And suddenly, she felt some of her bruises heal. Her body ached less. "Atmosphere? You're almost here?" She said with the sigh of relief. "Cleru, they're almost here..." She whispered to him, clearly exhausted despite some [member="Manu Xextos"]'s light encasing her, despite the small repairs. They were almost out of here, almost saved.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

Cleru had fallen silent, listening to the half of the conversation he could through [member="Beth Cadera"] as she spoke to.. Whomever she was speaking to. He remembered enough of the Force to know how this conversation would work. He found himself blushing as she started talking about him though. Was that how she truly thought of him? He squeezed her hand, smiling faintly as he looked out the window.

[member="Manu Xextos"] should be arriving shortly.

Though, at the mention of two sparks the Chiss pulled up his gun. Only a couple of shots left, but they should be enough to deal with two of the infected provided they weren't the bloated large ones. "Do they have reinforcements? Anything to help us if there's infected coming?"

 

[Manu Xextos]

‘I won’t, Beth. Take all you need, the Light never runs dry.’ The channel to the Light of the Force remains open, as the shuttle pilot veers through the atmosphere, scans blazing on as heat signatures indicative of troop movement, or chaotic mobs peppered the screen behind me.

I can’t concentrate on that and [member="Beth Cadera"] , so I allow my officers to do their jobs, as the pilot narrows in.

‘Your grandmother… not…’

“Aditya!?” My voice thunders in the cabin of the shuttle, and I nearly break the connection with Beth. [member="Aditya Fitz Kierke"], alive!? How, my first question is a massive how.

‘Your grandmother Aditya? Wow… this may surprise you, but Aditya and I go way back. Back when she was an engineer for the Army of Light, fighting Sith and hugging every problem in the Galaxy away with a smile. She was the happiest woman I’d ever met… sorry, nostalgia happens a lot when you’re eight hundred years old. Yes, Beth. We’re narrowing in. Keep talking to me, alright? I can’t lose you now. You must keep this connection.’ I won’t minimize the import of keeping Beth awake and in our mental cohesion.

With the proximity making my connection stronger, it also crowds my mind with the empathic filth of the infected and their ilk. Feels like trying to have a conversation at a rave of drunken zombies, all screaming off-key in an attempt to shake down a wall.

‘Our shuttle will land on the lake, I’ve brought a team. We’ll hone in on you, and escort to the shuttle. How’s the rain feeling now?’ I brush the hair away from Beth’s face, my etheric body solid enough to move her. A tangible connection at a time like this might make the difference, as the shuttle can probably be heard overhead.

Engines whir, and I focus on segmenting my mind, to continue the rain for Beth, while being present here, on this terribly sick world. As the hatch lowers, I rush across the water at a run, lightsaber in one hand, the other lifted in front of me, as I pull at the water.

‘Beth, tell your [member="Cleru"] that shooting me would be counter-inuitive, I don’t know how jumpy he is, but I’m coming in fast. Won’t look like more than a silver blur.’

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth nodded, unsure if [member="Manu Xextos"] even knew. She soaked in the rain, int he light. The sweet mercy it brought, the healing it brought. Beth held onto [member="Cleru"]'s hand, in some hope that some of the peace she was being given would pass to him.

"Manu," she whispered as she felt the connection waiver, the light almost slipping from her grasp. Her body weakened, as she gasped at the sudden change. But he was back, as strong. "[member="Darth Prazutis"] resurrected her," she said quietly, almost as if it was somehow a secret. "I... It's weird, her being around. I love her, but... Weird," she said quietly as she shook her. "Do you have enough to help? Cleru wants to know if you're bringing enough in case those... Monsters, appear."

Especially since she heard the shuttle in the air, the noise carrying over the land. "Cleru, let's get outside... They're almost here. And... He said to not be trigger happy, he will look like a silver blur," she said as she practically dragged Cleru out of the house and towards the edge of the shore.

This nightmare was almost over... Soon, so close.

 

[Mandalorian Prophet]

"Silver blur? I.. Okay?" Cleru was clearly confused by what [member="Beth Cadera"] meant, but he'd do his best regardless to not shoot a silver blur that was [member="Manu Xextos"] . With his gun up at the ready he lead the Mandalorian hand in hand, always ready to push her to safety if it was needed. But, it wasn't. What ever monsters had been around that set off the spark sense must of left. Right?

Outside he waited by the shore alongside Beth, blinking at the sight of something.. No, someone running across the water. Was that the sort of power he could of had?

 

[Manu Xextos]

The life force known as [member="Beth Cadera"] opens to my inner sight, as she mentions to my horror that [member="Aditya Fitz Kierke"] was resurrected by the Shadow Hand of the Sith.

The Sith are moving faster than I’d like toward a goal only they know full well whether they’ll keep. ‘Beth, I have all the help I need.’

Tugging into the Light, I book it toward Beth and [member="Cleru"], whom I can’t feel even though I’ve been trying. The Force is a way to many abilities, as someone once said, maybe more than someone. Maybe many… sounds like a many phrase.

For me, it’s speed. I race from the lake, legs moving so fast I run over the water. Nothing but a gigantic long silver blur meets Beth and Cleru. My body settles, atoms vibrating as I look beyond them to creatures in the distance.

Moving fast.

“Found you, Beth. Cleru, I presume… the smitten kitten’s beau. Good, you’ve got all your bits. Can you run?” Without waiting, I stomp a foot on the ground, hands extending outward, as the water of the lake swooshes along, freezing and creating walls so high no creature could possibly jump over without aide. I shunt the walls around us, the roar of the water playing off my ears. A foot slides, and the water in a straight line from us to the shuttle freezes. “I’m assuming you know how to run on ice. Go. Go!”

Without waiting for permission, I pick Beth up, cradling her in my arms. “You can pass out now, Beth. You did it. We’re getting you out.”

Doesn’t take my tenure as a physician to see how exhausted and overcome the girl is. Eldorai genetics are tricky, mental damage can cause some to succumb. I let Cleru go first, in case I need to help him. He’s visible to me, but I can’t sense a danged thing… complete blank slate, like he’s an illusion or… not there. Going to have to wait for the medical bay on the Brynyar to check on him.

“Now would be good! Thanks for not shooting me.”

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth watched the water intently - seeing that silver bullet flying through, well, above the water. Beth inahled deeply, following a deep exhale. She was ever weaker as even [member="Manu Xextos"] tried to take as much as he could. Her body and mind was slowly passing the point of exhaustion, even more so due to her the more fragile part of her genetics.

The mutated aliens must have heard the ship as several of the runners were coming towards the group - it looked like that horde that had ended that child's life. Their loud, clicking and screams as they fumbled towards Beth and [member="Cleru"]. Beth looked behind her as her heart dropped even more, the last bit of hope she had almost extinguished. But then she heard him, Manu had found her. Had found Cleru. "We're alive," she replied to Cleru. Bruises and cuts coated their bodies, especially a very visible black eye for Beth from... Where had she hit her head?

She couldn't remember. Only vague parts of the actual crash and that first night and day were still in her memory. The others had... Gone, somehow.

Either way, the sudden walls of ice appeared which made Beth jump slightly, her attention turned back to Manu. They couldn't get to them... The horde couldn't get them. The ice was too thick, even for them. And even if they did, Manu could get them to the ship. Beth did not know how to run on ice and in truth, she said a silent prayer of thanks when Manu picked her up and cradled her in his arms. And at a perfect time - she cut the connection, unable to hold it any longer now that he was finally here. Her arms wrapped around Manu's neck, her hands gripped tightly onto his robes.

"Don't let him get hurt, he's been through so much," she whispered through a barely audible voice, clearly referring to Cleru. Beth couldn't protect him like he had protected her. She was just... So tired. Her eyes faltered, her body finally turning off as the exhaustion from using an unskilled Force, cutting the connection on accident which resulted in all that exhaustion to at least briefly hit her. Beth let out a blink before she did indeed pass out. Her breath became very light - perhaps dangerously light. At least... At least Cleru was safe, her last thoughts as darkness surrounded her fully.