Calypso

[Hol Horse]

Where the hell was he?

Athir sat on a beat-up chair on the isolated and uninhabited stretch of beach. The Otho, his freighter, was like a dead husk sitting about 30 meters or so away from him. The zabrak eyed it over his shoulder for a moment, noting the multiple black spots and holes in it that had been made by copious blaster fire. She might not have been the most glamorous thing in the galaxy, but she sure knew how to take a beating. Still, that didn't exactly help much when it ultimately had crashed down on some unknown spit of a planet on the edge of the Unkown Regions. Athir scoffed, he scoffed at the sorry state of his ship, he scoffed at the fact that he had been shot down by damned pirates of all things, he scoffed at the fact that the distress beacon he currently had signaling for help would probably never reach anyone in the disrupted Unkown Regions, and perhaps most importantly of all: he scoffed at himself for being a piss poor smuggler.

The red skinned zabrak closed his eyes in contemplation, taking a sip of his last good bottle of vintage whiskey as he looked back at the gentle rolling waves lapping at his bare feet. It was beautiful here, wherever here was. The white clouds seemed like benevolent puffs lazily floating along, the blue sky was the must crystal clear and relaxing thing he had even seen, and the sound of the water rhythmically breaking against the sandy shore almost put him into a lull. If he weren't stranded and possibly stuck here, he would have made a mental note to come back one day, maybe chart out this place on some star chart, who knows. "No, no, no, can't be thinking like that. There's a good sign of needing more whiskey" he said to himself as he sat on the sunny beach.

The modestly sized distress beacon was placed into the sand next to him, it was spherical in shape, with flashing orange lights that were indicators of it transmitting an S.O.S signal in every direction as far as possible. Athir didn't know if anyone would pick it up, he had isolated the pirates who shot him down and their communications frequency, thus excluding them from the signal, but besides them he wasn't sure anyone else might be looking for him. His engines were toast, his hull was badly damaged, his hyperdrive was in a sorry state but not broken, and his protocol droid kept insisting the best thing to do was to make Tea- all in all, it wasn't looking hot for him right now. There was nothing he could do, he was stranded, maybe for the rest of his life. Realizing this, the zabrak stood up from his chair and screamed at the ocean, throwing his half-full bottle of whiskey as far as he could into the sea.

He cursed the lot of it: he cursed his sorry situation, he cursed his damned brother for writing him out of the family will and buisness, he cursed the Republic and Sith and their incessant fighting, he just cursed the lot of it as he threw a tantrum on the otherwise peaceful beach. His red skin felt burning hot as blood pumped through it in frustration and rage, all of his quick thinking and persuasion couldn't save him now. Suddenly feeling more defeated than angry, the man slumped back down into his chair and closed his eyes in thought. What could he do? What should he do? Athir thought back to what his father might tell him, that whenever he was stumped, the best thing was to simply breath and let his mind go blank, focus on one thing and let the world around you turn to white noise.

The smuggler sighed, the memories of his late father making him feel somewhat melancholy, yet he tried to the method nonetheless. The zabrak closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. The sun felt like a warm blanket as he slowly felt it envelop him. His troubled mind began to feel soothed by the sound of the waves gently breaking on the sand, easing tension throughout his body. The gentle rustling of the palm trees behind him seemed to fade away as he let his mind wander for a while. He could feel it all at once, the water, the wind, the warm sunshine, it felt like a cocoon almost the more that he let himself relax. He could feel it again, that feeling he had felt so much throughout his life since his father had died- that feeling of lightness, like the slightest brush of wind would send him flying throughout the sky, like he could feel something more than just the white noise of his surroundings. It felt almost like he had slipped into the background of a never ending painting that stretched on forever, like the sound of the water gently breaking and enveloping his sandy feet tied him to something bigger than this scene, than this planet, than his entire sector. He couldn't explain it, he never could, it was a feeling that seemed to creep up on him out of nowhere in the unlikeliest of places. Until now, he had never been able to call it at will, it was a joyous feeling almost, something that for once he didn't think he could buy with credits or money. That feeling of warmth, of something bigger, of his mind flying through the bright blue sky, of the cool water soothing his mind...

That feeling that there was someone, or something, out there calling his name. Something that was looking for him, and Athir was in turn looking for.

Something just over the horizon.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Valen Pelora]

General Valen Pelora sat silently in his sparsely appointed cabin aboard the Puddle Jumper. His eyes were closed as he let the Force wash over him. He rode the waves of the Lightside, his mind at peace. He was traveling from Dantooine to Jedha. The Great Temple of Kyber was being reopened to the Jedi. It had been closed for a century and was sorely in need of repairs. A contingent of Jedi were working alongside the Guardians of the Whills to update the Temple. It was a massive undertaking that was spreading out into the Holy City. Annileen, Shae, and Corvo, were all otherwise engaged. The task of examining the progress rested at his feet. It was likely for the best, Valen had been instrumental in the reclaiming of the Temple. He had convinced the Guardians and the Elder to let the Jedi return. He knew progress would be slow. At first. His meditation was interrupted by the chiming of the commlink in his cabin.

“General Pelora.” He cracked his eyes open and reached out with the Force. He pressed the small button on the panel near the wall.

“Yes?” His voice was calm and measured.

“We’re detecting a distress signal from a nearby planet, looks like a downed ship.”

Valen’s brow furrowed. This was the second time in several months they had run across a troubling distress beacon. The last time had ended in Sigal nearly falling to the Darkside. Thankfully, his student was safely aboard the Peacekeeper. It was just him, Alara, and 2 Jedi Knights, this time around. He stood and stretched. His joints creaking as he moved towards the door. He had been meditating longer than he thought. He pressed the commlink again.

“Take us out of hyperspace, I’m coming to the cockpit.” He felt the yacht slow as he made his way towards the cockpit. He found Alara and the Knights waiting for him.

“We have pinpointed the distress signal, it’s a beach in the southern hemisphere of the planet. There does not appear to be any significant settlements.” He sensed the Force pulling him towards the planet. Odd.

“Take us down.” The Puddle Jumper descended smoothly towards the planet’s surface and set down a few miles from the location of the distress signal. He knew Alara would not approve of what he said next.

“I’m going myself.”

“Sir…”

“Alara, it’s fine. Search the Force, there’s no danger.” His administrative assistant frowned but did not argue. In short order, Valen was striding across the beach. His robes flowed behind him as he walked. He was not wearing his typical armor, he didn’t expect any trouble. He crested a small hill and spotted a lone figure sitting on the beach.

@Ravendark

 

[Hol Horse]

Deeper and deeper Athir seemed to slip into thought. The sound of the gentle waves, the feeling of the azure water gently lapping at his now-wet bare feet, the warm sun enveloping him more and more, all of it made the zabrak feel as though he were as light as a feather. It was strange, the more he let his mind slip away bit by bit, the more the feeling of this blissful peace seemed to intensify, despite the sensation of it all feeling overwhelming. Every drop in the sea that brushed against his legs with the waves seemed to stand out, every minuscule tropical breeze felt like a gale, the rustling of trees and grass sounded like a choir the likes of which he had never heard before. When he breathed in, it felt like the planet itself did the same almost, as if his heart were beating in perfect harmony with it's very essence. Deeper and deeper he seemed to fall away, perhaps slipping between inner thought and falling asleep- hell if he knew at this point. The only thing the zabrak could attest to was an overwhelming sensation of inner calm, a sharp contrast to his previous frustration.

Still, he fell deeper. In the dark of his shut eyes he could swear he started seeing vague lights and abstract flashes of color, passing by him faintly but at high speeds, as if he were soaring from this deserted planet into the depths of space. As he breathed and let the world envelop him, he felt more and more like his mind were in tune with the rhythm of a song he couldn't describe. He could feel every grain of sand under his feet, every ray of sunshine caressing his red skin, every second of time seemingly taking an eternity. He could see lights all around him in his minds eye as it continued to soar off of this accursed planet, the feeling of a birds eye view that only grew more and more distant, while retaining that same sense of harmony with what could only be described as life. With every slow and relaxed breath he took, he could feel his mind moving further and further away from him, becoming part of something bigger, something higher, something money would never buy him. He could see it almost, the light, it was overwhelming as his mind's eye flew higher and higher, the sounds, the warmth, the planet enveloping him more and more intensely until he could almost reach out and just-

Footsteps...

A new voice was singing in the song, a strange one, it was hard to describe- a recurring trend in this experience of his. It almost sounded like muffled and forboding drums, contrasting against the choir of the grass and plants, while never becoming as dull and booming as the ocean's waves. Perhaps what stuck out most in his mind's eye, as it now seemed to fall back down to this planet, away from whatever climax it was coming close to, was way in which it seemed to pull on him. It wasn't a shiver running down his spine, nor a fluttering heart of excitement, it was just a feeling of heightened perception and awareness. With every step that this new voice in the song took, the more Athir began to feel the deep thought he was in start to slip away. The water felt more cool and uncontrolled, the sun becoming more violently hot than warmly loving, and the wind biting at his hair a bit as it stirred him out of his inner thought. Instead of looking outward every which way, the feeling he had sensed before suddenly seemed to become entranced in its entirety with the figure now approaching him. Every step he took feeling like a mighty earthquake, his heart beating like a drum. Yet still, despite all of it, that feeling of pulling, like there was something deeper than he could explain, like a few moments ago, that made him feel drawn towards the newcomer, a sensation he couldn't say money could buy.

Finally, Athir opened his eyes, the sight of the infinite and island-filled blue tropical sea splayed out before him.

Suddenly feeling the urge to move around a bit, the zabrak pulled himself out of his jury-rigged beach chair and stretched out his back, letting out a groan of satisfaction as he did so. His black tank top contrasted with his cut up cargo pants as he turned around and walked up the beach a bit towards his ship, his protocol droid was making tea still probably, the bucket of bolts. Athir grumbled to himself a bit before shouting, "Are there any ships on the radar?" he asked the droid working over the portable stove. It only took the droid a few moments to look at a small screen nearby next to the ship to confirm his thoughts, "Affirmative. It does not seem to be the one that shot us down, fortunately" the metallic figure said before going back to his cooking. That was good news, whoever it was that had found them surely could help them get off this island-filled planet. Athir let out a sigh of relief, he could still feel that sense of being drawn, similar to the one he had had on Naboo with Ocean.

After confirming the ship wasn't belonging to the pirate that had knocked them clean out of space, Athir felt as though he could lower his guard a tad. He turned around then to look back up the beach, someone was coming, he could feel it.

@Valen Pelora