"Mona?"
Hearing the weak voice from inside the room, Mona smiled. Every day, every single day, that frail call was her strongest shield—helping her endure the pain outside that door.
"I'm back, Milisen."
Lying on the bed inside was a thin-faced Twi'lek girl.
Mona walked over and sat beside her, gently touching her lekku and massaging the rough, blue skin on her forehead.
"How was today?" Milisen asked.
"You know… same as always." Mona extended her left arm, showing the dense clusters of pinpricks up and down her skin.
The two fell silent under the dim lights.
Milisen was the first to speak. "I miss Sian."
"I know," Mona replied, gazing at Milisen's face. Her thumb, gently rubbing Milisen's brow, suddenly felt a drop of moisture.
Milisen pressed her lips together, her body beginning to tremble. Suddenly, she raised her hand and forcefully swatted Mona's arm away.
"You don't know! You forgot Sian! You—! You don't care about us at all! You're always so cheerful!"
Milisen suddenly thrust her right hand forward.
In that instant, Mona felt as if everything around her turned to ice—as if her entire body had plunged into the depths of winter.
"Milisen. You—?!"
"Get away from me!"
A wave of irresistible Force blasted out. Mona's body flew like a ragdoll toward the door, her frail frame slamming into the alloy wall with such force that it didn't even make a sound.
She collapsed into a corner, curling into herself and clutching her chest tightly with her slender arms, struggling to suppress the pain coursing through her body.
"Hnghh—!"
"Milisen… it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay..." Mona pulled herself up using the wall, then walked over and wrapped her arms around the crying girl.
"I'm sorry, Mona. I'm sorry. I… I couldn't control it..."
"It's okay…"
Another room.
Inside an upright medical pod stood a boy. His skin was covered in blood-black lesions, with bones already protruding in some places. Dozens of tubes pierced his body, delivering various nutrients, stabilizers, and blood.
Even in stasis, his tightly furrowed brows revealed he was still in pain.
Four battle droids stood arrayed outside the stasis pod.
It was unclear whether they were guarding him… or containing him.
Another room.
A line of children extended their arms toward a machine, their faces strained, teeth clenched, as if they were trying desperately to feel something.
Several researchers recorded data beside the apparatus.
Amir awoke from sleep and went to the bathroom. His spider droid quickly returned to his wrist unit.
While washing up, Amir reviewed the intel the spider had gathered during the night.
First came the holographic maps. In the so-called rest area and the adjacent training area, the spider had obtained numerous high-resolution holograms. They clearly showed humanoid figures. Just as Amir had suspected, there were quite a few children there.
These experiments reminded Amir of the children he and Hark had rescued back on Coruscant.
He now suspected that the underground lab on Coruscant had merely been a branch—far removed from the main operation. That place had not even been close to the core of the research.
And the cruelty of that place had already been extreme. The children they'd rescued had undergone procedures so dangerous that forcibly interrupting them caused unpredictable and often fatal outcomes.
Even now, those kids were still undergoing guided recovery under the captured researcher's supervision, hoping to reverse the damage step by step.
This main lab had to be worse.
From the spider's footage, Amir had already seen a boy locked inside a medical pod.
Vitals showed he was barely alive.
With a sigh, Amir left the bathroom and sat on the bed, waiting for breakfast and the day's new "lesson."
After more than a day of observation and probing, Amir had gained a good understanding of the cruiser's layout. If he wanted to escape, he could do it—striking when their intel on him was still sorely lacking.
After all, he still had his lightsaber.
But… he didn't want to leave just yet.
Tulio's words yesterday had shaken him. For over a decade, Amir had believed himself to be just a normal person, living an ordinary life. It wasn't until recent events started piling up that he began to question that.
But even then, they had been just questions—doubts. Tulio's words, and the horrifying "truths" hidden within, had brought real confusion.
So he couldn't leave.
Not yet.
There were too many unanswered questions. Too many things he still needed to understand.
Boris. John Morey. The children…
He couldn't take Tulio's words at face value. Even if they were all "true," they were only his truths—what he believed to be real. That didn't make them the objective truth.
Especially since some parts didn't even add up logically.
Most importantly: John Morey.
He had the method to track Amir down.
But what exactly was that method?
Amir had considered many possibilities.
Tracking a living being wasn't necessarily difficult, but it wasn't trivial either—especially when Amir's body had no chips, implants, or known signal emitters.
Unless… the signal was extremely faint.
Or not electromagnetic at all.
Whatever it was, Amir had no way to find out. And until he did, even if he escaped, he'd have to keep using signal jammers everywhere he went.
A knock came at the door.
Time for the day's briefing.
It was Tulio again. Yesterday's outburst hadn't affected his demeanor at all. He still looked like a mix between a mystic and a kind old man—stern, yet oddly warm.
Today, there was no attempt at further brainwashing. Maybe they believed yesterday's session had been sufficient. Or maybe they were saving it for later.
Instead, Tulio brought a small booklet.
No fancy cover, no frills—just a stack of white paper, stapled together.
These days, it was harder to find actual paper than a datapad.
Amir took the booklet and flipped open the first page.
"Yesterday, I explained most of the things you were wondering about," Tulio said. "Today, we'll test your abilities. I imagine you're quite interested in that."
"Mmh. I've known how to do this for a long time—it feels like second nature," Amir replied as he extended his hand, letting the booklet float above his palm.
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🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
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