Tulio had now fully "opened his heart." He was in a talkative mood, and by his own estimation, the brainwashing had reached full effectiveness. He could even feel the trust radiating from Amir's emotions.
Once again, Amir planted thoughts like "I love the organization" and "I trust you deeply" into Tulio's mind, all while scheming how to extract more information.
"What about the other test subjects?" Amir asked casually. "Can I meet them? Watch some of their training?"
"Most of them are resting right now. We cleared the training grounds specifically for you."
As he spoke, they arrived at a wide, sealed door. The stormtroopers moved on their own to press the switch, opening it. Two of them entered and took up positions guarding each side of the door; the last one remained outside.
Tulio gestured for Amir to follow him in.
It was a fairly spacious room.
The floor was patterned with square tiles, each about a meter and a half wide. Some had been lifted, revealing a twenty-centimeter-thick base, indicating that the tiles weren't fixed in place—they were clearly training props.
Various alloy weapons lay scattered in one corner of the room. Some were visibly damaged. Even more battered were several combat droids piled beside them, one of which was being tended by an auto-repair bot.
Deeper in, several unknown machines lined the walls. Amir recognized one immediately: an electric chair.
Closing his eyes, Amir maximized his Force sensitivity, expanding his awareness outward like a sphere radiating from his body. He was searching for other life forms.
At around a two-hundred-meter radius, he sensed them—aside from the people currently in the training room and Subject 032, there were exactly twenty-one other life forms aboard.
But as his awareness extended, that strange sensation from earlier only grew stronger.
Puzzled, Amir pressed on. He reduced the detail of his Force sense to expand the range, continuing to push the sphere of awareness outward. Soon, half the cruiser lay within his perception. Though the signal was fuzzy, it was enough.
His breathing grew labored. Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Then, his expression changed.
He saw it. He understood.
That feeling—the oppressive aura—it was hunger, rage, raw violence. Amir recognized it instantly. He had fled its rampage just two days ago.
It was the giant space slug.
Why? Why was the cruiser still loitering on the edge of the Hoth asteroid belt?
Why was the creature so close?
Amir extended his senses again—and suddenly found the source of the disturbance.
From nearby, a wave of Dark Side Force energy was pulsing outward, radiating pure agony. It came from Subject 032—and it was resonating with the space slug, as if communicating through the Force.
Subject 032 had drawn the slug here.
Amir had no doubt the slug was highly sensitive to the Force. Even his own light brush with it days ago had stirred it from hibernation.
And now, 032—emitting waves of pain-ridden Dark Side energy even while unconscious—had broadcast that signal.
Even calm, peaceful Force probing could trigger the creature into a frenzy. The emotions carried in 032's agony-laced Force would be unbearable.
Amir didn't know whether it was the creature's perception that had grown sharper since waking… or if 032's Force presence had simply reached too far.
But now it had found them. And it was coming.
At the very edge of Amir's Force vision, he felt the massive tendrils of the beast brush against his awareness.
In an instant, a torrent of emotion—violent, primal, overwhelming—rushed toward him.
Already at his limit, Amir immediately retracted his Force sense, clearing his mind to recover.
Yet the sensation lingered. The space slug's emotions continued to echo inside his mind.
Meanwhile, Tulio was still calmly explaining the training equipment. Amir listened quietly—outwardly serene, while inwardly everything had changed.
He now had to revise his original plan.
The arrival of the space slug changed everything.
"It's here." The Force screamed a warning through his mind.
Without warning, the entire ship lurched violently. The combat droids toppled to the ground. Tulio staggered, barely staying upright.
Amir, already braced, stood firm through the shock.
He stepped forward and helped steady Tulio, keeping the Mon Calamari from falling.
After the initial impact, the ship stabilized somewhat, but continued to shudder at intervals. The first shockwave must have been a direct collision with the slug—likely its body clinging to the hull.
The corridors flashed red with alarms. A sense of urgency gripped every crew member.
"What's happening?!" Tulio cried.
The stormtroopers at the door rushed in.
"We're under attack by a massive space creature!" one of them answered frantically.
"A space creature?! Dammit—the asteroid belt! We should never have lingered here!"
-
-
-
🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
This series has 100+ chapters ahead on Patreon! 🌠
Uncover ancient Jedi relics before the galaxy does.
🛑 Also on Patreon:
Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore
Cyberpunk: The Relentless
Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System
My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator
My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?
Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort
Dragon King of Ice and Fire
The Rebirth of Harry Potter
R18: Reincarnated in Her World
🔗 www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 SrMagnus🐦 https://x.com/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ Let the Power Stones guide future updates!