The hull creaked, the deck trembled—the ship was passing through the upper layers of the atmosphere. Without wasting time, the landing group prepared for the drop. The fighters checked cargo mounts and the automatic braking system. Mom meditated, Dalien issued instructions, and I waited for the command to open the ramp.
As soon as the craft stabilized, pressure equalized, and the red light came on, I pressed the button with the Force, opening one of the huge hatches in the belly of the transport. In general, the cargo bay of this ship consisted of crosswise sections and airlocks facing downward, with a crane bolted to the ceiling for "pulling in" cargo.
Walking to the edge, Mom looked first at me, then at Dalien. I stood between her and Ves, waiting for the pilots' signal. The altitude was very high, so we used the Force to reinforce our bodies, offsetting lack of oxygen, cold, and low pressure. The others wore sealed environmental suits. Not spaceworthy, but enough to walk a planet with a dangerous atmosphere.
Trading a glance with Vessira, I saw her smile—and in her emotions, a hint of fear mixed with confidence in me, determination, and excitement. Reaching out, I ran my fingers through her hair and scratched behind the ear peeking out, receiving not just confidence in return, but true faith.
Then the light turned green. Taking the first step forward, I used the Force to stabilize myself. I'd never jumped from that height before—though compared to the ravine jump, it wasn't the same. Here you just fall downward; there you fall into darkness that can kill you.
Despite the work, I couldn't help enjoying the flight. In my previous life, I'd once jumped with a parachute—unforgettable. Now I was falling again, like then, but without a parachute. Heh. It would be time to panic, but no.
Oh. And there's the Old City. The ruins were clearly visible from above—and they were radiating the dark side of the Force, too. Correcting my fall to the agreed point, I shifted position sharply and landed in a crouch. Mom and Ves landed nearby; the others came down a moment later on jump packs. Last, on mounted boosters and a grav-cushion, the cargo container dropped.
No orders followed. Everything had been discussed and rehearsed ten times over. Breaking into groups, the men got to work. Some began unpacking the container; others lifted off on packs toward a hidden antenna.
I, together with Mom, headed for the entrance of a half-collapsed temple, because that was where the descent to the cave we needed was located. The temple itself had sunk halfway into the ground, and it looked like Tythonian architecture—which made sense: Kwa structures had served as prototypes for our buildings. At least on Tython.
The building had a pyramidal shape that was very familiar from my old life. Only I couldn't remember who used them… Mayu, myao… right. The Maya. It reminded me of their pyramids.
After climbing the steps a bit to the upper tier, we entered. Stone rubble, an abundance of cracks, earth in places, plants growing in others. Across from the entrance were two sections: to the left, a deep square shaft; to the right, a wide spiral staircase.
Glancing at the ceiling and the edges, I recalled the briefing we'd dug up about the Tho Yor. If you remembered the images and added a bit of imagination, it felt like a Tho Yor could perfectly "dock" its cargo deck to the top of the pyramid. Hm… interesting. Looks like we're climbing in through a pier—or a "dock."
Reaching the edge of the drop, I peered down.
"When I looked at this on the schematic, I thought it would be much shorter."
"I warned you. On site, everything looks completely different."
"Yeah."
Outside, a burst of gunfire thundered.
"Ves?"
"All fine, just an animal," the Cathar replied at once—the one we'd left to watch the non-Force-users.
"They're chasing off the fauna," I explained to Mom.
"Hope they don't provoke them into gathering around us," Mom shuddered with displeasure. "Last time, a whole crowd gathered here just to secure the perimeter."
"Hm…"
A couple minutes later, two fighters caught up with us carrying gas cylinders. They opened the valves and tossed the cylinders down one by one. Mom and I sealed the way back up with the Force, driving the gas through the caves. Fighting bloodrazors in caves… that's asking to die. You can't get them with the Force—they're resistant to it. They're small, nasty little things you can barely hit. How many Je'daii they've eaten in these caves, I won't even try to count.
So the matter was handled radically. Exterminate all life down there. A bluish fog began to spread through the caves, driven by our will reinforced by the Force to speed the effect.
After an hour, we began pushing normal air through the caves to vent the gas through air shafts and cracks. When everything was ready, it was time to descend. Mom went first, then me and Dalien. A column of armed porters followed, and Ves closed the procession.
Sometimes we came across dead clusters of bloodrazors and walked right over their little bodies. As we descended, I felt the pull of the dark side more and more. Sticky, unpleasant—you want to wash the filth off. But inside I felt no discomfort anymore: no pain, no inexplicable rage. Only disgust. For the non-Force-users, the influence of the Force showed itself as nervousness and an inexplicable fear of the darkness and the oppressive atmosphere of these tunnels.
Lower down, I saw Mom's skill at leaving nasty surprises. First: traps were only on the deeper levels, where the creatures didn't live. Second: they weren't everywhere, but in specific places so you couldn't go around them. And the way this stuff was hidden—don't even start. Even my echolocation wouldn't spot it, because Force Sight was clogged with the "noise" of the local background.
The traps were varied too. Some were Force barriers that hammered the minds of anyone who passed. Some were laser beams that detected intruders and immediately alerted a beacon above, which would send a report to the Order. Another nastiness opened cylinders with a gas much like the one we'd used to poison the "mice." And somewhere it was just an ordinary mechanical fragmentation mine.
There was also something for the truly refined audience: Mom personally planted a sleeping Force lightning trap in one corridor, powered by the Source itself. If that thing triggered, it would strike no worse than a Force Storm. We would probably survive—but that's me, Mom, and Ves. The others would turn to charcoal.
When we descended to the required level, we ran into a wall.
"Um… Dalien?" Mom looked at the smirking guide.
"Everything's fine. Saros built this wall to scare off the curious," he winked at Mom. "Bring the charges!"
No sooner said than done. They took out a special wire, laid an outline for the future breach, and placed the charge at the center. First the wire flared, tracing the contour. Then the shaped blast hit, knocking out the stone. Mom blew the dust away with the Force and entered first; I followed with my blade ready.
Ahead lay an empty dark corridor—an actual corridor, with fully worked stone walls. Along the edges on the ground lay broken, ripped-out stone doors. Probably left by earlier explorers.
"The Old City is connected by naturally formed tunnels. Basically, we just went underground to the neighboring building," Dalien commented, sweeping a flashlight down the corridor. His bodyguard cracked a glowstick and tossed it into the darkness. I caught it with the Force and sent it farther down the corridor until it hit the end.
And then I remembered. In my vision, Dalien died in that corridor.
"Um… Dalien, listen—are there any secrets here?" I glanced at our guide, just in case shifting my grip on the blade for my own peace of mind.
"No. Definitely not. At least there shouldn't be."
"Bad idea adding that last part," I sighed, scanning the space and stepping forward first. Everything seemed fine…
I moved through the corridor like a coiled spring, and only exhaled with relief when we turned the corner. Everyone felt it—even Dalien. I'd been tense as hell.
"Something wrong?"
"No. Just… you were supposed to die in that corridor."
"Uh…"
"In my vision. You think we latched onto you for no reason?"
"Thanks…"
"You're welcome. Where next?"
"This way."
Continuing on, we reached a collapsed staircase—no way to climb it. There was a rectangular shaft here instead. Pushing off the walls and catching "ledges" marking the floors, Mom and I climbed three tiers up, then lifted the rest with the Force.
Another corridor. Broken stone doors stacked against the wall. And—
"There they are," Dalien breathed with something like reverence.
"Hypertates," Mom added with far less joy, looking at the device.
A small room, just like in the pictures: a big triangular thing in the center, a walkway leading to it from one side, and a control console on the other.
"Right." Dalien clapped his hands. "To work! Talion, set up the computers. Dail—lighting. Khan—air filtration…" He started handing out tasks.
I went to the control console and studied the device. Exactly like in my visions… or was that not a vision? It had to be verified.
"Nervous?" Ves came up.
"You think?" I snorted, turning to her. "But someone is a lot more nervous than I am."
"Well, you know—I don't really want to die for stupidity or someone else's ideals."
"It'll be fine." I put an arm around the Cathar. "The Force is with us, Ves."
"Mhm."
We stepped aside so we wouldn't get in the professionals' way and simply watched. They installed equipment, set up lights, started generators for power and oxygen—because the air here was far from pleasant.
Looking at Mom, I realized Ves and I were calm like two stoned addicts smoking on a powder keg. Everyone was fussing, worrying, Dalien ran around with his miracle battery like it was his child, Mom was on the verge of a nervous tic… and us? We just sat, watched, commented. It had been scary to decide, scary to come here, but now… it wasn't scary anymore.
For a second I even got scared for my own psyche. Like, really—ten minutes from now I might become one with the Force, and everyone here might go with me… if not the entire system. And I'm not even freaking out. It's not indifference—I do care, I really do—but there's the understanding that it won't be different anymore, and there's no point torturing yourself, because I came here myself. Yeah. Looks like I achieved zen.
"Done!" Dalien shouted, rising by the power generator before stuffing his toy into it.
"Let's go." I nodded, and we got up from the imaginary chair—an overturned column we'd claimed as a seat.
Coming closer, I saw an empty slot protruding from the wall. There were about eight such slots in total, but only one was in use right now, and Dalien stood by it. Mom took her place beside him, and everyone else pulled in.
"Friends. The moment has come—the one we've been walking toward for so long," Dalien began, inspired and lofty, but—
"Just put it in already!"
Mom's nerves were worth more than any speeches.
"I hope you didn't mess up your calculations," I sighed and took Vessira's hand.
"I hope so too," I heard Dalien answer quietly. The black sphere slid into the recess, and the slot retracted into the wall. The local lighting came on at once, making the room painfully bright. Somewhere something crumbled and crashed, the floor shuddered, and somewhere deep beneath us something began to hum.
Then everything calmed as abruptly as it had begun. The system was functioning properly. No explosion. Turning off our own lights, we moved to the next phase. After checking the equipment, it was time to activate the hypergates. And that's where the problem hit.
"How can it be you can't turn them on?!" Mom's soul screamed out loud.
"Mom, calm down." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Dalien—what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Shade. But I didn't account for the fact the equipment is designed for a Force-user. We connected to what we could connect to, but we can't issue commands—only monitor status. One of you needs to connect to the portal through the Force and activate it."
"And what about yours?" I nodded toward the two Force-users by the wall.
"They're untrained outcasts. They don't have the control you do."
"Afraid they'll break something?"
"Yes," Dalien answered directly.
"Ugh…" Mom and I rubbed the bridge of our noses in sync. Well—Mom did. I just pressed a hand to my mask.
"It's not my business," Vessira cut in, "but how were you planning to activate the hypergates if Shade and the teacher hadn't agreed to your adventure?"
"Somehow," and he glanced at the embarrassed Force-users.
"Yeah, guys… that would've been a number," I shook my head. "You fight your way in, even start the system—and then you can't use it. Ni-i-ice."
"Shade, don't pick on him," Vessira stood up for Dalien. "He already feels bad."
"Fine."
"Where are you going?" Mom turned.
"To the console. Come on, let's try to tune it. Dalien, do you at least roughly know how it should work?"
"Yes. Come—I'll show you." The fanatic perked up and hurried to the terminal first. "Look. Before you start working with the control console, you need to pass a verification."
"Verification?" Mom frowned.
"You could say you'll be entering a password."
"Hm…"
"What password?" I shifted my attention from Mom to Dalien.
"The Bendu symbol." He showed me a datapad with the Republic symbol. The same symbol is worn by the Tho Yor; the same symbol is traced in Kwa culture as something religious; the same symbol appears on all our temples, and in Bodhi they even dedicated an entire wall to it. "This symbol is a kind of key. You need to hold its image in your mind to overcome the security. After that—it's not required."
"Shade?" Vessira called anxiously. I glanced at the Cathar for a moment, then returned my gaze to the symbol.
"Dalien."
"Yes?"
"That symbol… how widespread was it among the Kwa?"
"It was revered by their people as the Force itself, and served as a password to advanced technologies, including the hypergates."
"…"
"Shade, don't scare me. What is it?"
"Nothing… just remembered something. Doesn't matter." I jerked my head and stepped to the console. "Dalien, what should we expect after?"
The scientist laid out everything he knew about controlling ancient forgotten technology that runs on kriff knows what—clearly, point by point. Yeah… I hadn't felt that sensation in a long time: being loaded with information that is both important and useful, but doesn't make anything easier. But if science won't do it—then we'll do it the old way.
I put my palm on the console and synchronized with the device in the Force, passing the security without trouble. The security system felt like a rig that literally twisted your brain. And it, judging by the sensations, was the very Source of the dark side here. Interesting… is the same kind of thing sitting in the ravine? Worth checking.
Shaking myself, I returned to the task. I took the role of direct operator of the installation. Vessira handled energy distribution, while Mom held the integrity of the transition structure.
In the Force, this thing looked like a phone with contacts saved—numbers you could scroll through and pick. But all of them were offline. All except one. Seeing it, hope flared in my chest; for a moment I lost control, but caught it again immediately.
Swallowing the lump in my throat and aiming the jump, I pulled the little yellow lever toward me, starting the process. The floor hummed underfoot, a new layer of dust cascaded from the ceiling, and a blue flare ignited inside the triangular arch, stretching to fill the whole triangle.
"The transition is stable. No deviations," Mom reported.
"Energy is fine. Portal runtime is forty-seven minutes. Then, according to the data, the second portal will shut off," Vessira added.
"Drone! Now!" Dalien snapped, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Talion quickly set a small handled box before the portal. Mechanical grips unfolded from it, a head rose, and tracks extended from underneath.
"Wally, is that you?" flashed through my mind at the sight of that thing.
Following its program, the drone drove into the portal and—about halfway through—flashed with a short white burst.
Once it was clear everything worked as intended, I released control and stepped around the portal to stand beside Dalien.
"What is the drone programmed to do?"
"T-to drive ten meters, look around, and r-return to the starting point," the man answered, sweating, fidgeting with his hands, even slipping into a stutter—like he'd aged ten years in a minute.
I faced the portal and stared into the blue surface. My heart beat evenly, my thoughts flowed calmly, the balance of the Force helped me keep composure—yet a тревожная thought still slipped in now and then.
Vessira stepped up and simply took my hand. Seconds stretched like eternity. Everyone stared at the arch of the hyperspace portal. The portal itself radiated the Unifying Force—though not too strongly. Still, with active use it could easily become a weak Source.
Then the waiting broke, and the drone rolled back out. Whole and intact, it drove exactly to the place it had started and folded in on itself.
Dalien grabbed the little scout first, dragged it to the computer, and plugged in a cable.
"Atmosphere is normal, temperature within acceptable limits, oxygen… also normal. We can go," he turned to us.
"You're suggesting we go?!" Mom's eyes went wide.
"No. We go," Talion disagreed from behind us.
And to our shared astonishment, the two "bodyguards" calmly walked through the hypergate.
"I knew you were fanatics, but I didn't think you were that far gone," I looked at Dalien, and by his eyes he would've gladly gone in right now himself.
But the final word in the argument was Talion. Returning, smiling brightly, the Sith nodded toward the passage.
"All good. You can go."
"All right," Dalien looked over the interested faces of the xenos—apparently even Hadiya's fighters weren't against taking a stroll to the other side. "We split into two groups. One stays here to control the portal. The second follows me through."
Mom and I exchanged a look. We both understood: one of us had to stay here to keep an eye on the portal, and the other had to go with Dalien to haul him back if something went wrong.
"Should I go?"
"I'm coming with you!"
"Won't even argue," I snorted.
"Like you'd dare," Ves smiled.
"I don't like this," Mom sighed, then pressed her lips together and looked at the portal. "Dalien—if it works, does that mean Saros activated the other side?"
"Yes, Aala. That's exactly it."
"Hm… all right. Go, Shade. And if he's there… please tell Father that I'm waiting for him here…"
"Uh… Mom, if I tell him that, he'll dig in his heels and refuse to come even harder."
"Then next time I'll go get him myself."
"Okay," I said, stepping in beside Dalien.
"Everyone ready?"
Seeing the gathered faces, he went first toward the portal. Honestly, it was both funny and terrifying at the same time. This thing scared me; the very thought of touching it made my skin crawl—but it was also exciting. And there it was—the transition.
One step forward—like passing through a film—and we were on the other side. No disorientation, nothing. Just a slight сопротивление. Here we were met by a hall exactly like the first. But this one was more intact and far better preserved. Almost no cracks, and light made it here. There was also sparse equipment set up—lighting, computers, and so on.
Shivering from the cold—temperature was below zero—I wrapped myself in the Force and glanced at Dalien as he exhaled steam:
"So where's the welcome committee?"
"Wish I knew," Dalien walked to an electric generator and ran his hand over it. "This shouldn't be happening…"
"Equipment is normal. The system is functioning properly," Vessira reported from the portal control console.
"Good. Let's move." Dalien waved and went first to the exit. Directly opposite the gate was a long corridor leading to stone doors. On the other side, that corridor was blocked, and we'd had to take обходные paths.
Wind blew through a slightly open door-leaf, carrying snow in gusts. Trading a look with Dalien, I pushed the doors open with the Force.
Bright white light struck the man's eyes, while my visor protected mine. Outside, we saw a Kwa city that had been preserved remarkably well. Compared to what remained on Tython, this was practically perfect. Though…
The Kwa clearly had an obsession with pyramids. Seriously. The entire city was pyramids of different thicknesses and heights—some with truncated tops, some as if half had been sliced off.
The whole city was dusted with a thin layer of white-white, fluffy, blinding snow.
"Beautiful," Vessira noted, drinking it in—and immediately shivered at another gust of wind.
"And cold."
"Mhm. Fine—tolerable," she added quickly, catching my thought of either warming her up or sending her back.
"Your call."
"Shade, can you find the living?" Dalien turned.
"Yeah. One moment."
I froze in place, closed my eyes, and unfolded my echolocation. Unlike Tython, there wasn't such a concentration of the Force here, so scanning was harder—right up until I felt a small Force Source and a cluster of living sparks of разумные beings in one location.
"Found them. Follow me."
Leaving a few xenos to watch the portal and maintain comms, I led the group through the city. Walking here was both pleasant and unsettling. On the one hand, it was beautiful; the spirit of antiquity infused the place, inspiring reverence for the monumental structures. On the other hand, it was a dead city—and that was unnerving. What had to happen for an entire city of such an advanced civilization to just die out? Or maybe it didn't die—maybe it left. Hard to even imagine.
Dalien's face showed how badly he wanted to go into the buildings, try to find a library… He reminded me of a kid in a toy store. But credit where it's due: he held himself together. Business first, everything else after.
After a few streets, we reached a heavily truncated two-story pyramid whose roof the architects had designed as a balcony.
"Here." I nodded at the doors. "I feel a manifestation of the Force and several living objects."
"Shade, is it just me, or are the doors soaked in the Force?" Ves noticed.
"Not just you. The entire first floor is soaked. All doors and windows are sealed with it. You can't open them normally."
Talion knocked on the door with a rock he'd picked up.
"No movement detected," I reported to Dalien.
"Can you open it?"
"I'll try. I don't know this technique…" I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, stepped closer to the door, placed a hand on it, closed my eyes, and sank into the Force, trying to understand what this was.
"Well?" Dalien shifted impatiently.
"Sh!" Vessira snapped at him, sensing my напряжение.
And the tension was justified. Someone inside had put everything into creating something like a stasis sphere. In Mahara Kesh I'd heard of such a technique—it's the next step beyond Hibernation Trance. They don't practice it there simply because of how difficult and dangerous it is. Make a mistake, and you kill yourself and everyone inside. Or you simply die, unable to withstand that burden physically. There are many ways it can go wrong, which is why the technique isn't just "unpopular"—it's considered extremely dangerous.
And now I was seeing it applied in person.
The most interesting part was the echo in the Force. A related echo. Whoever had laid this technique was definitely my relative. Saying I was shocked would be an understatement. Losing control, I slipped out of the trance and took a step back to keep my balance.
"Shade?" Ves grew worried.
"Impossible…" I whispered, looking at the doors again with my own eyes. "This is simply impossible…"
"Shade, you're scaring me."
"Ves, I'm scaring myself. Dalien—who was my father?" I asked the scientist without turning around.
"A Master of Meditation. I told you—if anyone could guide a Sleeping Ship through hyperspace blind, it was him. Shade, what is it?"
"I… I can't explain." I pressed my palm to the door again and looked at the Cathar beside me. "Ves, do you know what this is?"
"Something familiar. I can't place it…"
"It's a stasis sphere."
"How?!"
"I don't know how, Ves. But… here it is."
"Incredible…"
"Exactly."
We hesitated only briefly, studying this Force marvel. Then it was time to work.
"All right… everyone step back."
Everyone obediently took a few steps away, but Ves did the opposite: with her right hand she took mine, and with her left she placed her palm on the door.
"We need to break the sphere. I find the weak point—you strike."
"Got it."
We sank into meditation and got to it. Again and again I sent waves through the sphere, searching for a breach. The breach was oxygen vents—holes through which air had to enter for those in stasis. But finding them… was like searching for a needle in a haystack by touch—except, thank the Force, I had a magnet.
I created a vacuum film over the sphere, and again and again used search to locate the point that should fail and become vulnerable. And there—yes! No sooner had I shifted my attention to it than Ves struck with a precise blow. The barrier collapsed, and a surge of Force flooded outward, throwing us away from the door like an explosion.
"Shade! Vessira!" Dalien panicked. I saw several xenos leaning over me, Dalien among them.
"Ugh…" I muttered, pushing myself up. "Kids, remember… never stick your fingers into electrical sockets."
"Everything's fine. I'm getting up," I added, stopping one of the fighters from helping.
Shaking myself, I stood and brushed snow off.
"Ves, you okay?"
"Fine. Pff!" She shook her head, scattering snow from her fur. "What was that?"
"I completely forgot the stored energy had to go somewhere," I sighed. "Come on. The door's open."
By the time we reached it, Talion had already opened the door and stepped inside first. We were greeted by a lived-in room. Bunks with xenos lying on them; dishes; generators; computers. Holes in the walls were sealed, four massive columns supporting the ceiling had been reinforced, and the staircase to the second floor to the right of the entrance had been repaired.
And in the center of all this, legs crossed, hands on his knees, sat a Miraluka.
Dark tones of clothing, white patterns, and a white skull of the Raptor stamped on his shoulder guard. A cloak that fell to the floor, hood covering his head, something like goggles over his eyes—metal, fully closed. Leather gloves on his hands, and on his chest a Force-soaked steel lamellar cuirass. In front of him lay two blades, laid parallel.
The Miraluka looked alive—like he'd only just sat down to meditate—if not for one "but."
"Saros!" Dalien dropped beside him. "Saros, wake up, it worked, do you hear me?! We came for you! Master, wake up. It's time to go home. Master!"
"Dalien…"
"Master, do you hear me?…" Dalien.
"Hm?" Dalien looked at me, and I shook my head.
"He won't wake up."
"H-how? He…" Dalien pulled off a glove, tugged the hood back, and touched the Miraluka's forehead. "He's still warm!"
At Dalien's touch the body swayed, starting to topple, but Dalien held him.
"H-how can it be… M-master, it can't be. W-we came. It worked! Everything worked!"
For the first time in my memory, Dalien cracked. The genius was gone; in front of me was a simple boy who'd lost a father. It was almost funny… Saros was far closer to him than to me.
"Yeah. It worked," I sighed, sitting down beside the lifeless body. "Hello, Father. Never thought I'd see you. Especially like this…"
"Master… how could you…?"
I didn't say anything. I just lowered my head, saying goodbye to my father. I didn't know him and… I won't lie—I wasn't devastated by his loss. But it still hurt. As a researcher… he'd gone through all that… and never saw the result. Never saw the success of his own work.
And I couldn't help but admire him after what I'd just witnessed. It's not enough to have endurance, not enough to have raw power—you need enormous knowledge of the Force to do something like that. And that was only about the stasis sphere. Not to mention that he'd managed to take a ship from one system to another, survive, and accomplish the mission… hard to even imagine, yet he did it.
Leaving Dalien with Father, I went to those who were alive, but still not waking.
"How are you?" Ves asked quietly.
"I'm fine. Dalien's the one who needs help."
"But…"
"I didn't know him," I shrugged. "Ves—let's not. Help me wake the others."
The Cathar nodded, and with gentle Force touches, four hands between us, we started waking the expedition members. Weak movements, groaning voices, rare curses—that was the symbol of the awakened. Everyone's head was splitting, there was mild disorientation and weakness. Some even needed medical attention: being non-Force-sensitive, their bodies didn't hurry to come back online after that shock.
While I worked with the people, Dalien managed to pull himself together and return to work.
"Shade!" I turned to see the scientist digging into a computer.
"What is it?" I came closer.
"Recognize this?" He reached into the case beside him, opened it, and showed me a neatly secured Kwa holocron.
"Hm. I saw one like that in Kalet."
"Judging by the records, the group managed to interact with it."
"And how?" I shifted my interested gaze from the holocron to the display.
"I have no words. There are new Force techniques here, some technologies, just historical data…"
"Got it. You're in ecstasy," I cut him off before he launched into a speech. "Well… then it wasn't for nothing."
"Yes."
"Listen, don't want to rush you, but what's our time?"
"Time is fine. Saros found intact power sources here and left notes about their storage. So we won't be dragging charges from there to here—we'll be dragging from here to there."
"Heh. Got it…"
"Also, Shade, I found something," Dalion stopped me as I was about to leave.
"Hm?"
Clicking around, Dalion pulled up a recording of my father.
"Record five hundred twenty-two," the Miraluka spoke in a tired voice. Behind him was a cabin—recognizable—though twisted, with panels missing in places. "Today we arrived on the planet. Alas, our concerns about the damage were not in vain. The ship could not hold a geostationary orbit, so we had to make an emergency landing. Only half the crew survived. We contained the fires and checked reactor safety. It can no longer function, but at least it won't explode. We are currently taking inventory. Ah… not how I imagined arriving. Not at all."
The recording ended, and Dalien started another.
"Record five hundred twenty-four. The operation continues. We need to reach the hypergates. Moreover, they are now our only hope of getting out of here. If not for the cold on the planet, it would be entirely fine. Of course, it's not critical, but…"
A click cut it off, switching to the next.
"Record five hundred twenty-six." Now snow fell at night behind the Miraluka. "This planet is not as simple as it seems. Today we almost lost several expedition members again, and it was all because of the snow—there are surprises everywhere beneath it. You can run into local fauna, or into a simple sinkhole. We have to move very carefully…"
Click.
"Record five hundred thirty-five." The camera hovered in the air; the one filming was clearly walking somewhere, blowing snow aside with the Force. "We have finally reached the abandoned city of the Kwa, and we even managed not to lose anyone. This place… it is astonishing. I never thought we would encounter… something like this," the image shifted, and the camera showed a phenomenal view of the city from a small hill with a gentle slope. "I hope the city will please us inside no less than it does outside."
Click.
"Record five hundred thirty-eight. We finished settling in. The good news: the hypergates are fully functional. The system is online, and moreover we found intact batteries, so the power issue is solved. All that remains is to wait for them to open from the other side. The bad news: we definitely won't live to see them open. The ship is wrecked somewhere out there, and even if we return, two of the three storage bays were destroyed in the landing. We physically don't have enough food for even a quarter of the planned duration."
Click.
"Record…" The Miraluka rubbed his temples wearily. "Uh… six hundred three. We continue studying the city and its secrets. Group morale is falling lower and lower, but we all understood what we were getting into, so we don't despair. I'm sure Dalien will activate the jump and come for us. By the way, Dalien," the Miraluka smirked, "there's a surprise for you." Saros lifted the holocron. "Today we found a Kwa holocron. I saw one like it in Kalet Temple, but this one is different. First, it responds in the Force, and you can interact with it. Second, it was discovered experimentally that if you interact with the holocron using only one side of the Force, it begins to draw in the other too, and today I nearly went insane. But! If you shorten holocron work sessions from six hours to one, the negative effects become relatively tolerable. So you rejected the Force for nothing, my apprentice—everything tasty will go to me! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha…" I couldn't help smiling and glanced at Dalien. He, too, couldn't suppress a bit of infectious amusement.
Click.
"Record six hundred twelve. Supplies are steadily shrinking. Luckily for us, the weather changed and started warming, so now instead of snowdrifts we walk through puddles and грязь," the Miraluka glanced aside and added with suffering, "I adore this planet."
Click.
"Record six hundred thirty. The group doesn't know, but I've figured out how to keep them alive. The stasis sphere technique will let them hold out until Dalien arrives. I have no doubt he will come—we only need to survive until then. But I probably won't see it… While there is food, we will continue work, but afterward I will try to put everyone into sleep. I don't know if it will work, but… the choice is small."
Click.
"Record six hundred fifty-one. I began recording my own Force work on the holocron so whoever works with it later will have an easier time. Reminder: the holocron works on the Unifying Force. More than that—it reproduces it, and it must be handled using both manifestations of the Force simultaneously. Today we tried to circumvent this. Two Je'daii, using Battle Meld, interacted with the holocron simultaneously—one with the dark side, the other with the light. The experiment went well at first, but ultimately failed. Both died of cerebral hemorrhage. To those who will work with it later: remember, I left instructions for you. Do not repeat our mistakes, and do not try to deceive the device. Nothing good will come of it."
Click.
"Record six hundred ninety-one. This… is my last record. I would like to apologize to my Aala. I understand how much pain I caused her—more than that, even here I can feel it. Forgive me, my dear, but I could not do otherwise. The Force guided me and showed me a fragment of the future. And of two evils, I chose the lesser. I can feel your emotions perfectly, my love, and I know you gave birth to a son. I hope you can find comfort in him and raise him without me. No—not hope. I'm certain you can. After all, I saw in the Force how you play with him. And… I would very much like to see him for real. I'm sure he's wonderful. My son… if you're seeing this record, then know this: you're walking the right path, and I'm proud of you. Saros Aero, captain of the starship Oblivion. End record."
When the screen went dark, I stared at the darkness for a while, digesting what I'd heard, then turned my eyes to Dalien.
"There's a fairly long diary of your father here. When there's time, I'll send you a copy. I skimmed it by tags—there's a lot of interesting material. Including how it came to this," he nodded toward the room, "in much more detail."
"Send it. I'll definitely look it over when I have time."
"How are the survivors?"
"Coming around little by little. Some are delirious, thinking we're hallucinations; some are already on their feet."
"Good. As soon as they've recovered, we'll go for batteries for the jump," he nodded, and I headed back to the people.
Only reality had other plans.
Ten more minutes passed before we got a report from the guards we'd left by the hypergates. A messenger ran over to our side and reported that the far side was shaking intermittently, and the last jolt had been especially strong, so it would be best if we got out of here right now.
No need to be told twice. The possibility of being stuck in this cold world forever wasn't appealing at all. We packed up fast; Ves and I dragged our bags to the portal using the Force while everyone else ran light. Of course it was VERY painful to leave, but greed got crushed under the anvil of common sense.
When we got back home, we saw how much the place had changed. First, part of the ceiling had come down somewhere and new cracks had appeared; more than that, Mom already had to use the Force to put columns back in place just to keep the vault from collapsing.
"What's happening?"
"The mechanism that brings the hypergates into activity is causing the shaking. We need to get out of here," Mom fired off quickly as a bead of sweat ran down her temple. "Is Saros with you?"
I silently turned my head toward the body. She pressed her lips together and didn't say another word—there simply wasn't time. Shutting the hypergates down and taking the power source just in case, we distributed the load among the group and ran back. There was no time for talking or explanations. The shaking kept repeating in small jolts, one after another.
But about halfway through, a particularly strong tremor hit, and somewhere in the distance we heard a collapse.
"Yeah… there go the hypergates," Vessira sighed once everything calmed down.
"Good thing it's just the hypergates," I added.
"I propose we take a minute to catch our breath," Dalien wiped sweat from his forehead and dropped against the wall. "You Je'daii can run around like clockwork toys, but we're just mortals."
"Fine. Break."
Calling a halt, Mom walked over to the body of Father, laid out on the ground. She didn't say anything—she just sat down beside him and stared, burning with a storm of emotions, from anger and resentment to regret and longing.
I didn't go over. I didn't try to comfort her. There was a simple understanding that I'd only get in the way right now. But apparently she felt me anyway, because without turning around, Mom said:
"You won't, Shade. I knew he wouldn't return, even if I clung to hope. And when the feeling of his presence disappeared, I finally accepted it. What was it?" She turned to me.
"A Force stasis sphere. Dad created it in one of the houses and…"
Unfortunately, I didn't get to explain properly. Another small jolt cut me off mid-sentence. Without a word, everyone unanimously expressed the desire to keep moving toward the surface.
All the way, the ground refused to calm down, continuing to shudder lightly from time to time. And when we were already near the surface, we ran into a new problem.
"I can feel Je'daii," Mom stopped us.
"Same," I listened to my echolocation. "And a lot of them."
"Must've come for the noise," Ves added. "What do we do?"
"Fight our way through?" I rested a hand on the hilt of my blade and looked at Mom.
"No…" She shook her head, looking first at us, then at Dalien, then at the xenos. "We act peacefully. Dalien, the portal worked. We have proof and materials. Plus survivors," she nodded toward the battered survivors. "The Council will grumble, but it won't dare deny the facts, so the worst that threatens us is a dressing-down for acting on our own."
"One hell of a dressing-down," Vessira snorted.
"Yes. But not for you."
"Huh?" I looked at Mom in surprise.
"You and Vessira will hide in the ruins, and then a transport will pick you up. Dalien and I will go up to the surface."
"But, Mom…"
"Shade, the ones up there clearly aren't idiots. They'll need a coherent explanation for how Dalien and his group got through here, and so there won't be an inquiry, I'll stand at his side myself. Yes, I'll most likely be exiled for it, but you and Vessira are 'on Shikaakwa' right now, so it won't even touch you. The main thing is: hide. Besides, you know how to hide in the Force."
"Yes, Mom."
"Dalien?"
"Completely agree with you, Aala. Shall we?"
"Yes."
Watching the column disappear, I turned my eyes to the dust and debris flaking from the ceiling.
"We wait here?" Ves asked.
"No. Too dangerous. We'll follow them at a distance, then hold up in the temple. These caves may have endured more than one earthquake, but I don't want to gamble on them enduring the next one."
"Mhm."
But hiding the two of us in the Force turned out to be harder than I'd thought. Taking the girl's hand, I joined my aura to hers. Shivering slightly from the unfamiliar sensation, I stretched the Force concealment over both of us—and now it was Ves's turn to shiver. Streams of the Unifying Force inside her aura were acting far from favorably.
Vessira felt a little nauseous, her attention blurred, while her urge to act—on the contrary—grew. Coupled with the fact that critical thinking was yielding to emotions, she started clinging to me, completely forgetting the situation.
"Sorry, kitty, but this will be better," I whispered, and with a small impulse of the Force, put the Cathar to sleep.
I picked her up, and climbed up with her in my arms.
I don't know what exactly happened up there—I didn't stick my head out—but raised voices carried down even to me. I didn't learn anything new. The Je'daii they'd sent were extremely unhappy with what they saw—unhappy enough that they nearly went for a fight, but three things held them back: there would be a lot of blood; Mom was and remained one of the Order's strongest fighters; and it wasn't worth forgetting the others either. Also, alongside the accused there were new figures—people officially listed as missing, and some of them were even recognized by face. The last argument was the Kwa holocron: Dalien held it in his hands and fiercely proved that the entire Order had been wrong, and that he and his Master had been right.
In the end, the showdown came to its predictable result. Mom was fitted with special restraints for Je'daii, as were the other Force-users among the rescued. The rest got ordinary binders. After that came loading onto transports, and the whole crowd flew off.
Turning away, I removed my mask and wearily rubbed the bridge of my nose.
"Let's hope we won't have to fight the Order…"
***
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