Solo missions

[Fiach Dubh]

“It's a sort of crossroads, the kind of spot where everyone is too busy with their own business and secrets to worry too much about yours.”
―Vi Moradi, on Batuu

BATUU

The first rule of being a Jedi, Fiach mused, was to consider any assignment marked, 'routine' as anything but.

On paper, it was straightforward. Batuu was a remote terrestrial planet on the edge of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. Millennia before the rise of the Galactic Empire, and prior to the invention of hyperspace travel, Batuu was a popular stopping point for those traveling to Wild Space and the Unknown Regions.

Nowadays? Hyperspace routes caused the planet to be bypassed, resulting in the deterioration of the planet's reputation into that of a forgotten backwater world. The largest settlement on the planet was Black Spire Outpost, a seedy smuggler's haven.

The surface was covered in jungles and oceans, and the petrified remains of ancient trees, referred to by the local Batuuans as ‘spires,’ towered over its landscapes. The world was also home to farming communities — as well as the town of Galma, known for its mechanics.

It was the latter that was Fiach’s destination — a simple exchange, medicines for parts. A stopover just long enough for a cargo drop and pick-up and she’d be on her way. Except that, once she took off, she had been descended upon by a swarm of pirates and had to land in one of the jungles to evade capture. And in doing so, she endured enough damage to her ship that she had to walk back to Galma for help.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fortunately the planet was a temperate one, despite the fact it orbited three suns—Ubaat I, Ubaat II, and Ubaat III. So Fiach retained her cloak (it always paid to be able to hide your saber) and made good progress.

In fact, she came to appreciate the trees — not just because she had none on the planet she grew up on — but because they acted as landmarks. She remembered which ones she’d passed on her way to her make-shift landing site. She needed to be quick. Her piloting skills allowed her to navigate through the trees for a while after entering the canopy. But the ships that chased her would not give up easily and could find her craft at any moment.

Thankfully, she did not meet any of the indigenous species en route to her destination and arrived unmolested, if a little out of breath (for she’d jogged the final few kilometres).

 

[Fiach Dubh]

The parts were available, but she had nothing to barter with and for the locals, as well-meaning as they were, they had barely enough to live, let alone give precious items away. So they came to a deal. They would let Fiach have the parts she needed if she rid the outpost of a creature that had been terrorising them. A snarlok to be precise.

If there was good news, it was the fact that the pirates must have decided she’d made an escape, as they were no longer searching the forest. This, however, was tempered by the fact that the snarlok was a mythical beast. So ridding the local population of it might prove a little tricky.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Batuu was host to a variety of different creatures, including the Batlizard, Batuuan braga bear, Batuuan Rat, Spiran Firefly, Dugar dugar, Lahiroo, Nightsnake, Pipa bird, and Terra Tree Toad. All of this Fiach had read on her journey here. She always researched the planet ahead of time — for you never knew when an hour’s stopover might last a little longer. Like now.

As she walked, she recalled what she knew, hoping for a clue as to the identity of the creature she sought. Millennia before the first settlers landed on Batuu, the planet was covered in giant trees. A great cataclysm resulted in the trees being destroyed, and they eventually became petrified. The world was first settled by Ariana Surabat and the crew of her ship, the Ravenstar. Fiach thought of her own ship, back at the Jedi Order’s temple. She had yet to name it.

The Snarlok, she knew, was a legendary creature among the people of Batuu. It was said to have constructed the Black Spire of Black Spire Outpost out of the corpses of misbehaving children, according to Grana, an elderly woman in a farming community, who told her grandson Dolin that the creature was real.

Cross-referencing what she knew with other accounts, Fiach surmised the creature could also be known as a Naklor. It too was a mythological creature that was said to have inhabited the planet of Batuu. According to old Batuuan tales, the Naklor terrorized the people of Batuu, stealing gruffins and kidnapping men from Black Spire Outpost. The stories claimed that the local matriarch struck the Naklor with her staff, setting it alight and burning it to a husk, becoming the iconic Black Spire in the center of the outpost.

Like most who considered themselves serious historians, fairy-tales were never taken at face value but they were never dismissed out of hand either. There was often truth behind the fable.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Reaching out with the Force, she took closer stock of her surroundings. She was in the very heart of the forest; the trees went on for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. And as she probed the surrounding foliage for signs of life, she sensed so many living things.

Yet she wasn't afraid. She trusted in the Force and knew her limitations. And she accepted that one day she would die. Only the exact date was unknown.

Fiach used her regular senses as well as the Force to seek what she came here for. As in most ecosystems, the creatures that had evolved here would be masters of their environment. More than a few had quite likely developed the ability to camouflage themselves, maybe even from the Force.

Even though she was vigilant, Fiach was almost caught unawares when the attack finally came. An enormous creature dropped down from above, silent save for the faint hiss of its forepaw slashing the air where Fiach’s throat had been a mere second before.

Fiach had sensed the creature at the last possible instant, her Force awareness giving her what amounted to a precognitive warning that allowed her to duck its lethal claws. Once upon a time she was told this was luck, but now she knew the truth and — as her Soresu training had taught her — she trusted completely in the Force.

Even so, the massive body of the beast caught her shoulder, sending him reeling — and she landed in considerable pain.

Why it did not finish her off immediately would remain a mystery. Fiach surmised, when reflecting on the encounter, that it had been temporarily frozen by the unexpected failure of its ambush. Regardless, the split second gave Fiach the time she needed to roll clear of the creature and fall into a defensive stance, her saber activated and in her right hand without any conscious thought.

With the beast no longer concealed by its camouflage, Fiach took a hard look at what had nearly killed her. She could not be sure it was the creature of legend, but its proximity to the outpost and its predatory nature said it was what she’d been sent to deal with

It studied her with eyes that spoke of malice and its body was both muscular and athletic. It stood on all fours and was a good two metres at the shoulder. It must way upwards of three hundred kilograms, Fiach estimated. It had four muscular legs that ended in claws designed to rip its prey to shreds.

Any expectation that she could end this encounter peacefully evaporated as she sensed the evil that emanated from the creature. There was, sadly, only one way to end this.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach found her self walking backwards. Her retreat was slow yet continues and suddenly she felt her back touching one of the tall trees.

The creature had kept pace with her, perhaps wishing this outcome. Regardless, it leaped silently and Fiach trusted in the Force. Soresu taught you to observe your opponent. To watch for strengths and weaknesses. At the last moment, she dived to the side, her eyes fixed on the creature.

Its front claws slashed at empty air in the space she had been standing in a moment before. They hit the trunk with such force that it gouged claw marks deep into the tree.

The creature landed on all four feet simultaneously and spun to face Fiach. Maybe she had time to make an attack before it turned — but she knew of her deficiency in taking the initiative. Would it be her undoing today?

Yet again, Fiach retreated slowly and the creature advanced until she reached another tree. But this time when it pounced, she was ready.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

The creature acted on instinct; it was a killing machine that relied on strength and speed to defeat its enemies. Its methods of attack had evolved over millennia until they were finely honed. Fiach suspected, based upon her research on such matters it would replicate its attack. Such was its superiority in the food chain, it had never had cause to devise a Plan B.

It came in high, leading with its claws just as she had expected. The natural reaction of most prey would be to retreat from those claws by leaping backward — only to be held in place by the tree. Fiach, however, ducked under the claws and then rose up to meet the creature, her lightsaber held with the blade pointing towards the sky.

The blade sliced through the beast’s stomach, nothing impeding it as it carved through bone and muscle alike. And the creature’s momentum meant her saber cut a channel from its front to back shoulders. The move was simple, quick, and deadly.

The creature crashed into the tree behind her, its body split open. It shuddered before turning motionless.

Killing was not something Fiach enjoyed or even accepted. She saw it as a last resort, even when in self-defence. But sometimes it was inevitable and she closed her eyes and said a quiet prayer for the fallen creature that would now have its life energy being one with the Force.

She would have liked to have buried it but decided time was of the essence and took a claw as proof of the end of the threat to the outpost to collect what she needed.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

A few hours later and Fiach had completed the repairs necessary and was ready to leave the planet — when she finalised all of her pre-flight checks. Everything that should turn green, turned green and she tentatively threaded her way out of the forest, keen to cover as much ground under cover of the trees before emerging. If the pirates had set a sentry for her, she wanted to be as far away from her landing position as possible before attempting to enter the outer atmosphere. Sure she had travelled far enough, she emerged from the trees and punched in the appropriate hyperspace coordinates and punched the control.

Nothing happened.

She checked the readings and attempted to engage the hyperdrive engines once more and again, nothing happened. Fiach sighed and set the ship down. This would take some diagnostics and given the failing light, she preferred to do external checks and repairs in the morning. Who knew what was top of the food chain by night?

So she found a convenient place to land and waited out the evening.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

The following morning, Fiach was up bright and early. She was checking over the outside of the ship and the delicately sweet smell of the foliage drifted through her nostrils as she worked.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Fiach opened herself up to the Force and its harmony with nature. The trees, the birds, so many small mammals and a bewildering array of insects. Her breathing became slower, more exact, falling into an almost lulling rhythm.

She was falling into a meditative state when something abruptly stopped her calm.

She heard the rumblings first, the terrible thunder emanating from great stormclouds clearing the horizon. Then came the lightning, unnaturally violent. The winds roared with fury and nothing it would seem could stand against them.

Then came thunder like no other and Fiach saw a streaking arc of light cutting through the sky; like a falling star only much closer. Whatever the object was it had just entered the atmosphere, burning as bright as any sun.

It seemed to take forever to complete its descent. The flaring object disappeared momentarily behind the tree line. Suddenly, there was an explosion so great Fiach felt it from over a mile away. The ground shook as if wracked by a rampaging herd of angry bantha.

And then it was silent once more.

And Fiach was already running.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Her running was ragged by the time she stumbled through the last few metres of tangled underbrush, nearly landing head-first in the impact trench that stretched across the valley. She followed the track, running parallel to it, and estimated the size of the ship that may have caused the significant furrow.

She came to a halt at the lip of a smoldering abyss and appraised the situation. The vessel must have been some sort of shuttle. It was far too small to be a freighter and did not have sufficient armour or weapons to be a fighter. Whatever it was, the ship was now lying in front of her in two sections and each half was on fire.

Fiach slowly descended toward the fiery wreckage, puling her hood protectively over her face. She made her way to where she presumed the cockpit would be. Inside she could make out two bodies, still ablaze. She hoped, for their sakes, they died on impact.

Shoulders slumped at the failed rescue attempt, she was beginning to move away when something stopped her. as it the Force? Or maybe it was a faint call for help. Regardless, she turned and walked to the second half of the ship. And through the unnatural opening created by the craft splitting asunder, she saw her. A young girl with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes wide with fear.

She was speaking but over the sound of the fire, she could not make out what the girl was saying. Fiach edged closer and noticed that the girl was trapped between two of the seats.

“Can you hear me?” Fiach called.

The girl did not answer her. Tears now rolled down her cheeks as she cried out. Fiach did not need to hear the words to understand what was being said. “Help me!”

“Don’t move,” Fiach said slowly, exaggerating the movement of her lips as she spoke. Bt time was not on their side, if the metallic groans of the ship’s superstructure were anything to go by.

Fiach closed her eyes and dived through the flames.

The girl had stopped crying and looked at the Jedi Padawan with as much confusion as sadness. Fiach smiled and appraised the situation. She connected deeply to the Force and with effort, managed to pull one of the seats towards her, releasing the girl’s leg.

But a shrill whine from above banished any complacency and she unbuckled the girl and lifted her carefully and wrapped her cloak around the small frame she now carried.

Again calling on the Force, Fiach moved at lightning speed through the flames, just as the scorched metal finally collapsed into itself.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach continued running in order to escape the smoke that followed them. The toxins could kill just as surely as the impact or the flames — one of which surely accounted for the pilot and co-pilot. And their relationship to the girl she carried was not a subject she wanted to breach, but knew she had to.

A Padawan can only call on the Force for so long and soon she felt the tiredness her muscles were forced to submit to. She may be a fit young woman, but even she had her endurance limits at the pace she was running.

She estimated she was no more than a kilometre from her ship, but they would have to make do with the progress they’d made this far, at least until she was sure the girl could walk unaided.

So she put the young girl down on the grass and was aware just how ticklish her lungs felt. Fiach had inhaled more than her share of the foul fumes and within a matter of seconds, her body dropped to the ground, wracked by a violent coughing spasm.

After a period where Fich assumed she must have sure coughed up all of the pollutant, she finally took a breath that felt comfortable. She took another, and then another until her respiratory system was once again free of pain.

Fiach realised the girl had not spoken since she’d rescued her and sat up, keen to check she was alright. Much to her surprise, she found the young girl staring right at her. And despite her ordeal, she exuded an air of calm.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

“You’re a good person,” the young girl said in a very matter-of-fact way. “I can always tell these things.”

Fiach’s mouth opened and then closed as many, many questions fought for dominance in her mind.

As if sensing Fiach’s thoughts, the girl continued.

“My mum always said I should never tell people. It scares them. They’re dead now, my mum and dad.”

“Were they on the ship?” Fiach asked, tentatively. She was good at asking questions but lacked empathy as a rule.

Suddenly tears welled up in the young girl’s eyes and she flung herself forwards and put her arms around Fiach’s neck. Fiach felt her tiny body shuddering as the tears flowed.

A part of Fiach wanted to tell the girl that everything would be OK, but that was a patent lie and she could not bring herself to say the words. She settled for, “I’m so sorry,” but had no idea how comforting words would have sounded.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach wasn’t sure when the girl finally slept, but she must have been near exhaustion as she was carried back to Fiach’s ship. She mused that, despite her lack of affinity to things she actually missed the scout ship that Brahe — her fellow Padawan — had gifted her. And that reminded her of the fact that she had yet to name it.

But her mind quickly switched back to the here and now and she looked at the small girl who was now in her charge. She was curled up in her bedroll, sleeping soundly considering what had gone before.

Deep in throught, Fiach realised the first rays of dawn were now spreading across the clearing. And as she kept watch over the girl, Fiach realised how strong the Force resonated from the small form. There was a great concentration of the Force held within that small frame, almost like a kyber crystal. She mused that, because it was untrained, she didn’t sense it initially. But now? Now she could really feel it and now wondered what ti do about it.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Being a Padawan, Fiach was used to being led. It was one of her issues that she knew she had to change. The step up to becoming a Knight meant she would need to take the initiative. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t used to being on the front foot in these circumstances, it was more that she enjoyed being taught and guided. Yet a part of her — the part that surfaced when she was truly calm — wanted to share her knowledge, which was par for the course for a Jedi Knight who took on a Padawan.

And part of that role, she knew, would be to identify Force sensitives — often those that were unaware themselves — and not only share the news, but encourage them to be trained in the ways of the Force. Better a Jedi than a Sith, she mused.

But how to find out? Yes, she sensed something from the young girl, but how to be sure? Imagine she declared the girl to be Force Sensitive, just to find out later she was wrong? And so soon after such a significant setback.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

The time, Fiach believed, was right to at least make an attempt to see if she could identify a Force sensitive, especially as the girl was asleep. But how?

An idea struck her and she acted upon it before she could consider its strengths and weaknesses. She focused on the sleeping form. As gently as she could, Fiach reached out with the Force, trying to open up her own thoughts to the girl. Tentatively she began to probe.

A Force Sensitive maintained a protective barrier that would prevent another Force user from penetrating his or her inner mind — even in sleep. Of course, this could be broken down, but certainly not without the aggressor showing their hand. This defence could be strengthened with practice but from Fiach’s own experience, some use of the Force was innate. And the defensive shield was one such manifestation. This shield pushed away any attempt at intrusion. And the stronger the push, the greater the being’s strength in the Force was. This was at least the theory. Not that Fiach had ever tested it. And she imagined it would be a suitable technique to sense the potential of an individual.

Fiach took deep breath and pressed.

If Fiach had not had her eyes open, she would have easily believed she had been shot backwards tens of metres.

She blinked a few times, contemplating what she had just experienced.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes,” Fiach responded. “Um…what’s your name?”

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach headed into her ship and grabbed some ration packs. It was a small ship and did not offer any bunks or galley. But being Fiach, she always prepared for eventualities and carried a rucksack with a a small tent, a bedroll and a sleeping blanket in it. And the girl she now knew as Leeta was currently using the last two.

Handing over some juice, dried fruit and a protein bar, Fiach herself opened an oatmeal drink and took a few sips. The contents of the silver bags and bottles may lack flavour, but they were nourishing enough and they both needed the calories.

“Why are you here?”

Fiach wondered how someone could ask such searching questions so easily. She had been thinking of a way to open up a conversation for a while.

“I was on a trading mission. We needed certain supplies and the locals needed what supplies we had. But some pirates forced me down and I had to get repairs, otherwise I would have left by now.”

“Do you believe in luck?”

Fiach was amazed at the question — it was one she asked her Master the first time they met.

“No, I do not. I believe there is a Force, that guides and helps us at times. But that is not the same thing. Why do you ask?”

“Because my parents always said I was lucky. And I lived because you were late in leaving the planet. Is that luck?”

Fiach lacked social skills, but could not help but notice the tears welling up in the young girl’s eyes. “Not luck, just circumstances. Your parent’s…death…could not be a case of bad luck, so your survival cannot be down to good luck. That’s logical, right?” In truth, Fiach wondered if the Force had intervened to ensure Leeta’s survival. Not that the Padawan could have helped her parents.

“OK, not luck then. But this force you talk about, perhaps it played a part. That’s what you believe. I know it.”

Fiach took in an audible deep breath. This was going faster than she had expected.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach moved, so she was closer to the girl and sat in a cross-legged position. “I think you have a very special gift, Leeta. Has anyone ever told you that?”

The girl nodded slowly, but her attention was no longer directed at Fiach. The girl’s eyes widened, and Fiach felt something akin to fear emanating from her. A moment later there was a subtle pulse vibrating through the Force.

Leeta had no doubt sensed it just before Fiach did and yet she had no formal training. The Padawan stood and spun a graceful circle. Midway through the revolution, her lightsaber was in her hand and burst to life with a snap-hiss. The lilac blade glowed brightly in the shadows the trees formed in the early morning sun.

A Batuuan braga bear emerged from the thick foliage. Unlike a regular bear, which might be expected to charge them, this one advanced with the sinuous gait of a true predator.

“It means to kill and eat us," Leeta said to Fiach, her voice strong and assured.

The bear eyed the girl, hungrily. Fiach was summarily ignored. Clearly they liked their prey small and had never seen a lightsaber before.

Which is when the Padawan realised she’d underestimated the creature. The bear launched into a furious attack at Fiach. Powerful, if a little slow — at least for Jedi reflexes. But for them, the bear’s feint may have proved decisive in the encounter.

Fiach easily side-stepped and delivered a slash to the bear’s back. It roared in terrible pain but did not give up. The bear turned and lunged forward — leading with a flurry of attempted strikes. Fiach swivelled with practiced ease, dodging each attack. She would prefer not to kill the beast and to damage its claws would mean it would surely die anyway.

But the bear would not give up and continued to press, relentlessly. Realising there would only be one outcome, Fiach ended the encounter swiftly. But she’d received a gash to her upper left arm in the process, and she knew that once her adrenaline abated, the pain would be excruciating.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

As Fiach turned to face Leeta, her saber deactivated and she clipped it to her belt. But Leeta was not still in her sleeping bag. And nor had she run away from the prospect of facing the bear. Instead, she was advancing on Fiach, her right hand outstretched.

The Padawan wondered if the young girl wanted a hug, or to see her lightsaber. But instead she reached Fiach and stood on her tiptoes before placing her hand on the Jedi's bicep. Unsure of what to do, Fiach uncharacteristically did nothing. And as she waited, she felt a soft and pleasant glow where she was until so recently feeling a growing pain. Frowning, she looked down at Leeta, whose eyes were closed, and then at the girl's hand. Or rather what was under it. The cloth of her robes was torn but underneath it, where there was an open wound there was now skin. The blood was still there, but - miraculously - her gashed arm was now whole again.

The girl did not so much remove her hand as it fell away, and Leeta hit the ground, to all intents and purposes unconscious. Fiach scooped her up and sensed she was still alive. Carrying her on-board her ship, she placed her in the co-pilot's seat, tucked a blanket around her and immediately took off for home. This encounter felt way beyond her pay grade.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

They just dropped out of hyperspace when Leeta awoke. Fiach remained quiet and the young girl simply stared through the cockpit at their destination.

Finally, the young Padawan broke the silence. "I'd like you to get checked over, to make sure you're OK, and this is the place I trust to do that. Plus..." she paused, "they can speak to you better than I can about what makes you different. Special."

"OK," said Leeta, in a most matter of fact way.

The two struck up a casual conversation as the planet grew bigger and bigger in front of them. Finally, Fiach broached the subject of Leeta's parents. "Do you have any other family?" she finally asked.

"No, just mum and dad," Leeta responded. "We travelled everywhere together and everything we had was on board the Rавран."

Fiach's brows knitted at the last word. Of course, it went without saying that Leeta understood.

"It means Raven in some ancient language. It was our ship."

Fiach smiled softly. "Do you know what, I have a ship I have yet to name. Someone told me I would find the right one some day. Something that meaned something special. The woman that found the planet we just came from? Her ship was called Ravenstar. That can't be a coincidence, right? I shall name my ship Little Raven. Which does not sound so exciting does it? I know, I shall call it Weinig Raaf. It's another old language - one I know this time. Little Raven sounds more impressive in that tongue I think."

Leeta smiled and nodded. "Weinig Raaf sounds good to me."

 

[Fiach Dubh]

“Only some secrets are well kept on Coruscant.”
― Rear Admiral Nils Tenant


SOMEWHERE ON CORUSCANT

Waking in a bemused state, with aches and pains she could not account for was becoming all too frequent an occurrence for Fiach. She was on a routine mission to collect some medical supplies when she’d been asked to give directions. She was about to explain she was hardly a native of Coruscant when…well that was all she remembered. But judging from the pain in her neck, she’d been tagged with a tranquiliser dart. Whoever drugged her did not want to risk getting up close and personal. Which suggests they knew she was a member of the Order.

As she regained full consciousness, she took stock of her surroundings. She was lying on a bed, with both arms and legs strapped down and a further restraint was across her midriff. Her head was also in a form of harness and so all she could see was the ceiling. It was white and clean and there was the faint whiff of antisceptic.

Closing her eyes, she connected with the Force and sensed her surroundings. There was no furniture in the room and the walls were close by – maybe two metres in all directions – and she could not sense beyond them, so presumably they were reasonably thick.

Perhaps she was being monitored, as momentarily, a door in the room opened and someone entered.

“Glad to see you could join us,” a woman’s voice said, sarcasm dripping from every word.