Nova Discipulus

Posted on Fri Apr 6th, 2018 @ 10:34am by Thane & Bomoor Thort & Amare & 2-1BH "Useless"

2,723 words; about a 14 minute read

Chapter: Chapter V: Unbound
Location: Medbay, Red Raptor, Nar Shaddaa
Timeline: After "Quid Habes, Part II"
Tags: Thane, Bomoor, Coda, first meeting

OLD

Regarding the delicate features of Coda's face as he held her in his arms, he wondered as to the true extent of the suffering she had had forced upon her during her life, being only a few short years younger than him, entirely denied any of the mercies he had inherited, even after the loss of his family.

The would-be Sith placed the limp alien down with surprising grace onto the bunk in the medbay, and took a step back.

"All those things you want, Coda," Thane said softly, "will be within your power. You need only claim it."

NEW

After placing the stowaway Nautolan onto the medbay's bunk, Thane had promptly activated Useless, who had directed him on the usage of a large amount of the medical equipment that Morgo had mercifully left to determine the health of the comatose stranger.

Inwardly, there was a hint of bitterness about the sudden, relatively unexplained, departure of the Dromachean fugitive, but he understood that there were a multitude of reasons for the decision, not least of all her own pride with regards to some perceived debt to Thane for his actions back at the Galaxies Opera House. Of course, her part in saving him and Bomoor from Jericho had wiped any metaphorical slate she was seemingly haunted by clean. He wondered if her decision to leave some of her recently-bought and high-quality equipment was as a result of some shred of decency related to their travels together, or whether it was because she was unable to physically take the items with her.

No doubt she would have used Bería and her red-headed simpleton to assist her, if she had in fact gone with them. Thane had elected not to check. They were, after all, free to lead their own lives. Whatever slight was hidden within their decisions, he had decided not to indulge it.

Useless had explained, after examining the readings, that Coda was suffering from malnutrition and a variety of other ailments, likely courtesy of her treatment during her previous 'employment', such as acute hyponatremia, which accounted for much of her current state. The holodroid was already computing further compounds that could be concocted with ease to provide the woman with the necessary treatment, as Thane had administered one already, along with a list of whatever else might be necessary.

At first, Thane had considered attempting to use the Force to ease Coda's suffering and encourage her healing, which he was confident would be accelerated with her own Force connection, but such talents were becoming more alien to him. Whilst he had grown accustomed to drawing on his own emotions to negate pain and preserve his health, extending his aura to others with the intent to encourage healing had become more difficult, almost as though the midichlorians within either himself or the other (or both) were resisting him.

A side effect, Bane's holocron had told him, of his growing immersion within the dark side, and an unimportant sacrifice. It was not, after all, the way of the Sith to heal others of their pain, but to either show them how to own it, or allow them to be consumed by it.

Regardless, it was not necessarily a convenient trade-off at this exact moment.

As if on cue, the trademark scraping that indicated the Raptor's boarding ramp was permitting someone entry echoed along the corridors of the ship. Thane innately recognised the presence of his friend. Keen to discuss the unexpected appearance of the talented stowaway, he called for Bomoor to come to the medbay.

The heavy footsteps of the newcomer halted for a moment as he received the hail before starting up again, getting louder and less muffled as they approached the already open doorway of the Medical Bay. It was strange seeing the doorway open, as Morgo had made it her mission to make the room her own private sanctuary, with some strange locking system installed on the door. She had left it unlatched when she disappeared and G2-O7 had been able to remove some of the heavier security measures, ensuring that nobody was going to inadvertently trigger something that would see them either locked in or out of the room.

When Bomoor’s figure appeared in the doorway, he halted and visibly checked the soles of his feet for any severe dirt before proceeding. A small amount of dirt should not be an issue since the astromech droid had been very diligent in continuing its cleaning regimes even after the Duchess’ departure. Thane’s friend proceeded into the room but slowed as he came up to the bedside and sighted the blue newcomer stretched out upon it.

Not speaking yet, the Ithorian looked down at the woman, squinting slightly as he tried to muster the reason for why the reserved Caanan and the strangely-apologetic holodroid were tending to this nautolan. As he examined her further, he began to sense the way the Force swelled around her. While all beings, save for Morgo, had an interaction with the Living Force, such a strong pull was not usually seen outside of the Jedi Order or in their infrequent encounters with Dark-Side Force adepts. It seemed quite likely that the push and pull of the Force had some hand in what he was seeing now. While that mystic universal bond had drawn them to stranger encounters, it seemed highly unlikely that there was any good reason for this young woman being passed out on the ship.

“Well, good afternoon, my friend,” Bomoor eventually addressed his friend, “I presume you are going to fill me in on the situation here?”

"This," Thane replied, gesturing to the unconscious newcomer, "is Coda. A stowaway I found hiding in one of the cargo holds. As I'm sure you are sensing yourself, she has an incredible, if unrefined, connection to the Force." He turned slightly from his friend, inclining his head downwards to look at the young woman. "It was that which alerted me to her. And this."

He pulled the yellow crystal from his pocket and passed it over to Bomoor. Its light glowed more dimly than before, making Thane wonder how in-tune it truly was with their uninvited guest.

As Bomoor took the artefact, Thane went on, "She explained that she is a very recent slave, having escaped today. A typical Nar Shaddaa story, for all intents and purposes, but her latent powers are quite remarkable, which she apparently used in her escape. I imagine her emotions triggered whatever dormant connection that was hidden within her. When she first produced the crystal, it seems we shared some sort of insight into one another. She is not lying."

With ease, the light crystal was lifted from Thane's hand and brought to hover before Bomoor so he could examine it. It was an interesting harvest of organic mineral, bringing to mind the strong golden blades, which were less-commonly seen in the Jedi Order. The few who began on the path of the Sentinel, whose members often favoured the yellow-coloured blades, were more commonly seen with alternative tools in hand, if they even chose to carry their lightsaber at all.

He returned the crystal to Thane's hand, "I have read of cases of latent Force abilities being activated in times of great adversity within a being. Often there is an earlier traumatic event that leads the individual to unconsciously weaken their Force connection in order to deal with the surge of emotions they are feeling. Some people become mutes, others mute their Force connection.”

He peered down at the woman once again, who was starting to shift about slightly, “She would be an interesting case to study, certainly. We can probably give her passage off the planet but did you perhaps have something more long-term in mind? We have only just lost one young Force-sensitive girl. Perhaps we simply do not foster the right environment.”

"Or perhaps," Thane replied, "we simply did not have the right girl." He continued to regard the woman along with his friend, deep thought causing his pale forehead to crease. "I am unsure, however; she has a great talent and has been untouched by Jedi dogma. Before she collapsed, I obviously saw into her mind and we spoke of the Force. She has a deep-rooted righteous anger and the will to use it."

The Human thought of the flood of emotions that had surged forth from Coda just a short while ago, of the exhilaration he had felt even within himself when he had merely brushed against her essence. "For years, she has been subject to the whims of men lesser than her, dreaming of finding her stolen brother and being powerful enough to make things the way they should be." He looked to Bomoor, knowing the story would sound all-too-familiar coming from Thane's mouth, and again, the irony was not lost on him. "She said she wants to know the For-"

The nautolan started moaning, interrupting Thane with a soft, "No...let go..." and then her hands and feet suddenly began thrashing and flailing at some unknown danger lurking in the deepest recesses of her mind. She then tried to grasp on to her throat, not to choke herself, but her fingers coiling and pulling from something doing the choking.

"I would advise restraining the patient," Useless calmly said, the suggestion an unintended nomination for a Captain Obvious award. "A nautolan female with night terrors. How ever do you find me these fascinating cases, Master Thane?"

The Caanan scowled at Useless. Whilst such deadpan humour did not usually go unappreciated with the former Jedi, he held the same general opinion of the holodroid as he did most machines, even if their usefulness could be appreciated. He made little show of and no comment as he deactivated Useless' hologram, before turning back to look at the Nautolan.

He placed a gloved hand against her cranium, probing gently with the Force. "Coda?"

hey kiddo... Those words echoed through Coda's mind from the voice of a man she was certain was dead. She ceased subconsciously resisting Thane and Bomoor's interventions that held her down. Her breathing even stopped for just a few short seconds, and then...

wakey wakey...

Her coal black eyes snapped open, and she drew in a heavy, labored breath to get her lungs working again. The dryness in her throat had subsided, and she no longer felt on the constant verge of passing out. When her senses returned to her, she nervously shifted her gaze between Thane and the ithorian she never met before. She'd met an ithorian once before, not quite as tall as this one, and was just a quiet unassuming trader passing through for a quick drink and some gambling pleasure. She wondered if there was a relation.

"Hello," she softly greeted him, her expression somewhere between a faint smile and a hint of apprehension. She felt transfixed by the weary gaze of his dark eyes. The ponderous way the robed ithorian looked at her reminded her of the way her father used to gaze at her at times when she fell ill to the usual nautolan childhood diseases.

“Hello there,” Bomoor answered, cocking his flattened head up slightly, seemingly measuring up the blue-skinned sentient, “How are you feeling?”

"I don't know," Coda answered. "Better, I think. Am I still on the Red...um, Red 'Rover'?" Her head was still in a fog, and even the nightmare she just woke from was a diminished memory. The only thing she remembered of it was swimming and being choked by someone scary whose face she couldn't quite recall. But everything else before the dream, including meeting Thane, was still fresh in her mind.

"Hmm..." the Ithorian noted the woman's disorientation in her light voice and demeanour, "Yes, you are still on the Red Raptor. You have already met Thane but my name is Bomoor. This is our ship."

Bomoor wondered whether Thane had already installed the new transponder codes that would make his last statement slightly more accurate, remembering how no money had changed hands when they had initially claimed the YX-1980 freighter from Grogga's Palace.

"I'm so sorry," Coda apologized to both men, feeling guilty for being an unexpected burden to them. She felt she needed to waste no time and start bargaining to secure their trust because if they threw her out, the streets of Nar Shaddaa were almost guaranteed to grind her down into bloody bits and pieces in no time. All her hopes were resting entirely on these two fascinating strangers. "I snuck onto your ship because some men I never met were trying to kill me. I had to hide. There were too many of them. You had every right to hurt me for intruding, and you didn't. I owe you both my life. Thank you." She sobbed and tried to hold back her tears hoping that her sudden girly emotional display wasn't coming across as theatrical; she meant every word she said. She had absolutely nothing to go back to, and zero reasons to lie.

Bomoor raised an eyestalk quizzically, wondering what kind of life lessons Coda had been taught to feel the way she did, "We have no right to harm you," he responded, "You have not threatened us by merely being here but we do have to answer the question of what happens to you now."

He turned slightly towards Thane, waiting for his input, given he had already shared a lot more with the stowaway than he had, even in such a short time.

"You are as safe as you can be aboard the Raptor with us, Coda," Thane said, with as much warmth as he could manage in his voice, despite his cold, intense gaze, "and there is no further need to apologise, or to thank us." He examined her, still reaching out with the Force to get some further handle on her. "How are you feeling now? Just before you awoke, you were flailing and muttering incoherently."

She struggled to push herself to move her legs over the side of the exam table and be seated upright. "It's just...ungh..." she felt a nasty tension headache racking her brain as she tried to get up. "Just another of my silly dreams. Ohh...I haven't felt this sore and worn out in a long time." She tried to chuckle at her predicament, but her lower back, arms, and legs were still burning from her fight with Chesto, the chase with the mercs, and the skycar crash. She never realized she was so unfit and lacking in energy until now. She was also feeling incredibly hungry as well.

"You have a lot of these dreams, then?" Bomoor queried, sensing there was more to what she saw than simply the creation of a weary mind.

"Mmhm, almost every night," Coda nodded as she sat up. "Doesn't everyone?" Her stomach growled and she put a hand on her abdomen, cheeks flushing a darker shade of blue with embarrassment.

Eyes creasing somewhat in amusement, the Ithorian agreed, "To some degree, yes. But strong dreams can be the first sign of precognition. But I digress, Coda, you are welcome to come with us when we leave this planet, which I hope will be very shortly. This place has never sat well with me and there are some cartel members who I would rather did not notice this ship parked here. Besides, you are probably eager to see what lies beyond this slimy Hutt moon."

Coda's enthusiastic nods and bright smile couldn't have been more cheerful, but the mention of that big word, "precognition", made her headache worse; she had no idea what it meant, but was too starved and achy to ask just yet.

The idea of leaving Nar Shaddaa was the best thing she heard all night. All the fighting and running and hiding...she made it. It was beyond belief, but there was finally some hope for her to someday rescue her brother. And now she had two incredible allies, and the strange power of the Force behind them. She naively thought the worst was behind her.

She had no idea just how wrong she truly was.

TBC

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