Power is a Givin

Posted on Thu Apr 26th, 2018 @ 7:01pm by Thane & Amare

3,133 words; about a 16 minute read

Chapter: Chapter V: Unbound
Location: Trader's Landing, Sheva; in the Tapani Sector
Timeline: Some time after "The First Lesson"
Tags: Sheva, Tapani Sector, Givin

ON

When Thane offered to Coda access to the Red Raptor's navigational console, and the entirety of far flung galactic destinations to choose from (with some exceptions, of course, in particular those where the Reborn Jedi were known to be active), Coda found herself enamoured with the ability to finally choose where to go for once in her life. It didn't take long for her to find the planet on the holographic projection of the galaxy that popped in the top of her head.

Sheva was a heavily industrialized world, part of the Freeworlds Territory in the Tapani Sector where Coda once heard from Saucy Feril regaling her employees of stories of dangerous and exciting places far from the Core Worlds where she got into adventures and lots of trouble. Coda recalled the part about a wonderful market on a planet right in the smack middle of a shipping lane off the Giju Run called Sheva. Since Thane was directing Coda's Force training towards a more academic slant involving books related to the dark arts, and professing his interest in acquiring more, Coda could think of nothing more than taking their search to Sheva's mystery market.

---

Trader's Landing in Sheva's capital city wasn't exactly all glitz, glamour, and corruption like Nar Shaddaa, but it was indeed a shady enclave fit for housing a hive of scum and villainy. The regulations were also considerably loose, and the port authorities gave them almost no trouble at all. It was clear given the level of hazy air pollution and foul smelling waterways that Sheva was indeed very laissez faire in how it handled governing the planet. Given its backwater position in the sector having had almost no historical signifance in the history of the galaxy, Sheva looked like the perfect place to hide and be forgotten if one were to get in trouble with the Third Republic.

It did not take long for Thane and Coda to find themselves in a nameless old corner bookstore by a fisherman's wharf. There were docks and boats in disrepair and vermin scampering about in broad daylight gnawing on scraps littered about while trying not to get caught in the claws of spider-like arthropods that were scuttling in pursuit of playing a deadly, yet odd looking game of crab and mouse.

There appeared to be no proprietor or clerk in attendance, but the door was open, so thus the browsing began.

The first thing Coda noticed before examining her first pick of the mangled old tomes was a black chalkboard behind the cashier's counter, and it had peculiar equation written on it: A = (π/1012 × 16,072)(R×R)(E∞)²

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Coda half asked herself as she quickly realized there was no rational value for A.

Thane only gave a cursory glance to the peculiar scribbling before looking back down at the dusty piece he had claimed in his gloved hands, its weight and musty scent a satisfying experience by comparison to the datapads or flimsiplast binders that had now been the norm for millennia. It was troubling that it was less reputable locales such as Sheva boasted a larger number of stores such as these as opposed to the Core worlds.

He did, however, reprimand himself when he considered what the book burners of the Jedi Order would do should such a store exist on Coruscant.

"I couldn't say," the former Jedi replied, returning the volume to the top of the pile he had claimed it from before walking to stand beside the Nautolan, having decided the book's subject matter of Naboo flora and fauna was hardly of interest.

On this particular occasion, Thane had eschewed the dark robes he typically wore for his old red spacer's jacket, which was somewhat beginning to show its age, with scuffs and quick repairs dulling its once clean-cut appearance. Of course, it certainly helped to give him and Coda the image of simple travellers, or perhaps smugglers, given where they were. On Sheva, Thane certainly felt it better that he not be perceived as any nature of Jedi. To that effect, his lightsaber was neatly concealed within his jacket, but its weight was comforting.

He unintentionally listened to the clanging of the bells attached to poles and boats out in the docks beyond, the familiar sound summoning brief images of indigo sunsets reflecting off the shimmering still oceans of the Saaphian Sea on Caanus. Pushing the melancholy reminiscence aside, Thane examined Coda briefly, wondering what the initial impression was passers-by would have of the Force sensitive pair. Despite her apprenticeship to him, the age difference between them was relatively small.

"Are you pleased to have come here?" Thane then asked, curious as to Coda's current thoughts. Inwardly, he wondered if she had ever in fact owned a real bound book and truly enjoyed the pleasures of delving into a well-woven tale, let alone engaged in academic pursuits prior to joining him and Bomoor.

Regardless of her history, Coda had nevertheless proven herself a very capable and studious learner thus far, especially since Irrikut, taking to any instruction he had provided her with enthusiastic abandon. Whether it be physical training, learning the ways of the Force (and by extension, the dark side), or being left to her own devices with the various tomes he had in his own possession aboard the Raptor, Coda had devoured and largely internalised the knowledge in a very short space of time, rapidly developing her innate, burgeoning talents.

The young Sith admired her, and was not ashamed to admit his subdued pride.

"There is a mathematical probability of 88% that she would be more pleased to be swimming in a large warm pool on a luxury space liner than to be here in my humble repository of knowledge."

Slow calculated steps were taken by the nearly two meters tall humanoid in burgundy red robes with a long purple sash. Its head was a twisted image of horror as it appeared to be a somewhat distorted similarity to an exposed human skull with large triangular eye sockets and sloped up brows that met together in the middle giving the appearance of endless anguish. There was also no teeth, but an opening for a mouth locked in a perpetual frown.

Coda wasn't terrified or spooked by what she saw, but found the shop owner's appearance rather comical. She was curious if it was an elaborate mask intended to scare away undesirables, or just a cultural thing.

"Human, male, what is the square root of 1,000?" he asked upon reaching the bottom of the old rickety wooden stairs.

Thane regarded the shopkeeper's horrific visage with an unimpressed scowl, even as his mind automatically sought to complete the calculation. His initial urge was to pluck the information from the alien's mind, but presumed one of Givin would not be so susceptible, or perhaps even so easily fooled.

"Around thirty," he answered, knowing tall creature would want some sort of answer, "but it is not a mathematical debate we have come in search of." The presence of the dolorous equation etched into the board now made sense to Thane, although he had admittedly met very few of the species during his former life as a Jedi Knight, and could not claim to know a great deal about their culture or way of being. "We are much more interested in your humble repository."

To accent his point, the Caanan raised his hands in a gesture towards the large selection of old-fashioned books surrounding them, both on shelves and in tidy piles, ordered as they no doubt were in a manner deemed meticulous to the logical mind of the Givin, but arguably scattered nonsensically to the casual viewer.

Although Morgo would have been dismayed at the means of storing the ageing tomes, she would nevertheless have been quite thrilled in her own sociopathic way at the presence of so many. She had more than likely been this way at some juncture in her nefarious, still-ongoing tenure as a fugitive, Thane surmised.

"'Twas not debate I sought," the givin said calmly. "It is merely the givin way of greetings. I am a purveyor of records. I deal in absolutes. To the young nautolan female, I offer a question to help you both find what you seek." He stepped behind the cashier's counter, and laid down four red cards with blue printing on them on both sides. There was an E, 2, 5, and F. "Each card has a letter on one side and a number on the other. If there is an E on one side, the number on the other side must be a 5. Which ones do you turn over?"

The answer seemed obvious. Coda turned the E over, and then gingerly turned over the 5 with hesitation. She looked up and saw the givin shaking his skull-head.

"Hmm, it appears you are not among the 5% in the galaxy that can solve this puzzle on the first try," the shopkeeper admonished her. "Surprising hearing how quickly you saw my attempt at humor on the board here. Perhaps you are distracted. Turning the E was correct, but I could see the patterns in your eyes indicated you considered turning the 2, which would have completed the puzzle. You second-guessed yourself. You have not yet learned to focus your mind." He turned to Thane, "Is my assessment of your companion accurate?"

Thane eyed the eccentric alien, wondering if the incisive man had divined more of his genuine relationship with Coda than their current guises betrayed. "Somewhat," he answered, deciding there was little worth in lying at this juncture. "She is intelligent, capable and very willing to learn - but she has yet to truly trust in her instincts. Her mind wanders and wonders when it should be examining and acting; she loses herself in doubts, rather than embracing her convictions and engaging in the moment."

Despite the criticism, which was not delivered unkindly, Thane rested a reassuring hand on the Nautolan's shoulder, although he did not take his eyes away from their host. "But she is new to study, and to making decisions of her own."

In truth, he himself was new to many of the teachings Coda was now embracing, too. After all, whilst he was of course experienced in the application of the Force, Thane's recent embrace of the dark side had been difficult and full of self-doubt. It was only recently that he had increasingly become more trusting of its direction and power, and of the gifts it presented. Only now, as he gave himself over to Darth Bane's teachings, did he find himself actually truly reaping the rewards, discovering his powers and resolve ever more focused. In time, Coda would discover that same power with him.

There was a low rumbling sound coming from the givin, his thoughts were full of skepticism of his two customers. "There are unknown values in this equation," he said to them. "To find the knowledge you seek, I must solve for X and Y."

The givin reached under his counter with Thane's eyes following him with obvious interest as he produced a small palm-sized black box. He touched a long bony finger on its surface to pop the biometric lock and opened it to reveal what looked like a plain quartz looking crystal shard. He reached again under the counter and drew a long metal rod with a hooded recess on the end which accepted the crystal that clicked in place.

"This will calculate the values required to solve my query," he said and gave the other end of the staff a quick tap on the floor. The crystal vibrated and glowed a dim white color. "This crystal indicates the ambient presence of transdimensional bioorganic energy in this room, more colloquially referred to as the Force. The crystal is an old detection talisman created by a former apprentice who studied the tomes here. Entirely worthless on the open market by itself. If in the presence of beings heavily infused by Force energy, however..." he held it close to Coda and the white brightened up considerably with the tiniest hint of orange, "...it reveals the quantum wavelength of the Force to which they are most closely attuned." He moved it to near Thane, and the white almost instantly gave way to orange mixed with some red. "Or perhaps it is just a toy I use to entertain the few children that wander in here from time to time. I can never be too certain."

Impressed by the curio, Thane wondered exactly what the colour signified and how nature had interpreted them as such. At this stage, not that he was particularly trying any more, their charade had been entirely swept aside by the enigmatic shopkeeper. Despite the man's awkward syntax, he nevertheless felt a certain eagerness to engage further with him on a variety of subjects. Not least of all his mention of an apprentice.

An apprentice of what exactly? He mused, but Coda spoke before he did.

"I think the light it makes is pretty," she told the givin. "But we came to study and learn what we can about the bioorg...um, the Force. There's so many books here. May we ask where to begin our search?"

"If it is elementary alchemical formulae and simple prestidigitation tricks you are seeking, you may find some over in the back where the spider webs and shelves caked in dust and soot are," the givin stuck a thumb pointing behind him. "If, however, you are worthy students of your art, and are willing to put in the time and effort to discover the logic behind the Force, you may keep what you find using this."

The givin removed a long bronze key from his pocket and placed it on the counter. It had a forked end with the two separate ends converging together. Embedded within the space of its hollow oval bow was a red crystal similar to a lightsaber crystal, but smaller and not suitable for use in such a weapon.

"Unfortunately," the givin added, "it requires a special charge to make it work. Its previous owner donated it to my family generations ago, and said that only one with the blessing of darkness will unlock the forbidden knowledge within. Where that knowledge lies, however, I cannot say."

"How much do you--" Coda began to ask.

"It is yours to take without cost," the givin said. "But know this: You are not the first to pursue this little quest. Seventeen years ago, a peculiar band seeking dark knowledge took the key with them. Precisely three days later, their bodies ended up out on the water near the dock by the front door, and the key appeared right here on this counter. Five years after that, the same thing happened. The key may be free, but the cost could be your lives if you are not worthy of the prize."

Thane did not trust generosity, just as he did not trust in the threat of farcical curses. Even so, he was keenly aware of the hexes and lingering jinxes ancient dark side adepts had imbued their various talismans and crypts with. Bane's holocron had spoken at length of the various Sith tombs he had plundered during his creator's existence, although he found a great deal of the promised evil had long subsided.

Clasping the key in his right hand, he held it up to his blue eyes, inspecting it both visually and through the Force. Undeniably, a darkness emanated from within, but it was one more mysterious and faintly abject, as compared to the holocrons he had meddled with thus far. It felt as though it were calling from a great distance, a malevolent force that was echoing and resonating with a power that was oddly familiar to him.

Feeling its unique power, Thane inwardly noted how few objects of dark side power he had ever really had the opportunity to inspect, or even how few nexuses of the dark side he had even visited or been subjected to. His rapidly increasing development had been courtesy of holocrons and his own dabblings and training. With Coda, and hopefully Bomoor, he was determined to explore as much as he could. After all, it could also reveal more of the kaiburr shards.

Thane passed the key, which was warm enough for him to feel through his glove, over to his apprentice, entrusting her to look after their new possession. He gave her a long, serious look as he did so, before looking back to the Givin. "We thank you for your assistance," he said, inclining his head in a show of respect, although he considered attempting to use a mind trick to make the alien forget they had ever come, but he doubted the technique would work - and he was not willing to execute the man needlessly. He was not that sort of man - that sort of Sith.

A peculiar feeling of unrest and pride still bridled within him at naming himself as such, and he wondered when would be right to discuss the matter with Coda. Soon, he promised himself.

The givin returned Thane's gesture of respect with a bow of his head. He turned his statuesque visage of anguish and despair towards Coda studying her as she playfully turned and swapped the key between her nimble blue fingers, and then saw as she opened her palm and let the key hover over it. It reminded him of his youth from decades past. A happier time when he still had a connection to the Force. It was a shame the key might someday be her doom. So young to fall victim to the dark side. But if she and this Thane were destined to beat the odds and found the treasure, there was no telling what they might be capable of.

"Those books you mentioned, I would also be interested in purchasing," Thane further explained, retrieving several credit chits that would easily cover the expenses and placing them onto the counter, the sum far in excess of what he was spending. "As well as any treatises on major historical events, philosophy or warfare."

The givin looked down at the chits, took two, and pushed back the rest. "I accept only what is required. You may take what you can carry. Now, I must return to my nap. You may be surprised, but I am much older than I look." He turned and tiredly made way for the stairs letting out an almost robotic "Ha...ha...ha..." as he went using the staff with the crystal as a walking aid. "May the functions of discrete variables lie within favorable intervals for you."

TBC

 

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