A Larger View

Posted on Sun Jul 22nd, 2018 @ 11:33pm by Bomoor Thort & G2-O7
Edited on on Sun Jul 22nd, 2018 @ 11:37pm

1,526 words; about a 8 minute read

Chapter: Chapter V: Unbound
Location: Vaa, Thaal system (Moon of Caanus)
Timeline: After "Madness Grins"
Tags: Vaa, Bomoor, Red Raptor, G2-07, Thaalda

OLD

Finding his lightsaber still at his side, he ignited it and cut a deep gash through the ground, cutting apart the staff and the remains of the creature. As the staff broke, a greenish light burst from within it and Bomoor heard a rasping cry through his connection before the light receded back and, with it, his stream of Vaa-Thaalda thoughts ended.

Looking down, panting still heavily from all four mouths, Bomoor concluded his thought, “Not genocide… but correcting… a very old mistake.”

Something further had changed without the staff: even with the connection broken, he could now feel the Thaalda Sithspawn far greater than he had before. Their ability to cloak themselves within the Force had diminished. He could feel them all outside, waiting but not daring to enter the cave. He knew that they all had to die. With them gone, Thane and his people would no longer be threatened by Cabal’s ancient misdeeds and a dark imbalance would be corrected.

He ignited his viridian blade once again, its pale green light seeping into the cracks in the cave and casting shadows over the scattered objects within.

Genocide? he queried again in his head, finding the notion absurd, This is only pest control.

NEW

The Red Raptor sat still and silent on the plateau, seemingly cushioned on a bed of mist. There was no breeze, no movement in the trees, just deathly quiet. A lone figure took form within the vapour, pacing forward with that same silence and making for the ship. As the mist parted further with his slow movements, a bloodied and weary Bomoor became visible.

As he reached the entry ramp to the ship, he stumbled slightly and braced himself upon the hydraulic struts, allowing himself a deep breath of the thin atmosphere. His weary eyes looked to the ground, dark and mysterious as ever but the beginnings of tears around them betrayed the pain he was feeling. He did not stop for long and soon stiffened himself upright and keyed the pin into the entry panel to release the thick airtight doors into the ship.

Finally finding himself inside, his body gave in once again and he fell to the ground, allowing himself to sob ever so gently in the hollow cockpit. As the entry door hissed closed behind him, he was left isolated, with the dim lights from the ship’s blinking panels dimly illuminating his large quivering form.

It was the conflict in his mind that continued to wound him so. He had, only a short while ago, been prisoner to the vile creatures that infested this moon: they had shown him darkness but had also pleaded for help. He had refused to aid them, knowing that the true cost of freeing their cursed spawn would be a blight on the Galaxy and bring imbalance to the Force. However, as he hung in that cave, with dark thoughts in his mind, it was not enough to him that these creatures be forever trapped on the moon; he had wanted them dead, exterminated by his hand and that was exactly what he had done.

He had delved into a darkness he had not experienced before in order to free himself from that place and continued to use that same power to strike down every single Vaa-Thaalda he could find with lightning, telekinesis as well as the scorching blade of his weapon.

How could I not? he thought to himself, What purpose would it have served to die in that cave or, worse, be used by that old Sithspawn for her twisted plans?

Without the power he had utilised, he doubted he could ever have escaped that place and had he not done right by the Galaxy to rid it of Cabal’s unnatural beasts as well as his cursed staff? The true Thaalda that the ancient Caanans had stolen away were long gone and nobody could save them from their fate any more. The husks he cut down were not Thaalda, but merely used their genetic memories to manipulate him.

He sniffed in sharply and brought himself upright again. He tapped a panel and the overhead lights swept over the room, bringing the battered Ithorian a sense of security to be back in the familiar space of the Raptor. He walked over to the pilot’s chair and sat down, activating the ship’s sensor array and looking at the readouts before him. Thane and Coda had not returned to the ship and there were no life forms in the surrounding area. He activated a wider sweep of the area and leaned back in the thick, padded chair as he waited for it to complete. His eyes looked out over the cloudy landscape, tinted only the faintest bit purple by the bright orb of Caanus hanging in the sky.

Thane… Bomoor thought, gazing up at the man’s former home, He has used such power and for similar reasons. Power of the Dark and of the Light; it seems not to matter which is used if the action taken is morally just. One could live their whole life in the Light and yet still cause harm.

This was what he and Thane had argued so much about when talking about the Reborn Order and its dogmatic and dangerous proclamations about how the beings of the Republic should live their lives. He thought of Coda too and how, under the Jedi, her newfound wild and majestic power would never have been put to good use. It was a power that, if held back, would have seen her killed on Nar Shaddaa at the hands of a greedy slave master, just as Bomoor would have died today if he had anchored himself to the Light alone.

Another face came to mind, the strong but kindly face of his old Master Thurius who he had not spoken to since he resigned from the Order. His expression that day had been so sullen and unfamiliar to the Ithorian. He had always tried to do right by his Master, particularly when he found out how he has lost his old apprentice Mykles under such terrible circumstances. Thurius had always warned against being headstrong; to be proud of your own power but also to take the time to understand it before placing yourself in danger. He knew how his experiences with Mylkes had tempered the Cerean’s outlook on life and it was a lesson Bomoor himself had always wanted to take forward.

This new power inside him could lead him down the wrong path, should he charge into it. It was almost certainly a darker power and one that came with a torrent of emotions. But, with the right time and understanding, it could allow him to open up another side of himself and allow him the strength he had sought; the power that Krayt had hinted of. Perhaps he could then show his old Master the wider wisdom in his own words.

A pip from the console brought him back from his thoughts and he wearily pushed himself forwards to look at the screen. The ship had completed its scan but had failed to identify the life signs of Thane and Coda; however, the readouts also showed multiple areas of impenetrable rock and thick vapour that scrambled the readings, so the lack of results did not mean the pair had perished. It was still troubling to have no news, however.

All he could do now was wait and meditate until the truth revealed itself. He did not know how many of the Vaa-Thaalda still crawled upon the surface of the moon but he did feel that they were weakened with the destruction of the staff and of their kin. He hoped that would help his friends, wherever they were. This power was for them too, so that he might protect and preserve all that he held dear.

Easing himself up, he turned his head to the sound of the cockpit door opening and the whirring sound of G2-O7’s small wheels rolling in, “G2,” Bomoor acknowledged the droid, “Can you continue running these sensor readings and alert me if you pick up any signs of Thane or Coda?”

The droid whirred, with a descending chime that Bomoor had come to understand meant that the droid was emulating concern, “I was separated from them on the Moon’s surface but I believe they are still alive out there. I am going to try to find them my way, through the Force, but I suspect we shall have to wait a while.”

As G2 moved over to interface with the console, Bomoor made his way to the door, intending to grab some bacta patches in the Medbay before seeking further comfort in his cabin, but paused to add, “Oh, and G2, make sure the ship is ready to leave as soon as they come back. This Moon does not reward those who linger too long.”

 

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