Chapter Seventy-One

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I left for the expedition mere minutes after the depositing of the note in her cell. The ship I traveled on had barely distanced itself from the base, but my thoughts were already excited and centered around the prospect of seeing Nira upon my return. 

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The ride to Flore, where Kubos was located, was quite short. We traveled at hyperspeed in the small ship that carried myself and a few other employees. 

Flore is a desert-type planet. It resembles the planet of Jakku, or of the ancient Tatooine. We landed close to the city where Kubos lived, maybe a few miles outwards. I felt a greater presence of The Force with every step I took nearer to his location. The amount of The Force that resided in this small city was unbelievable, and almost overbearing for my senses. 

I was in shock -- this man, Kubos, felt like he could possibly be the most powerful Force-user in all of history. More powerful than myself. More powerful than Luke Skywalker. More powerful than my grandfather. 

We neared the edges of the city. The city was protected by large wooden walls that circled around the entire place. The walls were guarded. As we approached, the sounds of music, bustle, and random sounds erupted from over the edges of the gates. 

We were able to easily enter the massive, but weak, wooden gates of the city. The guards that stood before the two doors looked at us as if we were animals, but didn't even ask us who we were. They opened the doors. I was very skeptical about the city's guards from then on out; they had allowed us into their city without question!

We carefully walked over the threshold of the civilization. All of the sounds were so much more vivid inside the gates.

The five guards, three other foreign affairs employees that I had brought along on the expedition, and myself looked considerably prestigious compared to the citizens that we passed by. 

The citizens of the town were dressed in dirty rags and emerged from sand huts that weakly rose from the ground. There was no wind, so the sand ground wasn't disrupted, but it was blistering hot. Despite their dreary conditions, the citizens seemed entirely energetic and excited.

The city was loud and people bustled about. Citizens strode up and down the streets by themselves, in small clusters, or in large, chattering groups. They all wore similar clothing and most of them carried dark brown woven baskets that were filled to the brim with exotic fruits and other goods. The sides of the streets were crowded with huts, several small markets, and other buildings that I presumed to be restaurants, protection forces, stores, or other services. 

My mind began to wash into a blank slate because of the pure, incredible aura of The Force in this small civilization. I have to admit, at the time I was severely intimidated by Kubos. Yes, he didn't know we were coming yet, but he also wasn't aware of his seemingly-extreme ability to put The Force to use -- this could be either very beneficial (he would be too timid to act on his talents so soon) or very disadvantageous (he would rapidly become too arrogant and try to take control of the galaxies without any training whatsoever). 

My acquaintances and I strode through the middle of the wide, dusty street. Citizens veered around us with concerned and fearful expressions. I slowly took in all of the details of the city, trying to steer my thoughts away from the immense presence of The Force. I knew that, in this recruiting situation, it was dire that I was completely focused at the task at hand. 

Suddenly, a man dressed in a stained white shirt and even dirtier brown pants stepped in front of me. I ceased my movement, and motioned for the other employees of The First Order to do so as well.  

"Who are you?" The man asked loudly. Slowly, the voluminous atmosphere surrounding us died out as more people began to notice the beginning of our confrontation. 

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