The Forsaken Ones

The Death Land

Uneasiness crept in his skin at a slow, but consistent pace, like an almost palpable mist that numbed his very perception of reality. His increasing discomfort was evident in the way his fingers shaked. It was such a strange thing to feel for a Jedi, after all.

"This doesn't seem like the right thing to do, Master," his voice was soft, barely a whisper cutting through the thick silence.

"Ironic, considering it was only your idea," replied the woman beside him with a calm voice.

Considering the given situation, Kisai was unable to understand why his former master seemed to be so... unimpressed.

"Isn't a change of heart allowed?" he did his best to fake a smile, but he got an awkward grimace instead. It was his idea, indeed; and in hindsight it had seemed like a good plan. Now that they were nearing their destination, the realization was finally downing in with all its might.

"Someone could be in real trouble. We cannot back down and risk to remain ignorant about whatever is happening down there. Your idea may be imprudent, but I feel we must do this. We just have to discover why."

Kisai did not frequent to contradict Lyanna Kress or her wisdom, but he couldn't help but see more negative things than good ones in their near future. He did not like that. A few days ago, Lyanna had been appointed by the Council to go on a routine trip to Bandomeer, with the mission of verifying the agricultural services that the planet wide farms gave to the Jedi Order.

Naturally, he went with her— even though Kisai had long become a Jedi Knight, both of them used to go on exploration missions together whenever it was possible—and later received a confusing and anonymous distress signal from a nearby planet. According to the workers, it hadn't appeared before, and nothing had been notified to the temple.

The world where the mysterious message originated had been abandoned by the Republic centuries ago; its history and civilization was almost a myth. And that was, precisely, the disturbing part. How was it possible to receive a signal from a place where there was no sentient life recorded?

Their orders were clear and simple: Travel to the Outer Rim, disembark on Bandomeer for a couple of days, make sure the military forces on the planet were capable of dealing with any unforeseen event that would reduce the supplies the fields provided to the temple, and return. No delays. No deviations.

They were pretty sure the High Council would disapprove of their current course of action. To try to unravel the mystery on their own without a clue was dangerous and could unleash, in the worst case, dire consequences for the Order. But there was always a possibility, even if small, of finding valuable information for the Republic. The young knight liked to think that the risk taken was, indeed, worth it.

"Kisai," the feminine voice made echo of his own thoughts, "No one can know about this. It could be a malfunction of ancient technology. We are just going to make sure that there is no danger. It won't be anything serious, I hope."

Oh, Lyanna. Kisai had never seen her drop a lie so obvious. However, he knew her too well to be sure that she didn't believe any of those words. But he didn't say anything. He just nodded and played along; and repeated in his head over and over again the excuse they were going to give their superiors when they landed home, safe and sound.

Minutes passed in suffocating silence, both of them just paying attention to the colors of space that reflected in the cabin.

It wasn't long before the woman announced their arrival, "Get ready. We are going to jump out of hyperspace in three, two, one."

The blue shades distorted before their eyes, and then he saw it. The place where the nightmares materialized...

Taris. The demise. The city fallen into disgrace.