"At my command, he turned against the Jedi Order. He massacred his brethren at their own Temple, giving no quarter. He had returned balance to the Force indeed—by drowning out the light and freeing the darkness."
Alona shot up straight, slamming her forehead against the top bunk. "Ow."
At the loud thud, Hunter shot up beside her and hit his head in the exact same way. "Ow!"
Wrecker rolled off of the top bunk, his body whipping past them and onto the ground with an even louder thud. "OW!"
Tech and Echo, from their bunkbed across the small room, sat up slowly and looked at the results of the chain reaction. They were unamused, to say the least.
Alona was holding her head in her hands, trying to slow her heart rate. Hunter had a hand over the tender spot on his forehead, looking down at Alona in concern. Wrecker was whining on the floor, his blanket tangled around his legs.
"Why is it always you three?" Tech asked, his voice a lot deeper since he had just woken up. "I'm going to start sleeping in the cockpit."
"Ditto." Echo chimed in his usual grumpy tone, hopping off of his top bunk, walking past the giant clone on the floor.
"We're fine, thanks for asking." Alona rasped, letting out a sigh and falling on her back into the mattress. She ran her hands over her face tiredly, the guilt beginning to set in. She had just woken all of the guys up because of another terror.
"I'm gonna go check on the kids." Wrecker groaned, lifting himself off of the ground and tossing his blanket back onto his bunk.
"I should probably see how far out we are from Kashyyyk-" Hunter started, pulling one leg out from under the blanket.
"We're about 45 minutes out." Alona answered for him, her gaze frozen on the metal slab that held Wrecker's mattress.
Hunter sunk slowly back into the mattress, propping himself on his side to face Alona. He studied her face for a few seconds before his eyes softened. "What was it this time?" He asked quietly, placing a hand on her stomach.
Alona blinked, her expression void of any emotion. She was built up with so much frustration inside, though. "Palpatine, Anakin. Same as usual." She let out a sigh that showed just how heavy she felt, how weighed down these visions, these memories and dreams, made her. "When I opened myself up to both sides of the Force, I began to see more, feel more. The dark side, I feel it better than I used to...and I'm not so sure that I enjoy what I have gotten myself involved with." Alona admitted.
She bit her lip, something she rarely did in front of Hunter anymore, and thought long and hard about the Gray Jedi.
Hunter scratched her stomach with the pads of his fingers, his eyes glazed over while he thought with her. "My knowledge about the Jedi is really only the small bits I've heard in your lessons with Omega, so I won't be much help in talking about the Gray Jedi." That was a term he had just learned of a few hours ago.
Alona rubbed her thumb against the space between her eyebrows. "There aren't a whole lot of people, including the Jedi, that know about them. The Gray Jedi have long been considered a myth, but I learned differently in the temple on Ord Mantell."
Hunter nodded slowly, removing his bandana and placing it on top of the blanket. "What did you see...in the temple, I mean." He asked, pushing for her to let him help her carry some of this weight.
Alona didn't want him to, he was carrying enough weight as it was, but something about the way he said it made her talk. "The Force showed me three doors. The Dark, the Light, and the Middle. I went to the one I felt drawn to and opened it."
"What was inside?" Was the next thing Hunter asked, reaching his hand up to run his fingers through her hair. She had never talked about her temple experience, but she was pretty shaken when he found her out in the desert that night.
Alona sucked in a deep breath, exhaling shakily. "My gray lightsabers. They were different from what a Jedi had, and obviously they weren't cracked or bleeding, which would have made them red, so I knew it was the Gray Jedi pathway that I had chosen. They switched back to orange on the surface because, well, it was just a vision. But I knew what I would become." She explained.
Alona froze for a few minutes and Hunter stayed quiet, knowing that she wasn't done talking yet. He just continued brushing his fingers through her brown hair.
"But there was something else...in that vision. Someone else."
"Who?" He questioned, looking deeply into her eyes. Her heart rate had picked up, so obviously whoever this person was...was not someone on her side. Someone who scared her.
Alona licked her lips, avoiding his gaze. "A Sith lord, Palpatine's apprentice."
Hunter connected this to something Alona had said months ago, something that he hardly paid attention to at the time. "Sith lord, you said that on Kamino when we found you missing an arm...your limb was cauterized."
Alona bit her bottom lip, her eyes glossing over. She stayed quiet.
"Alona, what happened to you on Kamino?" Hunter finally asked. It was a question he had kept to himself for months, but he could no longer handle being left in the dark.
Alona sat up, throwing the blanket off of her legs and dangling them off of the side of the bed. She kept her back to him as she said, "I fought that Sith lord from my vision. Hunter, he's powerful. Too powerful, fueled by hatred and vengeance." And yet Alona still kept part of the truth contained as she said, "Palpatine's new apprentice, more machine than man."
There was silence for a few heartbeats and then Hunter let out a sigh. "Palpatine already found a new guy to replace..." he trailed off, watching Alona nod her head. He didn't know that she was lying, and she hoped it would stay that way.
Nobody else will know that the man under that horrifying mask once went by the name of Anakin Skywalker. Alona would not allow it.
"Dropping out of hyperspace." Tech announces from the cockpit.
Alona exhaled in relief as she found an excuse to end this conversation. She got up out of the bed and stretched her arms. "You should get your armor on." She muttered, leaving the bedroom and walking into the cockpit where all the others stood and watched the large green planet come into view.
When the Marauder landed on Kashyyyk's terrain, the squad started descending the steps. Gungi and Omega were both very excited. And no matter how many times Alona has been to the forested planet, she continues to be amazed by the tall sky-scraper-like trees and the peacefulness all nature had to offer.
"We're taking you to a village we know of. The Wookiees there should be able to help you." Hunter tells Gungi, being the last to exit the Marauder. "Oh, and keep your laser sword hidden. It, uh, draws attention we don't want." He says as he holds his hand out to Omega, taking the orange lightsaber from her.
Alona pulled her shirt down over her belt, hiding the silver hilt. Gungi hid his green saber with his other gear.
The Force had sent a chill running down her spine and she understood quickly what it was warning her of. "We need to keep an eye out for Imperial Outposts."
The squad began trekking through the heavy forest, their eyes and ears on alert.
"I didn't know you spoke Shyriiwook." Alona chimed to Hunter, whom she was walking next to, the both of them leading the group.
Hunter nodded. "We were stationed on Kashyyyk for a few months. Not a lot of action, so I found something else to fill time, learning the language spoken by the natives." He explained, keeping his gaze focused on what was in front of them.
Omega and Gungi followed behind the couple, and they had become pretty good friends. Only, Omega needed help to converse with the Wookiee.
"Do you remember much about this place?" The blonde asked her new friend.
When Gungi replied, Hunter translated, "From his dreams."
The trees were connected through large, silky white cobwebs and Alona shivered, just upon remembering the size and appearance of these animals that created the webs. Their path had become blocked by the substance, and immediately Hunter looked to Wrecker expectantly.
"Yeah, I'll take care of it." The largest clone replied happily, pulling out his vibroblade and approached the webs.
Wrecker began slicing through them with ease, but stopped and stumbled backward when the kinrath who created the webs appeared, crawling down the large tree and standing in front of the squad.
A handful of kinrath then followed at the sound of the first creature's shriek, wanting to know what was disturbing their nest.
"They're swarming us." Echo determined in a rushed voice. Wrecker pulled out his blaster and pointed it at the closest kinrath, but was stopped by two hands pressing down on his weapon.
"Don't." Alona said quickly, her and Gungi lowering their hands. The two of them stepped closer to the creature.
They will not attack unless we pose a threat, Gungi says to the squad. Both Force-Users raised a hand out to the swarming kinrath and breathed in and out calmly, transferring their calming presence to the disturbed creatures.
The shrieking from the kinrath slowly died down to a small chattering, feeling the harmless presence the group is bringing onto Kashyyyk. And then the spider-like creatures began climbing back up the trees and into their webs.
Alona glanced over her shoulder at her squad. "Let's keep moving."
Just finished writing chapter 55 and I am literally screaming at MY OWN WORK kamdnejwk I can't wait for you guys to read it even though it's 10 chapters away
(There might be some double updates headed your way this week;))