The Great Leap Forward/Chapter Seven

The Great Leap Forward

Chapter Six

T'lessia, Great Western Forest, present day

"Pelenora T'Yelc guided us through the catacombs of the monastery, which dated back to its original construction," the Bothan continued, having finished reciting the prophecy. "According to Eldarch Bellinega, this was four thousand years ago; as you can imagine, this still has us scratching our heads in wonderment."

"Indeed," Luke replied with a nod. "I haven't had much experience with temporal mechanics myself, but a few years ago a Jedi Knight named Jaden Korr encountered a Jedi Master from the time of the Great Hyperspace War. He had been aboard a Sith warship whose hyperdrive he had sabotaged; this resulted in the vessel and its entire crew being catapulted into the present era."

"Not to mention the rare instances when a starship's relativistic shielding simply fails," Laera put in. "I've only ever heard of one such incident, and that was just a twelve light-year jump."

The fire had been rekindled, and was now crackling merrily in the darkness as Silas finished his story. "In the second level a secret tunnel had been carved, with only the presiding Eldarch and her protégé ever knowing of its existence or seeing to its maintenance and security. As Sa'ari technology advanced and the city of Tal'adin grew, the tunnel was connected to the sewer system beyond the treatment plants, thus it was surprisingly clean. After several kilometers of running flat-out we finally reached the city limits, squirming through an outlet that led into a swift brook that ran just beyond the treeline of the Great Western Forest. That was where T'Yelc left us, as she had to report for duty within the hour.

"After that it was a relatively simple matter of getting very lost very quickly, which we did by making our way deeper into the forest. The two of us spent at least a week wandering aimlessly before we found out why this region got its name; as winter descended, we chose to settle in one of the tuskwood trees. It was Laera's idea to carve out a home here, and we chose the largest and healthiest tree in the area to begin our work. Ten days later we had our home away from home, and we've been here ever since."

"I'm guessing that the constable who guided you was in fact Bellinega's student," Ben said, cocking an eye at the Bothan.

"We never found out for sure," Laera answered. "But yes, it does seem that way. In fact..."

"What is it?" Luke asked, noticing that the woman's eyes had gone vacant as her words trailed off.

"She's here," Laera replied in an undertone after a few moments of contemplative silence. "T'Yelc is one of the guards keeping an eye on your ship."

"How many others?" Silas asked at once, and all three Jedi closed their eyes.

"No more than two others," Laera said after a beat, then her voice became edged in durasteel. "And...I think they know T'Yelc. Luke, if we're going to take your ship back, we'll never have a better opportunity. If we wait any longer, they just might figure out how to get past that Force-lock of yours and we'll be stuck out here for the rest of our lives!"

"I agree," Silas growled. "The time for action is now."

Father and son exchanged glances while Laera and Silas retreated back to their den, pulling a heavy woolen curtain across the entrance. Ben was first to break the silence. "Well Dad, what do you think?"

"I'm thinking that Laera isn't quite sure if she can trust this Sa'ari she mentioned," Luke replied. "But I'm also fairly certain that she's willing to bet that T'Yelc is on her side."

"Well then, we'd better get ready to move out as well," Ben quipped.

&mdash; &mdash; &mdash;

Fifteen minutes later, the party of four were snaking their way stealthily through the undergrowth surrounding the towering trunks of tuskwood. The fire had been extinguished through the simple (for Laera, anyway) task of using the Force to create an airtight barrier over it. Both Marines were dressed in full battle regalia, which Luke had to admit was an impressive sight. Their armor was well beyond stormtrooper grade, and he supposed that it might even be considered of equal worth to Mandalorian beskar'gam. He didn't want to have to see that supposition put to the test, of course, but it was a comforting thought nevertheless.

The party moved in two groups of two, each keeping no less than ten meters apart as they progressed toward the clearing. Ben walked with Silas in the lead, while Luke brought up the rear with Laera. "Luke, I truly am sorry about what happened earlier," she whispered through her helmet.

"I don't blame you," the Jedi Master whispered back. "Ben actually accused you of mentally torturing me."

"He wasn't that far off," "Laera muttered, a note of self-loathing in her voice. "You've raised a sharp kid, you should be proud."

"I understand why you did it, though," Luke reassured her. "You're still coming to terms with what's happened, and naturally you would feel angry and hurt. Your intentions were honorable, and you did at least manage to get through to me and drive home a few pointers. On reflection, it's probably better this way, because now you know how the galaxy has changed."

"It certainly has," Laera replied with a sigh. "Things were much simpler when it was just us against the Mandalorians, and that didn't really change much when the Sith returned. Back then Silas and I could always figure out who our friends were, and even though most of Revan's people had once served the Republic, they wore their new hearts on their sleeves and were easily identified."

"And now you've come forward to a galaxy rife with intrigue," Luke said, blowing a sigh of his own. "One that's still trying to come to terms with seventy years of near-constant strife."

"I can handle war," Laera growled. "If we get off this rock, the first thing I'm going to do is 'arrange' a meeting with this Natasi Daala character. From what I gather, she's a bit of a female chauvinist as well as a control freak and hardcore militarist."

"You know, that first thought hadn't occurred to me before," Luke replied in an undertone, slightly taken aback. "How do you know this?"

Laera tapped her helmet twice as though the answer were obvious. "Judging by your past dealings, she and I are not all that dissimilar, personality-wise," she explained. "We even share a certain mistrust for the Jedi, though as you can tell I've long since come to terms with that particular issue. I won't know for sure until I meet her, but it may be possible to convince her, one soldier to another, to back off a little or try to come to some sort of agreement that everyone can live with."

"You do know that she had once made it her life's goal to wipe us all out, right?" Luke retorted with a barely-suppressed chuckle.

"I'm actually counting on that," Laera said, grinning beneath her visor.

A few moments later, Luke noticed an oddity in Laera's left shoulder plate, as though it had been scorched and then patched with improvised materials. “What happened to your shoulder,” he asked.

“A souvenir from my last combat mission,” she remarked ruefully. “During the fight aboard Revan's flagship, the squad I was with got pinned down in a corridor between two platoons of troopers. As I attempted to deflect and redirect the blaster shots from one group, the others exchanged fire with my people, and I got hit in the scuffle. If it hadn't been for the timely arrival of Lieutenant Ibratu'na and the squad he was leading, we would have been overrun and killed in short order.”

“I see,” Luke replied. “What did you use to fix the hole?”

“Tree sap mixed with sand,” she said. “The plate will need replacing, of course...”

The two fell silent as they continued to make their way through the darkness toward where the Jade Shadow had been parked. Several meters ahead, Ben and Silas were having their own muted discussion.

"...and astronavigation hasn't really changed all that much, either," the younger Skywalker was saying. "The only difference now is that astromech droids have become small enough for starfighters to use."

"I have to admit to being surprised at that," the Bothan replied. "How does that saying go? 'Every year ships get a little faster, droids get a little smarter, and everyone's waistline expands an inch or two,' I think."

Ben managed to smother a peel of laughter; he'd heard the very same sentiment expressed once by a friend of his father's, Booster Terrik. "Basically, you'll just have to relearn all the frequencies and channels, then you'll be well on your way. Fortunately, Aunt Leia knows a guy who can help with that, an old slicer named Ghent who worked as the chief of New Republic Intelligence's cryptanalysis division. He retired a couple of years after the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, I think, but he still does freelance work for the Order."

"HK-47 won't know what to do with himself," Silas muttered with amusement. "I'm sure assassin droids these days are a thousand times more advanced."

"Nope, just smaller," Ben smirked. "They're still illegal, but nowadays bounty hunters prefer to work with hunter-seeker probes and the like, or just do it themselves. I've never actually heard of that droid designation, what's it like?"

Silas considered that for a moment as the two continued sneaking along the forest floor. "Bipedal, rust-red, and a bit like a protocol droid on hyperstims," he said finally. "Or else a well-built combat unit that can be as subtle or obvious as he wants to be. And he's got a very sarcastic personality."

"Some groups have outfitted battle droids for assassination, but no company I know of makes a purpose-built model," Ben replied. "He sounds like quite a character."

"Assuming you like to be referred to as a 'meatbag' all the time, then yes," Silas chortled. "We had to leave him be&mdash;"

Stopping mid-word, the armored Bothan crouched on one knee and held up his right hand to call for a halt. Flicking a switch with his tongue, he activated his helmet's thermal visor mode and began to scan the area ahead of them. "The clearing's not too far off, but someone may be going for a stroll," he explained.

"I don't sense anything nearby," Ben replied, his voice barely above the night breeze that had sprung up around them.

"You don't know the Sa'ari," Silas advised. "Laera tells me that they can 'shroud' themselves in the Force, so that someone who is unfamiliar with their species can't detect them."

"What's going on?" Luke asked as he and Laera caught up.

"Nothing to worry about," the armored woman replied as she too knelt on the ground. "Silas is just following his training. It would be poor form to barge in without scouting the place out first. There might be a couple of lighters hiding on the other side of the clearing; even I can't detect them when they do not wish to be found."

"Wouldn't they have picked up on us by now?" Ben inquired.

"Not if you've been keeping your own signature dimmed," Laera replied. "I've been covering for both Silas and myself, and Luke can also hide quite well."

"How do you want to play this?" Luke asked.

"Stay here and keep watch on T'Yelc and her cohorts. I'll go around the other side and see if I can find something interesting." And without another word, Laera disappeared into the gloom.

Several terse minutes passed, the rustling of leaves and the occasional call of a nocturnal avian the only sounds. Luke relaxed into the Force and attempted to seek out any possible ambushers for himself; he immediately sensed the presence of the three guards, one of which was quite strong and glowed with her own intense luminosity. This had to be Pelenora T'Yelc, who despite being quite detectable, betrayed nothing of how she felt or what she was thinking. Other then the three Sa'ari, nothing else was discernible beyond the background life-energy of the forest and its fauna.

Ben had just begun to extend his own awareness when Laera touched their minds with the Force, signalling an all-clear and that she would be returning momentarily.

&mdash; &mdash; &mdash;

I crept slowly back toward where Silas and the Skywalkers waited for me, still trying to penetrate Pelenora's mental defenses. The police officer-cum-lighter, however, was equal to the task; while I could have gone for a direct psychic assault, that would surely have given away my presence, and I wanted this to be a surprise. The fact that no one else was around was a bit of a relief, but that didn't mean we could approach casually. One call on their satellite comlinks and a dozen helicopters would arrive, raining down reinforcements that would cut us to ribbons.

Circling back toward the others I removed the lightsaber from my belt, taking a moment to fully appreciate it for the first time in months. When I rejoined them, it was to find that both Jedi had gotten the same idea, with Silas having unlimbered his DL-3. "Move out," I whispered, drawing my own sidearm and tossing it to him. "Line abreast formation."

As we marched silently toward the ship I took up station to Silas's left, Ben marching on my left, with his father to Silas's right. After a few minutes of pacing, we began to see a thinning of the darkness overhead as the space between trees grew larger. The night was magnificently clear, stars shone down upon the clearing along with both T'las and T'lec, bathing it with enough pale illumination that one could almost read a flimsi by it. This made the guards easy to spot, and with a nod toward the other two Jedi, I motioned for us to grab their communicators with the Force and take them away.

Their reaction was palpable, but predictable as we cast the devices into the forest. T'Yelc began barking orders in her native tongue, but before either of them could move, three shafts of pure energy burst forth to shatter the gloom. "It's been a long time, Pelenora," I said, doffing my helmet so that she could see my face. "Tell your friends that everything is okay and we can all have a nice chat."

"Very well," she replied, and nodded toward her companions. The three Sa'ari dropped their pistols onto the ground and drew together as we advanced upon them. "I had a feeling that you were somewhere nearby."

"Funny how that works, isn't it?" I asked, though we both knew the question was rhetorical. "Luke, crack her open and let's take this inside."

The Jedi Master nodded, and with a wave of his hand a hatchway opened on the near side, extending an egress ramp. Ben entered the ship and began activating systems as Silas, Luke and I covered the three officers. "Come on up," he shouted after about a minute or so.

"Let's go," I said, waggling my lightsaber for emphasis. The three Sa'ari followed the young Knight into the ship, their eyes darting this way and that as they took in the marvels contained within the hull. Despite the situation they were now in, I could sense the intensity of their curiosity, a sentiment that both Silas and I shared in equal measure though we did our best to keep this hidden. This elegant craft made the Herald-class shuttle we'd stolen from the Sith look like a rusted-out old scow held together with space tape and chewing gum.

Taking the lead, the younger Jedi guided us to the ship's mess area, which had been equipped with a real table that sat four. I nodded at the Sa'ari officers, indicating that they should sit; deactivating my weapon, I took the seat across from Pelanora, while Silas and the Skywalkers watched over us.

"I think introductions are in order," I began, gazing at the three natives in turn. "For those who don't know, I'm Laera Reyolé; the furry guy behind me is Silas Dan'kre, and we're the original Starborne Ones. These two are Luke and Ben Skywalker, and like me they are also possessed of the Blue Light. Now, I believe it's your turn."

The officer sighed audibly, leaning forward and placing her elbows on the table. "There really isn't any call for such a display, you know," she began, a mix of resignation and relief in her voice. "To my left is Iper T'Royc, to my right is Fua T'Ooro, and we three all serve Eldarch Bellinega in our own ways."

I closed my eyes and bowed my head as Silas and the Jedi put their weapons away. "I'm glad to hear that," I replied. "But until I could be sure, we had to take every precaution."

"I understand, Starborne One," Pelenora replied. "T'lessia has gone through many changes since you took flight last year. You were correct in your intuition; mere hours after your departure, a Hiltone commando team arrived at the monastery with a writ of search from the Lawyteret Council of Justice itself. They seized your machine and though they did not believe the Eldarch's assurances that you had fled without her aid or support, they lacked proof enough to arrest her."

"On what charges?" I asked, stunned.

"Collaboration with the enemy, of course," T'Royc answered.

"The Hiltone-controlled coalition had declared all off-worlders as enemies of the Sa'ari," T'Ooro added. "But as my superior has said, much has changed since then."

"There is a fascinating word in your language, called 'serendipity' I believe," Pelenora continued. "As it happens, you had arrived during a planetary election year. Our political cycles can be complex, but once every sixteen of our years the elections for all the important offices merge into one voting day. Representatives to the various republics' own national lawytes; national governors, sub-governors, and secretaries, and delegates to the global Lawyteret itself are all decided upon. Even as you had come to us, the various campaigns were already underway.

"Once you had gone into hiding, however, Eldarch Bellinega campaigned tirelessly in your stead, though she made it appear as though her message was of her own inspiration. She traveled from republic to republic and city to city, imploring the citizenry to embrace peace once more. She freely admitted that the call to global unity had been made in haste, and that the systems that had so long worked for our people should not be abandoned overnight."

"So...what happened?" Silas asked hesitantly.

"The Hiltone dictatorship, fearing that they would in turn be deposed democratically, canceled their own election at the last moment. This had a ripple effect on the rest of T'lessia, however; the junta lost all support in the Lawyteret when delegates from other allied nations were voted out of office and replaced with more amicable candidates. Seeking to reestablish their power through martial means, Hiltonian forces invaded three neighboring republics, and even launched a bombing raid on Tal'adin City itself."

At that point, I could have happily cut my own head off. Not only had I tossed Sa'ari society into chaos, but I'd also started a devastating war. The magnitude of my blunder had been made clear as it had never been before.

Pelenora seemed to notice my discomfiture, however, for she smiled sadly. "The retaliatory strikes all but destroyed Hiltone as a military power, as every other republic had united against them and contributed what they could to the effort. The junta surrendered as troops from the united forces marched on their headquarters, and emergency elections were held the next day. The conflict was brief, but bloody; it lasted for only thirteen days but claimed the lives of half a million Sa'ari, with many more left injured or homeless. We have spent the last five months rebuilding, and our society is slowly returning to normal though we still harbor a certain fear of outsiders. Indeed, after the armistice the republics agreed to unite their military forces, though the individual nations would retain political autonomy; this is something that has never happened before in the history of our world. Under this new system, only the Lawyteret itself can authorize a military action, and they authorized one when our satellites detected this ship as it landed.

"When the Eldarch sensed the arrival of the Skywalkers, as you call your companions, she manipulated events so that only those in the T'lassian Defense Force who served the Order of the Blue Light would be dispatched to watch it. When my colleagues found your vessel to be empty, they assumed that its occupants had gone into the wilderness, perhaps in search of you, and chose to stand vigil. After a day they were relieved, and we were sent to maintain guard in the hope that you would seek out us, the new arrivals. It seems that our hopes were well-placed."

"There's still one thing I don't quite understand," Ben said after a momentary silence. "You clearly possess a sufficient level of technology to detect incoming spacecraft, yet our own sensors do not work at all, out to a distance of millions of kilometers."

"You know, that's a fair point," Silas put in, looking from the Jedi Master to Pelenora and then at me. "As I recall, our shuttle's sensors did in fact work, they just weren't picking up anything. The only instruments we were able to use were the optical scanners, and that's how we managed to find such a fortuitous landing site."

I looked straight into the eyes of the Eldarch's protégé, at first attempting to get a sense of whether or not she was telling the truth. After several moments of terse silence, however, the bland look on my face morphed into a scowl as I felt deeper. "That's all well and good,” I said. “However, I get the feeling that there's more going on. So, are you going to tell them, or should I?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Pelenora replied, arching a quizzical brow.

"Don't play dumb with me!" I barked, slapping the table with both open hands as a sudden realization hit me. "I saw it in the Eldarch's mind when we communed all those months ago, when I taught her of the galaxy, and she taught me of your language and lore! I see it in your eyes, even now you're trying desperately to keep me out! You're the Youngarch, the one ordained to learn the Order's deepest secrets, and to take Bellinega's place when she dies!"

T'Royc and T'Ooro suddenly recoiled from T'Yelc as though she had burst into flame, and their auras surged with shock, anger, awe, even a hint of fear. "So, how long have you been running this little scheme?" I continued doggedly. "Were you going to just murder her, or were you going to have the common decency to wait until she died of natural causes before using the Order's resources to wrest rulership of T'lessia for yourself?"

Pelenora stood up so suddenly that Silas nearly blasted her right there and then; only my raised hand stayed his weapons. "You..." she hissed evilly. "You think you're so clever, that you have all the answers, when you're but a babe in the woods, hiding from her superiors!"

Before I could even formulate a reaction, the Youngarch lashed out with a blast of energy that sent me flying from my chair to slam headfirst into the bulkhead a meter back. Landing on the deck in a heap, I watched blearily as the Skywalkers and the other two Sa'ari attempted to restrain my assailant. But she had no intention of making a fight of it; instead she bolted toward the hatchway with incredible speed, lunging off another bulkhead and out of their attempted grasps.

The blurred form of Silas Dan'kre swam into my field of view, and he was gently probing my cranium for signs of trauma. "Laera, can you hear me?" he asked, his voice echoing painfully in my ears.

"Con...concussion..." I said, my voice slurred. "I'll...be okay. Need...to stop...Pelenora."

"You aren't going anywhere like this," Silas retorted gently but firmly. "You're in no shape to stand, much less run."

"Is it true?" Luke asked, panting slightly as he reentered the impromptu wardroom. "Is she planning some kind of takeover?"

"I caught the flicker of hate when she attacked, Dad," said Ben. "Pelenora T'Yelc is so far into the dark side that she's almost gone full circle."