The Liberator/Part 25

Day 85 of the Occupation of Milagro – Before Dawn

More than once in her life, Haleya had been compelled to inform other beings—Humans and their variations, mainly—that the Cathar were not animals. Though her species was evolving away from some of its more feral traits—enough that fewer and fewer half-traveled fools mistook them for underfed Togorians, at least—only a great fool indeed would have called her Human. Sometimes those traits made her work harder; Humans were ubiquitous and could appear almost anywhere without raising suspicion, but the same could not be said of Cathar. But other times, those very traits which inspired the ignorant to think of Cathar as beasts could help a Cathar Jedi in her shadowed work.

Haleya crept barefoot on her hands and feet, every movement barely more than a whisper in the dark. Her knee coat, boots, and blasters were concealed in her speeder, blocks away, and the soft fabric of her dark garb barely rustled. She carried only a knife and her lightsaber, both snugged into cloth sheaths, and her mane of silvery-gray hair was darkened and snugged into a ponytail. She had not even brought a comlink or her beacon transceiver, but she had no need for mechanical communication, for her mate Trajan stalked through the building, and the Force connected them better than technology ever could.

She felt Trajan's mind pulling her back through the ruined factory, and she crawled past a pile of rubble where the next two floors had caved in, struck by a stray laser from Mali's assault, or perhaps even Gasald's the year before. In the hemisphere opposite Rogeum, Derresor was relaxing into summer after a rainy spring, and a few birds and avian reptiles that had nested in the ruins watched Haleya as she passed. Careful not to disturb them with sudden movements, she crept toward the light just visible at the back of the factory floor.

Two Humans stood guard at the staircase; Haleya and Trajan had already evaded or neutralized half a dozen more in the surrounding blocks. Not a faith of open doors, she thought to herself as she flitted from one shadowed support pillar to another. She watched from fifteen meters away until the brawny shadow that was Trajan melted out of the darkness behind the guards. He wrapped one guard in a rear naked choke; as the Human gasped and his partner turned, Haleya crossed the room at Jedi speed, covered the second Human's mouth with one hand, put her other palm against the base of his skull, and knocked him out with the Force.

They lowered their victims to the floor, Haleya pressing Trajan's into a deeper slumber with the Force. Trajan looked at the dusty duracrete stairs leading down, then held up a single finger, and Haleya got the message: only one way in or out. She held a finger to her lips in reply, then touched her chest and held the finger up. Trajan's bared teeth told her he had understood her too: I'm quieter, so I'll go first.

She slunk down the stairs, the tough soles of her feet untroubled by the pebbles and detritus caking every step. There were no guards at the bottom, only gloom lit every few meters by braziers with dying fires. Shaking the crud from her feet for quiet, she passed through the room, following the firelight toward the sound of voices. She could smell the passage of numerous beings, and when she reached the last brazier, her nose led her down a narrow corridor with pipes and spigots on one wall and stone on the other. The Force sharpened her hunting instincts, and she spotted the sentry droid before it spotted her. Living beings were not the only things Haleya could Stun; she pointed at the droid, and with little more than a telltale wobble, it headed off in another direction without so much as a glance her way.

The corridor ended in a T, but now Haleya's ears led the way for her, and she snuck into the shadows of what she assumed had once been a storage room. There was no perfect hiding spot, but her slender form fit behind one of the room's many columns, and she blended into the darkness. The room was dusty and the air stale, but no creatures had made their way down save the ones Haleya had hunted here.

Mali had given them free rein, and Haleya and Trajan had used that license to pursue the Pastor's followers. Haleya had yet to catch them in criminal acts, but she had seen the way they sought out the beings on the street, the clearly dissatisfied, and preached their faith in the quiet of alleyways or secluded parks. Trajan had uncovered no harder evidence, but they were both convinced of the wrongness underlying the Pastor's religion and his zealous followers. Here, now, Haleya was certain she could at last smoke them out.

Jeh-Kro, the Pastor, sat before his congregation—a smaller crowd by far than he had attracted at the field, but Haleya sensed the rapt attention of every being. His oversized brazier burned behind him, though the fire was kept low and the smoke funneled through a vent in the wall. Jeh-Kro and his acolytes were robed as they had been when Haleya had seen them last, and the fiery brand at the end of Jeh-Kro's staff still burned.

"And Brother Camus's devotion has supplied the faithful with this meeting place," the Pastor was saying; he indicated a Human wearing a maroon robe, who bowed his head. "May you all strive to emulate his faith."

There were approving murmurs through the crowd until Jeh-Kro tapped his staff on the ground; the disproportionate boom echoed through the room. "Now then, children, I'm given to understand that some of you have concerns. Let me be the Goddess's voice to light your way.  Speak."

After a moment of awkward silence, a Human stood. "Pastor, my sponsee Demra has faced challenges for her faith."

The Pastor's eyes zeroed in on the woman in question. "Indeed? Tell me, Demra."

She stood as well, and Haleya sensed her fear. "It's just…I really like being here, Pastor, and everyone's been great—"

"We love having you here, Demra," one of the robed acolytes put in.

"Your faith is an inspiration to our whole family, Demra," another added.

Their praise gave Demra strength. "Thanks, everybody. Things have made a lot more sense since I started destroying my attachments; the little stuff just doesn't matter as much, you know?  It's just…my mom's worried.  She thinks I've been spending too much time here, and since I haven't shared the teachings with her…she's not a member…"

Jeh-Kro raised a hand, and Demra fell silent. "I understand, Demra. Leave your mother's contact information with us, and one of the faithful will speak with her to explain.  But if she turns away from the warmth of the Goddess's fire…remember that you have found your true family here.  You must not forsake the wisdom you have achieved; find in yourself the courage to take the next step in your faith journey."

Demra bowed her head and sat, and several beings around her clapped her shoulders or patted her back to reassure her. Another young man, young enough to still be called a boy, stood and said, "I'm kinda there too, Pastor. My parents said that if I didn't tell them about the teachings, they'd kick me out of the house."

"And did you reveal the Goddess's secrets to them, Obbin?" Jeh-Kro asked.

"No, Pastor, but I left and…and I've just been on the streets for a couple days…"

Jeh-Kro's eyes narrowed. "You too have been given a test for your faith, Obbin—a chance to destroy your old life and create a new one in service to the Goddess. But this business of you living on the streets…no, the Goddess does not demand that test of you."

He looked over his acolytes for a moment, then said, "Fysra."

She bowed her head. "Yes, Pastor?"

"Brother Obbin will live in your house with you for the time being. Provide for his needs and help him grow in faith."

"Of course, Pastor." She smiled at Obbin, and Haleya could almost hear his heart skip a beat. He struggled for speech for a moment, but eventually just bowed and sat.

"Will other voices bring their prayers before the Goddess?" Jeh-Kro asked. When no one spoke, he nodded. "Very well. You all know that the abomination is to take place this day.  Anything that can be done to show the travesty of this election must be done."

Someone raised a hand, and Jeh-Kro pointed with his staff. The man rose and said, "I've been talking to people in my building. Not about the teachings, just, you know, in general.  That the elections are bad—that they're taking us backwards instead of forwards.  I think I've got some of them convinced."

"Good. How many of you have done likewise?" When a few beings raised their hands, Jeh-Kro's eyes narrowed. "So few? Have you forgotten that the Goddess does not exist to serve you, but you her?  Ours is not a faith of empty meditation and mindless scribbling on scrolls that will pass to dust like everything else—our faith is alive!  Fire requires fuel, and if you withhold yours…"

He scowled, and several beings cringed. The Pastor raked them over the coals with his gaze for several seconds, and Haleya felt the tension rising until it infected even her; she extended her claws without meaning to and had to consciously retract them. When more than half the audience was trembling, something in Jeh-Kro's face changed, some tightness around his gleaming eyes relaxed, and relief spread through the room.

"There is still time," he said, his voice soft enough that beings became utterly still to hear him. "The Republic's abomination, Milagro's shameless harlotry, is today. There is time to show your commitment to the faith—to burn down the relics of the past and clear the bramble from the path that leads to the future.  Do not fail again, children—time is short, and we none of us know when we will be called from this life to tend the Goddess's hearth in what waits beyond."

He stood, and his acolytes stood with him. "Remember, children, that the galaxy will seek to preserve what is old, even when it is rotted through. Beings will tempt you with lies, tell you I have enslaved your minds, but you must see the truth: it is they who are enslaved—to the past, to the comfortable, to easy falsehoods instead of the hard, burning truth.  If you struggle, reach out to your sponsors, to those who have already passed through the cleansing flames and emerged purified.  The Goddess has lit her fire in you—do not let unbelievers quench it!  May her fire burn ever in your hearts."

"May her fire burn ever in our hearts!"

The cry filled the room, and then Jeh-Kro thumped the ground with his staff and the faithful began to leave. Using a burst of the Force, Haleya kicked off the pillar and up into the pipes running along the ceiling, holding herself there as beings passed beneath her. She reached into the Force to give Trajan warning—not because she thought he was in danger, but because they had left two unconscious guards over the entrance. As she felt him moving farther away to deal with the matter, she refocused on the room.

Jeh-Kro and his acolytes had not left the room, and a handful of others remained as well. When the sounds of the crowd had faded, Haleya used the cover of Jeh-Kro's voice to drop back to the floor.

"Now then," he said, "they tell me you're having doubts, Famir."

Haleya peeked past her column again and saw a man start to rise, but the beings on either side of him laid hands on his shoulders and tugged him down, shaking their heads. Haleya sensed his disquiet, but he said, "It's just…it seems like a lot, Pastor. Like we should be able to do these things differently."

What things? Haleya thought. Say it, finally, what are you all doing?

"That is your attachment to the old ways talking, Famir," Jeh-Kro assured him. "The old is a comfortable lie; the truth promises you no comfort, only that it is true."

"But…all these people…they can't all be enemies to the truth, can they?"

"You question the Goddess?" Jeh-Kro demanded. "You question what she has revealed through me?"

"I—"

"Do you hold yourself exempt from her demands? Will you spit in the faces of the faithful—of your family—who have done her will without hesitation?  Without cowardice?"

Famir shrank down farther. "I'm just…afraid."

Jeh-Kro sighed, and some of the fire left his eyes. "Would that it were as you say—that unbelievers were not enemies of the faith. But that is a comforting lie we should all like to embrace, and which would lead our faith to destruction.  You must do as I tell you, Famir; only through obedience will you find your way to truth."

Famir said nothing, and Jeh-Kro stood. "I seldom exercise this power, Famir, and…" He hesitated. "…and in truth, it belongs to a higher level of initiation than you're prepared for. But given the circumstances…yes, I suppose, if it would help you…"

"What is it, Pastor?" Haleya sensed the man was nervous, but heard genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Through one of our rites—if the Goddess wills it—I can impart her fire to you directly. Exorcise your fears and burn them in her flame.  You must have faith, of course; fire can not burn stone.  And, as I say, it really belongs to deeper initiation…"

One of the beings seated beside Famir whispered to him, and Famir nodded. "It's…I'm honored, Pastor. I'll try it."

His two colleagues escorted him forward; as all eyes fell on them, Haleya snuck one pillar closer. Jeh-Kro passed his staff to a gray-robed acolyte, and Haleya blinked; she could have sworn the smoldering glow at the staff's tip had dimmed when it passed out of Jeh-Kro's hand. He gestured to the three men. "You'd best help him stand, this can be somewhat uncomfortable. Nothing terrible, you understand, but the Goddess's power can overwhelm you if you aren't ready."

The men took Famir's arms, and Haleya noticed they held him tight enough that he could not move away. Jeh-Kro reached beneath his glittering robe and produced a dagger, and Famir jerked. "Wait. Pastor, what—"

"I mean you no harm, my child," the Pastor crooned. "I must merely open a channel for the Goddess's fire."

He reached out, opened Famir's shirt as the man tried to pull away, and laid the knife over the man's chest. "O Goddess, the one whose name must not be named, open a path for your fire to enter this man's heart," Jeh-Kro intoned. "Open a way for the truth to enter in and purge the temptations that haunt him."

"Wait—!"

Haleya reached for her lightsaber, but she sensed only a flash of pain and smelled only hint of blood in the air. Even Famir stopped struggling. "That…that's it?"

"You must have faith, Famir," the Pastor chided him. "Relax and open your mind to her will. The Goddess will protect her own.  You see?"

He held his hand over the humanoid-sized brazier, close enough to the glowing coals that it should have hurt. He showed no discomfort, not even when he reached into the fire and drew out a coal. It smoked on his hand, but his face betrayed not even a tic. He strode forward, the glowing coal in hand.

"This man has opened his mind to your truths, O Goddess. Open your black eyes, we pray, that he may see you and know you.  Let your fire burn away the lies in his heart!"

"Let your fire burn away the lies in his heart!" the acolytes chanted.

Jeh-Kro reached out and held the coal to Famir's chest. Famir hissed in pain, but Haleya sensed the Force at work; her ears backed and she bared her fangs. Distantly, she sensed Trajan reacting to her sudden tension, but across the room, the Force flowed from Jeh-Kro to Famir. Famir gasped, his back arching…and then Haleya sensed his mind relaxing, smoothing into compliance, and Jeh-Kro drew the coal away.

"Speak, Brother Famir," the Pastor urged him. "Speak what the Goddess has shown you!"

"You're right, Pastor," Famir said; Haleya thought he might be crying. "I see it…I'm so sorry I doubted."

"Doubt plagues many, my child, but the strong destroy it."

"I can see now…you're right…we have to act."

And Haleya had to act too. She had sensed it for herself, felt a different kind of truth twisting her stomach into knots. She drew her lightsaber hilt and centered herself in the Force. Trajan, she thought, we must move.

"As I said," Jeh-Kro agreed, while Famir's restrainers helped him sit back down. "The Goddess has made her will known to me, and now to Brother Famir. Do any others dare to doubt her?!"

No one spoke, and Jeh-Kro took back his staff. "Now then, children, you know what you must do. Go forth and do the Goddess's will.  May her flames burn down your enemies and clear your way."

All the faithful except the acolytes were close to the door, Haleya sliding around the pillar out of their line of sight, when Jeh-Kro spoke again.

"Hold, my children."

The footsteps stopped.

Jeh-Kro inhaled, and when he spoke, Haleya heard a smile in his voice. "Remember, children, that the Goddess will prevail in the end. Destroy whatever holds you back from full commitment to her will.  Destroy the unbelievers, and spread the flame until the entire galaxy is alight with truth."

Boom fell the staff. Boom. Boom. Haleya heard the footsteps beneath and judged he was in the center of the room. She risked a glance around the pillar and found those lavender eyes staring right at her.

"The Jedi have come to kill me, my children. May the Goddess's fire burn ever in your hearts."

He raised his staff, and as it began, Haleya ignited her blade.