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Awakening	By : laloga13 Category: Star Wars (All) > Het - Male/Female Views: 4569 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Still don't own Star Wars, nor do I make any money from this.

Chapter List
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Chapter Two

It was a short journey to the caverns through the jungle, most of which was along slender game-trails and through thick brush. One of the clones who had met them at the landing area – an obvious shiny named Quarry – accompanied them to the site, which put the captain a little more at ease as they followed behind the two Jedi who were talking quietly about people and places that he supposed they shared from their pasts.

After a few minutes, Stonewall glanced at the younger clone who walked beside him, noting how the trooper's back was ramrod straight and his visor was fixed directly ahead, as if he were afraid to look any other direction. A few blinks into his HUD allowed the captain to activate a closed-comm channel with the other trooper. “Seen much action, soldier?”

Quarry glanced at him, the black visor of his helmet dappled by the light filtering in from the canopy. “No sir, Captain, sir. My squad was sent here right from Kamino. Sir.”

As Stonewall bit back a chuckle at the younger man's formality, he wondered if Kalinda's attitude was starting to rub off on him. A few moments later, the group passed through a low-hanging strand of moss, and he spoke again. “What's been going on around here?”

The younger clone shifted his weapon as his helmet tilted, indicating that he was glancing around the area; here, the jungle was thick and green and pervasive.“I...I don't really know, sir. General Tallis and several of the Corps folks didn't want us clones in the area at first, but then...something happened. I'm not sure, exactly, but the General said that she felt a...a disturbance of some kind, and she sent word to the Core.”

“What kind of disturbance?”

“I dunno, sir,” Quarry replied in a nervous voice. “But whatever it was had all those Corp folks running like...well, let's just say that none of them will go near the caverns now.”

Stonewall felt a thrill of apprehension and took a breath to set it aside. “Well, perhaps General Halcyon will be able to suss out what the trouble is.”

They reached the cavern a few minutes later, in an innocuous area of jungle that opened up to a patch of blue sky. Here, the air was still and silent and Stonewall could hear no birdsong nor animal noises of any kind, which set him on his guard: the presence of local fauna was the first indicator of a potentially hostile situation. The wind was absent, as if the world was holding its breath.

Both Jedi stood before the mouth of cavern and regarded it for a moment before General Tallis put her arms around her sides. “You feel it, don't you? Something's not right.”

Kalinda nodded and stepped forward to the entrance, running her hand along the outer edges. “These inscriptions: were you able to translate them?”

“Our droid couldn't read them,” the younger woman replied. “So I sent the analysis to the Core a week ago, but I haven't heard back from the Temple yet.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Kalinda said. Her dark eyes fell on the other Jedi, then Quarry, resting on Stonewall last; he gave her a small nod, so that she would know he was ready, then she glanced back at the gaping maw of the cavern. “Let's investigate.”

Once the group was inside the cavern, the sample of air that he allowed to filter in through his helmet smelled oddly sweet – not at all what Stonewall had been expecting. In addition to the lamps on his and Quarry's buckets, the Corps had set up a system of lights that allowed the group to see where they were walking, so they ventured deeper and deeper underground until General Tallis paused, the others stopping with her.

“We're nearly there.” Despite the fact that her voice was hushed, it echoed through the chamber, and the Jedi Knight glanced at Quarry and Stonewall as she added: “Be on your guard.”

On some unseen signal the two women stepped forward, their footsteps barely making a scrape against the gravely floor as they entered what looked to be a massive room, covered in the precious fungus.

There was what appeared to be an altar of some kind at the center of the room, the platform of which was carved in intricate, swirling patterns that did not seem to have a particular shape or form, at least to Stonewall's untrained eye. There were more of the strange carvings here that had been at the entrance, but all of it was overshadowed by an oppressive feeling that Stonewall could only think of as heavy. Kalinda approached the altar and held her right had over it, her eyes closed.

“Master-” General Tallis stepped forward, but a sudden, otherworldly shrieking sound startled all of them, the clones raising their blasters and Tallis drawing her lightsaber as the noise echoed in the massive chamber.

“Wait...put your weapons down and listen,” Kalinda said, her eyes still closed. Glancing at one another dubiously, Stone and Quarry lowered their blasters, but General Tallis kept her saber raised as she watched her former master and the altar with a cautious gaze.

Suddenly, the entire area grew still, more so than before, and the pressure seemed to change, causing Stonewall's ears to pop even within his bucket. In the next moment, a miasma of swirling light appeared before the dark-haired woman, casting them all in an otherworldly, green glow. Again, the clones raised their weapons but Kalinda only opened her eyes.

“Who are you?” she said, her voice quiet in the torrid air.

Stonewall was fully prepared to start shooting something, so he was stunned when the shrieking morphed into – of all things – a voice. Raspy and resonant, it filled the entire cavern and sent the hairs on the back of his neck at attention. “A prisoner, trapped in this place for a thousand years...and you. You are a Jedi. A true Jedi, at long last.”

Eyes wide, Kalinda glanced at her former Padawan; the younger woman looked incredulous and slightly fearful as she spoke. “This is new to me.”

The dark-haired Jedi looked around the room, her gaze meeting Stonewall's visor for a moment; he knew her well enough to discern that she was disturbed by the strange voice, and that she was attempting to hide it. As he'd done before, he nodded to her once. I'm here, Kalinda. You can count on me.

He took pleasure in the fact that she seemed heartened, and watched as she raised her face to the swirling light that was wreathing about the altar like smoke. It was bright enough to illuminate her dark eyes, giving the appearance that they were glowing. “What do you know of the Jedi?”

There was silence for a long minute or two, which caused everyone's nerves to fray a bit more. Quarry shifted beside Stonewall, glancing from the altar to the Jedi and back to the cavern's entrance with undisguised longing;. That wouldn't do; everyone needed to keep a cool head, shiny or not, so Stonewall gave the younger man a nudge, a silent order to be still.

“For so long, I have waited for one such as you,” the voice replied at last.

Tallis had lowered her lightsaber, though it was still ignited, its emerald glow nearly getting lost in the diaphanous light that hovered before them. “What are you? Why did you not reveal yourself sooner? I am also a Jedi, you know.”

“Honi...” Kalinda's voice was a warning.

The spirit made a strange gurgling sound that might have been laughter, if Stonewall's imagination had been better. “You are not an adequate option, young one. No, it is only you, Kalinda, who can help me. I have...a boon to ask of you, Jedi.”

Something within Stonewall tensed at the sound of his general's name from the eerie voice, and he could see that she'd also grown still. He wondered if she would ask how it knew such a thing, but she didn't. “And what might that be?”

“I was trapped here, so long ago,” the spirit began. “By a traveler who was strong in that thing which you call the Force. My people lived on this planet, built those ruins that you have no doubt seen; I was a humble acolyte of our goddess, and I came across her ship. I tried to help her, but she was wounded and angry.

“She forced my spirit from my body so that she could take it for herself, cursing me to stay in this cave until one of her enemies – a Jedi, who were all but extinct at the time – could release me. In her arrogance, she assumed that such a time would never come.”

There was a pause, as if the disembodied voice was considering its words, which did nothing to set Stonewall's mind at ease. It had to be a trick of some kind, he knew, but he was sorely out of his league when it came to this mystical stuff. The only thing to do, he reasoned, was to wait and watch, and be prepared to do whatever was necessary to help Kalinda, should the need arise.

Finally, the voice spoke again. “Yet, here you are. Only a Jedi can help me; only a Jedi can transport me to the sacred grove of my ancestors and set my soul at peace.”

The Jedi looked at one another incredulously before Kalinda turned back to the spirit, her tone thoughtful. “If I were to agree to help you, how would I do such a thing?”

“Master-”

“You would simply allow me to enter you,” the spirit replied. “And journey to the sacred grove that is located not far from this place. I would not harm your body, or touch your mind; on that you have my word.”

Kalinda raised her eyebrow. “Your word? Forgive me, but that is cold comfort, considering that we have no way of knowing if you speak the truth.”

“Master,” Tallis hissed, raising her lightsaber. “Why are you still talking to it?”

Stonewall was wondering much the same thing, but he kept his mouth shut and watched his general as she ignored her former Padawan. “I want some proof of this before I will agree to anything. Surely that's not an unreasonable request?”

There was an ominous silence and the light dimmed, leaving the group in almost darkness. Quarry raised his weapon and glanced around the cavern, his head jerking from side to side as he searched for the spirit. Stonewall put his hand on the younger clone's shoulder and shook him slightly. “Get a hold of yourself, soldier,” he said, his voice quiet but firm. “Keep your mind on the mission.”

Quarry nodded as he lowered his blaster, only to lift it again as the spirit-voice returned, sounding petulant. “I am an incorporeal being. Would you have me produce witnesses? You must help me, Jedi. You must.”

Kalinda shook her head and signaled the others to leave. “I must do nothing. However, when I return to Coruscant, perhaps I can do some research-”

Suddenly, the glowing, spirit-light flashed with such intensity that even the clones were temporarily blinded through their helmets; a high-pitched wail filled the chamber, reverberating in their ears. Through the chaos, Stonewall watched as the green smoke-light seemed to envelope Kalinda, causing her to shriek once before falling to her knees on the cavern floor. The light penetrated her, then vanished.

All was still.
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Awakening