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voidendron · 6 days ago

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Echoes of a Past Forgotten

Characters: Farsc Jo'll (he/she, Cathar Hybrid), Nylvash Jo'll (she/her, Cathar Hybrid), Synnda V'ehsz (he/him, Zabrak, Third Barsen'thor)

Warnings: Major Character Death (Force Ghosts)

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51 ABY, Bogano

Farsc was learning to trust his senses.

It was hard, but he was learning.

His mother cautioned him. Even now, he could see the fear glinting in her eyes when he tested his gift. Could hear it in the way her breath hitched, the way her back stiffened, her ears pricking for the sound of approaching steps.

But she never stopped him. For it was a gift, she said.

But she’d fought, and lost so much, for him to be allowed to use it without danger.

That war may have ended long before he was born, but his mother had fought in it. She had the scars to show for it.

And now… Well. His senses had told him to come here.

Flower had arched a brow when she couldn’t find the world on any maps. Yudre had growled under his breath about getting lost and how their stolen rust bucket would never make the trip.

But Farsc knew.

Somewhere, deep down, it pulled at her. Beckoned her closer, led the way when she didn’t know where to go.

And so, here her little crew found itself.

None of them knew what this world was called. Driver had perked up when they flew past an artificial structure; while what Farsc sensed was farther away, he was curious to look around the place, himself. (Though the massive creature near it may have the crew changing their mind. It didn’t seem to care about their presence, but it could have easily swatted the Star Hopper from the air had it the desire to.)

What Farsc sensed was… she didn’t know. Welcoming, yet foreboding; gentle, yet terrifying. It beckoned, laced with a curiosity of its own. It felt safe, yet also like it could snuff out a life in an instant if it needed to.

As the Hopper got closer—closer—the presence almost felt suffocating.

The Force itself felt alive with electricity; even her mother had begun pacing, Yudre gripped his copilot controls as if his life depended on it, Flower and Driver grew restless. They may not have had the gift of the Force, but whatever it was that called to Farsc…it was so strong that they felt...something, too.

She swallowed, took a breath, and finally went in for a landing.

By that point, the presence felt crushing. It was hard to catch her breath—

Then nothing.

The presence faded in an instant, and she felt more than heard as the rest of her crew took a deep breath.

They’d found it.

Whatever “it” was.

When Farsc stood, he was grateful for the hand that grabbed him by the arm; his legs felt like jelly and he was certain he would have collapsed without that firm touch. Another breath, then he offered a nod to his mother, who released him.

“We’re here,” he said. He grimaced when his voice cracked.

She stepped to the side to let him lead the way; she was the only one to follow. Yudre had upkeep to do on the ancient starship—upkeep that Flower was happy to lend a hand with. Driver, on the other hand, dove into her studies likely to see if she could find anything on the world they were on or what the structure they flew over might have been.

That left Farsc, with Nylvash at his side, to venture toward the cliff’s edge.

“What do you feel?” his mother asked. Her voice was a low rasp; he’d always found comfort in it.

He closed his eyes and curled his tail against his legs, reaching out. The presence pulled, and he nodded.

“This way.”

She didn’t expect to find a path: narrow, a dizzying drop into the clouds (fog?) below, but a path nonetheless. The pair could only walk single-file, lest they risk knocking one another to their deaths. Even so, Farsc found her tail reaching back to gently brush her mother’s leg; it helped her anxiety to feel her mother there, even if she couldn’t glance back at her.

The path wound ‘round, until leading into what Farsc could only describe as a cave. Whether it was natural or not, he couldn’t tell.

The presence felt stronger here.

When he finally looked back at his mother, her ears were low and hand hovering over her blaster.

That was the big difference between the two of them, wasn’t it? Nylvash was a bounty hunter, once upon a time, turned resistance soldier, turned a mother terrified for her child and the gift he revealed as a kitten. She was protective, not hesitating to leap into a fight if it meant protecting one of the few things she had.

But Farsc? Farsca'vennan Jo’ll was a scholar, a curious mind that wouldn’t consider violence as an option until a blaster was already in his face. He was an explorer, a smiling face, ready for the next adventure—even when that meant being laughed out of the academy he once taught at.

Something here…something made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end, however. Maybe Mother was right to react as she did.

There was so much energy here. She wasn’t sure how she could tell, but it felt ancient. It had been here so long…whatever it was outdated even the Empire that her mother had fought all those years ago. At least a thousand years. Maybe older. (And, she hoped, closer to three thousand. What if this was the connection she and the crew had been looking for? What if that’s why it had called out to her from systems away?)

The cave stretched on into various passages.

Farsc felt stuck. Which one..? The presence wasn’t reaching out any longer. Instead, it merely felt like it had surrounded them both completely. A part of her wondered if it would crush them if they chose wrong.

A hand on his elbow, and he swallowed. Mother’s touch had always helped to calm his nerves from the time he was merely a shy kitten. That hadn't changed with age; he wasn't ashamed to admit that.

Tail curling close—deep breath—Farsc picked a passage and started down it; Nylvash remained close at his heel.

Mother may not have felt the Force as he did (and frankly, he thought, she probably never wanted to. not with what she'd experienced. her story of her singular encounter with an Inquisitor sounded petrifying.), but even she seemed to understand whatever energy was here was…powerful. The fact she should feel anything from it at all made Farsc's skin prickle with fear at what they might find.

Despite being covered in fur, Farsc felt…cold. He couldn't help but pull his jacket tighter around himself. (He'd pretend that the plume on his tail didn't also puff up.)

"Whatever it is…we're close." His own voice startled him; it was far too loud in how it echoed around them.

Nylvash only offered a hum in acknowledgement. (Farsc could hear her claws scraping over her blaster, but didn't comment on it.)

Though neither that cave, nor the passeges, were particularly large, each step felt as though it stretched on for eternity. Nerves, Farsc would blame. It was merely nerves.

When the passage came to a dead end ahead, they both slowed their steps. There was something there, though the vines encasing it made it hard to tell exactly what. They buried a vaguely rectangular shape—and Farsc felt drawn toward it to investigate.

She didn't really…get the chance to. A voice startled them both.

…But the fact there was no one to accompany the voice only made the fear dig its claws ever-deeper into Farsc's skin. Nylvash had drawn her blaster and was baring her fangs, while Farsc kept close behind her.

With the start it gave them both, he really wasn't surprised that he hadn't caught what it said.

"H…Hello?" he offered.

"Hello," the voice echoed. Farsc felt another chill; the voice sounded as though it was everywhere at once. It was soft—so much softer than he'd have expected—but that did little to ease his nerves.

"Who's there?"

The voice made a sound that might have been a hum. Or maybe a chuckle…

"You're not who I expected," it said instead, but there was no malice in it. Merely curiosity. Something in Farsc felt as if he'd known this voice, once upon a time. Something about it felt…familiar. Like an old friend.

Farsc took a step toward the vine-infested structure—

—and promptly stumbled backwards into his mother with a hiss.

The figure that appeared was…imposing, to say the least. Much taller than either of them, broad, covered head-to-toe in pale robes, a face covered in tattoos, horns circling its head.

…and it was transparent. A ghost.

The ghost's eyes were gentle, even as its—his?—lips were pulled downward.

Despite his size, Farsc couldn't help but feel that he wouldn't hurt them. This spirit had been what—who—had been reaching out for her, wasn't he?

"Who are you?" Farsc took a step toward the spirit, even as her mother reached out to grab her arm. She didn't glance back at her, merely curled the end of her tail around Mother's ankle reassuringly. Trust me, the gesture said. She felt that they were in no danger here.

The spirit tilted his head. Then, "Synnda V'ehsz." (Farsc could hear her mother typing the name onto the device on her wrist. Good, they could see what they could find on him later.) "You came."

Farsc couldn't help but huff a laugh at that. "How couldn't I?" How couldn't she? Her dreams had become plagued by visions of this world, this…spirit, constantly pulling at her through the Force until she'd finally—finally—followed. "Why did you call to me?"

"Your presence was recognized. I worked closely with your ancestor, long ago."

Farsc glanced back at his mother; her expression must have mirrored his: ears pulled forward, eyes locked onto the gently glowing form, lips parted with unasked questions.

"You…knew the Voidhound?" This…this was the link they'd been looking for! "So you knew of the Alliance?"

The spirit—Synnda—inclined his head in a gentle affirmative. "They had hoped that one day you would come. As did I."

Farsc couldn't help but scrunch his nose. "But…you said you hadn't expected me?"

Synnda's eyes scrunched in what may have been humor; Farsc was starting to wonder if he couldn't smile. "Not you, specifically. But one of the others."

"…Others? I mean, we can go get the rest of the crew—"

"The Alliance—as it is now—believes in reincarnation." Farsc furrowed his brows, lips parted but unable to think of the question he wanted to ask. "As you stand before me, you prove this belief. But I can't say any of us anticipated that it would be Jendrush Sept to take on this task."

Farsc swallowed, tail curling more securely around Mother's ankle. (She'd stiffened behind him, fur bristling.)

"Jendrush..?"

"The 'Voidhound.'"

He couldn't help the startled curse that slipped out; his mother muttered something in disbelief to herself. But Farsc found that he couldn't pay it any mind.

Reincarnation..?

"But I'm…me."

"Yes. And no." Synnda stepped closer, though made no move to touch Farsc. "It's a…complicated, process. The Force is incredibly cautious about those it allows to…'try again,' so to speak. Perhaps you sense familiarity—in me, even—despite never having met another. Perhaps you relive a memory you've never experienced when you dream. Or you may be drawn to do something others may find a fool's errand, if your previous life was determined enough."

"…Exploration. Getting off Coruscant, seeing the stars..?"

(Nylvash's breath caught.)

"Jendrush could never live one place for long. That ship in your possession, it was his home just as much as the stars were."

The strange dreams, the unexplainable familiarity, the obsession to leave his homeworld and never look back if he could just convince Mother to join him… If this spirit was telling the truth…

Farsc took a shaky breath.

"…Why are you telling me this?" Her voice was tiny, and she swallowed.

"When you find them—the 'Alliance,' though they don't call themselves that any longer—they will ask. Who you are now—and who you were. They will ask questions you don't realize you know the answer to. They will demand proof."

He turned away, toward the vines. A gentle wave of the hand, and they began to recede as if they were the fingers of some ancient creature.

It was then that Farsc realized what they covered was a coffin. Stone—no, many of them—stacked together with utmost care. The vines retreated back inside where they had once grown from, no longer offering that blanket of protection over the stones.

Farsc approached with caution—

And couldn't help the way her breath caught at seeing the body within. A skeleton, with horns circling its skull, robes that may have once been white worn away by thousands of years. The left arm and leg were the rusted remains of cybernetic limbs—as was a structure within the ribcage. A heart. A cybernetic heart.

Swallowing thickly, she glanced up to the spirit—then back at the body—back to the spirit. His expression was solemn.

However, he didn't pause. "Take my lightsaber—" When Farsc could stomach another look, she noticed it clutched carefully beneath the remaining hand; the vines once surrounding the makeshift coffin still clung to the hilt where they sprouted from within the weapon, "—as it will provide the proof they desire. Show it respect and care, and it will grant it to you in turn."

Farsc couldn't move. Frozen in place, she felt like she wanted to bolt right back to the ship, take off, and never look back.

Another part of her couldn't do that. She—the crew—had come this far. It wouldn't be fair to any of them if she abandoned this now.

With a steeling breath and her mother's hand on her shoulder, she gingerly pulled the weapon away. So very carefully so as to disturb the body as little as possible. (Maybe she was imagining it, but she thought she caught a spark of gratitude in the spirit's eyes.)

Awkwardly, she inclined her head in a bow; Synnda returned it. Then, "If you were waiting for me…will you finally rest?"

He glanced away, shook his head. "I wish to see another first. You'll meet him soon, I presume; do send him my way when you do. We have much to catch up on."

Before either Farsc of Nylvash could ask who, he was gone.

Another deep breath, and she glanced down at the hilt in her hand. The vines shifted slowly beneath her touch: fitting themselves between her fingers, beneath her palm, molding the grip perfectly to her hand.

A glance at Mother, whose expression was difficult to read.

This…explained so many things.

But it complicated even more.

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voidendron · 8 days ago