During the days that passed, Fane expressed that he preferred to be left alone, though he also spent a lot of time with Brenum and Trylia rather than the others. However, he invited Talyc along for their discussions often, but Talyc could not accept, he could not bear to be in Fane’s presence in the state he was in. Meanwhile, Shadie and Knarf meditated by the Sphere, as it had closed itself up again, trying to communicate with it, trying to awaken it.
In this way, the Jedi could lay low deep under the waters of Manaan, while Talyc and Nriwe outfitted some of the other submersibles with beskar armour, keeping busy.
Talyc sat near a transparisteel pane, taking a well-deserved break, looking out at the ocean, and observing the little fish swimming by. Someone approached. Talyc looked over his shoulder; his heart skipped a beat.
‘Fane,’ he said. He looked back out at the ocean.
Fane sat beside Talyc. ‘I’m sorry, you know. I wish I could remember you. I see the way you look at me, and…I quite like it, to be honest.’
Talyc looked at Fane, his man’s smile was playful. ‘You’re so handsome, Fane. You’re my man, and yet right now you’re not.’
‘I’ll be honest with you, Talyc; I’ve never actually quite felt anything towards anyone. But with you…’ Fane seemed to struggle to find his words. He chuckled. ‘Look at me; I’m a nervous wreck. And it’s not because I know you’re my husband. I just, I can’t explain it.’
Talyc turned back to look out the viewport; he held in his tears.
‘Tell me, how did we meet?’ asked Fane.
‘On Mandalore,’ said Talyc. His voice was low and filled with the grief he felt. ‘Shadie was training you while you were in exile. I tried to distract myself from my growing feelings for you, and I had almost successfully dismissed them. But it was on Coruscant when I realised that…that…’ His voice cracked. He swallowed. ‘That I was in love with you when you… You saved my life. You keep saving my life.’
There was a brief pause.
Talyc reached for his datapad and showed Fane some holoimages of them together. Talyc retold the story of how they met for the very first time; about the night they both expressed their feelings for each other. Talyc showed Fane holoimages of their wedding night. He explained about his capture, the escape, about most of what had been going on.
‘That’s pretty amazing,’ said Fane. ‘You know, I’d be willing to start again if you’d like to go out with me when we get back to Mandalore.’
Talyc stared at Fane. There was something in his eyes, a longing deep inside him that Fane probably didn’t understand himself. It was the look Fane sometimes gave Talyc, and all Talyc wanted was his Fane back.
‘I’m willing to try that, yes,’ said Talyc. Fane smiled.
After staring at each other for another long moment, Fane leaned in to kiss Talyc, but Talyc quickly turned his head and stood abruptly.
‘I’m sorry, I can’t!’ He turned back around and looked at Fane. ‘I haven’t told you everything. I’ve done things, and I need to be honest with you before we…’ He paused.
‘It’s okay, whatever it is. I’m sure it’s not that bad,’ said Fane.
‘I kissed another man! And there is no excuse for it. I was angry, I was scared, I thought you might die. I drank, and drank, like I always used to do. I got myself more drunk than I think I’d ever been. And then I kissed Vax.’
‘And then I still married you?’ asked Fane. Talyc nodded. ‘I must be barvier than I thought, but it sounds like I forgave you, so why didn’t you forgive yourself?’
Talyc didn’t know what to reply. ‘You said barvier,’ was all he could manage.
‘Right now, it’s as though I’m an outsider looking in,’ Fane explained. ‘For one, it’s not upsetting me. And secondly, you didn’t have to tell me, you could have kept it from me; but you’re an honest man, Talyc. I’m sorry I tried to push, I thought it’s what you wanted.’
‘What do you want?’ asked Talyc.
‘Honestly? I just want to remember, and I just want to chat.’
Talyc nodded. ‘Okay. Then, let’s chat.’
Fans and Talyc abut to kiss on Manaan (from Connections in the Force, Story 11, Star Wars Fan-Fiction by Celinka Serre)
* * *
Shadie sat focused on the Sphere, forcing, a headache coming on from the strain.
‘We’ll be here for ages if I don’t figure out how to get the Sphere to “wake up.”‘
‘Well,’ said Mrs. Holt, ‘half the station is designed to separate from the rest, if that can help. It’s never been done, though; it’s a prototype. No guarantees, lots of tests to be made. But it’s also designed to be space worthy.’
‘Why didn’t you say so?’ Shadie looked at her incredulous.
‘Uh, shock, maybe? I’ve been stunned and stumped.’
‘Right, sorry.’
Nriwe dropped a stray business card on the floor as she was rummaging through some things.
‘Hey, is that that Rattataki’s business card?’ asked Shadie.
‘Yeah, she was handing these out like candy,’ said Nriwe. ‘Real annoying, always in our face, making sure we had one.’
‘Do you recognise the emblem on the back though?’ asked Shadie. ‘I’ve seen it before, though I’m not sure where.’
‘Let’s have a look,’ said Mrs. Holt. ‘Oh, I saw it on Nar Shaddaa last I was there. Who was it, a Miraluka.’
‘Miraluka?’ Shadie looked at her datapad quickly and at one of the messages she’d received from Storimbu. The emblem was there next to his signature mark. She smiled. ‘The Protectors of the Force have an emblem. The Rattataki is a Protector. Storimbu sent some of them on Manaan, how sweet of him, making sure we’re safe.’
As she was observing the emblem, another message came in and right away worry set into her heart.
‘My love, what’s wrong?’ asked Knarf.
‘It’s Storimbu. Awgro found him and the others on Nar Shaddaa, tortured and nearly killed him. Awgro wanted to know where we were; he knew we weren’t at the Crypt.’
‘So the ruse wasn’t enough of a ruse then to thwart off my former apprentice?’ Void scowled.
‘No, and that’s not all. Maranna knew we were on Manaan. I played up we were going to return to Mandalore. I guess she figured out our plan. She’s betrayed the Protectors of the Force and left with Awgro. I don’t know what went on, but Storimbu says that Awgro is now on his way here.’
‘Mrs. Holt,’ said Knarf, ‘how quickly can you get this station ready for takeoff?’
‘I’ll need a few hours at best,’ she replied. ‘Hopefully, your Sith won’t arrive quite yet. Besides, he doesn’t know where on the planet you are, so that should hold him off even longer until I have things set in place. Lockdowns need to be made, systems need to be prepped up.’
Shadie nodded and picked up her comlink; she contacted the number on the card.
‘It’s Shadie, Awgro’s on his way.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ came the voice. ‘Storm contacted me just moments ago. Some of us are positioning ourselves to follow Awgro once he arrives. We’ll make sure he stays on the surface. Wherever he goes, we’ll go, so if you encounter him, know that we’re not far behind.’
The Rattataki chimed out.
‘Let’s round up the others,’ said Shadie, looking at Knarf and Nriwe. ‘We need to find them all.’
‘I’ll go see if I can find Talyc,’ said Knarf.
‘I’ll go find Brenum and Trylia,’ said Nriwe.
‘I’ll go find Fane.’ Shadie started off.
‘I’ll stay here with our new friend,’ said Void, sounding none too pleased.
‘Splendid,’ said Mrs. Holt, her smile faltering, her voice filled with sarcasm.
* * *
Knarf walked throughout the station’s level. He came to a lift, he was unsure if he should take the lift up to the next level. They hadn’t explored too much of the station, aside from its main level. It had several decks; Knarf reckoned they were well geared in terms of weapons for the ship. He wondered where the bridge was once the station turned into a ship.
Unsure where to go next, Knarf put his helmet on and tried to raise Talyc on their personal frequency channel. There was no response.
‘Talyc, come on!’ He tried again. ‘Talyc, are you there? Just put your helmet on, you barve, stop trying not to, we need you to this time.’ There was nothing, not even static.
An alarm sounded off somewhere and a blue light flashed. Knarf looked up at a nearby monitor. It indicated that a submersible was approaching. Knarf hurried back to the main area where Mrs. Holt, Void, Nriwe, Brenum, Trylia, Shadie and Fane stood.
‘You didn’t find Talyc?’ asked Shadie, worry creeping into her voice.
Knarf shook his head. ‘I don’t think he’s on this floor. He’s not responding to my calls either.’
‘He’s been trying to avoid putting his helmet on,’ said Void, ‘not hiding himself away.’
‘Well, that’s fine, but not when I need him to have his helmet on,’ Knarf complained.
‘After my chat with him,’ said Fane, ‘he wanted to be on his own for a bit.’
Mrs. Holt was at the controls. ‘Whoever is coming in, they have the security passcodes. The station is responding to that submersible’s commands.’
‘Awgro can’t possibly be here yet,’ said Void. ‘There is no way his ship is that fast.’
The submersible entered the first chamber, and the water emptied out. Knarf tried to see who was in there.
Void took a defensive stance. ‘Ready yourselves.’
The Jedi took a stance beside Void, igniting their lightsabers. Nriwe took position at Knarf’s flank, holding a blaster rifle level and ready. The door lifted and the top of the submersible popped open. Staggering out from it came Storimbu, Kafter, Drashdae, the Kaleesh, and a few other Protectors.
‘Storimbu!’ cried Shadie. She ran to him, he staggered into her arms and fell to his knees.
‘I told you you need medical attention!’ insisted Kafter, the yellow Twi’lek’s eyes filled with worry.
‘I’ll get medical attention once this is over,’ grumbled Storimbu.
‘I don’t understand, how did you get here so fast?’ asked Shadie.
‘My ship is faster than Awgro’s,’ said Storimbu. ‘We got here as quickly as we could; he could be moments behind us. The others are stationed on the surface, ready for him. But I needed to be here and protect the rest of you myself.’
‘No offense, but you’re in no fit state, my friend,’ said Knarf. The Miraluka was battered and bruised; he had a gash across his chest, and burn marks all over his face and body. His robe was slashed open, showing cauterised flesh cuts on his legs. ‘What did Awgro do to you?’
‘Relsor’s contraption, the one that keeps you in the air immobilised.’ Storimbu’s words were strained, his voice weak. He panted for air, taking in big lungfuls.
‘Something doesn’t add up,’ said Void. ‘You just sent Shadie a message not half an hour ago.’
‘What?’ Storimbu looked at everyone with immense worry. ‘That was hours ago.’
Shadie let out a long slow breath. ‘It seems Awgro may have tampered with communications on Nar Shaddaa. He knew you’d try to warn me.’ She helped Storimbu up; Knarf came up on the other side. The Sith put his arms around each of their shoulders. ‘The message must have gotten through once you exited hyperspace and arrived here.’ She turned to Mrs. Holt. ‘Mrs. Holt, any way you can go faster?’
‘I’m trying! But I need to lock down the part of the station that is staying so I can disconnect the ship part of it and I can’t do that if there are people walking around on the second level on the opposite end of the station! Either your clan leader comes down here immediately or he gets left behind.’
‘No!’ Fane shouted. ‘You have to wait. We’ll find him. We’ll try him again.’
‘On it!’ said Nriwe.
Knarf and Shadie walked Storimbu to a chair and Shadie gave their friend a stim pack.
‘What happened?’ asked Shadie, worry on her face.
‘I would not fail you, Shadie. You know that. Ever! I would never betray you, for the cause we serve is the purpose I’d been searching for all my life.’
‘I trust you,’ said Shadie. ‘You said something about Maranna. How did she know we were here? All she knew was we were meant to return to Mandalore.’
‘Maranna overheard,’ said Storimbu. ‘She spied on you. She stood there, watching Awgro torture me, subdue the others, and no one flinched, no one said a single word about your location. Then, as Awgro claimed he was about to kill me, she spoke and revealed your location, thus betraying us all.’
‘Well, to be fair, she was never part of our team, our cause, our clan,’ said Knarf.
‘She saved your life,’ said Kafter, folding his arms.
‘So you keep telling him,’ said Drashdae.
‘She betrayed my trust in doing so!’ Storimbu looked stern. ‘Awgro was not going to kill me. He could have killed me anyway before leaving. He presented three choices and Maranna’s betrayal was one choice, but then he took her with him anyway. If he wanted to kill me, he would not have left me alive in the end. He is desperate; he needed the information. He wanted me to think he would kill me. Then he would have left, hoping I would realise he was not squandering my life so that I would turn on you and join him.’
‘How is that logical?’ said Knarf.
Storimbu looked up at him. ‘We learn as Sith on Korriban that there are times when instead of killing our captives, we let them live, and in turn, they turn to serve us. It is a way to break a person’s spirit. They owe us for allowing them to live and they learn to serve us as their master. It is a…barbaric method, one I never agreed with.’
‘It’s one Kromus was fond of,’ said Shadie with a frown. ‘I know I’m not the only one to have disagreed with him about it.’
‘He was addicted to it,’ said Kafter.
‘Master Usharr always argued against it,’ said Shadie. ‘He said that negotiation was more likely to gain us allies rather than torture.’
‘I was with Usharr to petition that,’ said Void. ‘I’m sorry, Storimbu, to know that you suffered at the hands of my former apprentice.’
‘I would have been willing to die,’ the Protector replied. ‘Now Maranna has put her son in danger. If Awgro becomes the Master of the Crypt, it will tip the balance in the Force, the balance that was found when Relsor was destroyed.’
Storimbu winced as Drashdae applied a medipatch to some of his wounds.
‘I’ve noticed Awgro is always accompanied by Mar Dalkars who seems to be as much in charge as he is,’ Storimbu continued.
‘Mar Dalkars?’ asked Shadie.
‘The Chagrian. He used to be a Follower of Kromus. We…would butt heads a lot.’
‘Make that all the time,’ said the Kaleesh. ‘Storimbu and Mar Dalkars…sworn enemies.’ He made a block-and-cut motion with his hands in slow motion, shaking his head.
Knarf looked at Nriwe. ‘Any luck?’ She shook her head. ‘I’m going to find him.’
‘We can’t split up,’ said Shadie. ‘Not now, it’s too risky.’
‘We’re not leaving him behind!’
‘My love, I wasn’t suggesting that!’
Alarm bells began to ring. Shadie’s comlink chimed. The voice of the Rattataki woman came through her comlink speaker.
‘Awgro’s here. We intercepted him as soon as he arrived, but he got past us. Some of us are down. He’s draining the life out of everything and everyone while his Sith are draining Force powers from everyone. As a group, they are impossible to beat. We need to separate them!’
‘Where is he now?’ asked Shadie.
‘On his way down to you. The Selkath were very afraid. They told him who you were with and how to reach the station.’
‘Thank you for stalling him as long as you could. Get yourselves to safety.’
‘I’ve locked down the primary submersible entrance,’ said Mrs. Holt, ‘but it will take several more minutes before the secondary one is shut down as well.’
‘You mean this isn’t the only entrance?’ asked Shadie, sounding shocked.
‘No, the other one is two floors up and on the other side of the station,’ said Mrs. Holt. ‘I could lock down this entire area and the ship would detach from the rest of the station right away.’
‘No! Talyc would be stranded.’
‘Then you better pray those Sith don’t arrive before you find him.’
‘Okay,’ said Shadie, ‘Knarf, Void, you’re with me. Nriwe, take the others. We’re heading up. No one gets left behind.’
“Connections in the Force” is written by Celinka Serre (2023).
Disclaimer: The Characters in this Fan-Fiction are new and have original names. The story is an original written work. The story is derivative and consistent of Fan-Fiction since it borrows the franchise world of Star Wars. Certain jargon and places, or concepts mentioned, along with the SW Old Republic universe belong to Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. No characters or story lines from the films are used. No story lines or characters from the games or books are used. A handful of characters from the games may be referenced, but are not the main focus in this fanfic story. This fan-fiction story falls under Fair Use.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
You might also enjoy other SWTOR fanfics, Dragon Age Fan-Fiction short stories, Mass Effect Fan-Fiction, or Stardust Destinies the High Fantasy Fiction series.
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