Lian, Shadie, Knarf, Brenum, Trylia, and Maranna stood in the central chamber of the Crypt, speaking with voices raised as a heated debate had ensued. Nriwe had taken the children up and Thera had been keen on giving the Chiss boy a tour of the place, so thankfully the children were not privy to this argument.
Maranna had refused to give the Jedi her child’s name and she seemed very opinionated about Jedi and Sith alike. It had been good that Shadie had convinced Lord Void to accompany Talyc to Mandalore. Knarf wondered how the two were getting on.
Shadie pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘This is not the talk we agreed to. You said you were willing to hear us out.’
‘I said I was willing to speak with you. I am speaking, you must listen.’
‘Trying to.’
‘All we’re trying to say is that here your son can learn the balance in the Force, both light side and dark side,’ said Trylia in a soothing tone.
‘Why? So you can try to save him from himself like you tried to save his father?’ Maranna’s pitch had reached a new high. ‘Relsor didn’t want you to save him! You Jedi think you know best. Always trying to save other people.’
‘Well there was something clearly wrong with Relsor,’ said Trylia, her tone serene and poised.
‘In your eyes maybe. You weren’t trying to save him, you were trying to change him, turn him into something he wasn’t. The only reason he probably ever saw anything in you was because he pitied your pathetic view on the Force.’
‘Oy! Don’t talk to her that way!’ Brenum stepped in, looking imposing.
‘Relsor chose his fate,’ said Shadie, doing her best to reamin calm. ‘We offered to try to help find a way to coexist. His existence was killing people, and we still tried to find a way for that could stop so we would not have to kill him. He turned down our offer. We were willing to leave him be, but people kept dying. We saved the galaxy.’
Maranna took on a mock voice. ‘“We saved the galaxy.” Is that supposed to impress me?’
‘Would you rather Awgro have taken you and your son then?’ demanded Shadie.
‘No, I am grateful that you helped us, but my son doesn’t need training and he doesn’t want it either.’
‘Have you asked him?’ Brenum queried, his tone indignant.
‘Was it a race against Awgro to find us before him?’ asked Maranna. ‘Was it to shape that little boy’s mind into the being you want him to be?’
‘We don’t try to brainwash anyone,’ said Trylia, looking appalled.
‘My passion’s dying wishes were clear, no Jedi training, and no Sith training,’ said Maranna.
‘I hardly qualify as a Jedi anymore,’ said Lian, ‘and Lord Void is no longer a Sith. We are teachers of the Force.’
‘You are still a member of the Jedi Order and a Master!’ Maranna retorted.
‘Then it’s a good thing that the Lady of the Crypt,’ said Knarf, his voice as reassuring as he could manage, ‘is neither Jedi nor Sith. She has found balance in the Force within herself. She can teach that discipline, and we,’ Knarf motioned to himself and Shadie, ‘are Mandalorians. We are part of no Order, no faction. We serve the Force. We would only guide your son in the direction he would choose. We are not trying to take him away from you. We are merely asking you to allow him to stay. For both of you to stay.’
‘I don’t need your protection and where I go, my son goes.’ Maranna crossed her arms.
‘You can’t coddle a child who is gifted as he is!’ said Brenum.
Maranna took a menacing step towards Brenum. ‘Don’t you dare tell me how to raise my son who has lost his father because of you!’
Brenum contorted his face, but Knarf stepped in and pulled him back a few steps.
‘It’s a good thing your friend, Fane, isn’t here,’ Maranna added, ‘because I would give him a piece of my mind. He deserves everything he gets.’
‘That’s enough!’ Lian shouted, his voice resonating in the room. ‘This is getting us nowhere.’ Lian softened his voice. ‘It is clear to me you feel that we are trying to turn your son into our tool, and we only wish to protect him from Awgro. If you would agree, I think it would be best for us to sit down and speak, just the two of us.’ Lian quickly glanced at the others and Knarf clocked the command behind his expression, despite the Twi’lek’s reassuring tone.
‘I think it would be best for my friends to step out of this one,’ Lian went on. ‘They are too involved; they were there and fought Relsor. I did not fight him at the moment of his death. He fought me and nearly killed me, but I do not hold resentment for the new life I have found. Thus was the will of the Force. Evidently, Relsor trusted me to an extent; he obviously valued my place in the Force and respected my power. The proof is that he chose to ensure that his Holocron with his secrets made its way to me, for he knew I would know what to do with the information. I am asking you to trust me.’ Lian placed a hand on his heart and his emphasis was subtle, but enough. ‘Forget about the others. Let us talk, just you and me.’
Shadie opened her mouth to object. Knarf saw Lian flash her a look and she nodded, turning to go.
‘Come on guys, we’re only making matters worse.’
Knarf followed, as did Brenum and Trylia. The two ladies walked ahead. Knarf took Brenum’s arm gently.
‘That was a little…over the top, back there,’ he said.
‘Oh, that woman, she just…’ Brenum clenched his teeth. ‘She presses all the right buttons to anger me. Her opinion of Jedi… And you know me, Knarf, I’m usually level-headed.’
Knarf made a chuckling noise in his throat. ‘Yeah, except when you thought I was helping Relsor and had killed the Supreme Chancellor.’
Brenum stopped and gave Knarf a sardonic look. ‘Fine. Maybe I can be a bit…proud sometimes.’
‘You and me both,’ said Knarf.
‘Don’t let Shadie hear you say that.’ Brenum sighed. ‘I just don’t understand…’
‘Look at it from her perspective,’ said Knarf. ‘Imagine a Sith killing Trylia and then saving you from an enemy you didn’t know you had and claiming they want to help you.’
‘Fair point.’
‘Maranna is in her rights,’ said Knarf, ‘and here we are just swooping in.’
‘Yeah, I hear that’s bad,’ said Brenum. He placed a hand on his head, shaking it.
‘We have to remember that while we hope to make her an ally, whether she joins Awgro or not, right now, she is still the former lover of our enemy, and she may choose to remain that. Forcing things will only make matters worse.’
‘You’re right,’ said Brenum. ‘I feel bad for her, I feel guilty. Part of me wants to view her as an enemy despite the fact that I’d like her to be our ally. Her child is the grandson of our ally and those feelings are clouding my judgement of the situation. I can’t let it go, and yet I don’t know how to view her.’
‘We’ve been making friends of our enemies too much, it seems,’ said Knarf, ‘that now we expect them all to befriend us.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Hey!’ Shadie shouted from the circular lift, ‘you guys coming?’
Knarf and Brenum joined their ladies and they went upstairs.
Nriwe was tending to the hydroponics room, crouched by some of the systems. The two children could be heard giggling and running around.
Thera and the Chiss boy ran into the room. Thera extended her arm and the boy stopped moving.
‘Got you! You’re it!’
Thera started running and then slowed and seemed to be running in place.
‘I can’t do it like you can,’ the boy complained.
‘Focus on me!’ said Thera.
‘I am.’
‘I believe you are achieving Force Slow,’ said Shadie. ‘Not bad. It’s one I have trouble with.’
‘But you’re the Lady of the Crypt! Can’t you do all the powers?’
Shadie shook her head. ‘Being Lady of the Crypt doesn’t give me abilities I didn’t already have. I still have to train for a lot of them. It only makes the ones I’m already good at more powerful. Sometimes.’
‘Tell Shadie about your dreams,’ said Nriwe.
The Chiss boy looked at the Jedi, his red eyes wide with excitement. ‘Your tarentatek, I saw him in my dream. And the room over there, the garden was in it too. I was training with a lightsaber. It was blue like me. I was a lot taller. Much taller. And there were more trees.’
‘That’s…interesting,’ Knarf said carefully.
‘Say, what’s your name?’ asked Brenum.
‘Mama doesn’t want me to tell you my name. She says that telling people my name will make them find me.’
‘Well, you’re already here with us and you know all of our names,’ said Shadie.
‘I know his name,’ said Thera proudly.
‘Thera, don’t tell! Mama says!’
‘All right,’ laughed Shadie. ‘Well, I’ll have to ask your mother if it’s okay to know your name, then.’
The children returned to their playing, running into another area.
‘He seems okay with us, even though he knows we killed his father,’ said Brenum.
‘He keeps going on about Fane and how he wants to meet him,’ said Nriwe. ‘You should hear him going on about the Force with Thera.’
‘Maranna sounds like she tried to convince him we’re the enemy,’ said Knarf.
‘Well, you are to them, and she did.’ Nriwe stood. ‘He told me a few things his mother said about you. He also said that she doesn’t understand the Force the same way he does. He says he has dreams and visions and that this place feels right.’ Nriwe put a hand on one hip. ‘I don’t think he bears any resentment towards you. I think he understands why Relsor had to die.’
‘That’s what we thought too,’ said Trylia. ‘Despite all he’s learnt from Maranna and Relsor’s holovids, he thinks differently. He’s not influenced by anything or anyone. He truly has a remarkable mind.’
* * *
After helping Nriwe and playing with the children, Shadie sensed Lian as he used the Force to call everyone back to the main room. Thera and the Chiss boy stood side by side, as the others filed in closer to Lian.
‘My son, we’re going to head back to Nar Shaddaa and leave this Crypt, okay.’
‘But mama, I need to stay. This place is the place from my dreams, and papa said in his messages that I need to follow the Force. Thera’s my new best friend; I can’t leave her now. And look what we can do!’
Thera extended a hand and created a mild shield while the Chiss boy placed his hand almost touching hers and fed the shield with lightning. The shield grew and blossomed, shimmering with lightning, becoming more powerful and looking a lot more impenetrable.
‘Whoa!’ said Shadie. ‘This is amazing!’ she told the kids. She turned to Maranna. ‘It looks like they have a Force-bond.’
‘Such bonds are rare,’ said Lian, ‘at such a young age. But they have a connection through the Force, that much is clear. Perhaps not unlike the bond I have with Fane. Only time will tell how strong it is and if this connection is a real Force-bond.’
Maranna turned to the boy. ‘You said you were looking for a bond. Have you found it?’
‘Yes, mama. I want to stay. Please, can we stay?’
Maranna crouched and took her son by the arms. ‘I cannot stay with the people who killed your father.’
‘But mama, they didn’t kill papa. They saved the Force. Papa was creating the illness. Now because they saved it, his essence is a part of it.’
Maranna sighed and looked down. ‘You are too young to understand all these things.’
‘Mama, it’s all those holovids from papa teaching me. He said to meditate and to listen to the Force. Listening to the Force teaches me more.’
‘I cannot stay if you stay,’ said Maranna.
The boy looked sad and looked around. ‘Can I tell them my name? So they can find me if something bad happens to me? Like they found you with me when that Sith tried to force us to go with him?’
‘You don’t feel forced?’ Maranna asked. Her tone was very different with her son, it was gentle, full of sorrow, and Shadie knew that Maranna’s anger towards them only hid the true feelings she felt inside.
‘I am choosing, like papa said I need to do. I need to always choose, and not let others choose for me like they did for him.’
Maranna nodded and took her son in her arms. ‘I will visit when I can.’
‘Does that mean I can stay?’ He bounced up and down.
Maranna nodded. ‘This is your choice.’ The boy beamed and looked at Thera and the two children both did a thumbs-up to each other. Maranna straightened and turned to the others. ‘We named him Haar’envi’rothmor.’
‘Renvir for short,’ said the boy.
‘I like calling you Ren,’ said Thera.
‘I like Ren too,’ said Renvir.
Maranna turned to Lian. ‘No Jedi training. No Sith training. Only the balance, abilities, understanding, no teachings that will indoctrinate him in any schooling.’
‘I promise,’ said Lian. ‘I understand your disdain for the Jedi and the Sith alike. We at the Crypt serve the Force. We protect the Force.’
‘Does that mean that I’m going to become a Protector of the Force?’ asked Renvir.
‘Is that what you want?’ asked Lian. The child nodded vigorously. ‘Then that’s what it shall be.’
‘I’m so happy,’ said Thera. ‘You can stay!’
Renvir turned to his mother. ‘Bye, mama. I’ll miss you.’
Maranna embraced her son again and kissed his brow. Then she turned to leave.
‘I’ll need a ride back to Nar Shaddaa. I’ll let you make the arrangements. I’ll wait upstairs.’ She turned to her son. ‘If you decide that you don’t want to stay anymore, you know how to call for me.’ The boy nodded.
Nriwe led Maranna out of the room.
‘Whatever you discussed with her, it did something,’ said Shadie. ‘Thank you. I just want him safe. And Void will be happy to know that he is here.’
‘Is Void my grandfather?’ asked Renvir.
‘He is,’ said Lian. ‘As I explained to your mother, Void wanted to have a child and he didn’t understand what his ritual would do entirely. He did not want to create your father as he was; he wanted him to be…not ill. He was very sad that your father had to die.’
‘He shouldn’t be sad; the galaxy was saved. The Force told me that it is healing.’ He turned to Thera. ‘You want to meditate?’
‘Sure!’
‘Just like kids to change the subject abruptly,’ said Lian, chuckling. ‘Not much different than Ruther and I were at that age.’
The two children sat down in a corner while the others mingled. Shadie observed them. They placed their hands together, palms touching.
‘Hey, look,’ she told the others. There was a glow around the children. ‘We need to learn to meditate like that.’ Trylia nodded, smiling in an amused fashion, matching Shadie’s grin.
Brenum leaned in towards Knarf and kept his voice low. ‘I just hope Maranna doesn’t completely abandon her son. It hurts, I should know.’
Trylia gently rubbed Brenum’s arm, sobering. ‘You have loving parents who raised you,’ she soothed.
‘I know,’ said Brenum. ‘But they’re still not the ones who conceived me. I love them, but it doesn’t take away the hurt of knowing my real parents left me when I was a baby. I wouldn’t want Renvir to have to feel the hurt of that sort of abandonment.’
‘Perhaps she’ll come back,’ said Trylia. ‘Or at least keep in touch with her son. He knows she loves him.’
‘I hope so.’ Brenum smiled at Trylia and cupped a hand on her face, bringing her head to lean on his shoulder. He kissed her head. ‘Your soothing tones always calm my anger, my sweet.’
‘I know, that’s why I soothe you.’ Trylia looked up, smiling. Brenum chuckled.
The glow around the children began to grow more intense.
‘Those two definitely have a Force-bond,’ said Knarf.
‘Oh, this is pretty,’ said Thera, her eyes still closed. ‘Do you see it?’
‘Yes, it’s very deep!’ said Renvir.
‘Oceans usually are,’ said Thera.
‘Focus, there’s something there.’
Thera gasped! Shadie glanced at the others. The children seemed to focus a lot more on their vision, their brows creasing in concentration. Shadie waited to see if they would say anything else. She was, if nothing else, intrigued.
‘What are they looking at through the Force?’ Knarf whispered. Shadie shrugged.
Thera’s eyes opened wide. ‘Daddy, write these numbers down.’ And she started blurting out a series of numbers.
‘What is that?’ asked Lian.
‘It sounds like a set of coordinates,’ said Brenum, taking his datapad out.
‘We found him!’ exclaimed Thera. ‘We found Uncle Fane!’
‘There was an ocean,’ said Renvir, ‘and at the very bottom–’
‘The Sphere!’ Thera exclaimed. ‘Sitting on the bed of the Ocean.’
‘Underwater, protecting itself, healing, shrouded,’ said Trylia. ‘But how could Thera and Renvir have found it when neither you nor Lian could?’ She looked at Shadie shaking her head.
‘It’s possible,’ Lian began, ‘because the Sphere does not know them too well, it did not know to hide itself from them. It’s hiding from known sources. Also, they are children, they’re Force abilities are weak, small, and maybe just small enough to penetrate the Sphere’s barriers and find it.’
‘And Relsor had a connection with Fane through his malady,’ said Shadie, ‘and you have a connection with Fane. Thera, being your daughter, carries a piece of that with her, and so Renvir, as Relsor’s son, carries a piece of his connection with him too. They found him together. I don’t think they could have otherwise.’
‘I have a planet,’ said Brenum. ‘According to these coordinates, Fane and the Sphere are on Manaan.’
“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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