Chapter Text
Dantooine, Crystal Caves
Aria Vercet
Escaping over the Enclave walls with only the equipment she would need, Aria flew over the vast fields. A sense of rebellion stirred through her veins like it hadn’t in a long time. Master Dorak had offered Aria her choice to pick of the three kyber crystals, but something deep within her outright rejected the gifts. A kyber was the heart of the Jedi. A clear focal point of the force which called out to only one Jedi in a lifetime. Aria heard it calling to her now, and not from Dorak’s outstretched hand. No, it was outside of the safety of the Enclave.
She made her way around the packs of Kath hounds roaming the area. They were as vicious as the reports said. Fighting amongst their own packs like warning tribes. Their blood lust wasn’t natural at all. Aria sensed the outside influence permeating the air they all breathed in. It was so thick that it was almost visible to her newly trained senses, but she kept her distance for now.
It tempted Aria; Hatred and lust beckoned loudly for her attention. Skirting around the presence as she instead followed the echo luring her to the nearby caves. Standing at the entrance, Aria was overwhelmed by the enveloping swell of what laid within. It felt like the mouth of a living giant creature. Teaming with life that pulsed like a heartbeat she could hear in the quiet still.
A name was being said and though she could not hear it, Aria knew it was her own. She dropped down into the cave. Falling around twenty meters into pitch blackness before she hit the ground. Landing in a silent crouch cushioned by the force. The soil felt freshly turned, a warm mist pooled around her, and it was clear she wasn’t alone in the cave. Aria stayed absolutely still as she reached out into her new surroundings.
The ones that had borrowed the tunnel resided further inside. Trusting in her senses, Aria began to follow the steady hum of energy calling out to her. Keeping her eyes closed as she crossed over the sudden drops, and pointed rocks that could trip someone. The soil under her feet became solid rock the further she went.
A pit in her stomach warned her of a sudden sheer drop off. Pulling back from the step she was about to take, Aria reeled back from the sense of vertigo. Amplified by the force letting her know just how far down she almost just fell. Taking a steadying breath, Aria discovered a small connecting natural bridge. Only the width of two fingers, the jagged spine made it impossible to step across without sliding off. There wasn’t any other way across the fifty-meter chasm.
Adjusting her gloves Aria placed her right digit down on the bridge. Then carefully bringing her weight on it lifted herself up. Throwing her feet up into the air as she balanced on the single fingertip. Not allowing herself to think about the deadly fall, or the fact she still couldn’t see in the dark, Aria set her left index finger down. Beginning the long arduous journey across.
She could feel the razor-sharp edge cut into her gloves. Slowly tearing through the small protection as she adjusted her balance. Her muscles were already aching from the extreme exercise. Sweat beaded her brow. Aria refused to listen to her body’s natural instincts to quiet. It had taken twenty minutes, but she was already halfway across.
Relying on her meditation training, Aria drew more strength into limbs. Maintaining her balance as her fingertips began to bleed. Aria avoided a fatal slip. Knocking a loose pebble off the bridge into the abyss. Unable to pause without risking a fall after it, she went on. Finishing the dangerous journey an agonizing half hour later. She collapsed on safe wide ground, collecting her breath as she heard the echo of the pebble hit the bottom.
‘I could have just taken the handout.’, She mentally laughed knowing that she would never. After tending to her fingertips, Aria continued after a brief rest. The closer she got to her objective the warmer the cave grew. She slowed down as she neared the Kinrath that made the cave their home.
Large arachnids that stood tall enough to match her own eye level. Using the force Aria knew there was a hive of about a hundred poisonous bugs and they already knew about her. She heard the scattering of their many legs rush towards her, the sound could easily be confused with a torrent of water flooding the underground tunnel.
Aria weighed the few choices she had. There was no advancing without conflict, and her way back would be forfeiting ground to fight on. She was unarmed and alone, except for the force. She stood her ground and built her focus. Deaf to the crushing wave of doom as she gathered the energy around her.
The kinrath swarm raced at the intruder. Each one ready to sink its poisonous mandibles into Aria in a wild frenzy to defend their home. They charged, those that couldn’t be in the front scaled the walls and ceiling of the cave. They threw themselves where Aria had been a second prior. Now just outside the scope of their pincers where she leapt in a tight ball. Aria let go of all she held.
Exploding with the force of a bomb that scattered the kinrath apart. Crushing the ones closest to her on all sides of the tunnel. As soon as she landed, she pushed out once again to surviving number. Tearing a line straight through the quickly regrouping hive mind. They shook off their confusion quickly, attacking her once again.
Aria began a long dance on her backfoot. Avoiding the lashing claws in the pitch black over the deafening screams of the arachnids. Using the force to fight back and to survive another second more. Aria punched out with her powers. Never needing to directly touch the kinrath to kill them. She leapt in a sideways back spin to avoid being encircled.
Their numbers slowly dwindled, but that left her with twenty still to contend with. Aria was out of space to keep retreating; she was back at the bridge, and one slip away from an untimely demise. The kinrath formed one last wave to slam at her with. Just like the Scoundrel had hoped for. She baited them in close and leapt up to the ceiling. Kicking off it in a last bid to get behind their numbers.
Aria landed in a roll back up to her feet. Spinning around before they could react, she lashed out with another great final force push. Sending every surviving kinrath up into the air and over the edge of the chasm’s drop. This time Aria didn’t stick around to hear how long it took for them to go splat.
From their on the trek was carried out in complete silence. Only the ghost like song leading her on could be felt. On she went, deeper into Dantooine’s underground. A building feeling of isolation took over her. Like she walked in a void, the only living thing, but then…
She wasn’t alone in the dark.
A vile rough voice announced itself, “You shouldn’t be here.”
The words bled with hatred directed solely at her. Aria felt the accusation resonate deep in her bones and put a lurch in her stomach. Aria froze trying to discern where they were. The stranger was hard to place in the darkness. Her enhanced senses with the force did nothing to locate them. A chill going down her spine didn’t keep Aria from answering back, “Who are you to say so?”
The voice varied in sounding distant and close by each syllable, “I am what you will never be.” Aria’s fight or flight response screamed for her to quickly pick one or the other. The only way to know where they were was if they revealed themselves. Readying herself for a fight she did her best to draw them out of their hiding.
“What, some pissed off cryptic voice in a dark dank cave?”
“I should expect nothing less from such a shallow facsimile.” A disappointed sigh preceded the activating heavy thurm of a red glowing blade. Illuminating the outline of a dark shrouded figure in a red casting glow.
Aria was alone with a Dark Jedi. She still couldn’t see who they were. Only making out that they were cloaked and aiming their lightsaber at her.
“I’m going to enjoy finishing what those cowards could not.”
Aria put her fist up, “Again, more cryptic nonsense. Does the Darkside make it impossible to explain things properly?”
“Here is all you need to comprehend.”, The Dark Jedi raised their weapon, “You will be one with the force shortly!”
Springing faster than Aria could perceive, the lightsaber’s point nearly speared her through the heart. Her trained reflexes threw her out of harm’s way. Trusting the force to guide her body automatically. If she thought for even a second, then it would be over for her. The Dark Jedi pursued aggressively swinging their weapon with deadly skill. Slicing through the blanket of darkness and cutting hot red streaks whenever it brushed the cave walls.
Aria pushed out with the force the first opening she got, but the Dark Jedi resisted it. Staying on their feet as Aria doubled down on the strength of her attack. Using more power than she had used defeating the kinrath, but the Dark Jedi weathered the attack where they stood.
“Pathetic.”, The Dark Jedi sneered throwing out their empty hand. The invisible blow slammed into Aria’s gut knocking her clean off her feet.
All she could hear was the rush of wind as her insides exploded with sharp fire. Slamming into the ground like a rag doll as she rolled to a stop. Aria tried to remain calm as gulped down air, burning her lungs with the needed recovery. Hatred surrounded the close space between them. Mentally pulling Aria down below an ocean of it she could hardly breathe in.
‘I could have just taken the handout.’, She didn’t laugh at herself this time. She didn’t have the time to, thanks to the glowing blood red blade attempting to bisect her. Aria pushed off the ground in a spinning flip back onto her feet.
There was the sound of the lightsaber turning off, and Arai was once more in total shadow. Only for her vision to explode with light when a connecting fist went into her jaw. The Dark Jedi dealt a series of painful blows. To which no matter how Aria tried to counter, she could do nothing but withstand the next bone breaking hit. Aria jumped aside, planning on kicking off the tunnel wall to hit back, but she never found it. She wasn’t in the cave anymore.
Landing in only more darkness Aria pushed out with the force. Hoping to at least stun her opponent, but an uppercut to her gut told her it was pointless. Living their fist in her, the Dark Jedi growled over her buckled form, “So much false confidence. Equal only to the crushing disappointment you’ve been crafted into.”
The shadow pulled Aria’s head up by her hair, growling the words right into her ear, “I will take this body, and cut all that tethers it to this act.”
Pure fear flooded Aria’s veins. Somehow, she knew the Dark Jedi wasn’t lying. They would take her body with some dark sorcery and kill everyone back at the Enclave and the Ebon Hawk. None of the Jedi’s would be able to stop the blood bath. Not any of the masters or Bastila herself. Carth, Big Z, and her Mission would die at Aria’s own hands.
The lightsaber reignited, and the Dark Jedi directed to Aria’s breast. The vision of future events snapped something inside of her. Fear spilled over into pure hot rage. Aria blocked the blade with the palms of her hands. Using the force to shield back against the hot plasma. She wouldn’t let herself be killed like this. Gritting her teeth she forced the blade slowly back down into its hilt.
The Dark Jedi laughed cruelly against her struggle, “Oh, what’s this? A final pathetic attempt to starve off your end!”
‘Keep laughing!’ Aria thought. Letting the mockery fuel her passion to keep on living. She drew strength from her intense emotions to keep on living.
“How long can you keep up such a futile effort?”
She wasn’t going to let herself be used to kill Mission.
“Is this really what you even want? Can you even recall?”
She wouldn’t let Bastila die.
“I will have her underneath my heel.”
“Fuck you!” With her hands close to the hilt of the blade Aria made her last bid to win. Grabbing the lightsaber’s hilt and twisting it with all her strength to turn the blade on its own master. Uncovering the emitter to let the glowing red blade tear through its wielder. Illuminating under the shroud of their hood to reveal Aria’s own face glaring back at her.
“Wha-”
????
????
They were no longer engaged in combat, no longer in the cave. The lightsaber was still in the Dark Jedi’s hand…No, it was in her own…Her hand…their hand? Her head was so foggy now. Their surroundings slowly became illuminated. Revealing the floating island of jagged earth they were on. Lighting crackled between glowing clouds of energy that surrounded on all sides, above and below. Thunder rumbled in the far distance.
She was…Aria…Aria…
Aria…
Aria looked at where her opponent sat on a boulder. Still shrouded in their robe, but now devoid of any face. Just a formless energy barely holding itself together now. A strange familiarity washed over her.
“Who…who are-”
“We; that is the correct word to ask such a question with.” Her own voice, now unmistakably recognizable, filtered through seething rage answered back. A splitting migraine brought the woman down to her knees.
The fragments laughed dryly, “Hehehe, those damn Jedi mind tricks are more devious than any Sith magic.” Crumbling to the ground Aria screamed from the pain. Straining her vocal cords as the pain engulfed her entirety in one great invisible flame.
“They would tell you this was the more merciful route to take. How is it to feel every thread of that doll like mind be pulled from its stitching?”
No Jedi meditation tricks helped Aria dull the pain. All except for repeating her own name.
Aria Vercet! I’m Aria Vercet! I was smuggling spice down the Corellian run. The Jedi caught me and offered me a choice. They offered me a… She crawled at the ground. The sound of thunder was growing closer. They offered me a… The fragments leant forward reading her mind, “Did they? You know the truth.” A wave of power rolled over Aria, soothing her pain and bringing an end to the torment. “I’ve alleviated their poison for now, but soon you will have to purge this lie yourself.” Aria carefully took her time getting back up on her feet. Still shaking weakly as she recovered.
“Have you figured it out yet?”
“I…I still don’t… What vision of the force are you?” Aria stumbled over to the amalgamation of hatred. The lightsaber in her desperate grip felt heavy. Reminding her that a quick solution to her current problem was available. The vision chortled, a terrible sound filtered through the crackle of energy, “I am all what they fear. A mere sliver of greatness that is no more. Hiding still in the shadows of the mind.”
“My mind…” This only made the vision laugh again, “Your mind, such presumption.” Aria ignited the Sith blade, “I know violence isn’t the solution to this…test, but I will hit you with this still.”
“Who says violence won’t? If you were to strike me down, it would bring an end to your suffering. Allowing yourself to become the perfect tool for the Jedi’s schemes.” Aria held up the weapon and the fragment made no move to defend itself.
The temptation to stop the torture she just experienced from ever happening again screamed at her to just do it. Aria’s hand trembled as she raised the blade high in the air. It would only take her to bring down the blade and be done with it all. A great clap of thunder boomed as she brought the weapon down. She wavered only at the last second, a sensation like she was about to kill herself stopped the action. Directing the blade to the ground sparing the fragmentation.
Aria was so close to understanding it all. The pins and needles were sticking back into her brain. Hurting her the closer she came to understanding. It made her feel so stupid not to have realized sooner; The Jedi had done something to her. Aria deactivated the lightsaber and stood looking down at the shell of what she once was.
“Ah, you’ve begun to understand.”
“What…were we once?”
The fragments turned to the clouds of purple energy crackling with lighting. Saying nothing for a moment as the storm of thunder reverberated around them. Filling the air with a power they could breathe in. It tasted of conflict, destruction, and hard-won victory. Only soured by some trickery, she couldn’t recall.
“We were-”
Dantooine, Crystal Caves
Aria Vercet
She stood there in the illuminating glow of the kyber crystals. They jutted out of the earth in different brilliant colors. Casting their light of blues, greens, and yellows over her. All alone in the cave now. Everything she had been so close to understanding was lost to her now like a dream upon waking. Aria clenched her fist that had been holding the lightsaber. Gone now as well, but in its place, she felt the heartbeat of what drew her all this way.
The Crystal is the heart of the blade.
Aria opened her palm to reveal the alluring crystal. Its voice was so clear in her mind. Whispering sweetly a name she couldn’t make out that both wasn’t and was her own. She only needed to understand that it had chosen her, and the rest was immaterial. Sliding the small pack of equipment from her back. Aria knelt down on the cave floor laying everything out. Closing her eyes when she was done, drawing herself into a deep meditation.
The Heart is the crystal of the Jedi.
While everything leading to this moment had been a wild storm, her mind now was at total peace. Aria allowed the living Force to work through her. Channeling not just the power of the cave, or the kinrath that called it home, but stretching far to the surface where all lived on Dantooine’s surface. Aria telepathically controlled every piece of the lightsaber’s construction. Sliding the Diatium power cell into the Vortex ring. Making sure the primary crystal mount sat firmly within the energy gate.
The Jedi is the crystal of the Force.
From there she made sure to set the crystal just behind the focusing crystal Bastila had provided her. Next were the cycling field energizer and the energy modulation circuits. Aria assembled the outer shell of the lightsaber easily from there. In a few minutes it was finished. The completed lightsaber floated gently to her outstretched hand like a feather. Standing up Aria examined the curved hilt she had constructed. Holding out her new weapon she ignited the blade.
The Force is the blade of the heart.
Overpowering all the competing colors in the cave in a great violet shade.
All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi. We are one.