- On Bogan -
(3rd Person POV)
Je'daii legend tells how Tython birthed twin moons from her fiery core - Dark Bogan and Light Ashla - to remind all of those who seek balance of the eternal struggle between dark and light. Millennia ago, the moons were colonies for non-Force adepts who were compelled to leave Tython. Although that's not exactly true, it seems the people aren't certain which version is the truth. It has been too long for them to remember what truly happened. From the moons, the children of Tython travelled outward to form the settled worlds. The first one among those was created by Primus himself using the Force, but that is now believed to be only fiction amongst most beings alive today. The ruins of those stone cities they left behind are used by Je'daii in exile today.
Xesh sits and ponders the night sky as the shadow of Bogan again devours bright Ashla in the sky. The dark always devours the light... The Je'daii say the light returns to balance the dark. What Primus has discovered is that the light was born from the dark, but no one is willing to listen to his teachings anymore, save his own children. The Light Side they speak of is alien to Xesh. As a slave to the Rakata, Xesh has only known what the Je'daii call the Dark Side. Memories of his past flicker before him, elusive, coming in shadowed glimpses.
His earliest memory was of him and his brood mates huddled together for warmth. Names and faces elude him, but she was always there, fierce protector, comforter of pain... Ripped from the brood, he was taken to his masters' machines, encased in a tomblike shell where he screamed in fear. Around him, he sensed his brood mates, shrieking in the darkness. He learned anger and hate. Later, he understood that this bleak anger, this dark hatred, was the Force and the power that fed his masters' ships.
One Master, Tul'kar, sensed talent within Xesh and freed him from the machines to train as a Force Hound. From that moment, Xesh was alone. He became the best at what he was trained to be. Loneliness became a way of life. He remembers power. That was the past, though, when he was a slave of the Rakata. Two months ago, everything changed. Even through the changing currents of the Deep Core, Xesh sensed Tython. He led the Rakata here to cull this world. But something went wrong.
He arrived.
Xesh had never experienced anything like it. If Tython was so strong in the Force that Xesh could sense it in the Deep Core, from all the way from Rakata Prime, then this man was like the Big Bang... he blinded everything and at the same time devoured everything. It was as though something was so loud that you couldn't hear anything because your eardrums had exploded. Xesh stole his master's escape pod and fled. He fell to Tython, where he encountered his first Je'daii - three Journeyers. He fought first to kill them, then fought to save their lives.
She was the reason. Shae Koda. A woman, one of the three Journeyers. In the dark abyss of Ruh, she glowed with light. It was an experience outside of his understanding. Something within him yearned for it. He could not let her die. Why? She was the enemy. Death was common. He did not understand the feelings that compelled him to save her life. Feelings that made him weak. He was struck down by the Force, by the other Je'daii. They made him a prisoner and exiled him to this Dark Moon, Bogan.
[Log note - Exile Xesh present in his compound. Marking the ned of his second month since arrival. Please note - the supply ship will arrive in one week. Good night, Exile Xesh.]
A droid keeps watch over all the exiles to make sure they don't talk with one another and that they don't flee. The Je'daii told Xesh that he was out of balance in the Force. His task on Bogan was to find the balance between light and dark through meditation and reflection. But Xesh understands the truth behind their words. he is here because the Je'daii fear his dark power. He believes that he knows Bogan to be a prison. Sadly, he is right. But it wasn't always this way.
Suddenly, Xesh is taken into a chokehold from behind. He didn't sense the attack coming, but why? He believes that exile might have dulled his senses. He manages to get out of the hold and turns around, seeing the aggressor. But then his reality twists on itself, and he believes that there is no air. A strong force slams him against the wall.
"Attack, boy! Show me your worth," the man challenges Xesh.
"What did you do to me?!" Xesh shouts and punches the man.
"I call it a Mind Twist. I'm inside your head, does it hurt?" the man grins.
Xesh roars and tries to grab the man by the throat. He charges his other hand with Force Lightning, but before he can use it and kill the man, he laughs and uses a grappling move, smashing Xesh's face against the wall.
"You want to kill me, boy? Good? But first, answer me one question. I want to know why you appeared here on Bogan. What is it you seek?"
"You saw me... like the Journeyers."
"I'm Daegon Lok. You have a name? I don't want to keep calling you boy," the man, revealing himself to be Daegon, says.
"Xesh."
"Of course. Should have guessed. It's written all over your face. Put that on so you'd remember your name, did you?" Daegon says.
"This mark designates me as a Force Hound of the Rakata. They mark our limbs, too- easier to find the pieces if the battle does not go well. How did you enter my compound? I was told these cuffs hold prisoners apart. Yet you do not wear them."
"Heh, for those who know the true power of Bogan, this is nothing. I figured out a way to remove the cuffs with the Force, without disabling the sensors. The sentry droids think we're where the cuffs are. Droids aren't actually very smart," Daegon says and removes Xesh's cuffs.
"A good trick, but we are still prisoners. There is no way off this moon," Xesh says.
"Now, the sentry droid will think you sleep. Tonight is the dark of the Moon, and we will cast no shadows. Walk with me, brother, if you want to know the truth."
.
- On Tython -
The waterfalls of Akar Kesh feed the rivers that flow beneath the towering monolith. Islands dot the landscape, tranquil in their isolation. A place for meditation. It's why Rajivari came here. A Je'daii general in the Despot War, Rajivari's strong command won a few battles, and his calm wisdom saved many lives.
After the war, Rajivari laid down his sword and became one of the Je'daii who meditated on the Force. He has understood that he was wrong in his beliefs previously and that Primus, their Supreme Grandmaster, has discovered something that was still a secret to him. What was that? Could he find that as well, and if so, how? His mind should be as still as a lake at dawn.
That's why Ketu has come seeking Rajivari. Instead, he senses unease in his former Master.
"Ketu, you have not infringed on my solitude since the matter of Daegon Lok. What brings you to disturb my meditations this time?" Rajivari asks.
"Again, to ask your wisdom, Master Rajivari. I know that you sensed the Dark Energy coming from Bogan. All Je'daii did."
"Yes. Tython's skies may be clear, but the darkness on Bogan lingers stronger than ever. The balance is tenuous. Speak your mind. I will listen," Rajivari says.
As the two Je'daii walk, Ketu tells Rajivari of the crashed alien ship and its sole survivor, Xesh, who wielded a blade of frozen energy. It is, of course, a way to talk about what Daegon has seen in a vision years ago, which the council refused to believe.
"So... despite the Journeyer's visions, the council sent Xesh to Bogan. Tell me, Ketu, did you ignore their vision because they are inexperienced Journeyers, or because you did not share it?" Rajivari asks.
"Should I sound war drums based solely on a vision, General? Daegon Lok's vision was far more dire, and the council ignored it. Nothing happened," Ketu argues.
"You think the Force whispers in your ear and visions become tangible? That's not how it works! All we're allowed are glimpses, if we are lucky. It is up to us to discern the truth! That's also why I believe that the Supreme Grandmaster has left. We are to figure this out on our own. After the Despot War, he was disappointed," Rajivari says.
"I know the truth. The vision Lok had in the chasm drove him mad."
"Then explain the blade of fire, shared in both visions. Explain the growing darkness on Bogan. Did you learn nothing from me? It's been 12 years since Master Telaat was killed in the Despot War, and you took his place, yet you're still so youthful in your wisdom! How long will you be Master Telaat's little shadow?"
"For all your meditations on the balance and peace, you would still incite war. This is not the Je'daii way," Ketu argues.
"The way of the Je'daii... how ridiculous I have started to see this notion. Listening to the Force is the Je'daii way! Admit it! If these visions are true, the entire Je'daii Order would change. All we know would come to an end! You came for my wisdom, Master Ketu? Tell the Masters ot consider Daegon Lok's vision a warning we should have heeded seven years ago... that what the Journeyers experience could be the Dawn of what Lok's vision foretold. Learn what Xesh knows; where there is one warrior, an army may follow. And please, Ketu... stop seeing the Je'daii way as the only way to go. There is only one truth, the Force, and the Supreme Grandmaster has realised this long ago. How else do you think he ended the Despot War single-handedly?"
"The Supreme Grandmaster is an elusive figure. No one truly knows who or what he is, and the Guides aren't any different. I've never seen one of them, have you? I don't believe something like that, that's for sure."
"Are you truly a Je'daii? Have you not understood anything?"
.
On an unknown planet in the Tython system, hidden in plain sight, is a special planet. This planet was created by Primus many years ago, but has become the laboratory of one of his children. Captio has inherited her father's sense of science. She is very interested and wants to experiment and learn new things. Her experiments are often outrageous by modern times, but with a father like Primus, she had almost no limits.
It was also one of her experiments that rendered the planet hidden, as she made it reflect light at a frequency which was only visible if you used a special version of Force Sight. Captio loved to do such things, pushing the boundaries of science and technology while incorporating her knowledge of the Force into her work, which was one of her major projects.
A portal opens up next to Captio, and Primus walks out of it. He finds his daughter reviewing a few petabytes of data and then making a few changes in the code and rerunning the simulation. He might smile seeing her that way, but he is not feeling like it right now. Captio gets notified that there is an intruder in her laboratory, and looks up. Seeing her father, though, she smiles.
"Father! I'm glad you're here, I-... what's wrong?" she asks.
"Clio had a run-in with the Rakata on Tatooine. An unpleasant encounter."
"Unpleasant, huh? How is she? Did she pay them back?" Captio asks.
"Somewhat, yes. But that's why I'm here, dear. The reptiles have gone on for long enough. You had your time and enough data, and if not, then I'm afraid I will have to put my foot down," Primus says.
"The virus isn't working fast enough. When you asked me about a way to take their sensitivity to the Force away, I thought it would take longer. I see that their greed allowed them to prolong the process somewhat. But they are finished. The time of their doom is near. I still don't understand how you did it."
"I told you, I could explain, but you want to find out on your own."
"So what will you do now?" Captio asks.
"I will eradicate them," Primus says seriously.
"I understand. What should I do then?"
"When was the last time you spent some time with your mother?" Primus asks, changing his tone.
"Uhhh, not long."
"Right. I'll see you later," Primus says and disappears.
.
Primus reappears in the Unknown Regions, above Rakata Prime. But instead of seeing warships and feeling the life of the Rakata, he only feels millions of slaves on the planet. The Rakata have left... all of them. Primus finds that unlikely, which it is. The Rakata are a species ruled by fear and the Dark Side. So if they all followed one calling, then he or she had to be exceptionally powerful.
He appears on the ground and sees a monstrous complex after another, filled with Slaves placed in special murder cages, ready for their death. Seeing this, Primus moves inside. he swipes his finger, removing all of the ceilings of those complexes. His feet touch the ground, and he walks forward towards one of the slaves, ready to die.
Something is strange; he can sense that this isn't real. A marvellously constructed illusion. However, the illusion suddenly changes, and all of the illusory slaves look at him. They all feel real, which is very hard to do, and the only answer is that they are real; every one of these slaves who look at him might be a part of an illusion now, but they were real, and they were killed to fuel this illusion, to fool Primus. Someone has prepared this specifically for him. He narrows his eyes.
*BRRRRROOOOOOOOM*
The illusion collapses as Primus exerts his power a bit. But that was a mistake. A wound opens up, and the illusion suddenly collapses on top of him. It doesn't break or simply disappear as it is supposed to, but swallows Primus whole and pulls him into another dimension entirely.
...
Primus looks around and recognises this place. He was inside the Force.
"Haha, very clever," Primus admits.
"I agree."
Primus turns around. His jaw almost drops after millions of years.
"Hello, dear."