Star Wars: Rise of the Battlemage - Chapter 141 (Patreon)

Stepping out of the Starcaller and onto the island was like stepping out of one world and into a whole separate genre, never mind a new world. The air was wet, humid like a lousy summer day, with the scent of salt air heavy in every breath. While the salt air was nice, almost nostalgic to beach days when I was a kid, the humidity was terrible. I was ecstatic that it faded when I slid on my helmet and its seals engaged. Once my helmet was secure, I had a good look around.

The landing pad we claimed was mostly clear of plants and vegetation, with only the far corner marred by a collapsing structure built from the same old white and gray stone. However, while the pad was clear, the surrounding space was not, with vines, trees, and other plant growth covering nearly everything. 

"Okay, the first step is finding a path," I said, looking around for a moment before holding my hand out and casting the path version of Clairvoyance. 

The glowing, shimmering trail, focused on getting me to the Crucible, took off along the landing pad, disappearing off to the side. I followed the path, arriving at a tangle of surprisingly thin vines along the perimeter of the platform.

"We are going to have to get through this," I commented. "Its gonna slow us down a bit, but-"

As I was talking, Sabine pulled out her lightsaber, but I shook my head and put my hand on her wrist, pushing it down. 

"Let's not identify ourselves just yet," I said, looking around. "We have no idea who is here or how they would react." 

She nodded reluctantly, tucking her lightsaber just a bit deeper into her belt. I nodded and stepped forward, grabbing one of the vines and giving it a stiff yank. The green vine snapped, clearing a few steps of the path. 

"That… was too easy," Ahsoka stated. "These vines are too thin. Just check out the ones along the walls."

All of us looked over and immediately realized what she had meant. While the vines along the path were all the width of my thumb or thinner, those crawling over the walls and roofs started at the thickness of my wrist and only got bigger. 

"Maybe these ones are younger?" Luke suggested, and I nodded in agreement. 

"Good guess," I confirmed, stepping deeper along the path and snapping another web of vine. "If I had to guess, this path was probably cleared out frequently until only a couple years ago. Depending on how fast these vines grow."

Another quick cast of Clairvoyance confirmed this was the right way, so we began the process of reforging the path. It was slow progress, even with how easy the vines were to clear. Worse was having to check Clairvoyance at nearly every intersection since I couldn't see very far with the mess of vines blocking my view.

The path itself was some sort of ancient street, paved with broken and crumbling bricks, marked on either side by long broken buildings and structures. It was almost immediately apparent that this had not been a normal city, given the amount of crumbled statues, choked small parks, and drained ponds or pools. In its heyday, this would have been a calming, quiet city, which made sense for a Jedi, even an ancient version of it.

Occasionally, we stumbled on a small corner or building that was as lightly covered with vines as the path we were following. A few building entrances, which I resisted the urge to explore, as well as some small resting spots, as well as several other paths stemming from ours. The first one we actually stopped at was some sort of large meditation space with a massive tree in the center.

The tree was notably a different type than the rest we had seen so far, with yellow and brown bark that lazily spiraled up the trunk and pointed hand fan-like leaves on its branches. There were a bunch of saplings growing from the ground around the exterior of the clearing as if the main tree had dropped seeds, and they had flourished whenever they found earth. 

"Deacon!" Ahsoka said excitedly, calling out to me as she first spotted the clearing. "That tree… No, those saplings, too! They are Uneti trees!" 

She pulled away from the group, snapping and yanking at the vines as she went. A large circle around the tree, paved with thick dark gray stone, not the usually pale white and gray, had stood the test of time, meaning the space around the massive tree was almost completely cleared. Dotted around that were the saplings, growing in what appeared to have once been flower beds. The once Jedi Padawan stared up at the larger tree, her eyes filled with wonder. 

"What's a Uneti tree?" I asked as we followed after her, looking up alongside her. 

"It's a type of Force-sensitive tree," She explained, turning back to look at me, her eyes still wide with excitement. "They are so incredibly rare. They struggle to grow without constant attention or the perfect environment… look at all of them!"

We looked around, and I couldn't help but mentally count the saplings growing around the clearing. Eighteen total, with the smallest being only a few feet tall, but the largest being several. 

"Before this, I would have sworn the only known Uneti tree was at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant," She explained, shaking her head. "It's said that they are native to the planet on which the Jedi Order first formed. They can aid in meditation and calm the weary mind."

"This alone means that the Empire can never find this place," I said, looking at the rest of the group. "These are a treasure that the next generation of Jedi would benefit from to an incredible degree." 

"Do you think-" Luke started, trailing off just after starting.

"That the one on Coruscant still exists?" I finished, the teenage Force sensitive nodding in confirmation. "Unlikely, as sad as that is. Even if it could survive being untended… Palpatine took the Jedi Temple as the Imperial Palace."

That fact soured the mood, but Ahsoka, who apparently already knew that, was still smiling as we finally pulled away from the trees and continued to follow the path. We stumbled onto a few more cleared places after that, namely the entrance into a mostly intact building, a path to a good-sized pond, and a clearing that looked like a garden but was completely overrun. 

"Someone really was living here not so long ago," Sabine said as we cut between two collapsed buildings. "I thought we were hunting a droid?" 

"We are… but someone had to be flying the ship, unless you think Professor Huyang took it for himself?" I asked, turning to Ahsoka, who shook her head. 

"No, they learned their lesson when they lost the first Crucible," she explained. "There increased the number of Jedi Knights on board for the Gathering trips. It usually had an escort as well, but they were clones and…I don't know."

I reached out and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled, though extricated her hand from mine after a moment, studiously focusing on the path ahead. 

We broke through to the second, much larger landing pad a few minutes later. It was just about as clear as the one we landed on, save a corner that had cracked away and collapsed from a knot of tree roots, weakening the foundation. 

Once we were there, it didn't take long for us to realize that something had gone very, very wrong. There was evidence of laser fire along the hull, with the few weapon emplacements that the ship had destroyed entirely. Its engines were damaged as well, baldy enough that I couldn't help but wonder how the hell it landed in one piece. 

That wasn't the most shocking damage, though. That belonged to the boarding ramp, or at least what little remained of it. The ramp had been torn off along the base, the hydraulic struts sheered off, and the whole thing tossed to the side. 

"What the hell did this?" I asked, looking up into the bottom of the ship, the interior looked pretty messed up as well. 

"I don't know, but I'm starting to feel like finding survivors might be unlikely," Sabine whispered with a frown. 

I didn't respond but instead continued to look back to where the ramp had been torn free of the ship. After a moment, I turned to look at the two Force-sensatives.

"Ashoka, Luke, think you can jam the ramp back into place so we can do a proper search of the ship?" 

The two looked at each other and then nodded, stepping closer to the ramp. They both closed their eyes for a long moment, letting out slow, steady breaths. Suddenly, they both opened their eyes, and the ramp began to lift from the ground. They strained and clenched, dragged it across the ground with the Force, before jamming it back into place. I cast Frostbite and dragged the freezing energy along the base of the ramp, creating a thick slab of ice that fused it to the ground. 

"Up and in everyone. Cmon, one at a time," I said before rushing headlong up the ramp.

Once I was inside, Sabine followed right after me, Luke and Ahsoka following close behind. As Ahsoka stepped into the ship, there was only a few seconds before the ramp snapped free of the ice and collapsed back to the ground. 

"Alright, everyone stay close," I said before casting mage light and walking through the ship. 

Every step of the way, we saw very little save destruction. Panels were dented, displays were smashed, doors caved in, and walls stripped away like someone had tried to pry their way through them. Very little of the ship was fully intact, though I did make a note that the ship had also been stripped clean of anything useful. Food and water reserves were gone, as were parts and pieces of the sonic shower. Equipment, tools, chairs, beds, and padding from various other places had all been stripped down carried away.

"This… what could have done this?" Ahsoka asked as she easily stepped through a door that was pried open, metal plating bent and ruined. "These aren't exactly security doors, but the strength needed to do this is still pretty extreme." 

"What about a Force tantrum?" I asked, giving her a look, receiving a wince in return. 

"That… it's possible, I suppose. Unlikely, but possible," She admitted with a frown. "But the list of people with that amount of power is short, as you probably already know."

"Maybe, but the dark side-"

"We would be able to feel it if this was done while enraged, pulling on the dark side," She assured me. "This place would feel a lot different than what it does now."

" What does it feel like?" 

"Fear, nervousness, anxiety…"

"Great sign," I muttered to myself, shaking my head. 

We continued to explore the ship, finding a lot more of the same. Some areas were mostly undamaged, and it was there that the complete stripping of all resources became really obvious. Specifically an untouched lounge where everything but the piping and wiring had been stripped out, as well as a bedroom that was more of a closet since it was almost entirely bare.

We also found the spot where whoever had created the feeling Ahsoka and Luke were picking up on had died. There weren't any bodies, but there was a fair amount of very old, dried blood. It splattered the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, and it was more than enough for me to feel confident in saying the owner did not survive. Ahsoka and Luke felt the same way, simply from feeling through the Force. 

"Okay, this mission just got a bit more urgent," I said with a frown. "I want to get back to the ship, ASAP. Whatever the hell did, this is not playing around."

"What about Huyang?" Ahsoka asked, and I shook my head.

"As much as I want to get him back, this drastically shifts the danger levels of this mission," I pointed out. "We need to reconvene, discuss the development, and potentially come up with a new strategy. Maybe even call in some support."

"Can you at least scan for him?" She asked. 

"... Fine, I will when we get outside," I confirmed before leading us out of the ship.

After we had all jumped down from the inside of the ship to the landing pad, I led everyone out from under the ship just to be safe. When we were clear, I quickly cast the path-finding version of Clairvoyance. I could feel the magic engage, but before it could latch on to anything, it failed. I frowned and tried again, only to get the same results. Ahsoka, spotting my frown, stepped closer. 

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly. 

"The path-finding Clairvoyance spell isn't working," I said with a frown. "But that doesn't make any sense… unless there is no way to get to where he is?" 

I was mostly talking to myself as I continued, quickly casting the second version of Clairvoyance. Sure enough, the arrow pointed up at a pretty significant angle. I turned to follow it, realizing immediately where it was pointing. 

"Right. According to the spell, Professor Huyang is somewhere up there," I said, pointing towards the cliff face, specifically one of the landing platforms that lead to a hangar bay. 

"Could we fly the Starcaller up there?" Luke suggested, following where I was pointing my finger. 

Sabine opened her mouth to comment, but I bulldozed through. 

"Are you guys serious?" I asked, looking at them with wide eyes. "We can discuss this back on the ship! C'mon, we are double-timing it back before whatever the fuck-"

I stopped dead, having started to make my way to the path we had come from when a roar echoed over the island. A second, then third, then a half a dozen more joined the distant shouting. 

Some of the newer ones didn't sound so distant. 

I immediately pulled out my comms and contacted Ezra. 

"Ezra! This is Deacon! I want you to grab a pair of the commando droids and have them help you fly the ship," I said. "I want-"

"What? Why?" He asked. "We heard that roaring, too, I'm not leaving you guys here alone."

"Damn right, you aren't!" I shouted back. "But we found evidence of some sort of creature capable of doing some significant damage to a ship on the Crucible. I want you to take off and put at least fifty meters between you and the ground, so that one of them doesn't get on board, kill you, the kids and then wreck the only way we have to get off this fucking planet!" 

The frustration of the team having been taking their time when I wanted to immediately head back boiled up a bit, the frustration and annoyance in my voice clearly told Ezra I wasn't messing around. He gave a quick word of understanding before the comms clicked off. Twenty seconds later, in the distance, the Starcaller rose above the tree and rubble line. Ten seconds later, my comm clicked back on. 

"Okay, fifty meters in the air, the commando droids are on board," Ezra said, sounding calm and ready. "What's next?" 

"Can you run a scan of the island, looking for people, monsters, anything," I asked. 

“Uh… yeah… I could probably… Oh, got it!" 

I waited patiently for him to respond, a good fifteen seconds going by. All the while, we were making our way around the Crucible, heading back to the path. 

"Uh… well, the good news is, you made the right call having me pull off from the landing pad. There are two of them hanging around in the trees around the pad," He finally said. "Bad news, there's one by you guys, too."