Well, it’s been awhile. I am guessing everyone figured I got killed when I went out to face my mother and her army. Admittedly I was terrified. It’s not like she and her followers were pushovers or mere mortals deprived of a connection to The Force. It’s actually quite the opposite. Getting into their midst altered my perception. I went from feeling it, and perceiving it intangibly to actually being able to see The Force swirling around them. It was amazing to see the combined power of these frighteningly savage Force wielding women. Their power seemed to pass from one to the other generating one massive collection of heavy, dark, ever moving tendrils of energy. It was nearly imperceptible from a distance but as I grew closer their power seemed to amplify my own thus allowing me to actually see it.
It beckoned me seductively, its tendrils wrapping around me and pulling me in. I was powerless against it. The closer I got the more I became part of it until I was standing face to face with my mother completely enveloped, and entangled in the web of dark essence. I couldn’t have moved had I wanted to and I didn’t want to. It was intoxicating and it bent my will to its desire with seemingly nominal effort. It was easy to see how Axkva and her clans could overrun an Imperial prison. I can’t imagine anything short of a full battalion of troops being able to handle the raw power these women possessed.
She stared at me with those piercing yellow eyes. I could feel her consciousness penetrating my mind, rooting around my entire life almost as if she were looking for something. I made no attempt to resist. She was going to get what she wanted from me one way or the other; I might as well let her do it unimpeded. I had nothing to hide from her anyway. I occasionally caught glimpses of the memories she was looking at. Several minutes later, apparently satisfied, she departed my mind, tilted her head, put her thin, long fingers on my shoulder and proclaimed, “My stolen progeny has returned!”
With her words, the cloud of dark energy dissipated into the air. Apparently there was a conscious effort to produce it by the Nightsisters. It was a curious thing. Was it something to give them an edge? Perhaps it was some way to use their collective power to empower each other should things have turned violent? If so, why was I included in it? My best guess is that they used their combined power to draw me in and keep me pliable and compliant while their Queen examined the strangely familiar human approaching them. Whatever it was, its effects had begun to wear off.
No longer enamored by its seductive presence I realized just what had happened. Not only did she not kill me on the spot, it seemed that my mother was not unhappy to see me. Perhaps things had changed in the years since my father was held captive here. Maybe the Nightsisters had found some value in men beyond being slaves. Or perhaps it was the fact that I was Force Sensitive. At that point there was no telling what it was that stayed her hand, much less made her accepting of me. It didn’t matter. I was just happy to be alive.
The rest of the clan began to disperse until after a few minutes it was just me standing there with my mother. Despite my relief, I felt no warmth from her. Ours was obviously not a reunion that provided her significant positive feelings. That then begged the question again, why then was I still alive?
As if reading my mind she responded. “We did not kill you because you may prove to be useful to us. You have a great power you have only just begun understanding. Your potential is far greater than the meaningless and trivial tricks you have been performing.”
Meaningless and trivial were the words she used. I was baffled. The meaningless and trivial things I had done took every ounce of my concentration and willpower to execute and she made it sound like I had been performing parlor tricks. My curiosity was piqued at the same time my ego was deflated. At least she thought I had potential, and if those things were in fact simple tricks, imagine what I would be able to do with the proper training.
Again, she picked up on my thought. “I will train you. You have much to learn. You are soft, weak and pliable, but we will change that. We will need to change that if you are to fulfill your destiny.”
“My destiny?” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I had heard those words come from Darth Vader on his Holonet spots. As a matter of fact, from most of the stories I have heard and read, destiny seemed to be a common thing for Force users to reference. Perhaps the connection The Force creates between everything allows its users to get a better understanding of how things work together to achieve an end. Or perhaps it’s just as I had thought all along and it was just philosophical mumbo jumbo. It seemed I would be finding out soon enough.
“Yes, your destiny. You are connected to The Force as you call it. It is strong with you and holds immeasurable power. Do you think that you would be granted such a gift without it having some purpose?” Her tone was one of little patience and little regard for ignorance.
“We will teach you how to unlock your power and give you the ability to reach your potential, but we want something in return.” Here it was; the reason I was spared. “When your training is sufficient, you will go back to the civilized parts of the galaxy and be our eyes, ears, and when called upon, our hands. When your tasks are completed, you will get a ship adequate enough in size to accommodate me and my clans so we can escape this place.”
“Why not just load up on my shuttle and I will fly you all out of this system to wherever you would like to go?” I asked with all sincerity. It was not well met as evidenced by the fact that my face met the back of her hand.
“If we wanted your shuttle, you would be dead and we would have departed before your corpse was cold!” Patience was definitely not her strength. “It’s your potential we want, not your ship.”
She paused staring up out towards the large moon in the sky. “First you must prove yourself. This planet is fraught with deadly creatures and the terrain is equally as dangerous. You must stay here until I return. In the time that I am gone you must survive without using your ship or the supplies on board. If you are alive when I get back, then you will be trained.”
With a wave of her hand, the ramp to my shuttle closed. She then mounted her rancor and rode off.
It took me about an hour before curiosity got the better of me and I wandered over to my shuttle. I punched in the code to open the ramp and nothing happened. I tried it again, still nothing. I reached out with The Force to try and get the ramp to lower. Again, I had no luck. She had done something to it to keep me from cheating. I was outdoors with the clothes on my back and my lightsaber at my side but nothing else.
I would love to finish the story up to this point, but I don’t have the time right now. I have to leave for the Nightsister village shortly to begin my training. I will get caught up here as soon as I can. Until then, wish me luck.
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