Senate Building- Wednesday
Jaina's very first Council meeting as a Jedi Master was held in Wuul's office, and it wasn't until Corran nodded his head towards an empty chair that she realized it was for her.
This was very weird. Cool. But weird.
Her promotion wasn't a big deal here, which she liked. There were murmured congratulations from the Masters- the other Masters- but otherwise they were focused on Mirax, who was already speaking, and Jaina was looking around to see who all was there and what she had to prepare herself for. There were several military and civilian dignitaries, including Admiral New Bwua'tu, Senator Wuul, Gaving Darklighter, and Wynn Dorvan, who had definitely seen better days. She also saw Valin and Jysella for the first time since they'd gone to the computer core five days ago. They both still had cuts and bruises that were visible, so they'd probably been pulled out of the bacta tanks early, too. There was someone conspicuously missing, though, and Jaina mouthed "Ben?" but only got Valin shaking his head in response.
"...who have escaped the Temple are spreading out across Coruscant and launching soft-target terrorist attacks," Mirax was saying. "Most of the other news outlets are taking a more balanced approach, attributing the violence to a rogue sect of Force-users."
"They’re not even using the term Sith?" Kyle asked.
"There has been some speculation. But most of the public doesn’t really understand what Sith are, and those who do are accustomed to thinking of them as loners-either Jedi gone bad, or sinister geniuses hiding in plain sight."
"So the population isn’t doing anything to help us, either?" Kyp asked.
Mirax shook her head. "Not much. Ee’ve been getting a little cooperation through the security forces- primarily reports of suspicious behavior. But most Coruscanti don’t seem to know what to believe. They’re just keeping their heads down and trying to stay clear of any trouble at all."
"Which is difficult, now that our fight with the Sith has spread beyond the Temple," Luke said. "How bad is the violence getting? Are we starting to contain it at all?"
"Not even close," Mirax admitted, clearly not wanting to have to say that. "When the space marine volunteers entered through the exhaust shaft, the Sith had far too much time to react. We think at least three hundred escaped and spread into the rest of the city, and their only objective seems to be to create as much chaos and destruction as possible. So far, they’ve launched over three thousand attacks, and they’ve completely destroyed seven hundred skytowers. We’re already estimating civilian casualties at over three million."
"And how many Sith have we taken out?" Corran asked.
"Twenty-two,” Mirax replied. "But we’ve lost fifteen Jedi doing it. Security force casualties are running into the thousands- even the Special Weapons Teams are no match for Sith Sabers."
An unhappy silence fell over the table, for the conclusion was clear: so far, the enemy was winning this part of the fight, and there was little hope of turning the tide of battle anytime soon.
"We all know you’re doing everything possible under the circumstances," Luke said.
Mirax nodded. "There is one more thing I'd like to mention. We've received several reports of... well, of an observer. A tall man with a rugged, tattooed face showed up at hand-to-hand combat near Fellowship Plaza. So far, he’s done nothing but watch, but when Jedi Saav’etu noticed a dark side aura and tried to take him into custody, he disarmed her. Then he said something very odd: ‘Not yet, Jedi. Abeloth first.'"
"These tattoos..." Luke said, "did they radiate from around his eyes?"
"Jedi Saav’etu described it as a spray pattern with the eyes at the center. Then you know who he is?"
Luke shook his head. "Not at all. But I caught a glimpse of him during the trouble we had leaving the spaceport. He certainly didn’t appear to be a member of the Lost Tribe."
"Then I’ll put out a ‘report location only’ bulletin on him," Mirax said. "We certainly have no need to go out looking for a fight right now."
"I think that’s best," Luke agreed."Thank you, Mirax."
She stepped away from the table and focus turned to Gavin. "How soon can we start withdrawing our combination teams from the Temple?" Luke asked.
"We're making progress," Gavin said. He apparently hadn't slept in days, the poor guy. "We control everything above Level Three-seventy and below the Pinnacle."
"Above Three-seventy?" Dorvan asked suddenly. "Then you haven’t captured the computer core?"
Gavin shook his head. "Not yet."
Normally Wynn Dorvan was a cool, collected man, but now when he spoke, his voice pitched higher, his eyes widening. "Then you have captured nothing. Does no one understand? The Beloved Queen is living in the computer, too. She is the computer!"
Gavin nodded wearily. "You did mention that- several times- in the post-rescue debriefing, Chief Dorvan. And we’ll deal with the computer core just as soon as we’re able to attack it. In the meantime, we’re splitting the Sith forces that remain in the Temple, driving them down into
the sublevels and up into the Pinnacle. We’ve encountered a lot of resistance in the upper levels, and frankly, if Chief Dorvan hadn’t told us that Abeloth was in the computer core, we would be inclined to believe that she is somewhere near Pinnacle Platform."
"I see what you’re doing, you know," Dorvan said. "But it’s a mistake to ignore me. I’ve been closer to the Beloved Queen than any of you. I know what she can do."
"Nobody is ignoring you, Chief Dorvan," Jaina said, leaning forward so she could look Dorvan in the eye. "At least I’m not. If you say she’s living in the computer core, I absolutely believe you."
"So do I," Luke added. "We know for a fact that she had contact with my dear Callie Callista Ming, a former Jedi who once merged her Force presence with a computer. So we have every reason to believe you."
That calmed Dorvan down a bit. "I'm glad to hear that. Abeloth may be on Pinnacle Platform, but that doesn’t mean that she’s not-"
"In the computer core, too," Jaina finished, looking around the table. "Abeloth can inhabit more than one body at a time."
That got everyone's attention, and the room went silent. So Jaina told them about her conversation with Tahiri on the way over, how Tahiri had defeated Abeloth at the same moment the Abeloth in the Temple had vanished.
"So the two bodies were linked," Corran said. "Kill one, weaken the other?"
"That would explain what happened to Dyon Stadd in the Maw," Luke said. "I knew I was killing Abeloth when I fought her there-"
"But you were killing just one part," Saba finished. "The part that was in the body of Dyon Stadd."
"Exactly. And when that part died, the part in Abeloth’s other body was weakened, too- the same way that the Abeloth here in the Temple was weakened when Fett and Tahiri killed the one on Hagamoor Three."
"Then I fear we may be running out of time,” Cilghal said, with what Jaina recognized as the Mon Cal version of a sigh. "Each time we have killed one of Abeloth’s bodies, the other part has fled to hide and recuperate."
"That's right," Kyp said, addressing Luke. "When you killed the part in Dyon’s body, the other part left the Maw and went to Pydyr to recover. When you killed another body on Pydyr, the second Abeloth fled to Nam Chorios to recuperate. If she stays true to form, she’ll be leaving Coruscant any
minute now- if she’s not already gone."
"A good observation,” Kyle said. "But the pattern is rather different now."
"Different how?" asked Bwua’tu. "Because there are three parts this time?"
"For starters, yes. First, we have the part that Tahiri and Fett killed on Hagamoor Three. Second, we have the part that Luke and his team fought in the ventilation system. Presumably, she is the part that’s now on Pinnacle Platform. Third, we have the part that Chief Dorvan reports is living inside the computer core," Kyle said.
"And if there can be three parts, why not four?" asked Bwua'tu. "Why not five, or a hundred, scattered across the entire galaxy?"
"Because all of Abeloth’s bodies are part of one Force entity, yes?" Barratk’l asked. "She has grown much in power since we discovered her, but each time we kill a part, she is weakened. So there are limits. As she grows stronger, those limits rise. And now she has three bodies."
"That we know of," Kyle reminded her.
"Yes, but there is a correlation, or she would not need to hide from us when a part of her has been killed," Barratk’l said. “So we must ask ourselves this: what, exactly, are we harming when we kill a body she has taken?"
Everyone looked to Cilghal, the Order's most experienced healer. "The answer must lie in the Force," she said. "But it is difficult to grasp without knowing how she takes control of her victims. If it was just Force telepathy, or a simple exertion of will, she wouldn’t be harmed when one of her bodies is killed. She would simply withdraw and find another."
"I saw her take Lydea Pagorski," Dorvan said tentatively. "Would it help if I tried to describe the process?”
"Very much, Chief Dorvan," Cilghal said slowly.
Dorvan’s face went pale and blank, the way torture victims’ faces did when they relived their torment. But he swallowed hard and said, "I’ll do my best. It seemed very fast. Abeloth was using Roki Kem’s body at the time, but it wasn’t holding up well. The skin was starting to peel, and
her eyes were starting to bulge. First, Roki Kem told Pagorski that she was simply going to erase her memory of what she had seen inside the Temple. Pagorski believed her, so she didn’t resist. Then Kem grabbed Pagorski’s head and locked gazes with her. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the air started to shimmer between them. Pagorski’s eyes opened, and she looked terrified. Kem’s fingers started to grow, then her arms suddenly dissolved into tentacles, and she... well, she became Abeloth. I mean, she always was Abeloth, but now I could see her real nature."
"Can you describe her?" Cilghal asked.
"She had coarse yellow hair and eyes that weren’t really eyes- just silver points of light set deep in the sockets," Dorvan reported. "Her mouth was more like a deep gash. It stretched most of the way across her face.”
"No doubt about it, that’s Abeloth," Luke said, as Jaina suppressed a shudder at having seen that herself. "What happened next?"
"Well, Pagorski started to scream, then Abeloth’s tentacles shot down her throat," Dorvan said, still keeping his eyes closed. "And into her ears and nostrils. Pagorski made very horrible sounds, like she was gagging and choking, and the tentacles started to pulse. After a few seconds, Pagorski just collapsed and hung from the tentacles, looking terrified. That was just the beginning. After a while, the terror finally drained from Pagorski’s face. I thought maybe she had died. But then her face turned so pale that I could see the tentacles writhing around under her skin, pumping something dark and viscous through her nose- up into her sinuses -and down into her throat. I didn’t think there was any way she could live through that, but she did. I could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed, and she never- well, she never went slack, the way dead people do. Finally, she seemed to get stronger, and she sort of looked at me and smiled. But it wasn’t just Pagorski looking. She was still in there, and I could see in her eyes that she was going crazy with fear. But Abeloth was in there, too-and she was enjoying it."
"As though she were feeding on it?" Luke asked.
Dorvan opened his eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Exactly like that. She was feeding on the fear."
"We’ve seen that before," Luke said. "On Pydyr, Abeloth seemed to be creating an aura of fear so she could draw on the dark side energies it released. We’re fairly certain it’s how she rejuvenates herself."
"A Force being that feeds on fear?" Dorvan asked, distraught. "In that case, Master Skywalker, you had better kill her soon-while it is still possible."
"That’s what we’re doing here, Chief- trying to figure out how," Kyp said. "What else can you tell us?"
"Nothing more about taking Pagorski’s body," Dorvan said. "I’m afraid my memory after that is... well, muddled. But I think you should hear what happened when I killed her. You see, Abeloth wanted me to kill her."
Most of the people in the room were looking at him like he was crazy, but Kyle tilted his head and asked, "I'm afraid we're not really following you, Chief. Why would Abeloth want you to kill one of her bodies?"
Dorvan shrugged. "Maybe because it was wearing out, or maybe because she was going to enter the computer core anyway. All I can tell you is that I stole a hold-out blaster and put a couple of bolts through her head. The next thing I know, I’m flying into a wall- and I discover that she has manifested herself out in the computer core. I realized later that the whole thing was just a trap for Ben."
Luke shifted forward in his chair. "For Ben?" he repeated. "What makes you think it was just for Ben."
"Because Ben is the one they took," Dorvan said, logically. "But maybe you should ask Valin or Jysella. They were in a better state of mind than I to make that judgment."
"There’s no doubt about it," Valin said immediately. "Looking back, Abeloth was trying to isolate Ben from the moment we started down the corridor. She could have taken us all out along the way, but she wanted Ben alive."
"I’d even say that she might have been driving us toward the computer core just to set up Ben’s capture," Jysella agreed. "Everything was timed to the millisecond, then once she had Ben, she left the rest of us alone."
"Which isn’t to say she actually let us go, in case anyone’s wondering," Valin added, cutting off any worries about them losing it again off at the pass. "She just left us to the Sith and didn’t expend any more of her own effort on us."
"And Abeloth didn’t reach out to you at all while you were inside the Temple?" Cilghal asked. "You had no episodes of paranoia or confusion?"
"We didn’t say that," Valin replied with a wry grin. "We’re still trying to figure out why she took Ben and ignored us. It seems kind of suspicious."
"I think I may know the answer," Jaina said. She so had a bad feeling about this. "You thought there might be something to do with the Celestials? Well, I got some information on that."
"Where did you get this?" Saba wondered.
'My supposed-to-be-dead alternate universe grandfather' was not an acceptable answer when Luke and Kyp were the only people around this table who knew about that. "It doesn't matter," Jaina said, waving it off. "The Celestials were a family. Mother, Father, Son and Daughter. The Son was the embodiment of the dark side of the Force and the Daughter was the light. Father called Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice for help. Turns out Son and Daughter are constantly battling and need someone to tame them. Father was dying, and wanted Anakin to become the balance point between the dark and the light."
"That sounds like a terrible idea," Kyp said.
Jaina shrugged.
"What about the Mother?" asked Corran. "Where's she in this?"
Luke frowned, understanding. "Abeloth. Abeloth is the other parent?"
"As best I can figure," Jaina said. That had been Anakin's assessment, but again, couldn't say that or things would get really off track. "She was nowhere around at the time. When Anakin refused to take Father's place, the Ones wiped each other out."
"It explainz too much," Saba said, "why there is so much darknesz and change in the galaxy, why war comes so often and nothing stayz certain. The Force has no Balance."
"And it also explains what Abeloth wants with Ben," Jaina said.
Luke paled, realizing it too, but he was trying to clamp down on it. "You said it first," he said when the other Masters look confused. "You explain."
"It's still just a guess," she said. "I could be wrong."
"Are you?" Luke asked.
Jaina shook her head. "No, I'm not. Abeloth took Ben because she intends to recreate the... well, the Family of the Ones, for lack of a better name. She's trying to rebuild the family she lost."
An astonished rustle filled the room as beings shifted in their seats and stepped closer to the table.
"I’m convinced," Luke said, nodding. "It explains everything I’ve seen her do."
"But with herself taking the Father’s place," Kyle said. "Though she may have wanted you to take the role for a time. That would explain why she tried to keep you and Ben from leaving Sinkhole Station."
"Yeah, but then Luke kept killing Abeloth’s bodies,” Kyp observed. "After a while, she finally took the hint and decided she’d have the family on her own."
"Probably," Kyle agreed. "And it’s safe to assume that Abeloth would be a force of constant change in the galaxy, rather than stability."
"She certainly wouldn’t bring much Balance to the Force," Jaina agreed. "And Ben, obviously, will be the embodiment of the light side."
"Clearly," Corran said. "And Vestara Khai will embody the dark side."
No one argued against this.
The room shook again with another groundquake, one that sent a few people sprawling, and in the chaos of people getting up to look at what was happening outside, Jaina saw Luke get up and head for the door with a quick motion to follow. She didn't even question it, she just got up to go with him.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Most dialogue from Apocalypse by Troy Denning, with thanks to sith_happened for giving me a reason to cut this thing to sense-making shreds!]
This was very weird. Cool. But weird.
Her promotion wasn't a big deal here, which she liked. There were murmured congratulations from the Masters- the other Masters- but otherwise they were focused on Mirax, who was already speaking, and Jaina was looking around to see who all was there and what she had to prepare herself for. There were several military and civilian dignitaries, including Admiral New Bwua'tu, Senator Wuul, Gaving Darklighter, and Wynn Dorvan, who had definitely seen better days. She also saw Valin and Jysella for the first time since they'd gone to the computer core five days ago. They both still had cuts and bruises that were visible, so they'd probably been pulled out of the bacta tanks early, too. There was someone conspicuously missing, though, and Jaina mouthed "Ben?" but only got Valin shaking his head in response.
"...who have escaped the Temple are spreading out across Coruscant and launching soft-target terrorist attacks," Mirax was saying. "Most of the other news outlets are taking a more balanced approach, attributing the violence to a rogue sect of Force-users."
"They’re not even using the term Sith?" Kyle asked.
"There has been some speculation. But most of the public doesn’t really understand what Sith are, and those who do are accustomed to thinking of them as loners-either Jedi gone bad, or sinister geniuses hiding in plain sight."
"So the population isn’t doing anything to help us, either?" Kyp asked.
Mirax shook her head. "Not much. Ee’ve been getting a little cooperation through the security forces- primarily reports of suspicious behavior. But most Coruscanti don’t seem to know what to believe. They’re just keeping their heads down and trying to stay clear of any trouble at all."
"Which is difficult, now that our fight with the Sith has spread beyond the Temple," Luke said. "How bad is the violence getting? Are we starting to contain it at all?"
"Not even close," Mirax admitted, clearly not wanting to have to say that. "When the space marine volunteers entered through the exhaust shaft, the Sith had far too much time to react. We think at least three hundred escaped and spread into the rest of the city, and their only objective seems to be to create as much chaos and destruction as possible. So far, they’ve launched over three thousand attacks, and they’ve completely destroyed seven hundred skytowers. We’re already estimating civilian casualties at over three million."
"And how many Sith have we taken out?" Corran asked.
"Twenty-two,” Mirax replied. "But we’ve lost fifteen Jedi doing it. Security force casualties are running into the thousands- even the Special Weapons Teams are no match for Sith Sabers."
An unhappy silence fell over the table, for the conclusion was clear: so far, the enemy was winning this part of the fight, and there was little hope of turning the tide of battle anytime soon.
"We all know you’re doing everything possible under the circumstances," Luke said.
Mirax nodded. "There is one more thing I'd like to mention. We've received several reports of... well, of an observer. A tall man with a rugged, tattooed face showed up at hand-to-hand combat near Fellowship Plaza. So far, he’s done nothing but watch, but when Jedi Saav’etu noticed a dark side aura and tried to take him into custody, he disarmed her. Then he said something very odd: ‘Not yet, Jedi. Abeloth first.'"
"These tattoos..." Luke said, "did they radiate from around his eyes?"
"Jedi Saav’etu described it as a spray pattern with the eyes at the center. Then you know who he is?"
Luke shook his head. "Not at all. But I caught a glimpse of him during the trouble we had leaving the spaceport. He certainly didn’t appear to be a member of the Lost Tribe."
"Then I’ll put out a ‘report location only’ bulletin on him," Mirax said. "We certainly have no need to go out looking for a fight right now."
"I think that’s best," Luke agreed."Thank you, Mirax."
She stepped away from the table and focus turned to Gavin. "How soon can we start withdrawing our combination teams from the Temple?" Luke asked.
"We're making progress," Gavin said. He apparently hadn't slept in days, the poor guy. "We control everything above Level Three-seventy and below the Pinnacle."
"Above Three-seventy?" Dorvan asked suddenly. "Then you haven’t captured the computer core?"
Gavin shook his head. "Not yet."
Normally Wynn Dorvan was a cool, collected man, but now when he spoke, his voice pitched higher, his eyes widening. "Then you have captured nothing. Does no one understand? The Beloved Queen is living in the computer, too. She is the computer!"
Gavin nodded wearily. "You did mention that- several times- in the post-rescue debriefing, Chief Dorvan. And we’ll deal with the computer core just as soon as we’re able to attack it. In the meantime, we’re splitting the Sith forces that remain in the Temple, driving them down into
the sublevels and up into the Pinnacle. We’ve encountered a lot of resistance in the upper levels, and frankly, if Chief Dorvan hadn’t told us that Abeloth was in the computer core, we would be inclined to believe that she is somewhere near Pinnacle Platform."
"I see what you’re doing, you know," Dorvan said. "But it’s a mistake to ignore me. I’ve been closer to the Beloved Queen than any of you. I know what she can do."
"Nobody is ignoring you, Chief Dorvan," Jaina said, leaning forward so she could look Dorvan in the eye. "At least I’m not. If you say she’s living in the computer core, I absolutely believe you."
"So do I," Luke added. "We know for a fact that she had contact with my dear Callie Callista Ming, a former Jedi who once merged her Force presence with a computer. So we have every reason to believe you."
That calmed Dorvan down a bit. "I'm glad to hear that. Abeloth may be on Pinnacle Platform, but that doesn’t mean that she’s not-"
"In the computer core, too," Jaina finished, looking around the table. "Abeloth can inhabit more than one body at a time."
That got everyone's attention, and the room went silent. So Jaina told them about her conversation with Tahiri on the way over, how Tahiri had defeated Abeloth at the same moment the Abeloth in the Temple had vanished.
"So the two bodies were linked," Corran said. "Kill one, weaken the other?"
"That would explain what happened to Dyon Stadd in the Maw," Luke said. "I knew I was killing Abeloth when I fought her there-"
"But you were killing just one part," Saba finished. "The part that was in the body of Dyon Stadd."
"Exactly. And when that part died, the part in Abeloth’s other body was weakened, too- the same way that the Abeloth here in the Temple was weakened when Fett and Tahiri killed the one on Hagamoor Three."
"Then I fear we may be running out of time,” Cilghal said, with what Jaina recognized as the Mon Cal version of a sigh. "Each time we have killed one of Abeloth’s bodies, the other part has fled to hide and recuperate."
"That's right," Kyp said, addressing Luke. "When you killed the part in Dyon’s body, the other part left the Maw and went to Pydyr to recover. When you killed another body on Pydyr, the second Abeloth fled to Nam Chorios to recuperate. If she stays true to form, she’ll be leaving Coruscant any
minute now- if she’s not already gone."
"A good observation,” Kyle said. "But the pattern is rather different now."
"Different how?" asked Bwua’tu. "Because there are three parts this time?"
"For starters, yes. First, we have the part that Tahiri and Fett killed on Hagamoor Three. Second, we have the part that Luke and his team fought in the ventilation system. Presumably, she is the part that’s now on Pinnacle Platform. Third, we have the part that Chief Dorvan reports is living inside the computer core," Kyle said.
"And if there can be three parts, why not four?" asked Bwua'tu. "Why not five, or a hundred, scattered across the entire galaxy?"
"Because all of Abeloth’s bodies are part of one Force entity, yes?" Barratk’l asked. "She has grown much in power since we discovered her, but each time we kill a part, she is weakened. So there are limits. As she grows stronger, those limits rise. And now she has three bodies."
"That we know of," Kyle reminded her.
"Yes, but there is a correlation, or she would not need to hide from us when a part of her has been killed," Barratk’l said. “So we must ask ourselves this: what, exactly, are we harming when we kill a body she has taken?"
Everyone looked to Cilghal, the Order's most experienced healer. "The answer must lie in the Force," she said. "But it is difficult to grasp without knowing how she takes control of her victims. If it was just Force telepathy, or a simple exertion of will, she wouldn’t be harmed when one of her bodies is killed. She would simply withdraw and find another."
"I saw her take Lydea Pagorski," Dorvan said tentatively. "Would it help if I tried to describe the process?”
"Very much, Chief Dorvan," Cilghal said slowly.
Dorvan’s face went pale and blank, the way torture victims’ faces did when they relived their torment. But he swallowed hard and said, "I’ll do my best. It seemed very fast. Abeloth was using Roki Kem’s body at the time, but it wasn’t holding up well. The skin was starting to peel, and
her eyes were starting to bulge. First, Roki Kem told Pagorski that she was simply going to erase her memory of what she had seen inside the Temple. Pagorski believed her, so she didn’t resist. Then Kem grabbed Pagorski’s head and locked gazes with her. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the air started to shimmer between them. Pagorski’s eyes opened, and she looked terrified. Kem’s fingers started to grow, then her arms suddenly dissolved into tentacles, and she... well, she became Abeloth. I mean, she always was Abeloth, but now I could see her real nature."
"Can you describe her?" Cilghal asked.
"She had coarse yellow hair and eyes that weren’t really eyes- just silver points of light set deep in the sockets," Dorvan reported. "Her mouth was more like a deep gash. It stretched most of the way across her face.”
"No doubt about it, that’s Abeloth," Luke said, as Jaina suppressed a shudder at having seen that herself. "What happened next?"
"Well, Pagorski started to scream, then Abeloth’s tentacles shot down her throat," Dorvan said, still keeping his eyes closed. "And into her ears and nostrils. Pagorski made very horrible sounds, like she was gagging and choking, and the tentacles started to pulse. After a few seconds, Pagorski just collapsed and hung from the tentacles, looking terrified. That was just the beginning. After a while, the terror finally drained from Pagorski’s face. I thought maybe she had died. But then her face turned so pale that I could see the tentacles writhing around under her skin, pumping something dark and viscous through her nose- up into her sinuses -and down into her throat. I didn’t think there was any way she could live through that, but she did. I could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed, and she never- well, she never went slack, the way dead people do. Finally, she seemed to get stronger, and she sort of looked at me and smiled. But it wasn’t just Pagorski looking. She was still in there, and I could see in her eyes that she was going crazy with fear. But Abeloth was in there, too-and she was enjoying it."
"As though she were feeding on it?" Luke asked.
Dorvan opened his eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Exactly like that. She was feeding on the fear."
"We’ve seen that before," Luke said. "On Pydyr, Abeloth seemed to be creating an aura of fear so she could draw on the dark side energies it released. We’re fairly certain it’s how she rejuvenates herself."
"A Force being that feeds on fear?" Dorvan asked, distraught. "In that case, Master Skywalker, you had better kill her soon-while it is still possible."
"That’s what we’re doing here, Chief- trying to figure out how," Kyp said. "What else can you tell us?"
"Nothing more about taking Pagorski’s body," Dorvan said. "I’m afraid my memory after that is... well, muddled. But I think you should hear what happened when I killed her. You see, Abeloth wanted me to kill her."
Most of the people in the room were looking at him like he was crazy, but Kyle tilted his head and asked, "I'm afraid we're not really following you, Chief. Why would Abeloth want you to kill one of her bodies?"
Dorvan shrugged. "Maybe because it was wearing out, or maybe because she was going to enter the computer core anyway. All I can tell you is that I stole a hold-out blaster and put a couple of bolts through her head. The next thing I know, I’m flying into a wall- and I discover that she has manifested herself out in the computer core. I realized later that the whole thing was just a trap for Ben."
Luke shifted forward in his chair. "For Ben?" he repeated. "What makes you think it was just for Ben."
"Because Ben is the one they took," Dorvan said, logically. "But maybe you should ask Valin or Jysella. They were in a better state of mind than I to make that judgment."
"There’s no doubt about it," Valin said immediately. "Looking back, Abeloth was trying to isolate Ben from the moment we started down the corridor. She could have taken us all out along the way, but she wanted Ben alive."
"I’d even say that she might have been driving us toward the computer core just to set up Ben’s capture," Jysella agreed. "Everything was timed to the millisecond, then once she had Ben, she left the rest of us alone."
"Which isn’t to say she actually let us go, in case anyone’s wondering," Valin added, cutting off any worries about them losing it again off at the pass. "She just left us to the Sith and didn’t expend any more of her own effort on us."
"And Abeloth didn’t reach out to you at all while you were inside the Temple?" Cilghal asked. "You had no episodes of paranoia or confusion?"
"We didn’t say that," Valin replied with a wry grin. "We’re still trying to figure out why she took Ben and ignored us. It seems kind of suspicious."
"I think I may know the answer," Jaina said. She so had a bad feeling about this. "You thought there might be something to do with the Celestials? Well, I got some information on that."
"Where did you get this?" Saba wondered.
'My supposed-to-be-dead alternate universe grandfather' was not an acceptable answer when Luke and Kyp were the only people around this table who knew about that. "It doesn't matter," Jaina said, waving it off. "The Celestials were a family. Mother, Father, Son and Daughter. The Son was the embodiment of the dark side of the Force and the Daughter was the light. Father called Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice for help. Turns out Son and Daughter are constantly battling and need someone to tame them. Father was dying, and wanted Anakin to become the balance point between the dark and the light."
"That sounds like a terrible idea," Kyp said.
Jaina shrugged.
"What about the Mother?" asked Corran. "Where's she in this?"
Luke frowned, understanding. "Abeloth. Abeloth is the other parent?"
"As best I can figure," Jaina said. That had been Anakin's assessment, but again, couldn't say that or things would get really off track. "She was nowhere around at the time. When Anakin refused to take Father's place, the Ones wiped each other out."
"It explainz too much," Saba said, "why there is so much darknesz and change in the galaxy, why war comes so often and nothing stayz certain. The Force has no Balance."
"And it also explains what Abeloth wants with Ben," Jaina said.
Luke paled, realizing it too, but he was trying to clamp down on it. "You said it first," he said when the other Masters look confused. "You explain."
"It's still just a guess," she said. "I could be wrong."
"Are you?" Luke asked.
Jaina shook her head. "No, I'm not. Abeloth took Ben because she intends to recreate the... well, the Family of the Ones, for lack of a better name. She's trying to rebuild the family she lost."
An astonished rustle filled the room as beings shifted in their seats and stepped closer to the table.
"I’m convinced," Luke said, nodding. "It explains everything I’ve seen her do."
"But with herself taking the Father’s place," Kyle said. "Though she may have wanted you to take the role for a time. That would explain why she tried to keep you and Ben from leaving Sinkhole Station."
"Yeah, but then Luke kept killing Abeloth’s bodies,” Kyp observed. "After a while, she finally took the hint and decided she’d have the family on her own."
"Probably," Kyle agreed. "And it’s safe to assume that Abeloth would be a force of constant change in the galaxy, rather than stability."
"She certainly wouldn’t bring much Balance to the Force," Jaina agreed. "And Ben, obviously, will be the embodiment of the light side."
"Clearly," Corran said. "And Vestara Khai will embody the dark side."
No one argued against this.
The room shook again with another groundquake, one that sent a few people sprawling, and in the chaos of people getting up to look at what was happening outside, Jaina saw Luke get up and head for the door with a quick motion to follow. She didn't even question it, she just got up to go with him.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Most dialogue from Apocalypse by Troy Denning, with thanks to sith_happened for giving me a reason to cut this thing to sense-making shreds!]