The shuffling of boots echoed down the ancient corridor before rubble shifted and a loud boom interrupted. The shuffling stopped, and Ran looked down at the chasm that opened up before her. For a moment her mind was lost in the darkness of what lay below. A tug at the utility belt pulled her in the direction. It felt as if the lightsaber, the one she had taken from that thieving Sith apprentice, was acting as a compass and guiding her down the ominous opening. She quickly found her thoughts and pulled a set of emergency light sticks from her utility belt. She threw them down the seemingly never ending shaft.
A few heartbeats passed and she could no longer see the light sticks. They were lost to the darkness as well. After another heartbeat, the crack of light sticks hitting ground traveled up the shaft. Ran blinked, and her eyes began to glow a chemical yellow. Her eyes adjusting to the dark, she crawled into the chasm. Foothold after foothold, and with a handgrip like a vice she scaled the height of the hole to end up in a long untouched ruin below. She could see the light sticks as she dropped down. She picked up the few that remained intact and ran them across the ruined walls.
Layers of dust caked over carvings depicting ancient Jedi and other force adepts dropping their blades in favor of crafting swords made of light. Another tug at her belt and she found herself in a narrow hallway lined with pieces of half beaten bronze, silver, steel, phrik, and even what appeared to be beskar. These pieces looked discarded, defective, and like the lightsaber that hung from her hip, from a bygone era. She rummaged through the piles. Some of the pieces seemed to be calling to her. She packed them into pouches and continued down the corridor. Before she knew it she had crossed the threshold into a large room that held no entrance or exit save for the one behind her, but when she looked back it too was gone.
There was no escape but she felt no danger. The force was strong in this place. It was strong throughout the force temple but especially so in this large dome shaped room. Ran moved to the center and found a small indentation in the ground, also dome shaped and the size of most sentient humanoids. Another tug and she slid into it. She sat down and knew what she needed to do.
With her legs crossed, her eyes closed, and her hands perched on her knees, she communed with the force. It was something so instinctual for her. It often scared her. Since gaining her freedom she had done many things others would call impossible without the force. Telepathy and foresight were just the tip of the iceberg. While at first it was worrying, it began to feel good, natural, like things were the way they were supposed to be.
"Your journey has been long." A voice interrupted her moment of reflection.
She opened her eyes, and saw the apparition. Its appearance was dim and translucent, and humanoid. He looked like her. "It has." Ran replied cautiously.
"I see you've picked up my lightsaber along the way."
Ran looked at the lightsaber, it was floating between them. In her meditation she had unknowingly and telekinetically lifted it before her. She pushed it toward the apparition in an effort to return it.
He smiled. "That's okay. I no longer require it. You keep it. It belongs with you. I can feel it."
"Thank you." Ran replied and flashed a smile of her own. His was, it seemed, infectious.
They both laughed as they realized how similar their smiles were.
"You are-"
"I am. Ular Unill. Jedi Knight and your grandfather. Well, great grandfather. As many greats as four hundred years will earn me."
Ran stared in disbelief. "How is this possible?"
"Many things are possible through the force." He swaggered.
"So I see. Why do you appear to me now?"
"Because you're here in the temple I built. How could I not greet my great granddaughter when she came all this way to visit me." He joked. He was silly. Ran liked that. She wanted to be more like that.
"No. No. I've come here to guide you, Ran. In the restoration of my old lightsaber and the construction of yours."
"They are one and the same?"
"Of course. After all, family and legacy are really important to you. I admire that. Although, I am sorry for the reason behind it, little one."
"It is okay. It was better that things went down this way."
"That remains to be seen, but I like your optimism. Few people would have it after living your life. But enough of that. Let us continue with the creation of your blade."
Ran nodded and closed her eyes once again. Letting herself become one with the force, the lightsaber dismantled itself before her and Ular spoke.
"A lightsaber. What is it? Is it a tool or a weapon? I'm a simple man. I think it is both or neither. The question is dumb. The lightsaber is you. It is an extension of who you are. The crystal and your heart. Its body and yours. The ignition of the blade is your spark to do good. The blade itself is a reflection of your actions. To hold a lightsaber means to be honest about who you are. To show the galaxy who you really are."
The worn pieces from the narrow hallway joined the pieces of the dismantled lightsaber as they floated in the air. They touched and tapped. One by one locking into the other. The lightsaber was a puzzle being completed by a child. It was not an easy feat but with creativity and purity and the force all problems could be solved. That is what Ran and Ular felt deep in their hearts. One with a new view and the other with an old one. Maybe they were right.
"Ran. Who are you?" Ular asked.
Ran reached out with her hand. The blade ignited. Its white glow shone through her eyelids as she grasped the hilt with both a firm and loose grip.
"Show them."
"I will."
A few heartbeats passed and she could no longer see the light sticks. They were lost to the darkness as well. After another heartbeat, the crack of light sticks hitting ground traveled up the shaft. Ran blinked, and her eyes began to glow a chemical yellow. Her eyes adjusting to the dark, she crawled into the chasm. Foothold after foothold, and with a handgrip like a vice she scaled the height of the hole to end up in a long untouched ruin below. She could see the light sticks as she dropped down. She picked up the few that remained intact and ran them across the ruined walls.
Layers of dust caked over carvings depicting ancient Jedi and other force adepts dropping their blades in favor of crafting swords made of light. Another tug at her belt and she found herself in a narrow hallway lined with pieces of half beaten bronze, silver, steel, phrik, and even what appeared to be beskar. These pieces looked discarded, defective, and like the lightsaber that hung from her hip, from a bygone era. She rummaged through the piles. Some of the pieces seemed to be calling to her. She packed them into pouches and continued down the corridor. Before she knew it she had crossed the threshold into a large room that held no entrance or exit save for the one behind her, but when she looked back it too was gone.
There was no escape but she felt no danger. The force was strong in this place. It was strong throughout the force temple but especially so in this large dome shaped room. Ran moved to the center and found a small indentation in the ground, also dome shaped and the size of most sentient humanoids. Another tug and she slid into it. She sat down and knew what she needed to do.
With her legs crossed, her eyes closed, and her hands perched on her knees, she communed with the force. It was something so instinctual for her. It often scared her. Since gaining her freedom she had done many things others would call impossible without the force. Telepathy and foresight were just the tip of the iceberg. While at first it was worrying, it began to feel good, natural, like things were the way they were supposed to be.
"Your journey has been long." A voice interrupted her moment of reflection.
She opened her eyes, and saw the apparition. Its appearance was dim and translucent, and humanoid. He looked like her. "It has." Ran replied cautiously.
"I see you've picked up my lightsaber along the way."
Ran looked at the lightsaber, it was floating between them. In her meditation she had unknowingly and telekinetically lifted it before her. She pushed it toward the apparition in an effort to return it.
He smiled. "That's okay. I no longer require it. You keep it. It belongs with you. I can feel it."
"Thank you." Ran replied and flashed a smile of her own. His was, it seemed, infectious.
They both laughed as they realized how similar their smiles were.
"You are-"
"I am. Ular Unill. Jedi Knight and your grandfather. Well, great grandfather. As many greats as four hundred years will earn me."
Ran stared in disbelief. "How is this possible?"
"Many things are possible through the force." He swaggered.
"So I see. Why do you appear to me now?"
"Because you're here in the temple I built. How could I not greet my great granddaughter when she came all this way to visit me." He joked. He was silly. Ran liked that. She wanted to be more like that.
"No. No. I've come here to guide you, Ran. In the restoration of my old lightsaber and the construction of yours."
"They are one and the same?"
"Of course. After all, family and legacy are really important to you. I admire that. Although, I am sorry for the reason behind it, little one."
"It is okay. It was better that things went down this way."
"That remains to be seen, but I like your optimism. Few people would have it after living your life. But enough of that. Let us continue with the creation of your blade."
Ran nodded and closed her eyes once again. Letting herself become one with the force, the lightsaber dismantled itself before her and Ular spoke.
"A lightsaber. What is it? Is it a tool or a weapon? I'm a simple man. I think it is both or neither. The question is dumb. The lightsaber is you. It is an extension of who you are. The crystal and your heart. Its body and yours. The ignition of the blade is your spark to do good. The blade itself is a reflection of your actions. To hold a lightsaber means to be honest about who you are. To show the galaxy who you really are."
The worn pieces from the narrow hallway joined the pieces of the dismantled lightsaber as they floated in the air. They touched and tapped. One by one locking into the other. The lightsaber was a puzzle being completed by a child. It was not an easy feat but with creativity and purity and the force all problems could be solved. That is what Ran and Ular felt deep in their hearts. One with a new view and the other with an old one. Maybe they were right.
"Ran. Who are you?" Ular asked.
Ran reached out with her hand. The blade ignited. Its white glow shone through her eyelids as she grasped the hilt with both a firm and loose grip.
"Show them."
"I will."
Fin
To be continued in The Song of Ran: Episode III - The Will of the Force
To be continued in The Song of Ran: Episode III - The Will of the Force
