A Prophetic Repeat

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth took a moment to simply savor the beauty that Sabarene radiated. It was one of few desert worlds that she even remotely had a liking for. Despite how much Light the planet seemed to emit, her short time on the planet was marked with a fairly bad experience. Her grandmother was killed on this planet – after she ran, as instructed.

Like a coward. Beth couldn’t focus on that no more. No, Beth Cadera had much more serious things to think about and tend to. Her place in the Ascendancy, for one. Having recently moved with [member="Cleru"] into Chiss space brought an abundant amount of opportunities, despite her initial worries. The twins were developing healthily inside her even though they were wreaking havoc on her body as they developed.

A hand rested on her stomach as she still couldn’t quite believe life was forming inside her. She hadn’t planned on them, and while she still felt absolutely shameful, she at least knew her family supported her. Cleru was more than excited for the kids. And that… That made it okay, even if her plans were trashed.

But, she had to take care of some business. Particularly, the darkness that had been planted inside her by [member="Darth Prazutis"]. She couldn’t quite remember, but years ago he had done something – something to try to bring her to the Dark. [member="Manu Xextos"] wasn’t quite clear on it, but she understood enough that it was essentially poisoning her Force. And it explained the horrible nightmares she’d get so frequently.

Mostly, though, Beth was worried about the twins – and truth be told, terrified that they’d be corrupted by the Dark like Adara. She had to remove whatever this seed was. She had to protect her twins from it. And… She had to protect herself, too, in truth.

And with all that… She was led to Sabarene. The place where it all began. The place that seemed so familiar yet so foreign.

Wearing a light cream floral designed dress, Beth walked towards the designated meeting location with Manu. It was time. Time to right some wrongs.

 

[Manu Xextos]

Sabarene.

My bastion of Light, and the usurpation of lands once scarred with its antithesis. It’s been five years since [member="Adara Raxis"] was saved by [member="Darth Carnifex"] on my transplanted homeworld. Five years since I’ve felt the call to invite more of the Mandalorians to this place.

If you could call the sensible and precious [member="Beth Cadera"] a Mandalorian. I wait for her at the shuttle pad, walk in silence to the speeder, which will take us through the desert.

A maze of degraded sand lays between us and Aberash Temple, the last remnants of my great-granddaughter Baiko and her personal war. The failure of Sabarene to salvage a child meant for the Light.

Today that failure sees its reverse, and my student Kaine’s daughter gets a gentler introduction to the true mercy of the Force than her father did.

To Kaine I was a jackhammer with no limit. The blunt force trauma to his pugilistic brain stem in a frustrated Grandfather’s begrudging acceptance of his descendant’s will.

Beth, well she’s different. She needs a gentler hand.

“When we get to the Temple, best part is walking barefoot on the sand. Let the sensations come to you. Do not shut anything out, however uncomfortable. Let it in, let it be revealed for what it is, and let it pass.

We are the bedrock of the river, Bethany. Not the water downstream.” Veering in the distance, Aberash Temple spears calmly at the horizon, unfolding beside the ocean’s constant tide.

“Here. For nausea.” I slide an envelope of pastilles to the girl, her nausea is driving my empathic senses nuts. “Ancient Echani recipe.”

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth placed a hand on her stomach where her twins where slowly growing. 12 months. That’s likely how long they’d be inside her, based off of the genetics of Eldorai, Human, and Chiss that were all at play. They weren’t even sure how their lifespans would be, yet. Wait a little bit more for when the pregnancy stabilizes, then they could run more in-depth tests.

And so, Beth was blind except general reassurances that they seemed healthy. But… She could feel them, now. The sparks that [member="Manu Xextos"] spoke of when they were finally rescued from that hell planet. Two, tiny sparks of life within her. She couldn’t tell yet if they had acquired the Force. Gods, she could only hope whatever Prazutis did to her wouldn’t affect them.

It all came back to this planet. Five years ago, where her grandmother, Baiko told her to run. Run with Achani. Get away, she’d protect us through the Force. Beth took a breath as she stared at the sand that lay between her and the Temple. She slipped onto the speeder with Manu, giving a small nod at removing her shoes once they arrived at the Temple. “What… What do you think I’ll feel?” She asked, somewhat nervous but mostly calm from the serenity that the planet emitted.

The Aberash Temple began to appear on the horizon. Beth took the sight in before Manu handed some pastilles to her. Something for the nausea. A look of gratitude as she quickly ingested the pastilles, hopeful for some relief at last. She was tremendously missing not feeling sick all the time.

 

[Manu Xextos]

If only I’d gotten to her before she got pregnant. How much more equipped would she be, if she’d been properly trained? The Force is more than a weapon. I laugh from my belly sometimes, when the ‘Jedi’ of today rear their heads. They’re either equipped for nothing but a fight, or so detached from the Living Force to be useless in any range of functional work.

Not so for [member="Beth Cadera"]. She’s got potential to awaken, and now is the only time left to reach her, before the poisonous Dark takes hold. If only it was so simple for my mother.

“Up to you, sweet pea. The Force might work in patterns, but it’s an individual mind which fathoms what it can. Want my guess?” The desert recedes to the waves and the ocean, splayed out in a constant state of reconnection with the shore. Her nausea’s bound to give me indigestion if she doesn’t start sucking on one of those tinget root pastilles.

Dang empathy, all useful and terrible simultaneously.

“… Beth, you carry a few planet’s worth of guilt. Guilt from your recent past, guilt about Baiko, guilt that goes back to your childhood. And you know what? A lot of what you carry isn’t yours. It doesn’t belong to you, but you shoulder it and soldier on, like a typical Mandalorian.

Time to let the guilt go, sweetheart. The fear. See them for what they are. Respect their presence in your life, what they’ve done for and against you, thank each speck of guilt, and let the water float it away.” The speeder halts, and I hop out, offering Beth a hand.

“C’mon. High tide’s ebbing, now’s the perfect time to sit in the Temple.”