A Soliloquy Across Time

[Chaca]

Dripping wet and still trembling slightly, Chaca remained at the edge of the water on his hands and knees. He breathed quickly, starting to calm as he realized that there were no Rakata actually in the cave with them. Chaca certainly couldn't understand why it seemed so real, as though he had actually experienced the wrath of the Rakata. The vision was deep and detailed, like a memory

Appreciative, Chaca took hold of Sebastian as he offered his help in standing back up. His claws clicked on the cold cave floor below them as the boy regained his footing, leaning against Sebastian for the moment. Looking to each of his two companions, the small cathar smiled appreciatively for their efforts, though it could be seen in his face that he was still rather shaken. His sapphire eyes glimmered in fear as he glanced between Sebastian and Ultimatum


"It felt so real. I saw Rakata. They were.."

He swallowed hard, noticeably shuddering a little more as he focused on the gruesome vision.


"I think they were killing a-and... eating...for dark side rituals"

Chacas stomach turned and his skin crawled at the thought of being eaten.


"Wh-what kind of horrible spells would take...eating others?"

He asked - though immediately after asking, he realized that he probably didn't really want to know. He glanced fleetingly at the symbol that had caught his attention and ultimately brought about the memory he had seen. Pointing at it, he didn't seem to want to look directly at it again


"I think you're right... They are for some sort of spells. That symbol feels like...feast ...or sacrifice"

He said while walking closer to the back wall of the cavern, looking at the table. The table was just through the hole in the back wall, inside of a small room. The table (and the room containing it) was far newer than the cavern and wall markings, presumably by thousands of years. The cavern may be Rakata, but this room with the table was far newer. The room and table were old and abandoned, but not ancient. Looking at Ultimatum and Sebastian briefly, the boy made an inquiry as he started to climb through the hole in the cavern wall


"So...this might be a Sith table that they used for studying or performing these rituals?"

Though Chaca had no way of knowing for sure, the table was indeed of Sith origins, as was the rest of the connected underground base. They had stumbled upon a long-abandoned underground Sith base, that had been exposed when the wall of the Rakata cavern collapsed years ago. It seemed the Sith base had been build too close to the cavern, and over time it structurally weakened the back wall and caused a collapse, exposing this single room of the Sith base.

Climbing through the hole in the wall carefully, Chaca stepped into the room that contained the table. Touching the table for a moment, Chaca looked back at Ultimatum and Sebastian with those gleaming feline eyes


"There are two doors in here...I haven't been able to pry them open. Im not sure whats on the other side, but if this table doesnt give us answers, maybe what's through those doors might?"

He said gently, motioning to the doors. One door was on the far end of the room from the hole in the wall, the other on the left side of the table. The doors were typical military base slide-together doors. Scrapes and marks on the doors told of something metal trying to pry them apart at one point with no success. Chaca wondered if they might be able to get this table working. Perhaps it may contain pertinent data. If not, perhaps they could all get one of these doors open together

[member="Sebastian Thel"]

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Sebastian Thel]

When Chaca rose to his feet, shaking from the water and gathering his senses, Sebastian gripped his shoulders and helped him to stand. He put aside his dislike of physical touch and allowed the Cathar to lean against him as he recovered from the vision. Hearing Chaca breathe as he leaned against his chest, Sebastian stroked the fur on his head in an attempt to calm him down.

"It's alright, Chaca, the vision is over." He spoke softly as Chaca explained what he had seen. Sebastian knew very little about the Rakata, apart from the fact that they were one of the earliest species to populate the galaxy. As Ultimatum had explained, they were a culture steeped heavily in the Dark Side and engaged in esoteric rituals to enhance their connection to the Force.

"As they say, there are no limits to the Dark Side." Sebastian shrugged as he looked at the markings on the wall, while noticing that Chaca seemed to recoil as he looked at them. Truly Sebastian knew nothing the Force, only that there were Sith who would do just about anything to gain greater power. As Sebastian looked closer at the markings, Chaca removed his paws from Sebastian's chest and walked away to investigate a hole in the wall of the chamber.

​Tilting his head in curiosity, Sebastian followed Chaca and stepped over the edge of the hole, ducking his head and trying his best to squeeze through. Since he was already small and thin, he had little difficulty fitting his entire body through and stepping into the room on the other side. As he stood upright and brushed the dust off his clothes, Sebastian beheld a ritual table, which appeared more recent in appearance than the equipment in the cavern.

"Well I can't tell you anything about the table, but I can help with opening the door." Sebastian affirmed as he walked over to the door, which he smoothed over with a hand while looking for any crevices he could pry into."Ultimatum, do you have any tools?" Setting down his satchel, he produced his notebook and pen, muttering to himself as he made estimations by the light of Ultimatum's flame.

[member="Ultimatum"], [member="Chaca"]

 

[Ultimatum]

With the immediate crisis seeming to have passed with all those involved coming through relatively unscathed, it was strange that Ultimatum felt only minor relief. The droid continued to sense the darkness and its presence was already wearing on his thoughts. He hoped that whatever had been left here was worth the danger. Then again, there had been no physical threats, and the only apparent antagonist had been a hallucination. Ultimatum doubted he would have even been affected by a Force vision, or the planet's inherent darkness, without Upari. Perhaps his previous rendition had not predicted the level of advancement that Ultimatum had attained. That was a reasonable belief; there were often two views of the future, one overestimated the technological developments over a given period, while the other tended to underestimate.

Once more, as the others ran further into the cave, Ultimatum was faced with the challenge of limited physicality. As with the entrance, Ultimatum surmounted the odds, and also like the first entrance, there were scrapings and horrible noises. Then, standing before the doors, Ultimatum wished he had one of his old bodies. The strength and overwhelming power in those earlier models far superseded the current suit and body combined. Before, Ultimatum might have been able to bend the doors out of the way, taking into account the potentials for structural failure of the cavern and adjusting as needed. Now, he could run the numbers, predict what movements were required and where, but his physical strength was limited well below the requirements for this task.

"Not the tools for this job."

"Come now; I have the tool. What do we need with physical implements when the Force shall follow us?"

Ultimatum had not contemplated that, but now that it was in his mind he realized that it had been foolish to assume otherwise. Something nagged at him nonetheless, "What of the world's tainted nature? Will it not warp your powers?"

"Perhaps, but there are only a few ways to be certain."

Turning to [member="Sebastian Thel"] Ultimatum asked tentatively, "How much force do you think will need to be exerted and where on the doors?"

The robot did not know if [member="Chaca"] knew more about the doors, their nature or anything about them. If this were to work, then it would likely require a degree of precision that Ultimatum feared he might not have.

 

[Chaca]

Chaca enjoyed their presences, both Ultimatum and Sebastian able to offer very unique perspectives to this place that answered many questions for Chaca. Also, Sebastian had comforted the small Cathar when he needed it, and that was something that he was quite grateful for

"Sorry for all the climbing. Hopefully from here we just have doors to deal with"

Once he was in the room, he would reach out, helping Sebastian into the room if he would allow for such assistance as the boy spoke. Chaca even snickered a little and helped the man brush off some of the dust and dirt if he allowed.

He stepped into the room and looked around a bit before looking to Ultimatum and making sure he was able to get through the break in the wall. Chaca had not yet made physical contact with Ultimatum, and like always, the boy was wary to do so. Force users often felt jarred by touching Chaca when they suddenly lose force ability. Though the force would return the moment they released Chaca, that brief instant was often enough to imprint a hesitance in being around Chaca at all. So he tended to be careful not to initiate physical contact, though he seemed to enjoy physical contact after he established that it was welcome

Chaca watched now as the two began to investigate the door, something Chaca certainly would have no luck opening himself

The boy giggled a bit as Ultimatum asked Sebastian about the amount of force necessary to open the door. It made sense to Chaca in an instant, which was what made him giggle. Ultimatum was a droid, a very logical being. Who better to ask a question about problem solving than a mathematician like Sebastian?

Chaca shook his head, slowly climbing up onto the table in the center of the room. He sat down on the table, crossing his legs in an almost meditative state as he spoke.

"Hehe! You cant measure it, at least not -that- way"

The boy said with an almost playful tone to his voice. Strangely enough the boy's words spoke of a deep rooted understanding of the force that contradicted what could be initially assumed about the small cathar.

"Everything is connected, separated only by variations in particles. Our wills in the force allow us separation, but when you reach out with the force and feel your connection to things, you can manipulate what is around you. Your consciousness connects you to that door, within the force. It is of constructed materials; you are of constructed materials too."

The boy's sapphire eyes shimmered with a faint glow in the dimly lit room as he glanced between Ultimatum and the door.

"Reach out in your mind, feel the door, like you would feel the arm of a newly constructed body. Reach out and understand what makes up the door. Connect to it and feel, and you will be able to move it as easily as you move your own arm"



[member="Sebastian Thel"]

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was at first somewhat confused. The robot had experience with Force-based physical manipulation before, and he believed he understood the concepts involved. Then, as [member="Chaca"] continued, Ultimatum realized the issue. It should have been a misunderstanding to be anticipated. The term Force was too generic when dealing with the scientific terms that Ultimatum was familiar with. He had, until this moment, been able to avoid such a situation, though he was somewhat glad that it was happening now in a less dangerous environment. With a bit of humor in his voice, the robot attempted to explain to the Cathar, "Apologies, I have created a misunderstanding. My previous reference to force was not intended to mean the Force; instead, it was designed to indicate the scientific concepts of exertion, newtons per a square inch and what have you. I was, therefore, asking Mr. Thel, not how much Force power would be required to open the door. Instead, I was looking for a close approximate to how much physical force would need to be exerted to move the door. I have found that it is much more efficient to have a preconcept of how much effort will be spent in a given endeavor. By knowing how much pressure must be exerted to accomplish a given goal, it is possible to calculate how much Force, as in the Force, exertion will be required of Upari." As a robot, Ultimatum was heavily influenced by efficiency. The need to utilize a given resource to its very maximum and avoid waste to the utmost possible.

[member="Sebastian Thel"]