Private Apprentice to Flame

[Syd Celsius]

Wearing: Phyre's Armor

Armed with: Shooting Star

Light Repeating Blaster


Wind and Fire Wheels (Orange Bladed Splitsaber w/ Incinerator Crystals)


Syd, since coming to Zeffo, had rapidly grown completely fascinated with its history and people, and when possible, regularly fielded expeditions to find and locate relics for the Jedi Order. It allowed her the solitude she needed to think. To think about her future. Or past.

She was spending more and more time in an organic state, the suit letting her get in touch more and more with her emotions. She had been able to actually hold a conversation and have a vested interest in maintaining it. She had even grown confidant enough to think she might actually want to teach. Alas, no opportunity had presented itself. So here she stayed.

The ruins she was excavating were particularly fascinating. She had found an intact library of Zeffo records, and had been busily carefully cataloging and preserving them for transport.

Of course, that was not saying there was no danger.

Every now and then, one of the smaller, insect like Zeffo Constructs, shaped like metal praying mantises with crystals at the center of their bodies, had occasionally attacked her after emerging from cracks inbetween the ruins. Syd had dispatched them carefully with concentrated pistol fire, as the typical method of solving her problems would leave the place an inferno. But the attacks were becoming more frequent as she transferred the documents, leading to being heavily armed in the elaborate ruins, filled with shattered, golden statues.

Syd was not sure why she had not already left. Even she could only stomach killing enemies worth only 15 XP for so long. It was XP farming of the lowest common denominator.

As she carried more scrolls in miniature stasis chambers to her ship, a heavily armored Star Courier, she felt a disturbance in the Force.

Someone had arrived. Someone with a glimmer of the Force. He would soon be in these ruins, though not close to her.

More people than her came here, and Syd could not be bothered to keep track of them all so long as they were not dark sided, but these ruins she was starting to realize, were unusually heavy with danger hiding in ruins overgrown with lush plants and flowing water.

As Syd put the scrolls aboard her ship, she decided she would fly off and investigate. The person could get themselves killed.

Her skintight white and gold chrome suit reflected everything as she flew off to investigate the new presence on Zeffo...


Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

“‘Would you do me a kindness, Starlin?’” A pubescent voice mocked, imitating the dulcet tones of a certain pointy-eared archaeologist. “Go to Zeffo, Starlin. There’s someone I’d like you to meet there. And would you be a good little errand boy and bring me back some scrolls while you’re at it, so I can bury my nose in them and disappear for a week?’”

Grimacing, the teen hiked through the jungle toward the library ruins. Had there been an adult present, he would’ve been full of the usual complaints about aching feet, the dangers of the environment, and how boring it all was. He didn’t share his mentor’s love of cavorting through death-trap ruins, finding it nerve-wracking at best, miserable and monotonous at worst. Once you’ve seen one ruin, you’ve seen them all.

Clambering into the ancient library structure, he felt the weight of the blaster pistol holstered at his side, hitting his thigh with every step. He wasn’t used to combat, but Nimdok had insisted he bring something, anything, to defend himself with.

The verbose hobgoblin was trying to civilize the street rat, bless him, but Nimdok apparently didn’t stop to think about the possible consequences of arming a teenage punk, even if it was just for a field trip to Zeffo. Starlin had zero intentions of returning the “borrowed” weapon—it was easily one of the coolest things he’d ever owned, aside from that ancient lightsaber crystal…

Starlin’s antennapalps twitched under his cap, picking up on a scratching noise deeper in the ruins. He turned his head, his hand going instinctively to the pistol. He spread his feet, like he had seen gunslingers do in old holovids, and waited.

Or he would’ve, if the thing hadn’t decided to go from zero to a hundred in about three seconds.

A flash of gold descended upon him. Starlin raised his arms over his head instinctively, yelping. He fell flat on his ass trying to escape the Zeffo Construct, remembered that he had a gun, tried to unholster it, dropped it, fumbled after it as it spun across on the floor, all while the flying golden monster was preparing to swoop down on him once again...

Today was just not Starlin's day.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd felt him, on the outskirts of the library complex being attacked and honed in on his presence in The Force. Scrawny guy. In over his head, clearly. Not a Dark Jedi.

Syd didn't hesitate to help him when she spotted the Aerial Construct he had inadvertently agitated. She tackled it in mid flight just as it prepared to swoop down on him, crashing to the ground with it. The Construct tossed her off, but Syd Floated in Mid-Air and activated her Orange Split saber, dive bombing it in a corkscrew fashion, making her Orange, pulsing blades resemble an airplane propeller as she zipped through the droid, shredding it to pieces, landing behind the fallen construct.

Bright green blood leaked from a cut on her cheek, from where a pice of the ancient construct had cut her as it was shredded.

She stood up, the magical armor already sealing the wound up with a ripple effect across the flesh of her face as she went up to check on Starlin Rand .

"Damned silly of you, coming to a Zeffo archive so under prepped..." she chastised crossly. "You could have been killed. Zeffo Constructs are among the most dangerous tomb guardians in the whole Galaxy. You're very lucky. Another five minutes I was ready to leave--"

Syd cut off her chiding as she sensed danger.

"You woke them. You must have tripped damn near every alarm they had!" Syd exclaimed in exasperation, tossing him her repeating pistol.

"Get ready, Kid. It's like those hoard modes on those FPS holonet games, except you actually feel the painful, messy death of your character if you feth up."

Insect like mechanical constructs with wings started to crawl through ancient cracks in the ceiling and floor, about half the size of Syd's athletic figure, modeled on Geonosians.

"I mean, its not the worst way to die, getting torn apart by robo-insects, but it'll be up there. Trust me." Syd joked grimly. Her saber was spinning around her body effortlessly as the robots rushed her. Her crossbow pistol would come out to catch a foe by surprise, sending a dart right into the crystals powering them.

The robots converged then on Starlin.

"Watch out!" She shouted, even as three tackled her with drawn vibroblades

The flames erupted from her throat, precisely controlled, going into every opening on the construct chassis. But more came, even as these burned ones fell, looking to kill her and the other intruder...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin felt the Construct blast past him as something shot overhead. There was a tremendous crash, and the sounds of an energy weapon—a lightsaber?!—cutting through metal. As he slowly raised his head to behold his savior, his eyes widened. His savior was a lady. A fiery redhead. With big—

"Damned silly of you, coming to a Zeffo archive so under prepped…”

The teen’s face turned crimson as she scolded him. Great. Just great. Here was this awesome hot Jedi lady, and here he was looking like a wimpy moron at their very first meeting.

“Another five minutes I was ready to leave—"

The redhead paused, sensing something coming. Starlin’s antennapalps also picked up on more scratching noises… a lot of them.

"Uh... maybe we should get out of here...?" But even Starlin knew it was too late. They were penned in on all sides, and would have to fight their way out.

Looking even more annoyed, the redhead tossed him a gun. He tried to catch it, but it bounced off his hand and landed on the floor. He scrambled to pick it up, rising to his feet right as the Constructs started to appear.

The Jedi compared it to a video game and made a dark joke—not very encouraging—but then proceeded to shred the flying beasts that swarmed her. More of the Constructs headed for Starlin, seeking to overwhelm him.

Starlin’s experience in combat so far had consisted of a handful of things: the occasional street scuffle with thugs for strolling through the wrong neighborhood, a few run-ins with the cops for petty theft, and running away from heavily armed Sith agents trying to get their nasty mitts on his family’s crystal. And hologames. Lots and lots of hologames. But that didn't really count, did it?

At this point, he thought to himself, feth it. He took aim and fired at the Constructs, aiming for the crystals as she had. He managed to destroy a couple of the smaller ones before the bigger ones sank their metal claws into his skin, provoking a rather unmanly cry from the kid. Panic belied the pain, panic and power as adrenaline surged through him, energy bursting out from his fingertips…

He felt claws and blades nicking his clothes and flesh as the Constructs that had been piling onto him were abruptly ripped away, flung off by an invisible force. Well, Force with a capital F. Raising the pistol with shaking hands, Starlin fired at the stunned machines, blasting away.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

(Character Theme Song Power Up)

Theme "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys


One of the constructs rushed Syd and she used Force Flight to help drive her knee into its metallic skull, even as she spun her sabers around her body, the incineration crystals in her blades catching the swarming constructs on fire as they were cut through, which allowed her to direct the flames carefully at the crystals at the center of the skeletal constructs, defending and parrying their vibroblade attacks.

Her flesh shuddered visibly everywhere as it processed the massive build up of Force Energy in one of the constructs and she was able to dodge the blast of blue energy from its crystal, using her ability to fly to spin, parry, and dodge in unnatural ways towards the Construct, cutting down a dozen that stood between her and it, though she was very careful to dodge when possible, as she could still feel pain.

The cries of Starlin Rand shook Syd from her focus a moment and she zeroed in on Starlin, still fending off the machines but very injured.

Syd went cold.

Syd had killed many, many, many people in her day. She rarely got a chance to actually save them. Her actions on Yurb having been one of the few actual times she had actively saved lives.

His cries pierced her for other reasons.

They sounded like so many of those she had tortured to death as Darth Phyre. While wearing this very armor that allowed her to remain organic.

Phyre had been addicted to the pain and suffering of the innocent, and tormented by a bond to someone who didn't even exist yet but who Phyre believed was destined to become a champion of the Dark under Phyre's tutelage. She could not remember who it was. She was too frightened to remember. She began spinning and dashing her blades through anything not flesh and blood.

Eager to silence his screams and the memories of the dead Phyre within her, Syd telekinetically ripped the constructs away from Starlin, which allowed one of her enemies to gash open her side, causing an unnatural metallic squeal to erupt from her throat as she backed away, bright green blood leaking down her chrome catsuit, which also reflected Starlin as she approached to help guard him.

Her flesh rippled as the armor went to work sealing the gash to itself and her body. The constructs swarmed her, but she belched fire from her throat, creating a barrier of flames that forced the constructs back.

She knealt down next to Rand.

Her mouth opened and a blue light erupted from her mouth, beginning to seal his wounds, albeit slowly.

"That should buy us a few seconds. Trigger discipline, Kid. Calm yourself. Panic will end you faster than any robot."

A few leapt through the flames, forcing Syd to re-engage them, while a few others leapt through to try and attack Starlin. She was sticking closer to the boy, unwilling to let him be nearly overwhelmed like before. Plus, she had not ignored his instinctive use of the Force...he'd thrown a fair amount aside to survive.

Syd began to wonder if the will of the Force wasn't at work in encountering the untrained teen here. It had been awfully convenient one with such a promising display should just happen upon her.

Syd shook herself from her reverie as she sliced through another droid. She could question it after they were both safe...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin, a bit unfocused by his injuries (scratch that; he was delirious from the pain and blood loss), hardly noticed as the redhead Jedi drew nearer to him, trying to protect him from the stubborn Constructs. He saw her shine blue light onto him from her open mouth, and felt the wounds in his body knitting closed, but he didn’t understand what was happening.

The drones surrounding them were all that seemed to matter. He had to keep shooting, keep killing them. His movements had taken on a mechanical quality. Aim, shoot, aim, shoot, aim, shoot. Reload and repeat. The repetition steadied him, but he was barely keeping a lid on the fear churning just below the surface of his subconscious, screaming at him to run, flee, hide.

He did feel better knowing he wasn’t alone. The Jedi was preventing the worst of the horde from descending upon him. She was one hell of a fighter, spinning her blades around, shooting them with some sort of bow-gun contraption, breathing fire. Every time she was injured, she was able to simply heal her wounds. Starlin was beginning to understand what Nimdok had meant when he talked about the innate warmth and light that seemed to emanate from the Jedi and all things touched by them. Granted, in this case it was also literal—those flames she was blasting were toasty.

At last, the numbers swarming them started to thin. Fewer drones were launching themselves at Starlin, the time between attacks growing longer. Since they were machines programmed to guard the library’s treasures, he had no hope they would think twice before pouncing; they were simply grinding the mindless creatures down until there was nothing left.

When an opening for escape emerged, Starlin didn't take it. As insane as it sounded, he still technically had a job to do here in the library. He was supposed to get some scrolls, well, he was going to get them. Maybe this Jedi would be able to help him with that.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

The Constructs leapt through the flames, but Syd kept cutting them down all while giving Starlin Rand room to shoot at his own targets, while her own blades spun around her body constantly now to intercept attacks. The boy displayed a fortitude and will to live she could not help but take note of. He was clearly inexperienced but he was adapting quickly: He clearly wanted something from this place despite being so wildly out of his element.

Syd directed tightly controlled twisters of flames into their crystal cores, warping and shattering them, her blades striking out with claw like swipes at them using telekinesis to hurl the destroyed ones at the others, cutting loose to help protect herself and the Boy.

Soon, the hoard began to lessen, though Syd kept up destroying as many as she could until the constructs programming finally made the rest decide to retreat. Syd ceased the flames only when the last one had disappeared through a giant crack in a wall.

Syd sighed, leaning against a fallen pillar for a second until she made herself go check on the Boy.

"Any new injuries I should know about?" Syd asked. "You acquited yourself well if nothing else. Of course, if you'd actually arrived with a plan you would not have needed to acquit yourself so well." She chided mildly. "We need to get out of the open...we drove them off for the moment, but they will return, and in greater numbers."

Syd walked through the great library chamber, leading Starlin to the sealed off chamber in the library where she had barricaded herself while conducting her research. Once he was in she locked the chamber.

"That should buy us a little breathing room. If it was just myself escape would be easy. But we have you to consider now...my name is Celsius. Syd Celsius."

(Clip of Bond Theme Plays)

"Who are you, and why are you so woefully underarmed to explore these ruins?" Syd asked. "Nobody just goes to Zeffo without an objective. What's yours? Relics? Hidden Knowledge? Plenty here, I guess...you could learn much...as long as you could keep from becoming a smear on the walls."

She placed her weapons on the table, trying to let him know she didn't want a fight and had no intention of trying to detain him.

"I won't try and stop you...but its one thing to seek knowledge. Its another to be worthy of it. You have avoided death so far by the will of The Force...but its favor can be a finicky thing. You may have made it here on blind odds but you cannot possibly hope to leave this place alive by relying on blind odds."

She heard the sounds of more of them outside the locked chamber.

"I will make a deal with you..." Syd offered. "We'll watch each others backs as we try and leave these ruins...and in the process I will try to help you become worthy of the knowledge you seek by imparting what wisdom I can. And if at the end of it all you decide you've had enough of what I have to say, than you can go on your merry way with whatever you are here for...just don't expect anyone to come swooping in to save you at the last moment from your own folly like a few minutes before. Deal?"

 

[Starlin Rand]

Seeing that the pair had endured wave after wave of Constructs, the onslaught was abruptly stopped by the droids’ programming. The sound of metal scratching stone echoed through the complex as they retreated back into the shadows.

Starlin didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until he suddenly gasped, inhaling as much air as his lungs would allow. As the Jedi asked him if he had any injuries, he shook his head, still panting. He had a stitch in his side and his throat was sore from sucking in the dusty library atmosphere; the Constructs had left him with only a few minor cuts and bruises.

Her compliment was undercut by her criticism of his recklessness. Granted, he wasn’t the one who suggested coming here in the first place, nor had he selected his inadequate weapon. Speaking of which, the pistol he’d been given was still lying on the floor, knocked out of the way during combat. He bent to pick it up… and his antennapalps picked up on more scratching, far off but approaching fast.

Evidently the Jedi could sense it too. She led him to a barricaded chamber deeper in the library and locked them inside. It was then that she introduced herself as Syd Celsius. It was a name he was unfamiliar with.

He knew what was coming next—all the usual questions. Who are you, why are you here, who sent you, blah blah blah.

“The name’s Starlin Rand,” he replied, managing a tired grin. “I’m working for this guy named Nimdok—maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s this bigshot archaeologist, pointy ears, talks too much. Anyway, he sent me to look for some scrolls, artifacts, y’know, all the assorted old crap guys like him get all hot and bothered for. He also told me there was somebody here that he wanted me to meet…” He trailed off. Was she the one he was supposed to encounter? Nimdok hadn’t given him a name or a description. And he sent him in with nothing but a dinky pistol—what a schutta!

Syd put her weapons on a nearby table in a gesture of goodwill. The words coming out of her mouth were straight facts, blunt and honest. If he tried to leave this place now, he’d be filleted alive by the machines. But she was offering him a deal in exchange for her protection…

“You mean like training?” he blurted, blue eyes bright. Who does he wind up meeting here in the library but a catsuit-clad, fire-breathing Jedi babe who wants to make him her apprentice for a day… Ohohoho, Nimdok, you magnificent bastard!

“Deal!” he exclaimed, thrusting out his hand to shake on it. His excitement was dampened a little by the noises coming from outside the sealed chamber. The Force may have kept him alive, but it also seemed determined to constantly remind him of the danger surrounding him.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd paused as Starlin Rand gave his answer as to why he was here. Nimdok. She was familiar with him only by reputation. Apparently he was an archeologist that liked to play fast and loose finding dangerous relics. Relics a little too dangerous for his weight class. His papers were brilliant and he was clearly well learned. Nonetheless, Syd was convinced his reach would one day exceed his grasp and that would be the end of Nimdok.

But how the hell had he found out about her?

With a chill, Syd realized his background in archaeology could very well have led to him uncovering mention of her old Sith Identity, perhaps even photographic evidence.

Syd had not told anyone yet what she originally was. She was too ashamed and too afraid. Phyre had butchered or roasted alive countless men, women, and younglings in unholy and profane rituals. Syd had forced herself to block out the worst of it only through extreme discipline while Organic. The only way to truly dull the pain, however, was to remove her current suit and once more became the Flame Geist. Perhaps that had been The Man in White's final punishment: To escape pain meant giving up most of what made her a thinking, feeling creature.

Poor boy didn't even know he was staring at the remnant of one of the Gulag Plague's most notorious (and hated) killing machines.

He seemed eager to take the deal, and Syd merely counted herself fortunate, not quite understanding his actual reasoning. It was enough he accepted the offer.

"No mere pistol will do well for long in these ruins, she said, fishing through a case of back up weaponry.

"No...that's crap..." she muttered, tossing one weapon aside. "That one too...and that one...and 'that' one, too, is crap."

She continued to toss aside weapons as until finding a particularly decent one.

"This could be useful..." she trailed, handing him a particularly deadly type of blaster pistol.

"That will definitely destroy the runts of the lot." She said, preparing to unlock the door, grabbing a few extra med packs.

"So tell me..." she asked, opening the door and spotting some Constructs walking about, looking for prey in the short distance beyond. "What do you know of the Force, exactly? You seem a little better than a sheer beginner. Have you had any sort of formal training if any kind?" She wondered, shooting with her crossbow pistol to get their attention. They would be upon them. Soon.

Syd anticipated the next attack. Now it was on her and Starlin to survive it. She belched flames that danced and started to engulf those closest...

 

[Starlin Rand]

Judging by her expression, Syd had at least heard of Nimdok, though he couldn’t tell what her opinion of the archaeologist was. In fact, she seemed a little… fearful? That couldn’t be right. Nimdok was… well, he was many things (literally), but he wasn’t scary. Unless you got in the way while he was on the hunt for some artifacts, or tried to hurt his little girl. Then all bets were off.

To be fair, their meeting had so far created more questions than it answered. Why did Nimdok want him to meet Syd? The archaeologist knew Starlin was Force sensitive, and he had advised the boy to seek training from a reliable source. Starlin hadn’t exactly been on the lookout for a master to teach him… did that mean Nimdok was taking the initiative by deliberately placing him in the path of a powerful Jedi?

Was Nimdok trying to be like his dad or something? Starlin’s mood soured at the thought.

Syd changed the subject, looking for a weapon he could use. He watched her toss various pistols around, before settling on an imposing-looking gun. The shape of it brought him back. Had he used a gun like this in a hologame before?... The explosive blaster pistol! Holy chit!

“This will definitely destroy the runts of the lot.”

“Oh yeah… oh yeah, they’re already dead,” Starlin murmured, staring at the weapon in his hands. Just holding it made him feel like a badass.

She promptly opened the door, jolting him out of his reverie. Despite the Constructs waiting outside, she continued to chat with him as if they were about to take a stroll through a peaceful park.

“Uh… I know I’ve got the Force in me, or however you say it,” he replied, his voice cracking from a mixture of nervousness and the strain of puberty on his vocal chords. He cleared his throat, trying not to sound like such a wimpy kid. Being fourteen sucked. “No formal training, though…”

Was her surprise at this news a compliment? Did it mean he was a natural when it came to this stuff? Cool beans.

“I did have a run-in with the Sith not too long ago… Bit of a complicated story. I inherited this really old lightsaber crystal from a distant relative, a retired Jedi Master, and the Sith wanted it… That’s how I met Nimdok, actually. The crystal turned out to be useless, but this Sith guy who called himself the ‘Lord of Doubt’ apparently wanted to use it in some kind of… science? Alchemy? I don’t fully understand it. I just know he sent a bunch of hunters after me, so that makes him a schutta in my book...”

The noises produced by the approaching Constructs were making his antennapalps vibrate like a game controller. He broke off, both terrified and annoyed, and instinctively adjusted his cap to better hide the twitching appendages.

A second later, Syd was blasting fire at the Constructs. Starlin yelped, raising the pistol just as the little clunkers rushed forward. He fired into the mass of flashing gold, feeling a sense of satisfaction as the round exploded in a shower of flame and warped metal. But his joy was short lived as the novelty of the weapon wore off. One explosion wasn’t enough to stop the whole horde.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd blasted more flames from her mouth, firing her crossbow pistol into the crystals at the centers of their chest, causing them to burst. The answer Starlin Rand gave did not surprise her about being untrained. But his elaboration on the lightsaber crystal he had inherited had her intrigued. She chose not to ask about the crystal itself, and instead skirted around the issue itself.

"Some lightsabers can only respond to their owners. To all others they refuse to work. It is possible to attune a crystal to your will but it requires long deep meditation..." she said as she slashed apart a droid with a lightsaber.

"You can achieve a similar bond with any tool you use frequently. Take that pistol for instance. When you open yourself to the Force, listen to it, it warns you of danger, grants you the wisdom to evade it...or survive it. A crystal, a saber, a pistol, they only achieve their worth in the effort and struggle of one who holds them. Part of being effective in battle is learning to adapt, learning to move with the tide of it as it changes..." (Proper respects to Traya: 90XP)

Her flesh shuddered everywhere visibly, rippling as one spider-like construct approached, the crystal in its chest wreathed by red electricity. Her flesh was reacting to the powerful magical field it generated, disrupting her abilities, making her back away in agony as the rippling of her flesh grew more and more visibly violent, melting and sloughing off her at certain points, only to tug itself back into place. She shakily aimed as one construct managed a swipe, slicing open her bubbling side, and spilling bright green blood. She fired a bolt not at her attacker, who she frantically backed away from, but at the magically infused crystal disrupting her. The bolt, incendiary, warped and melted the crystal on impact, instantly destroying it. Her flesh set itself back in place near instantaneously and she made up for it by blasting flames at her nearest attacker.

Her blades dashed through construct after construct.

"Of course, learning the flow of battle means nothing if you can't take a punch..." She added, the pair having successfully driven off the mechanical hoard for the moment.

Her flesh shuddered around the wound she suffered as it sealed shut. She winced in visible pain, winded by fighting so many. Her concern grew visibly as she saw security fields blocking their exit activate.

"Wow, we reaaaaallly pissed these guys off this time...that's the most aggressive swarm yet, and they've never turned on the security systems before. Its also the first time they deployed one of these..." she trailed, picking up a remnant of the magical crystal that had disrupted her on a molecular level. Her flesh on the hand holding it shuddered and rippled...it still had some juice in it. She concentrated, taking the magical essence into herself, rendering it dead crystal. Her flesh rippled everywhere exactly once as the energy was taken in.

She also found what looked like a security access transmitter, likely giving it access to the rooms she could not access herself.

"We'll that puts a wrinkle in my plans..." Syd groaned on exasperation, going to an ancient terminal she had restored to working condition days before Starlin showed up. She brought up the security section and map.

"They're trying to funnel us through a lengthy side route out of the library. Right through a section full of half buried chambers and completely ruined underground sections...probably where most of the bastards are waiting. No use hacking the systems...probably not a good idea even if we could...they'd likely just dogpile us...but traps work both ways. Stick close to me..." she told him.

She headed to a side door that had been sealed since her arrival. With the transmitter she whispered a spell to power it and with a beep the mag-sealed door opened leading to a cob-web filled passage Syd was the first in.

"Open yourself to the Force, Starlin...trust your feelings..." she advised, striding ahead, stopping a a partly collapsed chamber...it appeared to be an armory, or the remains of it. That confirmed her theory the library had been built atop an older structure.

Syd ventured inside, finding the remains of what appeared to be ancient Galactic Empire Stormtroopers. Little more than skeletons in faded white armor. One had been a purge trooper.

Syd began to check for anything useful, finding an old intact combat scope with Night Vision on one rifle, detached it and handed it to Starlin for his own weapon. Syd, in the meantime had spotted an ancient, spider like construct on one half rusted table, with what looked like a miniature ballista on an arm. It was smashed, but Syd found intact explosive darts in its ammunition housing...along with the much more recent corpse of a dead scavenger of these ruins. Sometimes they were called Stalkers, especially by those on the holonet with an annoying penchant for videogame references. How the hell had he gotten in? He looked to be a few months dead.

Syd knelt down and picked up his weapon, a home made bowcaster. He looked like he had built it from local materials. It looked still usable and was actually a solidly built weapon despite its cobbled together appearance. Only one spare clip of metal quarrels though. She handed both to Starlin, taking the pistol quality bolts, three in all, for herself.

"I think we've found everything useful in this chamber..." she said, leaving it.

She stared ahead in the darkness of the passage, feeling the cold chill of The Dark Side further down. It was hideously strong, and pulsing now, making her flesh ripple slightly in aversion to it.

'Something' had killed the Stalker.

"Head on a swivel, Kid." she spoke quietly walking slowly, cautiously ahead. "Can you feel that? The Evil? The Cold? The Dark Side holds sway here...we are in even more danger than I thought. Do exactly as I tell you. I...I think we found a fethin' nexus...your mind might play tricks on you...wait I have an idea...let's test your capacity for magic..."

She turned to him and spoke the words of power:

"Ashla, shield me from wickedness..." she whispered.

Purple flames enveloped her. But the Nexus was so strong it was barely effective. She could still feel it, trying to claw at her mind through the barrier of magic she had shrouded herself with.

"Magic is about twisting the chaotic energies of the Force to more specific, specialized uses. That spell I just used is a ward against the dark. You try it...your abilities are like any skill, it has to be used, practiced, often under duress to obtain proficiency. Whatever you do though, don't listen to the dark...that's when the problems start..."

She said that last bit very quietly, involuntarily reliving some of her more heinous crimes as Darth Phyre.

 

[Starlin Rand]

"Some lightsabers can only respond to their owners. To all others they refuse to work. It is possible to attune a crystal to your will but it requires long deep meditation..."

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Starlin replied, watching her cut down a Construct. “At least, that’s more or less what Nimdok said when I showed the crystal to him. He even tried to use it in his—I mean, he had this really old lightsaber with him, some kind of artifact, and he put the crystal in to see if it would work. We all tried to turn it on, but it wouldn’t even ignite.”

Syd elaborated further.

"You can achieve a similar bond with any tool you use frequently. Take that pistol for instance. When you open yourself to the Force, listen to it, it warns you of danger, grants you the wisdom to evade it...or survive it. A crystal, a saber, a pistol, they only achieve their worth in the effort and struggle of one who holds them. Part of being effective in battle is learning to adapt, learning to move with the tide of it as it changes..."

Starlin glanced down at the pistol in his hands, only to jump as the spider approached, red lightning jolting from its crystal core and licking at the air around it.

What really startled the boy was Syd’s reaction to this. Her skin started to slough off her body, as if it was burning her. She backed away from the creature, clearly trying to get away from whatever was causing her to melt like wax, and Starlin followed her, hoping to avoid a similar thing happening to him.

After she had dispatched the Construct and picked up the crystal, he opened his mouth and blurted, “What the hell was that thing? What was with the red lightning? And why did it turn your skin into jelly?” He had a feeling it had something to do with the type of crystal, but he still didn’t understand what it was. Besides, it was creepy.

He nonetheless followed her over to an ancient terminal, though he was only half listening to her words. Something in the air was bothering him. At first he thought it was his antennapalps picking up on some noise, but even when he retracted the stalks he could still feel it. Frowning, he turned to face Syd, wondering if he should say something. Surely if he could sense it, she could too…

"Open yourself to the Force, Starlin… trust your feelings..."

Feeling a little awkward, he took a deep breath and tried to, er, connect with the universe around him, so to speak. The second he opened himself up, he felt a surge of wild energy engulf him.

“Whoa—!” he exclaimed. The sensation brought to mind a childhood memory of going to the fair with his family. His father had lifted him up onto some creature for what was supposed to be a pleasant ride, but the thing had suddenly bolted forward as soon as it felt Starlin’s weight on its back. The Force felt like that creature—bucking under him, refusing to be tamed or to even accept his grasp on the reins, dragging him along with it.

He must have blanked out, because the next thing he remembered was Syd handing him stuff. An old scope for his pistol, an odd bowcaster and some ammunition. He was suddenly aware of the presence of dead bodies in the armory, and was hit by the lingering stench of decay, making his nose wrinkle in disgust.

And there was still that lingering feeling of a presence nearby. Syd had noticed it too.

"Can you feel that? The Evil? The Cold? The Dark Side holds sway here...we are in even more danger than I thought. Do exactly as I tell you. I...I think we found a fethin' nexus...your mind might play tricks on you...wait I have an idea...let's test your capacity for magic..."

“What’s a nexus?” he asked, though as he strained to listen, he answered his own question. The presence was cold, dark, and malevolent. He recognized it from when he had dealt with the Sith, though this felt more concentrated than a mere taint in a person’s soul. This thing radiated pure evil.

"Ashla, shield me from wickedness..."

“Who is Ashla? She a friend of yours?” Starlin asked. He showed little reaction to the purple flames. After all that had happened to him today, nothing could surprise him anymore.

"Magic is about twisting the chaotic energies of the Force to more specific, specialized uses. That spell I just used is a ward against the dark. You try it… your abilities are like any skill, it has to be used, practiced, often under duress to obtain proficiency. Whatever you do though, don't listen to the dark… that's when the problems start..."

“Okay,” Starlin muttered with a shrug. He cleared his throat and made sure to speak clearly. “Ashla, shield me from wickedness…”

There was a sound like a blowtorch sputtering to life, and a brief puff of purple-tinged smoke rising in the air around Starlin’s body. The kid’s eyebrows rose. He tried again.

“Ashla, shield me from wicke—”

He broke off as very large, very wild purple flames engulfed him. It lasted only a few seconds, but it left him in a more cautious state of mind. He side-eyed Syd.

“I take it this is normal, right?”

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

"A Nexus is a strong concentration of Force Energy. A natural whirpool of it. Sometimes they are created through events around or in the area...and we are near a Dark Nexus." Syd answered. "We are in severe danger, Kid. A Nexus, even a light aligned one, is nothing to take lightly. Some vary in strength. This one in particular is very strong."

It distressed Syd that she had not sensed such a powerful Nexus of the Dark so horrifyingly close. The power of the library had either concealed it...or the dead Darth Phyre within her was so used to the dark it caused her reborn self to subconsciously ignore it. Either answer was terrible to contemplate.

Starlin Rand then tried to speak the spell, and had a few misfires.

"First time jitters, Kid. You'll get the hang of it. Just focus on shielding your mind. Recite something mentally. But don't lose awareness of your surroundings."

As She went ahead, ready to protect him from what was ahead, she answered a question he asked earlier as it finally filtered through.

"I am a product of magic to some degree. My very essence is so heavily infused with it that its permanently mutated my flesh to unnatural degrees to compensate. My body reacts to powerful, disruptive sources of magic, which is what that Construct was generating earlier with the crystal. Can't help it. Let me give you advice though... if you see anybody else whose skin does that, you get the hell away from them if they are Dark Adepts. Or kill them as quickly as possible." Syd warned as one passage opened up.

She went still, saw shadows with no source on the walls. Faint laughter seemed to be everywhere.

"Move very slowly. Very quiet. They are attracted to movement as much as fear. Keep close..." she whispered, walking slowly forward at a snail's pace. The shadows on the wall, shadows of humanoids, stirred and she went even slower ahead, whispering old spells to ward away ghosts... The passage of silent shadows seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction. But one thing was clear just from the look of fear on Syd's face and her body language, this place they were in was no joke. Violence would only get them killed in this section of the underground.

And given her body language, the price of not keeping your cool in here meant something much worse than death...though Syd did not elaborate as to what.

"Whatever you do, don't shoot them,."she warned. "Saw a guy do that in a place like this once...you don't wanna know what happened..." she whispered.

Syd contined ahead in troubled fear and silence at danger everywhere around and ahead and behind them...

 

[Starlin Rand]

So they were in a very dark, evil, dangerous, scary place. Wonderful.

Starlin smirked grimly. First time jitters… well, at least something had happened both times he tried. Better than nothing, right?

He started forward at the same slow, quiet pace as Syd. She’d told him to shield his mind by mentally repeating a phrase over and over again. Well, what phrase was it gonna be? “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”? Nah, too ominous… How about “Cry havoc, and let loose the dogs of war”? But that was a battle cry, and he didn’t want to give whatever nasties might be listening any ideas. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”? Yeah, I guess. Wussy as hell, but certainly more calming than anything else he’d thought of so far.

Syd started talking to him. She said she was a product of magic. He wanted to ask more questions—namely, where did this magic come from? Was it part of the Force, or was it something else? But Syd urged him into silence as they ventured further into the dark.

Starlin glanced at the shadows moving across the walls. His antennapalps were standing straight up, aggravated by the weird wicked laughter around them and other strange, inexplicable vibrations. He kept repeating his chosen phrase in his head, but it was becoming difficult to concentrate. There was just so much stimuli, both to his poor palps and his Force sensitivity.

He hadn’t exercised his powers this much before in his entire life. Like an untrained muscle, it was already exhausted and aching. Yet the presence of the nexus was adding extra weight.

All he had to do was follow Syd out of here. They just had to get past the nexus. That was all. He just had to get through…

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

Syd continued walking quietly, chanting never ceasing under her breath as the humanoid shadows that surrounded her and Starlin Rand moved through the agonizingly long passage filled with moving shadows. Only when they finally reached the end of the passage, sealed with an ancient lock, did she began to move a bit quicker.

She used a pocket knife to cut open her palm, dripping her blood onto the ancient lock, which slithered into its recesses and undid the mechanism, sliding it open quietly.

The Ghost of Flames had prayed this would be the extent of the nexus, a concentration of malevolent echoes. It wasn't until she continued to feel the darkness beyond the sealed door that she realized this hall of horrors was only a symptom of the disease. The actual rot went deeper than this.

The shadows started to move toward them and quickly. Syd pulled Starlin in through the door frantically and telekinetically shut it just in time...

There were a series of violent, heavy thuds on the now sealed door. Thuds that grew only more and more frenzied.

Syd backed up against a wall.

"The Nexus is below us." Was all she said, shuddering at the thought of what would happen to Starlin if she had been too slow. More importantly, if 'he' had been too slow.

She leaned against the wall, scanning the dark passage ahead for any sign of danger.

"You did wonderful, Starlin. But it gets worse from here..."

There was a tell tale mechanical click clack of something in the distance. Syd pulled out her pistol.

"Like so..." she trailed, firing at and lighting up empty passages...

...but the sound grew closer regardless...

 

[Starlin Rand]

When they finally reached a door, Starlin watched in bewilderment as Syd cut her hand and dripped blood into the lock… which promptly unlocked. Huh. He was beginning to think some of this Force stuff was kinda weird. He knew about the Jedi and the Sith, the Light and the Dark, but Syd didn’t seem to come from either of those traditions. She muttered spells and chanted incantations, used her body as a weapon and a tool, and claimed that she was a product of magic. Now that he thought about it, did that mean she wasn’t actually human or even necessarily a physical being? Well, she certainly fooled him…

His train of thought was disrupted as Syd suddenly yanked him through the door, slamming it shut after them. The shadow creatures had taken notice of them and decided to attack.

At the cacophony that followed as the creatures banged on the door, Starlin’s expression contorted and one eye twitched in irritation. He wasn’t sure why the vibrations in this place had a particularly aggravated effect on him. He was a city boy, used to hearing constant background noise at all hours of the day and night. So what was the deal here? Was there some kind of amplification caused by the way the building was constructed? Or was it because of the nexus? Either way, he felt like his palps were never gonna be the same…

Though he grinned at Syd’s compliment, it was only a brief respite before she revealed that things were going to get worse. He promptly went back to looking like a befuddled, nervous, scared teenager.

“Hey, uh—what exactly are those things?” he asked, gesturing back at the still-rattling door. “And what are you expecting to find now that's got you so scared?” He took out the explosive pistol she had given him, took one look at the narrow passage and thought better of it, then pulled out the bowcaster instead.

Now, Starlin had taken a very brief archery class in school, but that was with, y’know, an actual bow and arrow. Despite the name, a bowcaster wasn’t the same thing. He wasn’t sure if there was a learning curve, or if it worked just like any other blaster weapon and the archaic design was just meant to look cool, but he was willing to try it out. The problem was, this particular bowcaster was handmade—cobbled together on the fly from various spare parts and whatever happened to be available to the desperate former owner. While he had a feeling it would still function, he had a hard time figuring out where to put the ammunition clip in, let alone how to work it.

Already ahead of him, Syd was blasting fire through the passages before them, revealing them to be empty. But there was an approaching sound, like some metal machine stomping across the floor. Starlin could certainly hear it loud and clear, but he had no clue what it was. It sounded big and sharp and uncaring. He pictured a spindly droid, all jagged bronze and honed gold, with a ginormous crystal core that was hidden beneath layers of thick armor plating, so they couldn’t just shoot it through the heart. Yep, that was exactly the kind of royal pain the universe (or the Force, whatever) would decide to dole out for him today, on what might be the crappiest day of his life so far.

No offense to Syd, of course.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

"Those...things...as you say...are Dark Side Spirits..." Syd answered quietly, after blasting flame at the passage beyond. The mechanical noises seemed to stop. "They're just a symptom. Not the source. The source will be much much worse...as to what it is...I've got no clue what's waiting for us...'Something' caused it to form..."

She decided to impart more wisdom.

"The Force binds all living things. It can take a lifetime to fully appreciate this. The reason we are affected is because darkness is inside all of us. That's what the Nexus really wants...to make us coax out what's inside us...a Jedi exists to correct such unnatural balances in The Force. To protect the innocent from harm, selflessly, even at the cost of their life."

The passage grew less orderly, its architecture visibly getting older and starting to crumble in some places as time went on. Syd's pulsing orange blades went active, slightly illuminating the area ahead. Only slightly...something in the air seemed to actively dim them. Syd's flesh rippled slightly everywhere, body fluctuating as the spell protected it from the Dark Exposure, keeping it out of her mind.

They started to come across blood and gore, slathered on the walls and ground. Ripped apart corpses. Some imperial. Others were fresher Scavenger corpses. Some looked to have even been Jedi, but were long mummified. The entire chamber was like this, opening up to be a wide, almost like a train station, but not tracks.

The Nexus seethed far below them, hungry and full of pain and suffering from the victims who had met their end here. The passage that led lower was just ahead.

Suddenly there was a rumble. It came from above.

Syd got in front of Starlin Rand as it crashed through the ceiling.

It was huge, like he said. Ebon and with a giant crystal in the center. It looked like a giant metal rakghoul in how it moved and acted.

"SHOOT IT!" Syd yelled as she blasted flames at it, watching in horror as it sprinted toward them with lethal intent...that looked like phrik for the outer shells. Light sabers would mean very little here.

 

[Starlin Rand]

The presence of a whole lot of dead bodies in varying states of decomposition roused unpleasant memories. A beach on a tropical island world strewn with corpses, namely. Starlin once more felt adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream as his fear spiked, forcing him back into full alertness. He couldn’t afford to slack off now.

A rumbling from above drew his attention. Syd jumped in front of him, trying to shield him as something crashed through the ceiling. Something that looked a lot like what he had imagined would be lying in wait for them, but somehow ten times worse now that he was seeing it in person.

The next few seconds passed in flashes of profanity for the boy. Kark! Feth! Schutta! Chit, chit, chit!

Then Syd was screaming at him to shoot it. But didn’t she have a lightsaber? Couldn’t she breathe fire and shoot arrows and do magic? Wasn’t she standing in his way right now?

But shoot it Starlin did, aiming over Syd’s shoulder. The bowcaster, which had previously felt awkward in his hands, suddenly became his lifeline, the weapon which would decide his survival. His finger found the trigger and unleashed a storm of fire at the beast, aiming for the crystal in its chest.

The recoil from the thing took a toll on his skinny arms; Starlin nearly knocked himself out as his grasp on the gun weakened, allowing it to jerk violently with each shot and almost hitting him in the face. Up ahead, the beast’s threatening roar was distorted as if damaged, but it was impossible to see through the haze of smoke and flashing lights.

Starlin emptied the entire clip into the thing. The air was choked with the stench of burnt carbon. He coughed, waving his hand in front of his face, and reached up to tip his cap back to try and get a better view.

“Is it dead yet?” he asked, almost punch-drunk after the adrenaline high peaked. “‘Cause I’m outta bullets, babe.”

Just then, the creature emerged from the fog, sweeping its arm toward him. Starlin yelped, knew that he wouldn’t be able to get out of the way before the blow connected—and once again he felt the surge of power that only seemed to really kick in when his self-preservation instinct was activated.

He imagined light pouring out of him, blindingly bright, making the creature shrink from him. As the beast reared back, trying to get away, Starlin grabbed the explosive pistol (which he had forgotten about earlier; adolescent oversight, heh...), took aim—closed his eyes—and fired.

Syd Celsius

 

[Syd Celsius]

The shots of Starlin Rand and the blasts of flame from Syd's throat overwhelmed the crystal of the mechanical beast, warping and cracking it, until it shattered, the release of magical energy hitting and warping Syd's flesh for a split second.

The monstrosity went dead. Syd turned to Starlin.

"Most of your shots were dead on, Kid. Nice job." She complimented.

Her old Sith Persona, Phyre, would have relished breaking the boy with both physical and psychological torture, until he was but an empty vessel which could be filled with countless hatreds. The first thing to go would have been the eyes. Syd fought back the unpleasant recollection of just how evil Darth Phyre had really been. It would be trial enough to help Starlin avoid succumbing to the Dark Side without falling into a pit of self loathing. No need to add to the huge pile of problems they already had.

She had also spoken too soon...the mechanical abomination was not as dead as she thought. A second slot appeared on its chest, revealing a secondary crystal housing. She managed to slow it for a second with telekinesis before it broke free.

The Force Light produced on instinct by Starlin made her stop, stare in surprise. He truly had great potential. Immense potential.

Ambition mixed with hope entered Syd. If she could train this one...lead him to the light...if even one kernal of good could still be found in her whole rotten legacy...

Syd stopped counting her chickens. They were not even out yet. There was still the matter of saving his life. He seemed to have that well in hand though, as he remembered the explosive Blaster Pistol she had given him. The shots burst open the back up crystal, showering shrapnel everywhere. A more powerful magical disruption occured, causing the flesh on her left side to go into a semi melted state within the suit, and she had to focus to set it back into place.

"The Light is with you, it seems. That is a very powerful gift you have discovered, Starlin. Its called Force Light. Use it wisely here."

The Jedi then went to examine the shattered remnants of its crystal.

"This is a special grown synth. I knew it. The Zeffo Guardians have been corrupted. Something is at the center of that Nexus. And that something is making crystals..." Syd trailed, looking around the room, but especially examining this construct.

"Amatuer alchemy in here. Very amatuer. But stable, if nothing else..." she spoke, kneeling down and picking up one of the metal claws that had been on its arms. It was basically a vibrodagger mounted on an arm. She detached it from its mounts expertly and began searching the room, finding a broken vibrosword with an intact hilt.

She disassembled both housings, recombining intact parts together to make a functional vibroweapon, which she tossed to Starlin. It wasn't a lightsaber, but in case he ran out of ammo he wouldn't be completely defenseless. Unfortunately, there was no ammo for his bowcaster.

Syd spotted another dead scavenger, lying half rotted in one corner of the stone chamber, however. He looked like he had a back pack that had not been scavenged. Syd removed it, carefully checking for traps. Finding none, she opened it, pulling out a slightly weathered looking but functional weapons...

(Zelda Acquisition Theme Plays)

(New weapon acquired!)

Weapon: LEVER ACTION SHOTGUN

Spoiler

Weathered lever action shotgun with widened lever for flip-cocking. Holds 007 rounds.

Weapon: SNUBBLE SPECIAL KNOCKOFF

Spoiler

Weathered, snub nosed, double barrel blaster pistol. This variant is a knockoff version produced in a factory on Atrisia and only contains fifteen shots left

Syd retrieved the lever action whose barrel and stock had been cut down for manuevers in enclosed spaces. There was only a small ammo bag containing fourteen shells in it, along with a mostly drained pistol.

"Better than nothing." She sighed.

Syd decided to scout ahead by heading up the hole in the ceiling it had crashed through.

"Wait here a few minutes."

Syd flew up to the adjacent chamber. Sure enough, there were sounds of lightsabers and the sounds of flames torching something. The chamber Syd had flown into lit up for around thirty seconds, the sounds of Syd's lightsabers humming dominating those seconds also.

When Syd flew back down, after securing a rope for Starlin to climb up, there were multiple gashes on her face and torso, glowing green blood and muscle tissue partly exposed. The magic of her enchanted armor slowly sealing it all up.

"It's clear..." she assured him wearily, flying back up to make sure the rope didn't break when he climbed.

When he got up to the upper chamber, it was quite different from the slaughter below.

It seemed to be a chamber with an ancient, indoor ceremonial pond. Syd had smeared ward spells in her own blood on the walls, temporarily keeping the darkness at bay. There were the corpses of multiple dead rakghouls and destroyed Zeffo Guardians.

"We can take a small breather here, but we have to keep moving. The wards I put up will break down in about fifteen minutes..." Syd explained, sitting on a nearby bench. "I don't know what's beyond. We're pretty low on ammo, so we'll probably start having to resort to melee or other methods. Here...I got one..."

Syd stretched out her hand.

"Ashla, conjure a weapon from The Infinite Flame..."

A flaming rifle construct appeared in her hands.

"It will vanish after a few shots so make it count if you decide to use it. You can conjure other weapons as well, but they will have the same limited use."

She then smiled slightly at him, trying to reassure him.

"You have been a very brave young man so far, Starlin. I've known Padawans who underwent proper training for years who crack in the first few minutes of something like this." She told him, the cuts on her body not fully healed.

"Where are you from?" She asked, wanting to understand what drove him. He reminded her of Laertia in some ways: He'd clearly become used to conflict to a degree. This was an aspect of Force Adepts she waa all too familiar with at this point. "I was...sort of 'made' for the business. Created. The Force is basically all I've ever known."

She didn't know what was waiting for them beyond. It wasn't in the blue prints. She knew that much.

Syd did not fully appreciate until that instant how much she hated Murder-Tombs and Murder-Dungeons. All the horrors of a tabletop rpg with no dice rolling and much more suffering.

She knew they would have to come up with a plan soon, but for now they needed to catch their breath. They needed to actually plan how to reach the Nexus.

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin only opened his eyes when he heard Syd’s voice. She seemed shocked that he had even thought to use Force Light. He wasn’t exactly sure how he did it, either.

“What does it mean?” he asked, almost to himself. “If I can do that without being taught first…?”

Of course, this sudden surge of power could perhaps be chalked up to his simply being an undiscovered (until now) prodigy—but that was surely wishful thinking. So what was really going on here?...

“The crystal!” he exclaimed suddenly. Syd mentioning the synthetic crystals that were being manufactured triggered his memory, made him put two and two together. “The one I inherited—it’s attuned to the Light Side, and when I was carrying it, it affected me!” He hesitated, clutching his forehead, uncertainty and doubt creeping in. “Or something like that…”

Syd tossed him her makeshift vibroweapon, which he hesitated to catch out of fear he would grab the sharp end. The blade fell on the ground in front of him, and he bent to pick it up. Discarding his bowcaster, he stowed it away in the bag he had brought to carry the scrolls.

While Syd scouted ahead (she could fly?!), he racked his brain, trying to remember everything Nimdok had told him. The crystal was only a fragment… it had belonged to a Jedi named Meetra Surik… and Starlin’s great-uncle, the one who had found it, believed their family was descended from Surik’s companion Atton Rand.

“Possibly even Surik herself,” Nimdok had added surreptitiously. At Starlin’s puzzled look, the historian clarified, “There is some evidence to suggest that Atton Rand and Meetra Surik were lovers, though given the Jedi’s strict doctrine of celibacy at the time, it is unlikely she would have forsaken her vows. Although Surik was exiled from the Order and survived the First Jedi Purge, we don’t know much about the period between her defeat of Darth Traya and her death at the hands of Lord Scourge—a period when some sources claim Atton was her sole companion. She could very well have carried on a relationship with him during that time, and perhaps even had children, though again—”

“Wait a minute,” Starlin had interrupted. “Are you saying the crystal belonged to my ancestor, not just the lady my alleged ancestor piloted a ship for?”

Nimdok had smirked then, peering down at him through lowered eyelids. “I am saying it is possible, but unlikely. We will never know for certain. Not to worry, though—lineage that far back will have little effect on you.”

Despite his flashback, Starlin was very much aware of the sounds of battle up above. When Syd announced the all clear and threw him down a rope, he eagerly climbed up, glad to no longer be left alone.

Once he was out, he glanced around at the ceremonial pond, the symbols smeared in green blood on the walls, and the corpses of the creatures Syd had killed. “You certainly got busy while I was waiting down there.”

Watching her conjure up a weapon out of thin air, he immediately wanted to try it for himself. Holding out his hands, he repeated the spell she had just uttered.

“Ashla, conjure a weapon from the Infinite Flame!”

He was rewarded with a similar construct, but he was unprepared for the sudden weight in his hands and immediately dropped it. His hands fumbled, trying to catch it in the air, but it hit the ground and dissipated like mist.

“Aw, chit.”

Grumbling, he took Syd's reassurance with a half-hearted nod. “Yeah, I ain’t no cupcake.” When she asked him where he was from, he answered, “I was born on a smuggler ship, moved to Coruscant with my momma when I was nine.” He shrugged. “Didn’t make much difference. I’m space trash, born and raised—I just changed my haunts from the hyperlanes to the underworld.”

There was a certain amount of adolescent brashness and a pubescent attempt at machismo in his words. He clearly thought that calling himself “space trash” sounded cool, even if he knew deep down it was anything but glamorous.

His memories of home, sweet home (a cramped apartment on Coruscant that still looked dingy no matter how hard they scrubbed it) were colored by the first few years of screaming matches, broken dishes, and the occasional beating either from his mother’s scumbag boyfriend-of-the-month or petty thugs who had no qualms against mugging a kid for his lunch money. Yet the school counselor still wondered why he had hooked up with a street gang, agreeing to lie, cheat, and steal for them in exchange for a little protection…

But that chit was over now, for the most part. His mother had finally settled down with Silo, a chill Zabrak with a steady job who minded his own business when it came to his stepson, and Starlin was working for Nimdok instead of the friendly neighborhood spice cartel. Well, he was starting to rethink the whole archaeologist's assistant gig after all that had happened here on Zeffo, but still. Turns out he was good for something after all.

Coming out of his bittersweet reverie, Starlin tilted his head to the side. “Somebody made you? How exactly did that work? Did he like, mix some Force funk together, chant some magic words, and then all of a sudden you started existing?”

The fact that he assumed Syd’s creator had to have been male probably said a lot about his perception of her, but he was at least genuinely curious about the woman who, in the span of the last few hours, had become his first master.

Syd Celsius