Private Hic Sunt Leones

[Jack Sandrow]

Est. year: unknown
Location: unknown

Sunlight.

Well... light of some kind. Was it sunlight?

Felt like sunlight.

It was warm like sunlight. It seemed to rejuvenate him like sunlight. It must be sunlight, then.

He felt himself pushing up. Out. Forward.

The warmth and solidness of earth and soil fell away, and he tumbled forward naked into the grass.

Jak hissed, clutching at himself as the cold, fresh air washed over him. A quick feel over himself, and he flushed in embarrassment, reaching to the ground to pull at the grass and dirt to make himself clothing.

It didn't work.

He blinked, looking at the ground, and tried again.

The Force did not allow him to change the plants.

He looked at himself - yes, he was still his regular green form. A moment of thought, and a blossom sprouted in his hand. "....then... what...?"

Like water rippling to the surface, a simple tunic and a pair of pants pushed up through the dirt in front of him. He blinked, before scrambling to put them on. "...Hello?" He was met with the rustle of wind, and finally looked up to take in his surroundings.

The sky was dark blue, almost black, like the clearest summer day... and yet there was no sun. There were no stars either, save for the thick band that he belatedly realized was the Galaxy. He inhaled sharply, standing up all at once. The warmth he felt, the sunlight, that was still here, but he had no clue where it was coming from. The sky was empty save for the Galaxy, and yet... he wasn't scared. Disoriented, sure. Anxious, certainly. Scared? No. And it wasn't irrational, either, he simply didn't feel like he was in any danger.

He turned around, watching dumbly as the tree quietly closed up before him. Was that where he was? He realized it had to be. The warmth and coziness of the earth still pressed faintly against his skin, and he clenched his fist in remembrance. He had been hurt? He had been... almost killed.

If there were memories of what happened to him, they were long-since gone. The last thing he recalled was going into deep slumber in his cockpit. And now... his ship was nowhere to be found, his powers weren't working on anything other than himself, and he had no clue where he was, not here on this planet nor here in the Galaxy. If he was even still in the galaxy proper.

A thought brushed his mind, so foreign and vast he thought it was little more than pure instinct. Jak is welcome here.

"Hello?" He turned around again, breath catching a bit. "Helloooo? Who said that?"

It was gone again, and he felt himself grasping at nothing again. "....dammit. No..."

Rest.

He inhaled, looking around, before trying to calm himself and for once, just listen.

Rest. This place will provide rest and recuperation for Jak.

He held his breath, waiting for more...

For now.... rest.

The thought faded, and he waited a good few minutes before slowly sinking to his knees. "Well. I don't know what brought me here... or who is speaking to me... but... thank you." His hand slipped into the grass, and the blades gently wrapped around his fingers without any influence on his part. He blinked, then smiled, his thumb softly caressing one nearby blade. "Thank you. I will rest... and.... then I will learn more."

He took in a fresh breath, closing his eyes and turning his face to the wind. This planet was entirely alien to him... and yet somehow it felt the most normal place he'd ever been. Rest now, learn more later, he resolved, getting back to his feet. And he was ready to learn.

 

[Jack Sandrow]

The air was humid today.

Jak pushed past a large tree, hopping over massive roots, before sitting down in a warm glen. He drew in a large breath, before closing his eyes and letting his senses fade away.

The air... was still humid. He peeked one eye. Nope, the world was still very much present around him.

He closed his eyes again, willing himself to leave his body. The air would be gone, nothing would remain.

The air would be gone. The air would be formless, as would he. The air... was still kriffing humid.

"Rrrrgh." He stood up, pacing in place for a moment. With how the shadows had changed, it had been a few hours, apparently. So... he was partly there, but still couldn't stop feeling the world around him.

And why not?

He froze in place, suddenly acutely aware of the world around him. "....Hello?"

Why can you not stop feeling the world?

A chill went down his spine. Something... or someone... was speaking to him. He hadn't heard this voice in days...

"I... I don't know." Once again his lack of any actual training reared its head. "All I know is that... I can't stop."

And why are you unable to stop feeling?

"I..." He looked around again, still seeing no one. "I don't know."

A soft wind blew through the glen, and Jak put a hand up to shield his face reflexively. You would do well to listen, little sprout.

"I'm listening," he murmured, sitting down cautiously. He was quiet for a long time, before he felt a presence begin to press near.

The blossoms from the trees began to swirl, and he watched with no small sense of awe as the blossoms formed a figure, sitting across from him. He held his breath, the figure looking at him.

"Hello, Jak."

"...Hello... what do I call you?"

"You may call me... Sekot."

"....An honor to meet you."

The blossom head tilted gently. "It is. Very few have."

Jak smiled slightly. "...then I accept your hospitality, and submit myself to learn from you."

"Then... let us begin."

Spoiler

 

[Jack Sandrow]

Jak looked up from his campsite. It was a humble little area, a small camp fire, a branch-and-leaves awning providing some cover from the weather. It was eerie to see stars in the black sky above while everything around him looked so nicely sunlit. A twisting of night and day into one seamless passage of time.

"Are you ready to continue?"

The voice echoed in his ears and in his head, and he turned reflexively. "....Master," he nodded, bowing his head.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that. I've given you my name."

"I'm using it as an honorific, I swear." He stood up, stretching slowly. "And yes, I am ready to continue." A smile danced across his face. "What's today?"

"Walk with me." The petal-agglomerate figure turned to leave, beckoning gently. Jak nodded, walking after Sekot. "There is much I have to show you today."

"I follow," Jak acknowledged, moving into step beside them.

- - - - -

They walked for a few hours. Jak had considered speaking up, then thought better of it. He took in the surroundings, sensing more than seeing the plant life around him. Fingers gently danced across flower petals, soaking in his environment just as easily by touch as he could by scent and sight.

"What is it you are looking for?"

"Hm?" Jak looked up, finger zipping away from the flower in question. "Not looking, just... feeling. I have more senses than my sight alone, so... it makes sense to use all of them, no?"

Sekot inclined their head. "Very astute. You are certainly a curious one." A slight smile. "I'm glad I kept you alive."

"Yes, thanks again for that," Jak murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "I still don't remember what happened..."

"In time. You will."

Jak nodded gently. "Alright."

"We're here." Sekot sat down in place, and Jak almost walked into them.

"Whoa! Where is here?" Jak asked, sitting down as well.

"Your lesson for today." Sekot closed their eyes, palms upwards on their crossed legs.

"...What's the lesson?"

"If I tell you, it spoils the lesson."

Jak blinked, then sighed, adjusting his posture to mimic Sekot's.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It had been... what, an hour? Two? Maybe more? He was starting to lose focus.

"So." Sekot opened their eyes. "How much of the Force has now passed through this space?"

Jak stuttered, "I-I wh... huh? That's what I was supposed to feel?"

"Of course. A Jedi must always be able to feel the ebb and flow of the Force."

"I'm not a Jedi." Jak shrugged. "I'm a smuggler moonlighting as a Forcer."

"And yet, Force abilities are what you have, and the responsibilities as such."

Jak sighed, shaking his head. "Lots to learn, then."

"Indeed. Now... try again."

Jak nodded, closing his eyes. Now, with some idea of what Sekot expected of him, he began to reach out with the Force, as best as he could. The effect was immediate.

He inhaled sharply, the inner eye turning to soak in the radiance all around him. The atmosphere was practically buzzing with energy, the Force soaking all in around them. Sekot was a particular bright spot, but he decided not to focus on them for the moment, instead seeking to soak in the finer details.

The grass and plant life around him seemed to swell at both of their presence, and Jak felt a flower petal brush up against his leg. With a slight smile, he gently soaked in the sensation of the Force flowing through and past him. It was... familiar, though in a way he'd never really focused on before.

"So. How about now?" Sekot asked with a slight smile.

Jak began to describe in myriad ways, all the forms and functions he felt the world around him flowing and thriving in the Force. Sekot took it all in, listening intently. When Jak had stopped, however, they quirked a brow.

"That's it?" Sekot murmured disapprovingly. "That's all you sensed?"

Jak paled. "Is.... that not all there should be??"

"You only described one. There are many, many layers to the Force, not just the life that surges through the world."

"Well there's also the Dark Side..." Jak wrinkled his nose. "I'd really rather not touch that if I didn't have to."

"So binary." Sekot shook their head. "It is unfortunate that this is the view that has overtaken most of the galaxy."

"What do you mean?"

They shrugged. "The Force is not binary, between Light and Dark. I suppose we must start there, then." They stood up smoothly, offering a hand. Jak took it, the oddity of him holding a seemingly tangible hand made entirely of petals not lost on him. "You will have to start at the beginning, then."

"I guess...." Jak blew out a breath. "Sorry, Master."

Sekot snorted. "And you needn't use that honorific. I've already told you."

"Sorry, um... Sekot."

"Hmm. If it helps you, then you may use it. But know that you are using it willingly, and not as commanded."

"Yes, I understand." Jak smiled. "It's part of the training, for me."

"So be it." They nodded slowly. "Then your training truly begins tomorrow."

 

[Jack Sandrow]

"The Force exists on many spectrums, not all of which are emotional." Sekot led Jak through a new path today, the cliffside providing a soft breeze while they took in the sights near Jak's campsite. "To moderate one's emotional attachment to the Force is paramount for a stable connection. But beyond a simple emotional connection, you must have a strong mental connection, a strong will connection, and a strong connection to the life and death flow of the Force."

"Life... and death?" Jak was confused. "I thought the Force was in all living things."

"No. The Force flows through everything, not just that which is dead or alive. The rocks and stones, the soil and earth beneath, all of it is in concert." Sekot stepped over a root, and Jak almost stumbled. "While life energizes the Force, it is not the sole focus of the Force. What creates life?"

"...Uh... more life?"

Sekot shook their head, smiling a little. "No, Jak. What do you require, in order to sustain yourself?"

"....Food?"

"Which is made of...?"

"Dead.... creatures."

"Yes." They nodded firmly. "And as such...?"

"...Death... provides for life?"

"Exactly." The petal form turned to him. "Jak... life and death are not extremes, but rather steps in an everlasting cycle of the Force's flow throughout the galaxy."

"...How is that the case? I thought killing was against the Jedi code?"

"If killing was against the Jedi code, they would never kill. If the Jedi were the sole protectors of the galaxy, their code would be stifling. The Jedi suffered dearly once, as a result of their hubris. You must stop thinking in such binary terms." The petal form knelt, a hand gently plucking a mushroom from the ground. Jak winced, but the mushroom felt no pain. Seemingly, it was gently disconnected, and not simply unrooted.

"The mushroom requires the nourishment of death in order to feed its life. The nutrients it provides to the soil are integral to other life being able to grow. Plants require it to sustain themselves, and animals in turn require the plants to nourish themselves." They turned to Jak with a slight smile. "The bark rat's death knell is merely the nexu's dinner."

Jak frowned in thought, quirking a lip slightly. "....well. I think I have much to un-learn, then."

"Indeed. I suppose I'll give you time to think about this." They held out the mushroom to Jak, who accepted it gently. "When you are ready for the next task, simply plant this mushroom." With that, the petals began to blow apart, and Jak felt the Force presence of Sekot slip away.

Much to un-learn indeed, Jak thought to himself, thoughtfully holding the mushroom close.

 

[Jack Sandrow]

"The Force is many things... in some ways it is every thing."

Jak hovered in midair, suspending himself with nothing more than the Force. Every passing moment was a greater understanding of the energies flowing through and around him... every moment was a greater understanding of the Force itself.

Sekot walked in slow circles around him, their form having changed from petals to leaves. "The Force cannot, and therefore should not, be limited to a simple binary of 'light' and 'dark'. The Force requires life and matter to exist, via midi-chlorians, but more than that it is the very essence of the galaxy and beyond, while exerting its influence upon itself. Much like gravity, in many ways. The Force cannot be controlled, it can only be gently harnessed. You are asking permission to control the power, every time you use it. With permission, you may accomplish just about everything you think you might."

"...What are my limitations?"

"Your mind, your will, and your belief are your limitations."

"And my connection with the Force?"

"Yes."

Jak opened one eye. "Which... might present a difficulty for me. My connection is through plants. Can't do much else beyond that."

"Eyes closed." He did so. "The Force's method of connection may limit your options in breadth, but it will never limit the depth of your ability."

"Say what?"

Sekot sighed, pausing in their movements for just a moment, before resuming. "You might have limited variety of skills, but there is nothing limiting how deep you pursue those skills."

"Ahhhhhhhh..." He nodded gently. "So... follow the natural growth of myself and that which I interact with... right?"

"You have such a way with words," Sekot snorted, before coming to a stop again. "In so many words... yes. I cannot teach you what to do with yourself, I can only teach you to listen to yourself."

Jak sighed. "....that's easier said than done." There was no reply. He waited a moment longer, before opening his eyes and looking around.

Sekot was gone. He was alone...

Slowly he returned to the ground, looking around for a moment. "....Hello?"

The distant sound of mechanical movement caught his ear, and he turned to look at the horizon, a chill going down his spine.

Three large metallic vanes began to rise from the treetops, and at this distance he estimated it to be somewhere between two hundred to five hundred feet tall. At least.

Hold onto something.

He blinked, before dropping to the ground, hugging the dirt. "What's going on?"

I'm moving.

The words he was about to say, left his lips. The world around him lurched, with the sickening feeling of weightlessness punching him in the gut as the world around him suddenly dropped into hyperspace.

Not trusting himself for the first few minutes, he slowly got to shaky feet, looking up at the unnatural sight of the blue whorls of hyperspace comprising the planet's sky. "...wh... Wha..."

The rustling of leaves sounded next to him, and he turned again, pulling back as Sekot rematerialized next to him. "I apologize for the abruptness. But this location was no longer optimal."

"...What... what's going on? How is the planet in hyperspace??"

Sekot gave him a slight smile. "I suppose you deserve an answer or two. Tell me... What do you know of the Yuuzhan Vong?"

 

[Jack Sandrow]

Est. year: unknown
Location: unknown

Jak was getting used to these hyperspace jumps now. The warnings from Sekot were always appreciated, and the soft dirt was used to his touch now. Still unused to the bounds of his abilities, Sekot had instructed him to avoid using the Force on any plant life, just yet. They had kept him 'locked out', still, which he was more than comfortable with at the moment.

He opened his eyes as the blue glow in the atmosphere faded away to the black starry expanse of space. "Mm... You know, I've been meaning to ask," he murmured, standing slowly and gracefully. "How do you refuel?"

"I don't." Sekot sat cross-legged on a nearby stump. "I ran out of hyperspace fuel centuries ago."

Jak eyed the form of his master, now an intertwining bundle of twigs, vines, and sticks. "So, then....?"

"Long before technology, the Force was the only form of life. Before written record, the Force guided many beings to secrets and discoveries technology could never hope to achieve." They stood slowly, reaching a hand out to Jak. Jak, ever curious, took it gently.

Like stepping through a veil of mist, they were suddenly deep underground. Jak just about threw up, before shuddering as the sensation of instantaneous movement washed over him. "Whhh.... ggh. Ow. What happened?"

"You are in a part of me that I rarely show others. In the interest of furthering your knowledge of the Force, I am deciding to show you."

"I... I'm honored."

"As you should be. Over here." They led Jak down a few corridors, and Jak tried his best to comprehend the sheer scale of what he was seeing.

Spoiler

Immense machinery was growing within the planet, impossibly tall and impossibly deep, welded - fused? - to the stone and rock around them. Some of it Jak barely understood. Some of it he could hardly understand at all. Most of it was entirely incomprehensible.

"What is this place?" he whispered, following the form of Sekot as they led him deeper within.

"This is my core. This is where the machinery that powers my movement is situated." They came to a massive door, several dozen meters wide, and Sekot paused, before waving a hand gently. With a rattling clunk, and loud creaking, the door swung open, settling with a cloud of dirt and dust to the side before them.

"...phew. That's a hell of a heart," Jak murmured, stepping through the door to view the immense machinery chugging within an impossibly-sized cave. "Is that you?"

Sekot looked up at the massive, kilometer-wide vessel, crackling and churning with energies. It beat, not dissimilar to a heart, thudding with shockwaves that seemed to ripple through the vast cavern. Jak actually had to take half a step back when the first shockwave hit him.

"Yes," Sekot murmured. "In a way... this is me." They gestured to the colossal mechanisms within, rumbling away. "I am this, but I am more than the sum of my parts. This is simply what energizes me."

"What do you use for fuel, then?"

Sekot smiled gently, turning to Jak. "Why don't you look and see?" A finger pressed to Jak's forehead before he could protest, and he inhaled sharply in surprise. His eyes began to glow bright green, and he staggered as another shockwave hit him.

"Wh... what is... oh my stars..." Jak beheld the Force, flowing and swirling in and around the chamber, penetrating the immense technology, pushing up and through, all focused through one giant core of Force energy. One strand led from that core, down, down, down beside him... into Sekot. "It's you. The Force is you...?"

"No, no, not at all," Sekot chuckled, "I am merely channeling the Force through myself. If the metaphor helps, I have to consciously think of my breathing, at all times."

Jak winced, smiling a little, the glow beginning to fade from his eyes. "Oough. Wish you hadn't said that," he murmured wryly. "Now I'm going to be thinking about my breathing, my blood flow, et cetera..."

Sekot chuckled again, nodding as well. "My apologies. But now you understand a little better - one simple dimension of the Force cannot possibly sustain the universe. Neither just light nor just dark, but every color in between."

Jak nodded solemnly. "So... are you saying I should give into the Dark Side every once in a while? OW!" He rubbed his head where Sekot had smacked him. "Hey!"

Sekot withdrew their hand gently, shaking her head. "No, that is not what I am saying. I am saying that an emotional connection to the Force cannot overwhelm you, nor must you let it control you. Harnessing your emotions, harnessing your Self, that is how you will become a true Master of the Force, in your own right."

"How far do I have to go?"

Sekot eyed him, sizing him up. "I estimate... you're about one-eighth finished."

Jak winced again. "....well then. Let's get to work?"

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will train you to harness the Force in all its forms."

"Works for me." Jak grinned. "Thank you."

"Of course. And thank you." Sekot returned his smile. "You are helping me. More than you know."

 

[Jack Sandrow]

"That one."

"Got it."

- - - - -

A creature hopped through the forest. Slim front legs and longer hind legs denoted speed and agility, and the ears that perked up when at rest alluded to the creature's sensitivity to its environment.

It wasn't enough.

With a leaping snarl, a second creature pounced. Its prey had barely time to squeak in alarm before it was snatched up in the new creature's mouth. A quick crunch and pop severed the spine painlessly, and it was food in the predator's mouth. This was a larger thing, agile and predatory, its massive front tooth quickly making mincemeat of the prey animal. Carefully scooping up the chunks of food, it bounded off silently through the underbrush, leaping over a root before-

Before a blade of grass slashed its neck open, and it fell lifeless to the ground.

"Efficient." Sekot materialized beside Jak on the ground, as the latter stood up from behind the root. "Faster than I thought, too."

"I'm hungry," Jak murmured, "it's been a few months since I had something proper to eat."

"Indeed. As I asked you." They gestured to the body. "Before you eat... walk with me."

"Nhh... Fine..." Jak looked at the rather delicious looking steak-to-be, before moving in step with them. "Where are we going?"

"Not far." They walked for almost a mile before Sekot stopped, gesturing at a small clutch of branches. "In there. What do you sense?"

Jak closed his eyes, reaching out with a gentle hand as he felt the Force flow slowly. Two... three... no, five small presences in the Force. "Little things... babies?" His heart dropped. "...Anooba babies."

"The children of the anooba you killed."

Jak whirled around. "You told me to kill it!"

"Because you needed to eat." Sekot put a hand out in front of themselves, assuaging his concern. "This is your lesson for today. Death and Life are part of the Force, and one requires the other. Just as Death results in Life, so Life will end up as part of Death. This is not only natural, this is the Way of the Force. To deny it exists is to preserve a present, a continuity, that cannot sustain itself. Change is not only the way of the Force, but in some respects is the Force itself."

Jak clenched a hand. "...But the death was needless."

"As many are. But you need the food, do you not?"

"...Yes. But couldn't I have killed a bull? Why the mother?"

"Because chance determines that none have precedence over the other."

The hand unclenched. "Fine. But..." With a few bounds, Jak took off, back the way they had come. Sekot watched, curious, before the other returned, a handful of fresh dripping food in his hands. "...they at least deserve the food they were going to get."

Sekot gave him a wary look. "Do they? Inevitably they will kill their own food. They will hunt their own prey. That is how they will live."

Jak paused, before gently dropping the pile of food outside the entrance to the den, and stepping back, hands still bloody. After a moment, the pups began to crawl out, snuffling and then chomping on the food bits, their teeth not yet fully grown in. One in particular, larger than the rest, sniffed at the air, making a soft and curious noise. Jak sighed, looking away, melting back into the forest at large. "Yep. And.... I suppose I'll have to be mindful who and what I kill."

"Hm... not what I intended... but I suppose we can skip ahead." Sekot beckoned. "Your food is getting cold. The next lesson awaits."

"Already?" Jak began to head back again to the body of his prey.

"You're learning quick enough. Time to learn about the circle of Life that you were not taught."

- - - - -

Jak, now feeling contentedly full, knelt next to a small corpse. Not of his own making, this time, one long since dead. "What am I feeling for?"

"Keep looking. Don't let your preconceptions drive you."

Jak sighed again, closing his eyes and reaching out. If he couldn't see it with his eyes, he could see it with the Force...

What... what was...

He inhaled sharply, eyes blinking wide open. "Devourers!!"

"Jak?"

"Hundreds - thousands!! - of little hungry devourers, all clamoring and ripping and shredding and-"

"Jak." The voice was firm. "Tell me what you saw."

"I...." He sucked down a breath. "...Creatures. Tiny, but many. What...?"

"The necrobiology of decomposition. That which transmutes Death into nutrients that will one day nourish Life." They waved a hand. "See it with me."

Jak blinked, before suddenly he was infinitesimally small. The view wasn't 'real', but it felt as real as it had ever been. He was seeing things on a micro scale.... The chewing and chomping of all sorts of microscopic creatures - bacteria, maggots, fungi, the like - surrounded him... but through it all, he watched the Force. He watched the Force move, from the corpse into the feeders. From the feeders, into the soil, and from the soil, into the grass and trees around them. And just as soon as the vision began, it passed.

Jak stood up slowly, processing. "So... it's a give and take?"

"More than that. The passage of Life, through Death, through Life again, is what powers the Force. Living or Cosmic, the Force requires the constant churn. To keep it from overwhelming itself is to be a true Steward."

"So... what do you want me to do?" Jak felt uneasy. Sekot was leading to something.

"Jak... the tumultuousness within you must be put to rest." They turned to face him. "You need to become something more. Something balanced. Your physiology denotes chaos... and if you seek balance, you must first have it within yourself. This is a watershed moment - you must decide for yourself to continue with my training, or to be satisfied with where you are."

Jak nodded. "I want to continue. What do you need me to do?"

"Jak... I need you to once again die." And with a wave towards him, Jak felt his body crumple and fall, as every part of his body began to descent into cascading failure. "I will keep you safe in the meantime," they continued, as Jak writhed and reached out futilely for help. "And if you don't survive this... I will pass your legacy on. Goodbye, Jak."






END