Private Sons

[Nova Dainlei]

Frego | Spacer Guild Outpost

Following A Message Through The Stars

Kyric
​

The view of the city was nice from here.

The outpost was set up far enough away that they still had access to the planet center, but were almost totally removed from the rest of the people. A private sanctuary of sorts. There was a sense of peace and comfort to it. One that seemed familiar yet distant at the same time. Nova sat in the meadow near the small satellite dish. Legs crossed, eyes closed, levitating about a foot off of the ground. Wind rustled softly through the grass. The Echo Stone hung loosely around his neck, its power enhancing every single one of his senses. Though heightened, everything still felt cut off.

His thoughts still dwelled on his parents. After his mother and father sent him to train with the Jakku Jedi Enclave, it was rare to ever hear from them. The boy knew they were explorers, probably on the other side of the galaxy studying stellar wonders. One day, he would join them. Be an astronomer just like them, learning to be a Warden of the Sky. It was his calling. Ever since he was young, he could feel it.

Perhaps that is why he called out through the talisman. Those connected through the Echo Stone was the closest thing he had to family right now, even if he barely knew them. The Force wanted them connected in this way. Nova was unsure of where his journey would lead him next. Maybe the stone would show him.

As if clockwork, Nova felt the Force shift around the planet. Someone was here, just dropping out of the hyperspace. A strong presence in the Force. One that had strong ties to the light side of the Force. Someone he did not know that well, but who's fathers fought alongside each other in the biggest galactic conflict the stars had seen.

"Kyric."

 

[Kyric]

Kyric's inherited X-Wing descended from atmosphere to the planet's surface with little fanfare. The old bird bore half a dozen scars—not unlike its owner—and still flew as smooth as the day his father discovered it alongside Maynard and Tansu Treicolt on Peace. It should've felt right to be back in the saddle, taking the stars day to day in his quest to right his father's wrongs. But without the kiffar's illustrious co-pilot, BD-8, or the Big Chieftain to his friends, Kyric felt wrong.

"I'm comin' for you lil man. Don't you worry."

Kyric killed the engine and pushed the cockpit open. He dropped from the ship with practiced ease and met Nova's greeting with open arms. "C'mere, Nova! This might be a tad much, but it feels like I'm seein' a long lost brother!" The kiffar wrapped his arms around the younger Jedi and enthusiastically patted his back. "I'm glad you reached out. Things have been tough for me since gettin' out of the clink. I could use somethin' to smile about."

A cursory glance of their surroundings left much to be discovered about Frego and its obscure Spacer Outpost. Kyric made a mental note to properly explore the region before he departed, then turned his attention back to his host.

Nova struck Kyric as lost, not unlike himself. He felt the weight of Legacy resting on the young man's shoulders; heavy and inescapable, the past bore down on them both without ends. Legends like Okkeus Dainlei and Ryv Karis had a tendency to cast a long shadow. And for reasons unknown, those shadows grew longer, not shorter, with each passing year.

"Yer lookin' pressed, my friend. What ails you?" Kyric asked without any concern for small talk or the typical pleasantries one associated with meetings such as this. Not unlike the late Sword, the young Jedi Knight was as straight-a-shooter as they come. He had neither the skill nor the heart to deceive, manipulate, or posture. It just wasn't in his nature.

"And more importantly; what can I do to help?"

---

Tags: Nova Dainlei

 

[Nova Dainlei]

Kyric
​

The boy couldn't help but think of his father's X-Wing as the ship descended to the surface.

Just like the starfighter that was lowering, Nova returned to the grass out of his floating state of mediation. A friendly and welcoming smile was offered as the two embraced each other. The sentiment that the older Jedi held for the boy was similar to his own. Though the two of them had not known each other for that long, Kyric was the closest thing he had to a brother.

"Oh man, you don't know how good it is to see you. I've been needing a familiar face in my life. And when in the hell were you in prison?"

Initial shock aside, the boy was glad that his friend was alright. Nova had spent most of the past year or so in the Outer Rim, kinda just doing his own thing. His situation was not aided either by the fact he didn't own a starship. Will and destiny were left to the actions of others to help him get around. But that is why he was here now on Frego. Originally, the plan was to hitchhike back to the core with someone from this Spacer Guild outpost. Now that Kyric was here though, there could be a little more clarity to his future.

Not many words were spoken, but an empathetic feeling could be felt through the Force. Much time was spent wandering the galaxy, doing his own thing, yet the older Jedi understood his situation better than almost anyone could.

"Y'know, I'm sure you've felt it too...but something has been unsettling about the galaxy lately. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling it's not good."

To be honest with himself, Nova was a little scared. He tried to go out and fight for what was right. Shoot, it's where he met Kyric. All of them brought together to help defend the light side of the Force. But now, he missed home. He missed the Enclave. He missed his parents. They were all so far away. The connection he held with his parents through the Force could barely be held onto. It was so faint. He was beginning to forget what they looked like.

He was lucky that his parents were still alive, Okkeus and Kulani. But right now, he felt like Kyric. Without a father when he needed one the most.

"I just don't want to be stranded all alone when the stars start to fall from the sky. I need to be with other Jedi, Kyric. You're one of the only ones I could call. Dad's been gone for so long now, same with my mom. I don't know when I'll see them again."

Nova looked off into the meadows longingly. One day they would all be reunited. But for now, the Force had other purposes for him. Purposes that maybe the older Jedi could help reveal.

 

[Kyric]

"I was captured a few weeks after Solipsis' invasion of Coruscant two years ago by-" Kyric paused mid-explanation, not in an effort to hide anything from Nova, but to seriously contemplate how to define the hunter who captured the kiffar. Everything he shared with Capris thus far was a conflicting mix of emotions and contradictory actions that left Kyric at a loss for words when he considered them at length. No amount of logic applied cracked the strange connection they shared, so he opted to table it for now.

"I'll fill you in a bit later. I ain't in any rush to leave," the kiffar offered. Nova's call brought him out to Frego, not Kyric's personal crap, but he suspected an opportunity to unload all the weight he'd carried for those two long years wouldn't hurt.

When Nova opened up about an unsettling sense, Kyric nodded emphatically. Something loomed out in the shadows, wreathed by a darkness in which even the light of stars found no purchase. There was something eerily familiar about it. Like a forgotten memory drifting up to the surface of the mind after a decade locked away, yet no amount of effort banished it entirely. Whatever threatened them grew closer with each passing day and Kyric struggled to find his words.

A glance at Nova steeled the kiffar's resolve. The younger Jedi relied on him, Kyric saw it within the boy's eyes as clearly as the stars overhead.

"I fought Rhis Fisto on Obredaan during my escape. If yer not familiar, he's a fallen Jedi who served alongside our fathers during the war." Kyric crossed his bandaged arms over his chest while he spoke. "The bastard only shows his face when his Master rears his ugly head. Its makin' me think Solipsis is what's out there, Nova."

The old Sith Lord always had a way of showing up at the worst possible time.

Solipsis first appeared during the height of the Second Great Hyperspace, then masquerading as Kaigann Fossk, senator of Enoch within the Galactic Alliance. Not long after his death at Tython, felled by the combined might of Ryv Karis, Rurik Fel, Dagon Kaze, and Heinrich Faust, Solipsis reappeared at the head of an Imperial Remnant force. The Sith Lord commanded not only a fleet capable of threatening the likes of the Alliance, but he was backed by an entire order of dark siders entrenched in the Dark Lord's maniacal philosophies.

With the ever-expanding Sith Order and empowered Black Sun Syndicate, the forces of Light were beset on all sides.

Kyric suspected his escape from Creuat back on Obredaan was no coincidence. And now that he stood before Nova, another legacy trapped within the machinations of the mad Sith Lord, the kiffar accepted the theory as fact.

"I crossed paths with Master Vanagor on Tython a couple days ago. He was sayin' there's an Order of Jedi on Naboo. I tried runnin' with my pa's Order, I really did, but his path just ain't mine. I'm thinkin' these folk might be as good a start as any. Somethin' fresh and untouched by the sins of the old man."

---

Tags: Nova Dainlei

 

[Nova Dainlei]

Kyric
​

He had no idea that Kyric was captured shortly after the assault on Coruscant.

Was that really two years ago? Time sure did fly when one wandered as aimlessly as he did. Nova was approaching late teens, nearly becoming a true adult. It was around this age that his father fully dove into the arena of war. Against the Sith, against the Confederacy, and even against the Jedi. Well, the Jedi who were lost in their ways. One's who thought it would be better to support their enemy than aid a political neutral.

When the name of Rhis Fisto was mentioned, the boy tried to search the depth of his memoires. The name sounded familiar. As a child, Nova always enjoyed when his dad would tell stories of the great war. For some reason, the name of that former Jedi stuck with the padawan. The next name that Kyric mentioned though...Solipsis. An evil man who was the orchestrator of all this madness. Somehow, if the older boy's guess was correct, he had returned.

A chill ran down his spine at the mere thought.

"Solipsis...I could've sworn that old Sith was dead."

The Brotherhood of the Maw and the Dark Empire had caused enough problems for the people of the galaxy. If the Emperor was scheming once again, this could mean billions, no...trillions of lives at risk. It made Nova sick to his stomach thinking about what this could mean for the fate of the stars. The light side was truly under attack.

Mention of a Jedi order brought some hope to the boy. His time spent on Naboo was not long enough to allow him time to visit the resident temple. His thoughts about collective orders have been weary ever since his father told him about the shift in the New Jedi Order. They used to be true protectors of the light side of the Force. Now, they were a political entity, operating mainly under the command of the senate. That was not the Jedi way.

Though the Jedi way was not so easily defined these days.

Kyric's sentiment was the same as Nova about their dad's order. In a different timeline, maybe the two of them could be fighting alongside their parents, protecting the people of the Alliance, and the galaxy as a whole. But this new group might be the right path for the boy.

"Dad was always saying I needed to get out on my own more. I think this new order might be the right path for me. I can feel it...I may not know where the Force is leading me, but this definitely seems like a good start. A new beginning, just like on the sands of Jakku."

 

[Kyric]

"If I know anythin' about the Dainlei family, it's that yer kin are trailblazers. If there's still a path out there left untrod, I think ye'd be doin' yerself a real disservice fallin' into more of the same."

For the first time in years, Kyric spoke with confidence. Be it the sincerity with which Nova viewed both the kiffar and the stars, or the dogged way Solipsis' nipped at Kyric's heals, the scarred Jedi Knight felt right. He knew not the direction his guidance steered either of the two Jedi, but anything beat wasting away in solitude—both Okkeus and Ryv wanted more for their sons.

Kyric believed that in totality.

"I got an ol' beat up Y-1000 I discovered during an attack on Cademimu V a few weeks back. It ain't no Millennium Falcon or nothin', but she's got the spirit left in 'er to keep on. It might take 'er a few hours to make the jump, but if yer serious, Nova, I'll signal Q5 and have em here in a jiffy. The crazy little astromech is lookin' for any opportunity to fly."

Given the scope of the change Kyric presented, he didn't feel any particular need to rush the matter. His attention drifted to the sky above. Large clouds of a deep gray rumbled just overhead. Little flashes of light danced within their confines, cutting through the darkness every so often.

The sight struck the kiffar as odd. He knew many cultures across the galaxy to view the likes of a storm to herald a great disaster, but Kyric knew them for so much more. He carefully unwound the bandaging around his right hand. The fabric fell loosely around his wrist to reveal a canyon-like pattern of scar tissue etched into his flesh. He flexed his hand into a fist, then extended his fingers out with a deep breath. The motion was practiced, not unlike a meditative ritual one might use to relax.

"It's gonna rain," Kyric said, his face alight with a smile. He held his hand out, palm upraised, and watched as the first drops of the coming showers landed softly within his palm.

"I haven't felt rain in years." He tore the old cloak aside and let it drop beside him in the dirt. "I'm lucky you sent that message."

---

Tags: Nova Dainlei

 

[Nova Dainlei]

Kyric
​

There was much purpose and intention behind the man's words, so Nova made sure to play close attention.

"I don't know when the Force is going to provide another opportunity like this again, so I'm going to take it. A starship would definitely help out quite a bit. Not sure how much hitchhiking you've done lately, but it's hard to trust people these days. The jump time doesn't bother me at all."

An internal promise was made a long time ago that he would have his own ship. To be able to travel all around the galaxy so that he could help people. Just like Ryv and Okkeus had. While their paths may have been different from his, the intention was still there. The two Jedi wanted to make the stars a better place.

Nova's attention was soon turned to the sky. The Kiffar was right: rain droplets soon began to fall. Similar to Kyric, the boy stretched out his hand, palm towards the sky. Meditation was something that he had to learn on his own. But, techniques from his father were carried on into his life. Small, almost unnoticeable stems of electricity danced across his skin, feeding off the energy of the oncoming storm. Lightning was seen as destructive by many. Especially with the Sith using it to terrorize innocent people. The natural phenomenon brought life too. One just needed to know where to look for it.

"And I'm lucky that you responded."

The storm was approaching, but not at alarming speed. Bolts were now clearly dancing across the sky in intricate patterns. A beautiful array of nature.

"You want to stay out here and mediate amongst the storm? If not, we could head inside. Folks in the outpost are quite welcoming."