Forever in the Light
The days on Odessen had begun to blur together, each one shorter than the last, as if the light itself were being steadily leeched from the sky. Night claimed the planet early and held it for far too long, wrapping the forests and valleys in a heavy stillness that pressed against the senses. Odessen had always been strong with the Force, ancient and layered, a place where echoes of the past lingered like half remembered dreams. To Aiden Porte, it felt wrong now. Not dark in the way of storms or grief, but strained, like a living thing pushed beyond its limits.
From the cockpit viewport, Aiden watched the planet slowly rise beneath their descending ship. He could feel it even before they broke the cloud cover, a low vibration in the Force that set his nerves on edge. Odessen was calling out, but not in pain alone. There was confusion there, and something else beneath it, something deliberate. Aiden closed his eyes briefly and centered himself, breathing through the familiar calm of the Jedi Code, though it did little to quiet the unease settling in his chest.
The reports had been sparse and frustratingly vague. A massive military installation, long abandoned and believed dormant, had been reactivated. By whom, and for what purpose, no one could yet say. Only that its awakening coincided with spreading disturbances across the planet, systems failing, wildlife fleeing, and Force sensitives experiencing the same disquieting pull Aiden now felt. Fools with a hidden agenda, the Council had said, though even they could not agree on how deep the rot went.
Aiden had not hesitated when he was sought out. If something on Odessen was poisoning the Force itself, it could not be ignored. Still, as he glanced toward the co pilot seat to where Padawan Bettany sat,, a protective instinct stirred within him. She was capable and perceptive, but this mission carried the kind of uncertainty that left scars. Aiden reminded himself that shielding her from the truth would not serve her. Not now. Not ever.
The ship shuddered slightly as they entered the atmosphere, clouds boiling past the viewport in dark, bruised layers. Aiden reached out with the Force again, testing the currents ahead, and felt resistance. Whatever had been awakened down there was not merely machinery. It was intention given form, woven through metal and forgotten corridors, feeding on neglect and secrecy alike.
As Odessen drew closer, its surface unfolding in shadow and faint, fractured light, Aiden felt the last threads of certainty slip away. They had been tasked with fixing the problem, with destroying the source of this spreading plague. Yet standing on the threshold of the planet, he knew with chilling clarity that they did not yet understand the shape of the threat.
They were walking into something far older, and far more dangerous, than anyone had prepared them for.
"Are you okay?"
