Private The Serpent and the Rainbow

[Starlin Rand]

Mayor’s Office
Lamont, Dahrtag

Mayor Conrad Kane certainly cut an odd figure, with his spiky black hair, hooked nose, and red-tinted windsor sunglasses (they were indoors, and the blinds were closed over the office’s windows). He was also quite a bit shorter than average, which meant that Starlin towered over him. When the Jedi Knight extended a hand, Kane squinted up at him with pursed lips before shaking it. He was wearing red leather gloves. The color matched his sunglasses.

“Master Jedi,” he said, his thin lips curling in a faint smile. “Please, take a seat. Oh, pardon me—this is Dr. Droxine Starstone. She’s an ethnobotanist, and has taken a special interest in this case.” Kane gestured to an elegantly dressed woman sitting at the other side of the room. Starlin hadn’t noticed her before then, which was wild because she was utterly gorgeous. Catlike green eyes, silky black hair, a bone structure to die for…

“How do you do,” she said, regarding master and padawan coldly.

Starlin went from staring at her in awe to visibly deflating as he plopped down in his seat. Right, back to business then. “So, about this whole zombie thing…”

“Ah, yes,” Kane sat down behind his desk before continuing, “Lamont has had a recent rash of zombie sightings. People who were supposed to be dead and buried are being found wandering the streets as if in a trance. Some of them have committed crimes such as theft, assault, and even murder while in this state. The citizens of our great city are terrified, and the hysteria has been made worse by a resurgence in ancient superstitions. Thou shall not disturb the dead, as the Master of Cerements says. The authorities have been looking into it, of course, but given the nature of the investigation, we thought it would be wise to involve the Jedi.”

Starlin opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Droxine. “There are no undead 'zombies' in Lamont. These people have simply been drugged, mistakenly pronounced dead, buried, and then exhumed. The one responsible isn’t some evil sorcerer, either. Probably just a psychopath with a knowledge of—”

“Uh, hold up,” Starlin interrupted, raising a hand. “The report I read said that you guys had one of these zombies in custody."

"Kandri Harend," Kane supplied the name, flipping through documents on his desk. "She is unique in that she was able to speak and remember what had happened to her."

"Right. Did you run tests on her to determine if she had been drugged?”

“Of course. But by the time she was brought to the hospital, the drug had worn off and the toxicology reports all came back negative,” Droxine replied. "You must understand, this has happened before in our history. Imperial scientists under the First Galactic Empire conducted experiments on our people, trying to create mindless compliant servants by administering a certain serum. They even used one of our native species in the process, though the exact ingredients used have been lost to time."

"Do you think someone has managed to remake this serum?"

"It seems the most obvious explanation."

Starlin glanced between the two of them. “Okay, I think my padawan and I better go have a chat with this zombie chick. What hospital is she staying in?”

“She should still be in Lamont General.”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Despite the rather unique subject matter, Tenn's eyes had started to glaze over the more the adults talked. He stared at the eccentricly-styled mayor, unable to quite tell if the man was ever staring back at him or not. The woman in the corner stole his attention for a moment, but disproved the superstition. Something about zombies was the whole impetus for this operation. Which sounded ridiculous, but also far less exciting than the truth: they were actually just drugged up kidnapees who had been presumed dead.

This was one of the first planets he'd been to since landing on Coruscant all those years ago. Now he couldn't help but wonder if most civilized worlds were so… peculiar. Tenn blinked out of his musings as they seemed to be wrapping up their conversation. He looked between the mayor and the doctor, and nodded, "Uh, right. Thanks." He bowed slightly, and shuffled out the door once his master had done the same, "This place is weird." He muttered out of earshot.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"This place is weird."

Starlin opened his mouth to say something wise and/or funny, only to close it when he couldn’t think of anything worthwhile. “No kidding. It’s basically Planet Goth. Or Planet Spooky, at the very least.”

When they had first arrived on Dahrtag, they were immediately terrorized greeted by the locals, who had suddenly appeared dressed in creepy monster costumes. It was explained to them afterwards that this was an ancient tradition meant to scare away any evil spirits the travelers might have brought with them. Or something along those lines—Starlin hadn’t been paying much attention, too busy trying to recover his wits after nearly jumping out of his skin at the sight of the motherfethers.

Now, they exited the Lamont Town Hall onto a street wreathed in fog. Through the perpetual mist the shadowy silhouettes of intricate fortress-like buildings emerged. There was a gargoyle on every corner, twisted stone faces leering down at them.

As for the people… well, perhaps the less is said about them, the better. We don’t want to be here all day describing the eccentricities of the passersby.

“Okay, Lamont General Hospital is… that way.” Starlin pointed down the street, then started walking, expecting Tenn to follow. While the Kalos Kid had only been his padawan for a short time, so far he seemed a lot more reliable than the others. Makko had a bad habit of disappearing without warning; Ceri was easily distracted and could get lost or left behind. Tenn was a little rough around the edges, but he didn’t require nearly as much shepherding.

Along the way, they passed a few street vendors selling what looked (and smelled) like the greatest cheesesteak ever invented. Despite the planet's overall weirdness, Dahrtag's cuisine seemed relatively normal. Starlin hadn’t eaten anything since that morning’s ration, so he didn’t last more than two seconds before circling back to the vendor and getting in line to be served. “Feth it, I’m starving,” he said, turning to Tenn. “You want anything?”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn hummed in agreement. They stepped outside, once more greeted by the planet's mist-wreathed gothic environment. Down the steps, he whistled, summoning his hound Shep to follow along once more. He had waited outside, lest his presence indoors be seen as an inconvenience to the mayoral office. He bounded along, seemingly unaware or uncaring of the bizarre atmosphere. Tenn studied passersby quickly, and nonchalantly. Ever curious, but he knew at a young age to not stare.

Along the way, they passed a quite delicious scent. Tenn, who was always happy to get some food, didn't say anything. But as soon as his master gave the OK, he was on board, "Uh… sure," He said, trying not to sound too hungry, "So, do you think this lady's gonna trust us enough to give us anything? It's not like she knows who we are."

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Holy chit, they have twelve different types of cheese to choose from?” Starlin gaped in awe at the menu before blinking and turning to Tenn, who was asking about the mission. “I dunno. If she’s been drugged up by somebody for Force knows what purpose, I imagine she would want to tell everyone she could about what happened. I’d be shouting it from the rooftops if I were her.” Granted, she could have reasons for keeping quiet, though Starlin couldn’t imagine what those might be.

The line moved quickly. Starlin ordered food for himself, then looked at his padawan. “All right kid, pick whatever you want, I’m paying.”

As the droid behind the counter got to work making their food, Starlin’s skin inexplicably started to crawl. He couldn’t see anything amiss due to the fog, nor could he sense any danger in the Force. Puzzled, he extended his antennapalps and listened.

Lamont was as loud as any other major city, but he had figured out how to pick out individual sounds while growing up on Coruscant, like tuning in to a particular signal on an old radio. Through the background noise, the sizzle of the grill and the murmurings of people around them, he narrowed down the source of the weirdness. Stumbling footfalls, like a drunken lurch. Anyone drinking at this hour would have to be a major alcoholic.

The droid chirped to indicate it was finished, and passed them their food. “Can you eat while you walk?” he asked Tenn, before picking up his cheesesteak and heading in the direction he had heard the stumbler walking toward. It could be nothing, but given what had been going on in this town lately, best to be sure.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I didn't even know there were twelve types of cheeses…" Tenn rubbed his neck, staring at the excess of options. For a lone cart, this vendor sure was packing. Not that they could complain. Shep's tail was wagging aggressively, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in anticipation, "I guess. But sometimes people are afraid to make noise…" There was an air of experience in his tone. But this specific situation was a bit… atypical, compared to the things Tenn had seen before. Given how far along things were up to this point, it wasn't impossible that the woman was willing to talk.

“All right kid, pick whatever you want, I’m paying.”

Tenn managed to hide his grin, though his expression then turned sheepish, "Do they… have anything for Shep, too?" He looked down at the dog once more, who was begging with his eyes for a meal. Either way, the droid attending the cart soon got to work on their orders. Tenn picked up on Starlin's body language, but was decidedly taken aback by the two fleshy stalks that poked out from beneath his hair, "Uh… What is that?" He asked bluntly.

Their food was passed to them shortly after. Tenn lifted his cheesesteak from its paper tray; A mess of meat spilling out from bread that threatened to become soggy from the sheer amount of melted cheese drenched over it. He had to practically pry the sticky strands from the paper, and could barely fit a bite in his mouth. Starlin's question came after he had already done so, earning a side glance, "…Are dere people who can't?" He asked with a mouthful of cheesesteak.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"Do they… have anything for Shep, too?"

Starlin grinned at Shep. “You want some steak, boy?”

“Woof.”

He turned to the droid vendor. “Something for the dog, too.”

Shep was given a nice piece of raw steak for his molten innards to cook.

"Uh… What is that?"

“They’re my antennapalps. They allow me to hear things humans can’t. Like sluggish, zombie-like footsteps.” Starlin continued to tune to the frequency of the stumbler’s footfalls, before he received his food and set off in the direction it was coming from. “I ‘unno,” he answered, also with his mouth full. “Some people are gastronomically impaired.”

Sweet baby Yoda, the cheesesteak was out of this world. But Starlin’s enjoyment of the meal was somewhat hampered as he focused on following the stumbler away from the administrative offices of Lamont and into what seemed to be a historic district. The mist only seemed to thicken in this part of town; ancient buildings appeared from out of the fog like assets loading in a hologame map. But it was also quieter here, and therefore easier to track his quarry.

The noises he had been tracking left the streets and headed into a cemetery, leaving the wrought iron gate ajar. Starlin’s Force sense remained silent, foretelling of no danger, yet he felt slightly sick to his stomach anyway—and it wasn’t because of the greasy cheesesteak he’d just eaten. “I don’t like graveyards,” he muttered. “But that’s where the sound is coming from, so I guess we have to go inside…”

He went in first. Within minutes, something struck his foot, knocking him off balance. He staggered, gasping in sudden panic… only to realize it was just an overgrown gravestone he’d tripped over. “Chit,” he hissed. “Watch your step.”

When he turned around, however, there was someone standing in front of him. “Ah!” he yelped. “Emperor’s black bones, you scared the chit out of me!”

The person, a Mirialan man, did not respond.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Shep wolfed down the steak in a matter of moments, and burped a small gout of flame afterwards. He then proceeded to eye the cheesesteaks the rest of the way.

"I uh, guess I just assumed you were human," Tenn said awkwardly, shrugging. Not that he cared either way. But seeing someone as human, only for them to suddenly sprout a pair of priorly unseen flesh stalks from their head, was a bit of a surprise, "Are you hearing that now?" Whatever they were pursuing, quickly took a backseat in Tenn's mind, because the cheesesteak must have been one of the best things he had ever eaten. Maybe the best. His eyes widened after the first bite, and he took an even bigger bite after. He almost had to physically restrain himself to enjoy it more slowly. Temple food didn't compare. And old street scraps definitely didn't either.

So caught up in the bliss of a hot delicious meal, Tenn barely paid any mind to their surroundings. Until they stopped in front of a cemetery, "Oh," The padawan grimaced. Was it disrespectful to bring a cheesteak into a cemetery? He shrugged, and walked in, finishing off the last few bites along the path. He'd never actually see a graveyard like this before, "So this is where they put all the dead people?" He asked, stopping in front of a tombstone.

“Ah! Emperor’s black bones, you scared the chit out of me!”

Tenn spun around, ready for action, a bit of cheese still left on his cheek. They found a man, standing still, unresponsive. The padawan quirked an eyebrow, "…Uh… Hello? You good?" He stepped around the man, "What's his deal?" Tenn said in a harsh whisper, one that would have still been audible to the man. If he was even listening.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I uh, guess I just assumed you were human."

"Well, I am half human." Starlin shrugged. "I assumed you were human too."

"Are you hearing that now?"

"Yup. Now shhh, I'm listening..."

Like Tenn, Starlin also found the concept of burial rather alien. On Coruscant the dead were just cremated. Some people held onto the ashes or scattered them somewhere nice, but plenty more just never bothered to pick up the remains. Dahrtag made a much bigger deal out of it, and apparently that attracted people from across the galaxy, who would bring the bodies of their loved ones here to be laid to rest. That was fine and all, but Starlin found it pretty creepy. He definitely wouldn't want to be buried in the ground. What if somebody made a mistake and he was still alive down there?

He was already on edge, and the sudden appearance of the Mirialan nearly gave him a heart attack. It should've ended there, with an apology and a laugh over the whole thing. But the man didn't say anything, didn't move, didn't even look at Starlin or Tenn. He just stood there.

"What's his deal?"

"He's wearing a suit," Starlin remarked. "Looks like it used to be a nice one. Maybe the best he has. But its dirty and ragged now." Using the Force, Starlin created a bright light and shone it in the Mirialan's eyes. His pupils failed to dilate. "Feth," he muttered. "I think this is one of them. A zombie." He glanced at Tenn. "Did the Temple teach you how to detoxify poisons and drugs using the Force?" If it was indeed some sort of drug causing this, they could confirm that right here and now.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I am. Lorrdian human," Tenn shrugged back.

Events at the graveyard quickly turned for the peculiar. The Mirialan man they encountered stood eerily still, with no reaction to them or anything they were saying.

"He's wearing a suit,"

Tenn gave Starlin a look. Obviously. But the knight then expounded on his observances. A fine suit, dirty and ragged. Like one that would have been put on someone who was buried, and dug back out. On top of his bizarre, unresponsive behavior, it was easy to piece together this Mirialan's deal, "Uh… no." Tenn admitted, looked at and flexing his hands. Probably would have been a useful ability to have back on the streets, though, "Do you know how?" He waved his palm past the man's face.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Yeah, and now you’re gonna know how too.” Starlin took a few cautious steps toward the Mirialan—only for the zombie to try and make a break for it. “Whoa, chit!” Starlin gasped.

In his zombified state, the poor guy could only shamble along, stumbling and staggering through the graveyard in a frenzy. But with the mist closing in, they were at risk of losing sight of him. Starlin thrust his hand out. The Force pulsed around the Mirialan as his movements suddenly became slow and sluggish.

“Focus on him,” Starlin ordered Tenn. “Find the drug in his body, if you can. Think of a purifying fire. Use that symbol in your mind to burn the poison out of him, like a fever burns away sickness…”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn reacted more quickly than his master, picking up on the first twitch. The zombie suddenly sprouted enough of an intelligence to make a getaway. Not that said getaway was particularly graceful. Starlin slowed the shambler down enough for them to keep him where they needed him, before losing line of sight in the mist. "What's that?" Tenn asked, regarding the Force power.

The padawan stepped out in front of the zombie, and raised a hand to his temples to form a connection. He shut his eyes to strengthen his focus, projecting the image Starlin had painted. A vague picture of the man's biology pieced together in Tenn's mind, until he found the anomaly within it, "I… think…" He struggled, the proverbial fire too unwieldy for him to purge the drug in convenient time, "It's hard to find. It feels like there's more still, but-" Tenn grumbled, "Am I doing it right?"

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Force Stasis. I’m basically just using telekinesis to hold him in place.”

Starlin kept a close eye on the zombie as Tenn approached him and placed his hands on his head. Should the Mirialan somehow manage to break free or attack Tenn, he would be ready to defend his padawan.

“You’re doing fine.” But it was clear that Tenn was struggling to complete the task. While still maintaining the Stasis, Starlin carefully assisted Tenn. He didn’t add his power to the boy’s so much as shape Tenn’s focus into something a little more precise. “Don’t be afraid of this fire. It heals rather than harms. Hone it like you would sharpen a tool, and use it to draw out the poison…”

That was enough to do it. The Mirialan visibly slumped, the Stasis the only thing keeping his limp body upright. Starlin exchanged his telekinetic hold on the man for a physical one as he caught the Mirialan before he could fall. “Hey,” he tried to rouse the unfortunate fellow. “Hello? Wake up, dude. You’re all right. We cleaned the drugs out of you. You're safe.”

“No…” the Mirialan rasped, shaking his head weakly. “The bocor still has my soul… As long as it's trapped, he can control me…”

Starlin’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Who’s the bocor?” he asked. He might've just as well asked what's a bocor? He had never heard the term before and had no idea what it meant. Alas, the Mirialan had lapsed into incoherent mumbling and wordless groaning. “Okay, let’s get him to the hospital. You all right, Tenn?”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn strained more, but it wasn’t until Starlin’s intervention that the poison was fully extracted. He grumbled, annoyed with himself despite the fact that it was his first ever try.

The man nearly toppled over, but was held up by both padawan and master. He slowly regained his senses, at which point Shep, seemingly sensing the ease in tension, backed down and observed the man curiously.

“The bocor still has my soul… As long as it's trapped, he can control me…”

Tenn practically shook his head in surprise, clearly indicating some sense of recognition, but he said nothing to either Starlin or the man. “...Right,” The padawan helped his master start moving the man, “Me? Uh… yeah,” He had an almost confused look on his face, “They must have really done a number on this guy.” That was an easy rationalization, anyway.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“...Right.”

Starlin paused.

“Me? Uh… yeah.”

Starlin tilted his head.

“They must have really done a number on this guy.”

Starlin cast a doubtful look Tenn’s way. “You know something you ain’t sayin’, don’t you?”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn side-eyed Starlin, "Uh— Just stories, master. Probably nothing to them," Even as he said that, he didn't fully seem to believe it. They were dealing with drugged-up zombies right this moment.

The padwan sighed, and scratched his head, "Bocor are an urban legend among slaves and slavers. Stories about… magicians or whatever, who would take bad slaves and brainwash them into obedient zombies. Usually bocor is just said, like, metaphorically. But I've heard the legends too."

"…You don't think there's actually anything like that going on, do you?" He asked hopefully.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Hey man, anything could help.”

Tenn then relayed what he knew. Mostly hearsay, but apparently bocors were a thing, even if they were just boogeymen. Starlin frowned at the implications of such stories being used to cow slaves into obedience—and because Tenn had inadvertently revealed more about his background. “Were you a slave?”

They kept walking until the bright lights and emergency signs of Lamont General Hospital came into view.

"…You don't think there's actually anything like that going on, do you?"

“I think crazier chit has happened before, so I wouldn’t just dismiss it,” Starlin replied, walking through the sliding doors. “Hey, nurse! I found another zombie!”

Doctors, nurses, and medical droids descended upon him in a swarm, taking the Mirialan away for treatment and pelting Starlin with questions. “Yeah, dude was wandering around the cemetery. Pretty sure he was drugged. Say, do zombies crawl their way out of the ground, or does somebody else have to dig them up?”

Surprisingly, his morbid inquiries didn’t earn him a single glare or weird look. The people of Dahrtag were just so used to the macabre, his questions weren’t in the least bit out of line. Thus did Starlin Rand discover how coffins worked. Not only would you probably run out of air before you could break through them, even if you did, you’d likely suffocate under six feet of dirt and become food for the boneworms. So someone had to be exhuming the graves not long after they were buried.

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn blinked for a few seconds, realizing what he had casually exposed about himself. In truth, he assumed his master already knew. Surely the Order had some kind of file for most of their students. But now knowing that he was unaware, Tenn rubbed his shoulder, "Um… Yeah."

As Starlin pointed out, plenty of odd things had happened in the galaxy, their current predicament certainly included. Tenn grimaced; It wasn't a reassuring thought, that such things might prove real, "Great," He said unenthusiastically.

They brought the man to the hospital, where he quickly stole the focus of various medical personnel. Starlin was promptly interrogated, meanwhile Tenn entertained Shep. Were dogs allowed in the hospital? No one had stopped him so far, "So our culprit is probably sticking close to the sites, right? Waiting for their chance?" Tenn idly commented.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Well, now that he knew his apprentice was a former slave, what was Starlin going to do with that information?

“So, like… Is it weird for you to call me master?” he asked as the Mirialan was wheeled away. “You can just call me Starlin if you want. Or ‘hey you’ could work, too.”

"So our culprit is probably sticking close to the sites, right? Waiting for their chance?"

“Hmm, maybe. They might just come around when they have a zombie to dig up. Or they could have a henchman doing the dirty work for them.” He approached the front desk, flashing a badge to the protocol droid behind it. “Excuse me, what room is Kandri Harend in?”

The droid coughed up the room number and floor, and Starlin headed toward the nearest elevator—only to freeze when the doors opened. Inside was a male Massassi. Other than his alien appearance, he was physically unremarkable, dressed in ordinary civilian clothing. His aura in the Force, however, was like a tempest of raw, untamed power.

“You are the Jedi?” he asked, pointing a clawed finger at Starlin and Tenn.

“Uh… yeah?” Starlin answered.

The Massassi made a beckoning gesture. “Follow me.”

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn twisted his lips, unenthusiastic about going down this rabbit hole, "It's fine, master. Let's just move on," It was a little weird for him. The word held a pretty negative connotation for most of his youth. But most Jedi masters had pushed for him to address them with the proper titling, so he forced himself to be okay with it. Starlin was the first one he'd met that actually suggested it wasn't all that important. Tenn dwelled on it for a moment, before preoccupying himself with the mission.

They were given directions to the room of another individual. Inside said room, was a hulking red alien, resonating with an aura of the Force, "Uh," Tenn accidentally said, stumbling as he took in the unexpected sight. Starlin rolled with it well enough, and the man beckoned for them to follow. Teens stayed back just a step behind, studying the tall figure without having to face him head on. Kandri had been called a 'she' before. Respectfully, Tenn had a feeling this was not that person, "So uh… who are you exactly?"

Starlin Rand​