Two blades - one long and one short (solo thread)

[Corvus Raaf]

She found the cave easily enough. That was the benefit of having a Master that was around at the time of Order 66 and the subsequent battles with the Empire.

She tied up Ben and gave him some food and water. The trouble with crafting a saber was that you didn't know how long it would take.


Corvus had read and re-read Obi-Wan Kenobi's journal on her way here but she'd already constructed her saber which was broadly the same design and so was confident of success.

As she sat in the cave, she knew she had all of the elements she required to construct her shoto. As she tried to find a comfortable spot amongst the sand and rock, she listed them in her head and checked them off from the components laid out in front of her. Her Solari orange beam crystal, a blade-emitter matrix, various dials, a blade length adjuster, a lens assembly, a hand grip, an activation stud, a power conduit, a belt ring, a safety switch, a recharge socket, casing, a sensor array, a recognition chip, a blade lock, a beckon call.

But first she had to imbue the crystal with the Force. She closed her eyes, held the crystal in her open hands and recited the code:

“The crystal is the heart of the blade
The heart is the crystal of the Jedi
The Jedi is the crystal of the Force
The Force is the blade of the heart
All are intertwined
The crystal, the blade, the Jedi
We are one”

She repeated this over and over. On occasions she was so at one with the Force that she lost track of time.

Opening her eyes once more she was not surprised to see the crystal had changed in colour from orange to violet – the very colour of her eyes. It happened last time - but she still did not know why.

Slowly, carefully and methodically she began to assemble the sabre. She closed her eyes and meditated. She used her Telekinetic powers to lift all of the components into the air. She detached one half of the hilt and attached the power conduit. Then she connected the recharge socket to the power conduit. Aware she was no longer breathing, she practiced Breath Control for a few moments before entering into a Moving Meditative state – allowing the Force to flow through her.

Once calmed and at one with the Force, she connected the emitter matrix to the power conduit and then attach an activation stud to the emitter matrix and slotted it under the casing. Next she added a blade length adjuster to the emitter matrix.

The schematics then called for her to place the lens assembly with the crystal between the emitter matrix and power conduit before adding the safety switch and blade dial. Finally she added the sensor array, recognition chip (already set for her own DNA and midi-chlorian count) and the remaining parts. She then sealed the lightsaber and attached the belt ring.

Once more she spoke the code:

“The crystal is the heart of the blade
The heart is the crystal of the Jedi
The Jedi is the crystal of the Force
The Force is the blade of the heart
All are intertwined
The crystal, the blade, the Jedi
We are one”

 

[Corvus Raaf]

At the moment her fingers flicked the switch to ignite her shoto for the first time; she felt incredibly close to the Force – to the here and now. The tiredness was ignored. The heat was shrugged aside.

And suddenly, through the Force, she sensed great danger.

Her mind held images of Corellia. Of a tombstone – with her name on it. And there was a date but try as she might she was unable to read it. And a young woman was standing there. She couldn’t see her face as she was wearing an ornate robe with the hood up. And she was holding white lilies in one hand and Corvus’ shoto in the other.

Corvus eyes snapped open and the hum of the lightsaber filled her senses. She snapped it off, no longer interested in it. The last time her visions filled her thoughts it spelt major trouble. In the heat, sweat dripped down her face, the salt aggravating her dry and cracked lips but she cared nothing for her discomfort. Her last experience of Farseeing was of the past. This looked as though it might be the future.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Dragging herself outside, she checked over Ben before drinking some water and eating a ration bar. Then she mounted up and started the long journey back to Achorhead.

#​

A'Jork had seen the passenger before, at a greater distance. A woman, a young woman, older than most Tuskens ever got - and always wearing the same senseless expression. He named her ‘the smiling one.’

The Tuskens had a word for "tomorrow," but it was seldom used. What good would it be? Death rode behind the Tusken, as the shadows to the Bantha. No, only today mattered. Each day's survival was a trophy that could be carried into the tales of the past - a stroke against the damnation cast upon them by the suns. It was a thing to be proud of.

But he knew he had to be patient. The smiling one had disappeared and he needed to find her again. His standing within the clan relied upon it. And then as the sun was setting he spied her, on that eopie. Who chose to ride one of those across the desert? He’d tracked her from where she’d saved that girl – but then, inexplicably, he’d lost her.

He reflected on that previous sighting. The warrior's one good eye was very good, indeed, and the lens in the eyepiece could see far, when adjusted. Whoever had crafted it had done a useful thing with his or her existence. But A'Jork now doubted the work, because the eyepiece had seen something that made no sense at all.

Just after the eopie-riding female had plucked the young female from the racing dewback - an impressive feat, to be certain the out-of-control creature had tripped in a hole and flipped over, throwing the woman who was riding it. She should have been crushed by the dewback - but instead of falling on her, the beast had been caught by the air itself and actually hovered there, bobbing, for a second. It was as if the world itself had rejected the mad thing. Then it tumbled once in midair and fell away at an angle, coming to rest just shy of the woman's body.

The girl, partly hanging over the eopie's saddle in the wrong direction, had not seen it. But the female rider had seen it happen - and was unfazed by it. Surprise was the one human expression all Tuskens learned to recognize. This woman had not displayed any at all - not even when a giant dewback floated on air.

The Tuskens were well aware of the powers the settlers had at their disposal. They used lesser magics, their spells all relying upon physical components linked together in a certain way. A landspeeder was a conglomeration of trinkets. If the ordering of the pieces was in any way disturbed, it lost its powers. An unreliable magic, to be sure.

But there was no metal, no unnatural material, no mechanism present here. Just humans. That was when A'Jork had slipped back behind the dune, to think.

This was no false dragon call. What did it portend? Things were already bad for the Sand People. If the settlers had now added to their capabilities, then caution was demanded. A'Jork needed to know what the Sand People were facing. And he needed to destroy it.

As far as A'Jork was concerned, there was no reason for the human female to put herself at risk for the girl. What had brought them onto the desert floor was apparent. The women had obviously tried, as so many settlers had, to tame the very spirit of life on Tatooine - in this case, the dewbacks who belonged in the mountains. It was right that she had failed. The girl should have died, and the smiling female should have let her.

Living beings helped only themselves - that was the Tusken way. And it suggested that the woman had the sorcery in her, to land so gently, and to brush the dewback aside. The woman must have known she was in no danger - that she had the power to save herself. Yes. That made sense.

Bringing his mind back to the present, he contemplated the right path. The conclusion was now clear. The smiling woman had to be killed - and quickly, before she taught her skill to another.

A'Jork left his hiding spot and departed for the hills. Not as the cowardly sun - but as the hunter.

It felt good.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

A'Jork looked down at the eopie and rider that now were almost close enough to touch. He called down. "You are the smiling one," he said.

"Yes," Corvus said. She pulled the reins and indicated Ben should stop. “I was wondering when you’d speak.”

"My son is dead," A'Jork said, words dripping with bile. With that, he lifted his gaderffii above his head. “You takes our water," he announced. "I takes your life. It is right." He’d been doing a lot of thinking as he tracked the smiling woman and had decided that saving the lives of the Tusken clan was a greater victory than the death of this one woman.

At this moment, more Tusken appeared. And at the sound of his voice, two young warriors charged Corvus from either side. She swept her hands upward. The fighters went aloft, as if carried by an unseen windstorm. As they landed to either side, A’Jork noticed she hadn't even looked at the attackers.

“In your world you are a...a great worrier."

Corvus chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"Great warrior," A'Jork repeated, annoyed.

"Wars do not-" she began, still grinning in the moonlight. Looking up she saw that her expression offended the Tusken, so she changed it. "Never mind."

"Wait," he told the others in their language. Theirs was a mad attack, but it told him again how powerful she was. Yet she had chosen not to kill her companions. Was it intentional?

Corvus was now aware of another presence. The Tuskens had foolishly taken her attention. The young girl on the dewback. As she looked up at the dimly lit rocks, she could see a human form at the Tusken leader’s feet. The gaderffii waving before was not at Corvus but instead was a threat to the life of the girl.

“Let her go.” Her voice was calm and cool.

“Tusken no trade.” A'Jork said, bringing his weapon down again to a menacing position over the girl’s body. She poked at the teenager's clothing with the blunt end of the gaderffii.

"Then we are at an impasse," Corvus said, pulling out a metal tube from her belt. She activated it, and a spear of violet energy lit the gully.

"I won't let you kill her, you have my word on that. I mean you no harm but you will give her to me now."

"We are born to die," A'Jork said.

"Maybe you are," Corvus said. "But it is possible to be ready to die – and still prefer to live?"

The Tusken’s gemstone eyepiece glinted purple in the light. "You are wrong!"

"I think not," Corvus said, staring at him. "You came here to talk. You don't strike just for menace. You have goals." She lowered the lightsaber slightly.

A'Jork stood motionless, astounded. How could a human know anything that motivated a Tusken?

The recovered attackers from earlier gave A'Jork long and imploring looks. Of course, they were wondering. It was madness, conversing with a human - and a weakness too.

"To save the girl, you will find us water. That would be ... what you call a trade. A Tusken trade."

Corvus thought for a few seconds and then deactivated her saber. “I will arrange for water and when I return, you will hand over the girl.”

"I will makes sure of it," A'Jork said.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus headed out to the farm she’d only recently visited. The girl’s parents would be worried and she just hoped they’d be home rather than out looking. As she reached the rudimentary farm building and the paddocks containing dewbacks as well as barns, stables and other outbuildings, she could see signs of activity. At the sight of Corvus riding in, there must have been false hope as the girl’s parents waved to her and came rushing out to meet her.

As they closed, Corvus could see the disappointment on their faces as they realised she was alone.

“We thought you had Callie again…But I guess you being here isn’t a coincidence.” There was resignation in the woman’s voice, and her face told Corvus she’d been crying. Her husband held her tight and spoke next.

“Tell us, please, just tell us.”

“She’s OK – but it’s a little complicated. I have a suggestion for you.”

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus returned to where she’d met the Tuskens before. The negotiations had been brief. She’d told them that if she allowed the Tuskens access to a well on the outskirts of their farm, they’d not only guarantee no raiding of their dewbacks but also safe access to the surrounding area and no likelihood of bandit activity in the area. The Tuskens get a water supply and freedom to go as they please and to grow their numbers again. It was a win-win.

Corvus also explained that if they didn’t want to trade, she would simply go and get her daughter and bring her back unharmed. It was entirely their call.

So armed with the promise of unlimited water, Corvus guided Ben to the rocky canyon and dismounted, walking the final hundred metres or so. As expected, A’Jork was there with the girl. Now she was sitting up.

Corvus flashed her a smile before turning her gaze onto the Tusken leader. “We have an agreement. You can have unlimited and entirely sole access to the waterhole in the mesa one canyon along. You can make camp there and do as you please. All I ask in return is that you turn your attentions away from the ranchers there – and in turn they will respect your presence.”

A’Jork was silent. Finally he waved his gaderffii and shouted something to his warriors. They seemed to emerge out of the solid rock all around the canyon. Corvus shook her head, she’s missed one.

“Trade agreed. You have girl, A’Jork has water. Smiling one did good.”

Corvus smiled, as if to live up to her nickname. “And you are a wise and powerful leader that will see your clan grow strong once more.” The girl scrambled down off the rock and clung on to Corvus tightly. “I suspect we’ll never see again, but I thank you, as one warrior to another.” And Corvus bowed low before placing the girl on Ben and hopping on board herself. “Now, let’s get you home in time for supper.”

 

[Corvus Raaf]

A slightly longer journey than expected and more than one surprise along the way – Corvus made the journey back to Anchohead. She was tired and above all dusty – plus she had sand in places she didn’t even know she had places.

But she had her shoto and of course, memories. Precious memories of such a magical place. Because she wouldn’t be coming back to this place any time soon – would she?