Never Hide Your Heart
Two worlds collide, rival nations
Location: ODESSEN - Aboard Her New Ship (which is docked on the Planet)
Tags:
Connel Vanagor
It was late, and most of Odessen lay quiet under a blanket of stars. Though guards still patrolled the perimeter of the Hidden Path's secret base, Katarine was not among them tonight. She was tucked away in one of the sleeping cabins aboard her new ship, still nameless, still untested. Superstition said it was bad luck to fly a ship without a name. Personally, Kat thought it was just bad luck for her to fly any ship. Connel had laughed and told her this one was "idiot-proof." She wasn't entirely convinced. Maybe it was. Maybe he had too much faith in her. Either way, she planned to ask someone to sit with her for that maiden flight, just in case.
As for Connel, Kat wasn't sure if he'd already left for The Enterprise or if he was still sleeping aboard. The two of them had fallen into the habit of spending most nights together lately, not physically, but just talking. Long, late conversations that blurred the lines between exhaustion and comfort. It was... nice. Easy. And having Buster around made it even better. True to her word, Kat had prepared a cabin for both of them. They were always welcome.
Last night, when sleep finally claimed them, Kat had retreated to her own bunk. Connel might have wandered off after, or he might have crashed here too. Either way, she hadn't checked. Now, she lay still, curled on top a thin summer blanket. Her face was calm, breath soft and steady, two-toned hair fanned out across her pillow. She dreamed of Naboo, of a beach she'd once visited with her husband. But this time, Connel and Buster were there instead. In the dream, she laughed as Buster chased a flying disc across the shoreline, the ocean sparkling behind them.
But dreams are fragile things.
The scene began to warp, shadows creeping in at the edges. The sky dulled, and the vibrant sea turned into a flat, dark mirror. Connel and Buster vanished. The beach melted away.
Malachor
She stood alone now, surrounded by its bleak, ruined horizon. Blackened stone crunched beneath her boots as she walked, not knowing where she was going, but knowing she had to go. The Force pressed in like a storm cloud, thick with darkness. Distant howls tore through the air. Her body tensed, but still she moved forward, drawn by something ancient. Something terrible.
A mountain loomed. She approached slowly, every step pulled from her as if through molasses. The terrain rushed forward, disorienting her, and in an instant she stood before a massive stone door, its surface covered in etched glyphs that shimmered faintly with power. She reached out. Her fingers brushed the cold surface, and the door creaked open.
Inside: tunnels, twisting caverns, paths leading everywhere and nowhere. The dream pulled her forward again, until she stood before a monolith of ice,tall, crystalline, and pulsing with unease. She stepped closer. Something inside called to her, something that felt...
Familiar.
She raised a trembling hand to the ice. For a moment, silence. Then, another hand met hers from the other side. Pale. Laced with black veins. Pain exploded through her skull.
The dyad.
Dormant since she'd awoken five years ago, it now surged back to life, raw and violent. Emotion flooded in, anger, grief, envy, confusion. It was overwhelming. Blinding. She screamed and fell to her knees. Hands clawed at her head, as if she could tear the pain out by force. The Force howled inside her, and then—
She woke.
Bolting upright with a sharp gasp, her throat raw, heart pounding. Her skin was damp, her breathing shallow, and the bare skin around her neck that was etched with ancient glyphs seemed to glow, standing out strongly against her pale skin. The special place in her mind, that quiet, hidden corner, was pulsing again. Faint, like a heartbeat echoing from across a great chasm.
Kat sat still, head bowed, fingers buried in her hair.
Then a sound made her look up. It was a soft scratching followed by a whine at the door. Buster? Either he was checking on her... or one of the ship's droids had detected the noise and come to investigate. She swallowed hard, trying to calm her breathing, trying to shake the dream. But it clung to her like smoke.
Malachor wasn't finished with her yet.
